Cyprus

[BrightonBelle]

Hot pants and two pistols as well BB ?

Of course Mr Von!

BB x

 

[Von Smallhausen]

Rar !!!

 

[Participant]

Thanks all, some very handy info.

Leon made us eat prickly cacti

Strange name for it, but whatever floats ya boat!

I'm off to Paphos in a month, with the missus, but staying just outside it. Thomson Gold holiday which means no kiddies - bliss

My hotel is adults only too...no screaming kids, no footballs hitting my Pina Coladas, ultimate relaxation!

However I know nothing about hotels or touristy things as I go there purely as a "local" - but if you need any help whilst out there feel free to drop me a mail.

Thanks for the offer, appreciated .

I lived there for a few years until 2007...(

Cheers, some useful info there.

Clubbing on holiday isnt my bag either, unless it's as part of a stag do.

The other thing I remember is haloumi cheese...I love it so much and am going to eat it by the bucket load .

 

[Freefaller]

It is rather gorgeous. Grilled on a BBQ! I like it poached on some goulouri (type of bread) with Cypriot honey.

 

[Cosimo]

Grilled haloumi wrapped in prosciutto with some lightly dressed tomatoes is a dish to kill for.

 

[Illusion]

I'm off to Cyprus in a few weeks aswell, Protaras this time, I went to Ayia Napa last year.

Does anyone have any rough idea of pricing for various water sports on offer there? Jet skiing is probably the most likely thing I'd try but I have also seen you can hire speed boats to explore the coast line.

 

[SoSolid]

If you want to go to Southern Cyprus may I suggest that you save yourself the airfare and the time spent travelling and just head up to Manchester instead. This is a much more efficient way to enjoy the delights of drunken english loughts fighting in the streets and demonstrating their alpha male qualities to the onlooking overweight, foul mouthed, english ladies who are looking to breed.

 

[wesley]

I'm off to Cyprus in a few weeks aswell, Protaras this time, I went to Ayia Napa last year.

Does anyone have any rough idea of pricing for various water sports on offer there? Jet skiing is probably the most likely thing I'd try but I have also seen you can hire speed boats to explore the coast line.

i hired a self-drive speedboat, no licence needed as long you look 'mature'. it was so much fun! . but you cannot go near the coastline, have to stay behind the water bounces thingy which is pretty far away from the coast. maybe 100 meters away.

if i remember right, it was just over 100 euros for 30mins, right at top of fig tree bay, protaras, just got off of Golden Star hotel where we stayed there 2 years ago. which hotel you're staying?

 

[Illusion]

If you want to go to Southern Cyprus may I suggest that you save yourself the airfare and the time spent travelling and just head up to Manchester instead. This is a much more efficient way to enjoy the delights of drunken english loughts fighting in the streets and demonstrating their alpha male qualities to the onlooking overweight, foul mouthed, english ladies who are looking to breed.

Lol? Bit extreme. I guess you'd rather be in a remote village somewhere surrounded by sheep. I understand what you mean but I think people over exagerate things like this big time. You could go to lots of places in Cyprus less than a mile from the crazy areas and do things without crossing paths.

 

[Illusion]

i hired a self-drive speedboat, no licence needed as long you look 'mature'. it was so much fun! . but you cannot go near the coastline, have to stay behind the water bounces thingy which is pretty far away from the coast. maybe 100 meters away.

if i remember right, it was just over 100 euros for 30mins, right at top of fig tree bay, protaras, just got off of Golden Star hotel where we stayed there 2 years ago. which hotel you're staying?

I'm not 100% sure of the name I'd have to check the documents from thomson. I just know it's protaras so I guess fig tree bay is going to be nearby? A boat sounds tempting, that isn't as expensive as I expected it would be.

 

[[TW]Fox]

If you want to go to Southern Cyprus may I suggest that you save yourself the airfare and the time spent travelling and just head up to Manchester instead. This is a much more efficient way to enjoy the delights of drunken english loughts fighting in the streets and demonstrating their alpha male qualities to the onlooking overweight, foul mouthed, english ladies who are looking to breed.

This is pretty much how I imagine most sunny European holiday destinations with the exception of places like Monaco, bits of the South of France, etc etc. They just seem to attract this sort of thing. Madeira is another that seems to escape it.

That said you can avoid the chavvy areas if you try - I went to Majorca and hated it until we realised that if you went to the North of the island it was a little too far from the local Theme Pub for the average Brit and therefore far nicer.

Personally I'd just avoid Europe entirely for now and go as far away as you possibly can. Long haul air travel for holiday purpose is unsustainable and will not last for ever. Time is running out. Why waste valuable years holidaying in English tourist filled beach resorts a few hours from the UK when there is an entire planet out there to see?

