When two of my friends decided to get married (to each other) in Ayia Napa Cyprus last year (September 2003) I jumped at the chance for a two week break away with them and 50 others to share in their big day. As someone who thought Ibiza was the clubbing capital Ayia Napa never really appealed to me, my two weeks there changed my mind completely.

We actually stayed outside Ayia Napa in Nissi Bay, at an apartment complex called ‘Stavrolia’ (Nissi Bay is about a three minute taxi ride or twenty minute stroll from Ayia Napa) the apartments were very clean and spacious and the cleaners were regular and through in their duties, there were balconies in every apartment (two in mine). The resort is run by a friendly man called Christophe who is aided my various family members and an old family friend called Lucy who does most of the cooking (absolutely lovely and dirt cheap) all of who are incredibly friendly and literally available 24 hrs a day to help you out. The pool was not massive but was clean and big enough for pool side bathing and a basic dip and quick swim. (Just across the road you have the five star Adams Beach Hotel that you are able to ‘sneak’ into, their pool is massive and even features a bar where you can sit on stools in the water and order your drinks from) the thing I personally like about Stavrolia was the fact that they cater more for adults and couples so we was lucky enough not to be over run with children (good if you go abroad for drinking and relaxation and do not have children of your own) The apartment complex had various night features, such as karoake, pool table, darts, cocktail nights etc but was not somewhere that you would want to spend a lot of your evenings.

Nissi Bay beach is absolutely lovely, white sand and clear sea – with many on beach bars and DJ on beach as well, when we were there we were lucky enough to have a foam party that was great fun in bikini’s. There is a lot of water sports including para-gliding, the banana, jet ski’s, hire of peddle boats and even a bungee jump when you walk a bit further up the beach. The only worry about the beach was that I gets very busy, very quickly so you need to get down there early to get a good spot and while the beach is mainly clean, many tourists do leave a lot of rubbish / cigarette butts.

It is said Cyprus has 364 days of sunshine a year and I must admit we went there in September and it was hotter than the last time I was in Spain in peak season – so maybe there is some truth in that.

Car hire is readily available, if you walk between Ayia Napa and Nissi Bay you will see at the very least seven or eight places and though prices vary the most common seemed to be about CYP£80 for three days in a Suzuki Jimny convertible jeep – Moped hire is also readily available but as your rep will warn you the highest cause of tourist accidents / fatal accidents are caused on these then I would recommend you think very carefully before hiring one. (a quick look at the fast moving traffic will drive this point home to you) if you prefer the slower option you can also hire peddle bikes.

Ayia Napa and Nissi Bay have restaurants aligning each street, we had some wonderful meals out there it is also very varied so whatever you fancy is easy enough to get hold off. If you like Chinese Food then the best meal (one of the best I have had anywhere) is ‘Pagoda’ just on the front Ayia Napa Strip down from the sling shot park. Well worth a visit. Quite a few places do Meze’s (a selection of local food) which are always good to try. Another favourite of mine is the Los Banditos Mexican Restaurant which is situated just behind the square. Eating out is not always cheap, be prepared for the cost of your meal to vary drastically depending on where you eat, we did find it quite expensive.

Now this is where Napa really comes to force – there is never a dull moment here whether you are young, old or middle aged. If you want to take the whole family out for a nightly drink in Napa I would recommend the Irish Bar Luke Kelly’s this is fantastic place (do not visit without trying a Baby Guiness!) which is full of friendly people and the bar staff bring your drinks out on trays so not queuing at the bar.