Our family (two adults, one teenager) will be staying at the Andreotis Apts, Protaras, in July 2007. Can anyone advise on nice places to eat (child a bit fussy but we don%26#39;t want McD%26#39;s!) and also things to do without paying the exhorbitant costs of tours with the company? Appreciate any help!
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There are so many places to eat in Protaras itself it would be difficult to list them all. One of them which stands out is Oscars - very good (opposite McDs). The Andreotis also has a very good reputation for food itself. There is also a wonderful Japanese and Chinese restaurant in Protaras. Rocks on the main strip going out towards Pernera also has a good reputation as doing one of the best kleftikos. You can walk into Pernera at night (only 10 minutes) and there are lots of good restaurants there - La Cultura De Gusto is possibly the best food I have eaten (predominantly Italian %26amp; Meditteranean) and is used by Cypriots which is a good sign. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. The Jolly Waiter and Blue Bay restaurants in Pernera are typically cypriot and in high season usually have a Cypriot dancing night which is good fun. Go to any of the travel companies dotted around Protaras instead of booking through your rep. One very good trip is the jeep safari trip to the Troodos mountains - 4 x 4 off road (I think your teenager would love this). Have to warn you it is a bit uncomfortable on your nether regions as basically between 8 and 10 of you travel in a landrover on hard wooden seats! Costs approx 25Cyp for a full day which includes an excellent meze lunch and stops at litle villages and monasteries. It is a tiring trip but very well worth doing. There are numerous boat trips which you can book direct near Fig Tree Bay - again cheaper than the tour operators. The large coca cola boats you will see take you up to Famagusta (although you cannot get off the boat there) and then back down to Cape Greko for swimming %26amp; snorkelling. Water park in Protaras and Ayia Napa - you can get the local bus to Ayia Napa and this which will cost you about 90c each way. Buses are a very cheap way of travelling. I would give the Sunday market at Larnaca a miss - the market is just cheap imitation tat and not indictative of Cypriot quality goods. A trip to Nicosia - it will be very hot and the temperatures in Nicosia are always much hotter than the coast. Fascinating city to see though and you can either go by organised tour (which I would recommend) or local bus which takes about 1 1/2 hours and isn%26#39;t particularly comfortable as the buses are not air conditioned. The Famagusta view point is very interesting - you would however need to have a hire car for this or take a taxi but it gives you an eye opening insight into the north/south divide of the island.
Hope you have a lovely time as I%26#39;m sure you will.
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Thank you so much for all the very useful information! It will be our first time in Cyprus and we are really looking forward to it. We are thinking of hiring a car so we could possibly do some of the trips that way. The jeep safari sounds great and we will certainly enjoy trying out the restaurants you recommend.
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Hiring a car is ideal - it is very easy to drive in Cyprus - same side of the roads as the UK and it is very easy to find your way around. Keep to the speed limits though - they are very %26quot;hot%26quot; on speeding tourists!
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Thanks Kath - we will be careful!! Further to the fact we will be staying self catering at the Andreotis, is there anything you would advise us to bring with us or are apartments generally up to speed for cooking etc?
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Most apartments offer quite basic supplies of utensils which are generally sufficient for breakfast or sandwiches at lunchtime but I wouldn%26#39;t even think about preparing anything more than that although I do know people who do! (I actually know someone who prepared a Sunday lunch including Bisto gravy!!!!) The weather will be very hot when you are there and you don%26#39;t want to spend any more time in the kitchen than necessary. Also you may well find you don%26#39;t actually want to eat that much because of the heat. However you will usually have either a cooker or microwave, kettle, fridge, cutlery and a couple of pans, cups %26amp; plates. Suprisingly I have never yet had a toaster in an apartment which would be quite a plus. The couple who run the catering and bar side at the Andreotis have an excellent reputation - indeed they used to be based at the apartments I stay at and many people still go to the Andreotis just for the food so you should be OK. Hope you have a wonderful holiday and let us have a report when you get back. If you need any more info on Cyprus please let me know
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hi
for car rentals try www.economycarrentals.com we will be collecting are C1 class car around 10pm tonight and heading back to Protaras for two wks, cost me £237 for the two weeks.
as to eating out there are loads of places, i,ll be going back to oscars for definate, just accross from McD, we were in protaras last sept eat out every night, every meal was good.
time for case,s in car.
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Thanks for the advice on car hire. Did you book it yourself online or through a travel agent? We might book just for a couple of days - are there some which are more competitive for that length of time? Anyway - have a brilliant time and report back when you come home!!
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Just got back from Andreotis yesterday. Had a fab two week holiday, four adults and ten year old boy. Ate breakfast at Andreotis most mornings, yummy and very good value. Best restaurant by far is Diva, also look out for Erato half way down the strip. Nicolas is lovely too. Had a good meal at Romeos followed by a bad one so not sure there. Tried The Corner, expensive and not as nice as Diva opposite.
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I think it is very difficult to recommend a good restaurant as what one likes another doesn%26#39;t so much. I%26#39;m vegetarian and not fussy - my husband is not veggie and extremely fussy. We%26#39;ve been to Protaras so many time and find our favourites are the Corner restaurant - great food and service. The mexican up past Mac Donalds and on our last visit we found a superb one - unfortunately I can%26#39;t remember the name but it is attached to the Sandra Apts about half way up the strip - it used to be a fish restaurant and go tclosed down and it%26#39;s now owned by an English couple. Not cypriot food but excellent if you want something easy and cheap. Another great place is the Pizza Place across from the Iliada - it looks rubbish but it is honestly excellent. It has an eat as much as you like buffet and although it does Pizza isn%26#39;t really a Pizza Hut!! Try it - you won%26#39;t be disappointed. I wasn%26#39;t very well last year when we were there with a stomach ulcer and we eat there a lot as the food was cheap. good and %26quot;safe%26quot;!!
Best thing about Cyprus is the food - enjoy!!
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Most of our favourite places to eat are at the Pernera end of Protaras , and can be reached by bus or car. We like the Cordon Blue, The Steak and Ale House, La Cultura del Gusto and the Blue Bay Taverna. My elder daughter was very keen on Diva and Rocks in Protaras and we all liked the mexican in Ayia Napa called Los Bandidos.
Paralimni is a nice little town and can be reached by local bus. Makes a nice morning looking around at the shops and then chilling out at one of the cafes in the square before catching the bus back.
Also by bus you can go to Ayia Napa and have a walk round the harbour or the old Venetian monastery, which is particularly nice in the evening, and seems at odds with the surrounding bars.
Early evening you could walk up the steps to the little church Profitis Elias, between Protaras and Pernera, you get a lovely view up there.
If you hire a car there are, of course ,loads of places you can go further afield, these are just a few things you could do locally without one.
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