Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Decision required for 4-day Cyprus trip!

Hi Veteran-travellers of cyprus,





My friends and I will be arriving in Larnaka on the 13th of July. We are now torn between spending time in the west of Cyprus in the Akamas region (thought to be the real Cyprus) and time in east of Cyprus namely the hotspots of Ayia Napa and Protaras. I have seen pictures of Akamas and think the region is immensely beautiful. We are wondering if anyone has driven from Larnaka to the Akamas region and how long will the journey take us and if it is worth the effort? Or should we simply take the easier option by spending time in the eastern Hotspots where we have to compete sun beds with the rest of the other travellers? Hope to hear some insights from local experts and people who have been to these places before.





Thank you!




|||



The Akamas is indeed beautiful, and well worth a trip. I have never driven from Larnaca to the Akamas, but I believe is should take the best part of half a day. The real Cyprus is all over the island, you just need to head for the hills, through the week it is genrally quiet, but at weekends most locals head up there.



As for competing for sunbeds, it is quiet this year so plenty of space for all.




|||



If I was only spending 4 days on the Island I am not sure that I would travel all the way to the Akamas. Although it is very rugged and scenic, there isn%26#39;t a lot there. The majority of people visit there to take advantage of the unspoilt beaches but I don%26#39;t really see the point in driving for 3 hours to sit on a beach, not to mention the 3 hours back.





I know that hindsight is a wonderful thing but it would have been more convenient to fly into Paphos if you are planning to spend time in the west of the Island.





Why don%26#39;t you stick to the east for this trip and perhaps return another time to see the rest?




|||



I agree with Karen. I have done east to west, Protaras to the Akamas peninsular which is a fantastic area with lots of delightful villages and well worth a visit but I wouldn%26#39;t attempt to do it again in a day particularly in the heat of July - it will exhaust you. Its a straight run from Larnaca to the western side of the island but if you want to see the %26quot;real%26quot; Cyprus and get off the beaten track it will take you 10 hours taking your time as there%26#39;s no point doing a 3 hour drive to Paphos and only seeing a motorway on route. As you are flying into Larnaca I think I%26#39;d be inclined to stay on this side of the island and perhaps pull in a visit to the Troodos mountains perhaps on a 4 x 4 safari so someone else can do the driving and you can see the wonderful sights. Plenty of scenic bays in and around Protaras/Ayia Napa to explore. Cape Greko (national park) is well worth having a look at.




|||



Thank you everyone for your insight. I think its definitely sensible to stick around the east for this trip due to time constraints. We may already be exhausted from our Greece trip before Cyprus so probably the best therapy would be to chill and relax in Ayia Napa and Protaras. Any idea how much would taxt cost from Larnaka airport to Protaras (as I know there are no public transport on sundays which we will be arriving) this is considering that we do not rent a car. Thank you again!





SylR




|||



Taxi from Larnaca airport to Protaras should cost you no more than 50 euro each way daytime 60 euro in the evening. If you are picking up a cab at the airport make sure you agree a price before setting off.




|||



thank you Kath it seems like renting a car would be a better deal in this case. Does anyone know where in Protaras you can see wild dolphins?




|||



Google: Raptor Boat Safari Protaras or look on Youtube.com. Both will show you videos of dolphins purporting to be in Protaras. HOWEVER in all the boat trips I have been on over the years I have never yet seen a dolphin in this area - certain boat trips may advertise themselves as dolphin safaris but I%26#39;d think you would be very lucky to spot any at all.




|||



-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 1:19 pm, October 04, 2009

No comments:

Post a Comment