Polis & the Akamas Peninsula (Cyprus)

...in a small town called Polis which is about an hour north of Pafos. This area benefits from being relatively unspoilt so you get to see more of the 'real' Cyprus rather than Pafos which is so commercial now it is pretty much like a hot England! Polis is starting to expand however and a lot more tourists are visiting this area, so unfortunately in the upcoming years it will change quite dramatically. This area is particularly beautiful and benefits ...
...Pafos were travelling up to Polis to take boat trips or hire boats because the coastline is more attractive.

POLIS

Polis itself is very small but definately worth a look if you are visiting the area. It has a small picturesque town square which is full of small cafes which turn into bars at nightime. There are a few little craft and gift shops to take a look at as well. If it's nightlife that you are after then you are ... more

I know I've written a lot of reviews recently but it's keeping me entertained while I'm not working and milling around the house, so I hope you can all keep up!! My keyboard on my computer is also a bit naff so please excuse the fact that I can't include any pound signs in my review!!

I lived in Cyprus for nine months last year so have a load of information to give. So this is going to be a long one so I hope you aren't all bored to tears by the time you get to the bottom but here we go...

ABOUT CYPRUS:

I lived on the north west coast of Cyprus in a small town called Polis which is about an hour north of Pafos. This area benefits from being relatively unspoilt so you get to see more of the 'real' Cyprus rather than Pafos which is so commercial now it is pretty much like a hot England! Polis is starting to expand however and a lot more tourists are visiting this area, so unfortunately in the upcoming years it will change quite dramatically. This area is particularly beautiful and benefits from having the Akamas Peninsula on one side of it and the Troodos Mountains on the other. The only problem is that because it is quite secluded then you will need to hire a car or take a bus to other areas of the island.

The coastline in this area is particularly beautiful compared to other parts of the island and lots of toursits who were staying in Pafos were travelling up to Polis to take boat trips or hire boats because the coastline is more attractive.

POLIS

Polis itself is very small but definately worth a look if you are visiting the area. It has a small picturesque town square which is full of small cafes which turn into bars at nightime. There are a few little craft and gift shops to take a look at as well. If it's nightlife that you are after then you are NOT going to find it here! I say the cafes turn into bars at nightime but they are still very quiet and relaxed. If you want a proper club with loud music and a bit of a dance, then you need to go to Pafos.

I would recommend Liquid Lounge in Polis where once a week they have a musician called Andy Crafter who plays a variety of music that would be suitable for all age groups. He is very talented and mainly plays acoustic guitar. Quite often he is joined by Mike Dabo who wrote 'Handbags and Gladrags' and 'There she was just a walking down the street, singing do wa diddy diddy dum diddy doo!!!!" (sorry got a bit carried away there!) If you are fortunate enough to be able to go and see him he is absolutely amazing and I would have paid to go and see him but it's completely free!!

LATCHI

Three kilometres west from Polis is the fishing harbour village of Latchi. Again, this is very small but definately worth a look. The harbour is particularly beautiful in the evening and has a whole host of fish tavernas alongside. I would definately recommend dining at Yiangos & Peter's fish restaurant which is the last restaurant along the harbour. The fish there is by far the best and the fish meze is fantastic! Don't be lured into Porto Latchi on the corner next to the main road. This is the restaurant that will definately catch your eye as it looks stunning and is in a 300 year old building. Although the atmosphere is lovely, the food is expensive and the fish is not as good as you will get at Yiangos & Peter.

WATERSPORTS

What is fantastic about Cyprus at the moment is that if you hold a valid driving licence then you can hire a boat for the day and take it out yourself! However, this will soon be changing now that Cyprus is part of the EU so if you are visiting then make sure you take advantage of this before the laws change.

There are a couple of different watersports companies in Latchi and Polis but I would recommend Latchi Watersports without a doubt! You can't miss it, it's the big turqouise building and has a jet ski hanging above the door!! My boyfriend worked here for the summer so knows all of the inside info about the different companies, which I won't go into but put it this way if you want the safest most professional company then go here!!

You can do everything from hiring a boat, to parasailing, tube rides and diving courses as well. If you hire a boat then you can pay a bit extra to take a tube (a rubber ring that you sit on and is dragged behind the boat) along with you by yourself. This is fantastic fun and trust me you'll regret it if you don't!! I was the only person not to fall off the tube and I'm very proud of the fact!!

