So, I've done a lot of 'travel' posts over the past few weeks, I know. But I thought this one would be really fun to put together, because I can share some holiday snaps and share what I did with you, as well as give any of you heading over there some ideas of where to go.
For a bit of background: We stayed in Pafos at the Avanti Village and the apartment we had was absolutely wonderful - well decorated, great facilities, and top notch air conditioning.
My first recommendation would be visiting an archaeological park. We went to the
Kato Paphos Archaeological Park, Kourion Archaeological Site and to Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaipafos.
I'd recommend the Kato Pafos site for the House of Dionysus which is full of mosaics that are in brilliant condition and feature intricate designs. There is also an Odeon there to check out.
I'd highly recommend the Kurion archaeological site for those who want to see a bit of everything - the columns above are located there, there are the ruins of houses, baths and there is an ancient theatre there, too.
The site of Aphrodite's sanctuary is mostly known for the ruins of the sanctuary itself but there are loads of artefacts from different periods onsite. I'd seriously recommend going to check those out, they are really well preserved.
Castles are always fun, right? We were going to visit Pafos Castle but it was closed for the opera (which wasn't starting until after we left, boo) however we did see Kolossi Castle as part of our road trip (more on that later). It is only a quick visit that you'll be making, but I'd recommend it, just so you've seen a whole range of stuff.
Finding Troodos Geopark was a hilarious mess on our part - we turned back down the hills just before the turn off for the park without even realising and had to drive back up.
The area is home to Millomeri Waterfalls, which you can see above. The waterfall is so beautiful and you can actually get in the water and have a bit of a swim/splash about - the water is really cold but it is so worth it.
Cyprus is sometimes known as Aphrodite's Island, which probably has something to do with her birthplace being located there. It's a quick stop to see, unless you chose to go down to the beach, but its a cool thing to see.
A trip to somewhere like Cyprus wouldn't be complete without spending some time at the beach. Our holiday rep suggested Coral Bay, which we did visit, but we all much preferred the Pachyammos Beach in Pafos. It was not only closer to the hotel, but it was also so much nicer - it's a bit more secluded, there are lawns, the water is crystal clear and there is plenty of space. I loved it and would recommend it over Coral Bay.
In order to see as much as we could during the week we were there, while also relaxing and swimming and reading, we decided to go on a bit of a 'road trip' of the West of the island. We had gone to the Kato Paphos Archaeological Park earlier in the week, and I would recommend doing that separately like we did.
On our road trip, we went to (in this order):
Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaipafos, Aphrodite's Birthplace, Kourion Archaeological Site, Kolossi Castle, we stopped in Limassol for lunch, and finally Troodos and Millomeri Waterfalls.
By doing this you drive down along the coast from Pafos, then along the Southern coast towards Limassol, up to Troodos and then you can easily get back to Pafos.
I'd highly recommend seeing some of these things in a one day road trip style because it is so much fun, it feels like an adventure and you get to see far more than you would if you tried to make separate trips to each thing.
So, I hope you enjoyed this post. I hope I've achieved my aims of a) telling you a bit about my holiday and b) giving you some recommendations in case you're jetting off there any time soon.
Have you been to Cyprus? Where did you enjoy visiting most? Which of the places that I visited do you most like the look of? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts. Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for reading, you darling human beings.
Have a totally groovy day!
GingerSnaps xxx
