Nothing can beat a good break away from the freezing weather!
Nice sandy beaches, great apartment, yummy food, great watersports, lively nightlife, shopping, nice people = Protaras, Cyprus!
Travel and Accomodation
We're so glad to get the self catering 2 weeks deal of Firstchoice. We have no problems with the flight except when we were waiting for our baggage. Larnaca Airport is not a massive one. The carousel where we were waiting for our baggage had three assigned flights, so it was quite a long wait. As we went out the airport the representatives of Firstchoice asked for our booking name and gave us the number of the bus that would take us to our apartment. It was about 45 minutes travel from Larnaca to Protaras and we were all dropped off to our designated hotels.
The Alva hotel they gave us was fantastic, where you can have a great view of sunset and the Mediterranean sea! Just don't be surprised of the welcome grocery pack for about £8 and the safety depost box for £20 :-(
Beaches
Fig Tree Bay is the nearest beach near our apartment and it's the most famous in Protaras. The water is crystal clear, though so cold for me :-( Many still enjoyed swimming. I should say there are not too many beaches there as the place has loads of hilly, rocky seaside.
If you go to Ayia Napa, Nissi Beach is the best for us. There was a live DJ and loads of beach pub/bars.
Watersports
There were loads of watersports if you don't feel like having a swim. My favorite was the paragliding. You may think it's dangerous but it's not. At first I was scared but when we're starting to go up high it was so nice. We were 200 metres high above sea level, the view was so great! Just be sure to properly position on your sit or else you'll have aching thighs afterwards. I would recommend the glass bottom boat over the boat trip. They both go to same route but the glass bottom is cheaper. There's kayak, flyfish, donut, aqua bike, jetski, waterski, etc....
Nightlife
Karaoke is very popular in Protaras, so try to practise your favourite songs before going there :-) If you're staying near the pubs/bars with nightly shows, you might be annoyed with Elvis as he is very alive in Protaras! If you're a fan of Friends or Only Fools and Horses, you'll enjoy visiting their pubs and viewing your favourite stars. You may try the Ghetto Bar with their nightly Madonna and Ali G performers.
Restaurants
Most of the restaurants are serving English food though there are still some that serve the native Cypriot dishes. Don't forget to try their meze where you will be given with up to 26 small servings of different dishes. There's Mc Donalds, some Chinese Restaurants, Brazilian, Italian, and International restaurants.
Transportation
Their bus service is every hour. The fare is fix from Protaras to Paralimni or Protaras to Ayia Napa which is 50 cents. You have to be patient to wait for the next bus if you'll miss one and they are not that on time. If you're travelling in a group it might be good if you hire a taxi. If you're staying longer, you may hire a car or a scooter. It's good to have a taxi, car, or scooter if you'll go to Cape Greco as it's quite far from the highway.
Supermarket / Shopping
There are many supermarkets especially if you'll have a self catering package. There are also loads of souvenir shops you can find nice gifts for friends or family back home.
Excursions
There are loads of excursions available: Sunday Markets, Troodos Mountains, Camel Park, Nicosia trip, Cypriot night, Jerusalem, Egypt, etc. If you plan to go to Jerusalem or Egypt, try to check out your passport or their visa requirement before going there. You might be asked even if it's just a one day trip.
Other places of interest:
1. Ocean Aquarium Park- where you can see loads of variety of fish, penguins, crocodiles, etc.. 2. Paralimni 3. Nicosia - be ingtrigued with the Cyprus-Turkey history (especially Famagusta) 4. Ayia Napa
Important things to note:
1) Don't drink tap water. They usually advise us to drink mineral water. If you want to save, you should boil the water first.
2) Their drainage system is not so good as they say. Get use to the idea of putting the toilet tissue in the bin.
3) If it's not summer yet, don't forget to bring jacket as it might be chilly in some nights.
4) Don't forget your sunblock and shades!
5) Don't forget your camera for the precious moments to spend there :-)
6) Summer might reach up to 40 degrees celcius or more!
7) It's safe in Protaras.
8) It's good place for anybody.
Would I love to go back there? I'd love to but I guess I'd prefer to try visit other places in Europe as well. But I highly recommend the place for an excellent break!
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
May 27th, 2004
very helpful by (84%):
helpful by (16%):
