CYPRUS · EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
The Blue Lagoon, sea caves, and the island where Aphrodite came ashore.
Boat cruises along the wild Akamas, wreck dives off Larnaca, painted churches in the Troodos, and a long sweep of beaches from Paphos to Protaras. The best of Cyprus, reviewed.
Only in Cyprus
Three things you can only do here.
Beaches and boat trips you will find right across the Mediterranean. These three you will not. The lagoon, the wreck, and the painted mountains each belong to this island alone, so it is worth building the rest of the trip around them.
On the water
The Akamas Blue Lagoon
The sea off the wild Akamas peninsula turns a luminous turquoise where pale limestone meets deep Mediterranean blue. No road reaches it. Boats slip out from Latchi, drop anchor inside the lagoon, and you swim in water so clear the hull throws a shadow on the seabed far below.
- 1 Blue Lagoon (Akamas) Bus & Boat Tour with Water Slide from Paphos
- 2 Cpt Marko – Blue Lagoon & Turtle Cruise with Optional Lunch
- 3 APHRODITE II -LAZY DAY CRUISE-BLUE LAGOON,TURTLE COVE, with LUNCH
Under the surface
The Zenobia wreck
A brand new cargo ferry that rolled and sank off Larnaca on her maiden voyage in 1980, and came to rest almost whole on her side. Divers rank her among the finest wrecks anywhere on earth. Articulated lorries still sit chained to her decks in warm, clear water a short boat ride off the promenade.
- 1 Half-Day Scuba Diving Tour – Discover Scuba Diving!
- 2 Private Discovery Dive + Photos & Videos
- 3 Discover Scuba diving
An hour inland
The painted Troodos churches
Climb from the beaches into cool pine forest and the island changes character entirely. Tucked into mountain villages are small steep-roofed churches whose interiors hold some of the richest Byzantine frescoes in the world, ten of them protected by UNESCO. The slopes around them have grown wine for four thousand years.
- 1 100% Cyprus – Tour to Troodos mountains and villages (From Paphos)
- 2 Troodos Mountains Villages: All Inclusive Food & Wine Day Tour
- 3 Troodos Peaks & Mountain Flavors Day Tour from Paphos
Aphrodite's island
One island, and a different country every hour you drive.
The old Greek myths put the birth of Aphrodite on a rock off the Paphos coast, and the island has been collecting stories ever since. Phoenician harbours, Roman mosaics, Crusader castles and Venetian walls all sit within an afternoon of one another. Turn inland from the beach and the air cools, the road climbs into pine forest, and you reach stone villages that have pressed wine since the Bronze Age. Cyprus is small enough to cross in a morning and old enough that you never quite reach the end of it.
The crowd favourite
Start with a sure bet.
This is one of the most-booked experiences in Cyprus, and the reviews back it up. Make it the easy first yes: lock it in, then build the rest of the week around it.
The favourites
The most booked tours in Cyprus.
Blue Lagoon cruises, the Zenobia wreck, the Cape Greco sea caves and the wine villages of the Troodos. The trips that fill first, and the reason most people come to the island.
By place
Pick your corner of the island.
Cyprus changes as you move around it. Paphos for the ruins and the harbour. Ayia Napa and Protaras for the beaches. Larnaca for the wreck lying offshore. The Troodos for cool air and painted churches.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
A fast catamaran if you want range along the coast. A dive on the Zenobia for the wreck everyone talks about. Sunset sails, jeep tracks into the hills, wine roads through the vineyards, and the rest.
The famous water
If you came for the Blue Lagoon.
The turquoise off the Akamas is the shot that brings most people to Cyprus. Boats reach the same lagoon from Latchi in the west and from Ayia Napa in the east. These are the three sailings we would book first.
Under the surface
The wreck and the reefs.
The Zenobia off Larnaca is rated among the finest wreck dives anywhere, and the sea stays warm and clear well into autumn. Three dives and snorkel trips for getting below the surface.
When the light changes
The evening sail.
The Mediterranean does long, slow sunsets, and the coast looks its best from the water. Sunset cruises with dinner and a last swim stop, for the end of a hot day. Three we would happily book again.
Away from the coast
The days inland.
An hour from the beach the island turns to pine forest, stone villages and vineyards four thousand years old. Painted Troodos churches, wine roads and jeep tracks, for when you want a day off the sand.
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