We visited Cyprus after a busy month travelling around the Middle East followed by a quick visit over to Budapest and Salzburg for a wedding. When the time came around for us to fly to Cyprus, we were exhausted! Cyprus was the most perfect destination to end of busy month of travels. We had five days to explore the island in our little Suzuki Jimny and spent the majority of our days beach hopping and eating ALLLLL the halloumi. Cyprus has something for everyone and here are our favourite places included as part of our Cyprus 5 Day itinerary.
Day One – Nicosia & Latchi
We arrived into Ercan late the evening before and took a transfer from Ercan, across the border to Nicosia. That night we basically found a local restaurant for dinner (featuring halloumi of course) and crashed after a massive day of travel.
We woke up feeling fresh and ready to explore all that Cyprus had to offer! We started our Cyprus 5 Day itinerary by spending our first morning wandering the streets of Nicosia. Before we’d planned to visit Cyprus I am ashamed to say that I really wasn’t aware of the history of this island nation and that it still remains divided to this date. Nicosia is a really interesting city in that it is the only divided capital city in the world. The northern section is considered part of the occupied territory (Turkish section) and the southern section is considered to be Greek Cypriot. The ‘Green line’ that divides the capital city is patrolled by the United Nations and has been ever since it was created in the early 1960s.
We don’t have many photos from Nicosia as the one time I did get my phone out to snap a photo of the green line border (like so many I’ve seen online) we were told off by the guards, so put it away and just experienced te city for ourselves. In hindsight, or if we’d had longer on the island, I would have given ourselves a full day to explore Nicosia as it definitely had a lot to offer.
After a delicious breakfast at a local cafe, we picked up our car hire for the next few days. We’d booked with local company, Champion Car Rentals and paid €220 for 5 days hire of a Suzuki Jimny (our island car of choice as we’d had a blast exploring Paros in Greece a few years ago in one of these too)!
We drove a few hours across the south and up the west coast of Cyprus to the small charming fishing town of Latchi, home for the next few days. We spent the afternoon exploring the local beaches, enjoying local cuisine and relaxing by the pool at our hotel, Latchi Family Resort.
Day 2 – Akamas Peninsula
Today was the day we were probably most excited about: exploring the unspoiled Akamas Peninsula. The Akamas Peninsula in northwest Cyprus is one of the most beautiful places on the island. It’s also one of the least inhabited places, making it a paradise for hikers, 4x4ers and boaters! There is no main roads, just dirt tracks and footpaths along with an extensive range of wildlife, crystal clear bays and endless beautiful landscapes to explore!
We started our day in the Akamas Peninsula early and drove to the Blue Lagoon in our 4×4 from Latchi. I was so glad that we started early as we spent a few hours in the lagoon, sharing it with only a few small boats and by the time we were heading off, a lot of the larger boats had pulled up and there was a lot of people there. Like anywhere, it is popular because it is so beautiful.
We then spent the rest of the day slowly driving back, stopping at isolated, beautiful coves and beaches to swim and snorkel. The Blue Lagoon and Manolis Bay were our two favourite places in the Peninsula.
The road is fine for experienced 4x4ers or at least those who have driven off road a few times. We often go offroading in our Ute at home, but still found that there were a couple of fairly sketchy parts on the track! I would hate to think what it would be like for those who’ve never driven off road.
You can read our top 10 tips for exploring the Akamas Peninsula by Car. If however you aren’t keen to take your own car then you can always hike the Aphrodite Trail, rent a quad bike, hire a boat or jump on a charter boat tour for the day!
We finished our day off with a bottle of wine, sunset and dinner at the hotel. It was by far our favourite day of the trip.
Our favourite place on the island was definitely the Akamas Peninsula and we’ll be choosing some pictures from there to hang in our house. I am planning to buy some photo tiles for something a little different to showcase our wonderful memories from our time in Cyprus.
Day 3 – Tochni
After breakfast and a swim, we had a leisurely start ahead of our drive to Tochni. We drove along the coastline to Lara Beach, a beautiful secluded beach where sea turtles lay their eggs at various times of the year.
Next up we stopped to see some beautiful sea caves and the shipwreck of MV Demetrios II. Our final stop of the day was at Petra tou Romiou, also known as Aphrodites Rock. It is a popular beach, just off the highway and is considered the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite. Legends say that if you swim around the rock formations three times you’ll be blessed with eternal youth, beauty, good luck, fertility and true love. The sea was too rough to swim out to the rocks, but I can imagine on a nice calm day it would be really beautiful. I also think it would be a great spot for sunrise or sunset!