We took a boat out on my birthday and myself and all of my friend who came, agreed that it was the best day of the whole summer! We went along the coast popping in and out of little coves. There are caves that you can swim through, a beach that can only be reached by boat and the most amazing of all BLUE LAGOON! It is absolutely stunning!! The water is so clear you can see all the way to the bottom and it looks like it's been dyed with blue ink! You can see some amazing tropical looking fish here so make sure you do some snorkelling (snorkels are provided free with the boat.)

A little tip on the snorkelling side. Take a loaf of bread with you and crumble it up in the water. Within minutes you will be completely surrounded by fish!! I did it and it was actually quite daunting how many fish arrived!

DON"T FORGET TO BUY AN UNDERWATER CAMERA!! You can buy a disposable one at the centre.

Prices for watersports are as follows:

Boat Hire:
Depends on the size of the boat but the smallest is 30 hp and costs:

1 hr - 22 pounds
2 hr - 33 pounds
4 hr - 44 pounds
Day - 66 pounds

Diving:
2 dives - 45 pounds

Parasailing:
single tow - 20 pounds
double tow - 32 pounds

Jetski:
15 min - 19 pounds
25 min - 27 pounds

I haven't included all of the costs but you can see the full price list and more information at www.latchiwatersportscentre.com.

If any of you ever visit then make sure you say hi to the team from me!

BEACHES

Unfortunately there aren't any sandy beaches on this side of the island so you don't stand a chance of getting in and out of the sea gracefully!! The nearest sandy beach is Coral Bay in Pafos, but trust me it gets PACKED in peak season.

There is a beach at Polis which is sandy but gets pebbly by the shore. It's not the best beach in this area though and is a bit unsafe. It is next to the woods by the camping site and lots of people have been groped or had people reveiling themselves to them here (I would stay clear of this beach if I were you!!!) Trust me, I've had personal experience of this and it's not very pleasant when all you're doing it trying to soak up the sun!!

The beach at Latchi is very big but can get a bit windy some days, depending on the time of year that you are visiting. It is also right next to the main road so you can feel a bit exposed to all of the tour buses driving past! It's not a majorly busy road though so it's not too much of a problem!

My favourite beach is Aphrodites Beach which is further west along the coach from Latchi. Unfortunately it is too far to walk so you would need to hire a car or get a taxi. It is a pebbly beach but quiet and more secluded than Latchi Beach. It also benefits from having a cafe right next to it where you can get food and drinks. The water is so clear here that you can see lots of fish. It's better with snorkels but as a mentioned before if you take some bread and crumble it, so many fish will come that you won't need snorkels to be able to see them! The people in the cafe are really friendly and if you ask them they will give you loads of bread for free. I asked one day and they loaded me up with it! I had to tell them that I already had plenty!! Aparantly they get asked for bread all the time so don't feel shy in asking.

CAR AND SCOOTER HIRE

If you want to hire a car there are a few places in Polis and Latchi that you can go to. A few of them are a bit sneaky and don't have set prices so they can charge more for the tourist or people that they think are a push over (don't go to Odysseus in Polis)! For this reason I would go to Yiannis in Polis which is next to the square. He is a very honest, helpful man and I can vouch for him because he was my landlord!! If you are wanting to hire a car or a scooter make sure you ask a day or two before. Don't go on the day you want one and expect them to have one available!

If you are getting a scooter I would think carefully about it first, due to all of the people that have accidents!! I got a scooter and it took me ages to master it. If you haven't driven a scooter before then they will take you for a lesson before they let you have it. This is free of charge.

You can also rent mountain bikes which is definately the cheapest option but I'd only recommend it if you have a short distance to cover. Unless you are very fit of course!! Just bear in mind how hot it gets at certain times of the year!

I think it costs about 25 pounds a day to rent a car, 7 pounds a day to rent a scooter and only a couple of pounds to rent a bike. The prices are discounted if you are renting them for a longer period of time.

I have so much more I want to tell you but I think that I should break it down into two seperate reviews before I overload your poor brains!! I'll do another review soon with some more info on places that are good to visit.

Thanks for being patient enough to read through all of that!  

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