Paphos (Cyprus)

Welcoming and friendly market town next to the beach with palm tree lined avenues sparkling with festive lights and an abundance of bars, clubs and hotels.At christmas huge Christmas trees adorn hotel receptions, decorations, baubles etc are everywhere. It is a pretty and welcoming resort, it is not crowded at this time like the busy summer months.

The cypriots are so very hospitable,liking to welcome vistors and make everyone feel at home, they like the british! eating in their restaurants is like going to a friends - relaxed and informal it is so easy to while away the afternoon/evening without one glance at the watch! - Their menus are a mixture of traditional greek food to plain chicken and meat dishes for the less adventurous, I recommend their 'Meze' a sumptious traditional Cypriot dish which is a large(very!)selection of dishes including dips(taramasalata etc), fresh fish (including squid) , meat dishes (including lamb kleftika),vegetable dishes (such as stuffed vine leaves) and salads - it is a delicious banquet of cypriot delights that never seems to end and is usually accompanied by free wine - look at the board outside to see the best offers, they do vary from restaurant to restaurant. I paid £8 for my son and I for two meze meals, we were given two free bottles of wine..two to three hours later we thought about going. (and fortunately the hotel was not too far along the street)

We went to Paphos christmas 98 and enjoyed a great time, sampling the local dishes, testing the cocktails (there are some intersting ones worth trying) and enjoying a really wonderful christmas dinnner at a local hotel where Santa had arrived by helicopter!and presented all the children with a gift.

Taxis are always available and charge £3 for anywhere in Paphos. The market itself is a must with its under-cover market of stalls and shops offering everything from food to china, but my favourite buys were the boxed porcelein dolls at £3 each, cypriot hand-crafts and embroidered table sets. The jewellery is also good value here and is mainly 18ct gold - there are a number of jewellers to choose from and they will gift wrap for you at no extra cost.

The hotels are of a high standard with an array of bars and facilities that non guests can usually visit.The overall atmosphere of the resort is laid back with everything being relaxed and easygoing there is no pressure on time, there is no hurry for you to finish meals, leave if you have finished and just want to chat (in general they will stay open as long as you are there!) The cocktails are an adventure in themselves - and some are truly lethal, one in particular I tried really hit me for six!

Paphos is excellent for children as the bars and hotels welcome families, the bars actually welcome children in the evenings providing them with games and usually free popcorn while their parents can have a chat and a drink with their friends.Christmas afternoon there are family bars open with bowling, pool, but no fruit machines as gambling is banned, but there are some good game machines my children enjoyed.

Overall this is a good resort in particular for families I enjoyed it and I know my children did, although it was our first christmas abroad there was a real festive feel to the resort and we enjoyed the festivities and banquets there, without worrying about who would be driving or doing the washing up!!

We booked this trip on the internet a day before flying out and paid less than £200 each for the week half board over christmas, it was a definite bargain and one that I would book again.