Our final destination was our home for the evening, the charming village of Tochni. Tochni is considered one of the oldest villages in Cyprus and is one of the most charming villages we saw during our time on the island. Cyprus has countless unique, charming villages and it is definitely worth spending a day or two away from the coast to experience them.
We spent the afternoon strolling around the village and picked up some local cheese, meats, wine and olives which we enjoyed on the balcony of our agrotourism apartment as we watched the sun set over Tochni. Tochni is one of many ‘agrotourism’ villages in Cyprus, where original, traditional Cypriot stone houses are restored and preserved.
It was a wonderful insight into village life in Cyprus and I was sad we didn’t have more time to visit other charming villages.
Day 4 – Ayia Napa & Protaras
This morning after breakfast, we jumped back in our trusty Suzuki Jimny and were well and truly ready for a big day of beach hopping!
Our first stop was beautiful Makronissos Beach. Makronissos Beach is located in Ayia Napa and is a quieter beach than nearby Nissi Beach. Makronissos Beach is a wide beach located on a former reef and so there are amazing rock formations around the beach, but still endless amounts of soft, white sand. The water was as crystal clear and perfect for swimming.
Next up was nearby Nissi Beach, which has been described as the most beautiful beach in Cyprus and also the best beach in Europe. Nissi Beach is a clear, shallow cove with white sand and magical blue water. On low tide it is possible to walk across a sand path to the small island of Nissi which is covered in small shrubs and plants. We arrived at Nissi Beach around lunchtime and the beach was soooo crowded, however it was still ridiculously beautiful, definitely one to visit early in the morning or during off season.
After we’d lazed around in the calm, beautiful waters of Nissi & Makronissos Beaches we drove to our hotel, Grecian Park. A pricey hotel but well worth the splurge for a luxurious final night of our holiday.
Next up we drove to nearby Protaras, which is described as the more family-friendly version of Ayia Napa where we had a beautiful lunch on the beach at Fig Tree Bay.
Fig Tree Bay was quieter than the Ayia Napa beaches and was without a doubt one of the most beautiful beaches in Cyprus. It takes its name from the fig trees which line its coast. The shallow, calm waters make it the perfect family beach. We loved it because it was a lot quieter than the rest of the beaches in the region and just so beautiful. We spent most of the afternoon in the water at Fig Tree Bay before eventually dragging ourselves back to the car to have a rest in the air conditioning before dinner.
We continued our final hotel splurge with a delicious seafood dinner at the neighbouring Spartiatis Restaurant before crashing into the last wonderfully soft and comfortable bed that we would sleep in for a few days.
Day 5 – Cape Greco
We woke up on our last day of holidays feeling wonderfully refreshed from our time in Cyprus (I also think a good sleep in a five star hotel helps as well haha)! After a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel, we ventured down the steps from the hotel to beautiful Konnos Bay below.
Konnos Bay is a small cove with calm waters thanks to its sheltered location. We loved that it was surrounded by greenery all over the cliffs. The water in Konnos Bay was magical and we were so lucky that it was within walking distance of our hotel!
We then hopped into the car and spent a few hours exploring Cape Greco, with the highlights being the Ayioi Anargiroi Church, Love Bridge, Sea Caves and Blue Lagoon. Cape Greco was so beautiful but I feel like we were so spoiled in the Akamas Peninsula that it felt a bit too busy for us. Perhaps we did things the wrong way around and we should have ended in the Akamas Peninsula…
Our final few hours were then spent relaxing by the pool at Grecian Park before showering and heading to the airport for the long trip back to Australia, feeling content and happy after completing our Cyprus 5 Day itinerary.
Final thoughts on Cyprus
Cyprus is such a beautiful country and one we’d love to return to one day. It was the perfect place to relax and explore after a busy month of travels around the Middle East. Five days was enough to have a wonderful taster of the island and if we were to return, there is plenty more to see and do.
For anymore interested in seeing more about the green line in Nicosia, one of the best sites online with photos and information is this article from a photographer who was allowed into the green/buffer zone to photograph the area: Rare Photos inside the UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus.
Hopefully our Cyprus 5 Day itinerary will help you to plan your trip to this beautiful country.
Let us know if this Cyprus 5 Day itinerary helps you to plan your Cyprus trip!
This post was written in collaboration with Hello Canvas.
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