Lots of Europe is fantastic - but it'll still be fantastic when we can no longer afford to fly to North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. I really want to see as much of Europe as I can - but I just feel its best done later because its on our doorstep, so to speak.

 

[daz]

If you want to go to Southern Cyprus may I suggest that you save yourself the airfare and the time spent travelling and just head up to Manchester instead. This is a much more efficient way to enjoy the delights of drunken english loughts fighting in the streets and demonstrating their alpha male qualities to the onlooking overweight, foul mouthed, english ladies who are looking to breed.

Are you stupid or just ignorant? There's more to Cyprus than Ayia Napa in July and August.

 

[wesley]

I'm not 100% sure of the name I'd have to check the documents from thomson. I just know it's protaras so I guess fig tree bay is going to be nearby? A boat sounds tempting, that isn't as expensive as I expected it would be.

when you get there, make sure you visit magic water dancing show which right next to mcdonalds on the main road of protaras. you cannot miss it and it's well worth it.

 

[manveruppd]

I'm Cypriot but haven't been to Paphos in years, so can't help much with places to eat etc. They do have amazing antiquities round there though. People have mentioned most of them, but if you've got half a day to spare you might also want to head to Kourion, a Graeco-Roman town halfway between Paphos and Limassol. Well-preserved amphitheatre with impressive acoustics (among other ruins), still used fairly frequently for concerts and theatre today, no clue how to find out what's on though, sorry. Half an hour to drive there, 2-3 hours to see everything there.

I'd agree that Nicosia probably isn't worth the trip. I'm from there and I always tell people it's a great place to live but you wouldn't want to visit it! Not much to see for a tourist. If you do go, just park inside the moat around the old city and ogle at the Venetian walls (and try to picture them at least 30m taller as the moat's been filled in) then walk around the pedestrian shopping area inside the walled city, maybe wander off the main pedestrianised streets and get lost a bit. (Don't worry, you won't stay lost for long, if you walk in one direction you'll hit the walls again, if you walk in the other you'll hit the Green Line.) There's a few pretty little churches and some cozy old-fashioned coffee shops, also a couple of decent museums. A few art galleries and arts&crafts shops too (the within-the-walls part of the city is a little bit of a boho area, most of the population is students, immigrants, and young artsy types).

If you cross into occupied Nicosia go see Ayia Sophia (and the ruins of another church next to it). They're unique in that they were built during Frankish rule (13th century I think) so they're western-style basilicas rather than the typical Orthodox-style domed church. There's nothing like them in all of unoccupied Nicosia (unless you count the walls, and they're 200-300 years younger), they're like the one single thing left from the time of the Crusades, stubbornly sticking it out surrounded by a city that's mostly been built over several times over since then.

Leon made us eat prickly cacti.

Indian figs as they're known in English, in Greek we call them "shoefigs" (papoutsosika), presumably cuase the peel is tough as boot leather! Most refreshing fruit ever, but I think you'll be slightly too early for it, iirc they ripen in August. I might be wrong though (I fail at botany), if you pass a fruit stand take a look - they've got a green and prickly peel which is quite hard to take off, so sometimes people sell them already peeled - they've got a moist, orangey flesh with lots of pips (which you're supposed to swallow) and are vaguely oval in shape.

 

[Unluckyalf]

Half of me would love to see Cyprus again but the other half would probably hate what its become. Last time i was there was 36 years ago!

I know my house is still there though, only nobody can get to it

 

[Iraklis F.C.]

I take it your a refugee from the northern occupied part?

 

[Freefaller]

I'm off to Cyprus in a few weeks aswell, Protaras this time, I went to Ayia Napa last year.

Does anyone have any rough idea of pricing for various water sports on offer there? Jet skiing is probably the most likely thing I'd try but I have also seen you can hire speed boats to explore the coast line.

You can go skydiving - I know it's not a water sport, but it rocks!

Lots of scuba places available, sailing, waterskiing etc... it's all available.

 

[Wicksta]

Wow certainly a lot of holier than thou types here. Personally I'm not into clubbing on holiday either but there are plenty of places near Pafos so that you don't have to do that if you don't want to.

 

[Illusion]

when you get there, make sure you visit magic water dancing show which right next to mcdonalds on the main road of protaras. you cannot miss it and it's well worth it.

Thanks I'll look that up.

Scuba diving is a good suggestion above aswell, cheers

 

[SteveOBHave]

Terrible place - full of nasty tourists and naff English bars full of trash bags. It's really hard to find anything related to Cypriot culture or cuisine.

If you want to go to Cyprus go north - it beautiful and interesting.