I hope you enjoy my trip report.
Arrived at Paphos airport late afternoon. Got through passport check in a couple of minutes, walked to baggage belt and could not believe it - there were our bags. So within 10 minutes of getting off plane, we were on the transfer coach! Must be some sort of record.
Day 1. Arrived at King Jason apartments about an hour later. I had done a lot of research on the hotel so new what to expect and was not disappointed. We were put in room 18 which is the first block at the back with a view over Paphos to the sea. Did not mind having a pool view as it was very peaceful and top floor (only 3) meant it was even quieter. After quick shop in hotel supermarket for essentials, dumped bags and went off to explore. First night ate kleftifo (me) and chicken Kiev (OH), couple of drinks and back to room.
Day 2. Got up early (7.30) and sat on balcony reading while OH slept on. Wall to wall sunshine - bliss. After working out how the cooker worked (ring easy, oven not so) English cooked breakfast in room (we had taken our own bacon and sausage) we unpacked and set off to explore. We walked Paphos (and I do mean this literarily - by the time we got back we have covered about 11 km according to my Fitbug pedometer). Rest in room and then out for drinks and dinner. Different restaurant this time, more Kleftiko for me (I was trying to find the perfect one!) and mixed grill for OH. This was at the Cristo Steakhouse. Not very good but only CY£5.95 for 3 courses. Decided despite the cost would not go back.
Day three was more exploring but not so far as the mind was willing but the flesh was weak. Walked to harbour and watched a wedding on the big grey boat, dodged the time share touts (why do they bother, no-one seemed to hand out a single scratch card. One disappointment for us was to discover no real beach at all in Paphos. The little bit of beaches were all created with sharp sand and the one in Paphos itself was wall to wall sunbeds - my idea of hell. I prefer a bit of space between me and my neighbour. Dinner that evening was unmemorable. Worth mentioning at this stage that we had discovered Baywatch cocktail bar - a pleasant place to have a drink or two before setting off for dinner. Red wine for me and Keo for OH. Mariana from Macedonia looked after us well and I think OH quite fancied her but with an age difference of 30 + years I did not worry!
Day 4. We decided to hire a car. Landed up with a Mitsubishi Lancer from Chris car hire for CY£100 for 5 days plus a tank of fuel at CY£28. It is the custom in Cyprus to charge you for the fuel but you are expected to bring the car back with an empty fuel tank. We set off to explore and just found our “tyres” the first day. OH found it easy to negotiate the roads, especially as they drive on the same side of the road as us. Arrived back at hotel in one piece, thank God. That night we ate in an Italian restaurant called Gracie. Not overly good, especially at the price of CY50. We had 3 courses, with the mains being spaghetti carbonara and bolognaise respectively. Would not go back.
Day 5. Off to Troodos. Lovely drive and went as far as Troodos village. Bought a few gifts - 5 boxes of Cyprus (aka Turkish) Delight for CY£3 and some honey coated cashew nuts plus a couple of belts for friends of my OH. Drive back was uneventful except for the fact our brakes started to overheat so we stopped a couple of times to rest them. OH declared the Lancer a bit of c*** (we drive a Saab 95) at home. Managed to get back without going off the side of the mountain. That night we discovered the Rock Taverna run by Peter and Vakis. Fantastic food at a sensible price and we ate here quite a bit after that. I had tsatziki for my starter and OH meatballs, followed by 6 king prawns and more meatballs for OH. With a couple of large Keos and half carafe of red wine the whole thing came to CY£17 which we thought excellent value. Peter and Vakis are South Africans and great hosts, in fact all their staff are good.
Day 6. Drove to Polis in the North. Drive was good - loved the view over Paphos - you got a real sense of Paphos from up high (we went on the B road). Polis was a disappointment. Bit of a beach but pretty crowded and not for us. Ate that night in the Almond Tree which specialises in Thai food. It was a little pricy (although cheaper than Gracie) and well worth it. I had red coconut soup, OH prawn cocktail Thailand style and we both had green Thai curry. Declared a hit.
Day 7 (Sunday). Decided to drive to Ayia Napa. Be aware that most petrol stations closed on Sundays so make sure you have plenty of fuel. The drive took about 2 hours and we passed Akrotiri where OH’s brother had spent time during his national service, passed Limassol and Larnaca. Ayia Napa is my idea of holiday hell - wall to wall Macdonalds, pubs, fish and chips but we enjoyed the drive. We were going to try and get as far as Protaras but the petrol situation was getting a concern so just drove back. Can’t remember too much about the evening. Started at Baywatch as usual and then set off for dinner. Noticed bar over the way (Harry O’s) was showing the Canadian grand prix so we stayed to watch Lewis Hamilton get his first GP win. To drunk by then to eat in a restaurant and OH managed to cook something back in the apartment - I think it was an early breakfast!
Day 8. Last day with car, so we poodled along to Coral Bay. Again beach quite small and crowded. Found an out of the way supermarket and stocked up.
The rest of the holiday was spent around the pool at the King Jason. There seemed to be a lot of children - do they not go to school any more! I topped up my tan from my holiday in Goa the Christmas before and read, read read (bliss). Only excitement that week was me decided to go to the dentist as I had a dodgy tooth which I should have had fixed in the UK but was too busy at work to get to the dentist. The hotel made me an appointment at a local medical centre. The whole thing from leaving the hotel to returning took just one hour and cost me CY£35 (including CY£10 on taxis). Probably cheaper than at home.
Final thoughts on Cyprus, Paphos and hotel and would I go back? Wall to wall sunshine (just one day with a thunderstorm at 4.30 am and following day overcast but that was the day we drove to Ayia Napa so it did not matter) so weather will make us think about going back some time. Paphos we enjoyed. We did think it a little pricey in Cyprus - not really much cheaper than the UK, especially if you like to eat nice food, (as opposed to fast food) as we do. So the vote was we would go back but there is a big world out there. Next year? Maybe Turkey.
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Candybabe - yes I did enjoy your trip report, it was brilliant. It%26#39;s just what this forum is short of at times. Thank you so much for taking the time to share it with us.
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Thanks for the trip report, Candybabe. I liked Paphos too but we%26#39;re not sure about going back either - at least not for a while, (Rhodes for us next year!)
:)
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We have been tom Rhodes twice and love it. Great beaches.
Candybabe
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