Ultimate One Week Cyprus Itinerary
Updated: Feb 1
Cyprus is a popular tourist destination, mainly due to its warm Mediterranean climate, which makes the island suitable for visiting any time of the year, and its stunning sea views.
Check out my other posts to learn more about the best time to visit Cyprus and to read about the best places to stay in Cyprus.
In this post, I will share with you the plan for our recent vacation in Cyprus (our second home, as we spent almost 5 years there before) - the ultimate one-week Cyprus itinerary.
High-Level Itinerary & How to Get to Cyprus
The cheapest way to travel to Cyprus is to use low coasters. There are plenty of options from major European cities - check out the suggestions on Aviasales. As we were coming from Luxembourg, we bought tickets from Brussels Charleroi airport, and even if we added the transportation costs from Luxembourg to Charleroi, the tickets were at least 2 times cheaper than if we bought them from Luxembourg.
Our flight arrived in Paphos: not the most convenient option for us (there is an alternative airport in Larnaca), as we were thinking of spending most of the time in Nicosia and Larnaca, but we decided, that it's a good opportunity for us to explore the Paphos region better.
The initial plan was to fly to Paphos, take a rental car and head directly to Nicosia, where we were planning to stay for 4 nights, combining our stay in Nicosia with daily visits to Larnaca, Protaras and maybe Troodos mountains.
Then, to spend 2 nights in Protaras, 1 night in Larnaca, and 4 nights in Paphos. In total - 11 nights, but for first-time comers, I would recommend just shortening the stay in Nicosia by 2 nights, in Protaras - by 1 night, and in Paphos - by 2 nights. In total, the ideal period to spend in Cyprus would be around 6-7 nights - more than enough to see the main attractions of the island and recharge your batteries. For accommodations, check out what Booking suggests.
So, we arrived at Paphos airport, took a car (there are plenty of options from core European providers, with more or less the same prices and packages) and instead of coming directly to Nicosia (which is 150 km from Paphos, around 1h 45 minutes of drive), we stopped in Limassol for lunch. The popular chain of seafood restaurants Ocean Basket is one of the safest options for having a quick lunch or dinner.
After that, we headed to the Larnaca seaside, to walk along CTO, our favourite beach, and then we finally turned to Nicosia.
Exploring Authentic Nicosia & Sunny Larnaca
Nicosia is an amazing city - the last divided capital of Europe - and the most authentic city in Cyprus. There are plenty of attractions, historical spots, nice cafes and restaurants. For recommendations on what to see and where to go in Nicosia, check out my previous post.
For our first dinner, we went to Moondog's Bar & Grill in the favourite corner of Nicosia and then went for a walk to check out how the main streets of Nicosia have changed over the last couple of years. The impression was that the historical centre had changed significantly: due to the renovation works of Elefteria Square, which the Cypriots finally completed a year ago.
Our schedule for the upcoming 2 full days in Nicosia was more or less the same: we were socialising, and visiting nice places for food and drinks, most of which we tested when we lived in Cyprus. Also, every day we went to Larnaca for a few hours to enjoy the seaside.
For tourists though, I would recommend picking up activities from my post of the best things to do in Nicosia.
Why did we go to Larnaca from Nicosia and even come back there from Protaras? Larnaca is a nice authentic place, where you can find not only the beautiful sea and comfortable beaches but also nice cafes, restaurants, and important historic attractions.
Explore the Finikoudes promenade, go inside the Medieval Castle of Larnaca to learn more about the history of this place, and get some cool air to be able to continue your walk. Have a look at the Church of Saint Lazarus, which was built in the 9th century and known by Saint Lazarus of Bethany, who was appointed as the first Bishop of Kition (Larnaca) by Paul the Apostle and had his second death there, in Larnaca, with this Church being his tomb.
Continue walking towards McKenzie beach - a place where you can see the planes leaving Larnaca airport, and relax in one of the numerous beach cafes and restaurants. One of the places that we can recommend is Food Park City, not for the food (which is average), but for nice Aperol Spritz cocktails and the amazing sea view.
For a nice lunch or dinner, check out Almar Seafood Bar. This place is a bit expensive (around 25 EUR per portion) but they serve amazing food, especially fresh local fish and octopus. Cafe Sea Joy is a good option if you are looking for something closer to Finikoudes and would like to have shisha as well.
Enjoying Stunning Agia Napa & Protaras
In Protaras, we spent 2 nights, and it was enough to enjoy stunning sea views and explore beautiful promenades both in relaxing Protaras and more lively Agia Napa.
We stayed in a hotel close to Kalamies Beach - a beautiful quiet place, that is suitable for a relaxing day on the beach.
In Agia Napa, I suggest checking out the new Agia Napa Marina and seeing the amazing Nissi Beach (the one in the photos below). This beach is always crowded during the high season, so it's better to come here in the morning or evening to enjoy the beautiful views.
Check my other post to learn more about Protaras and Agia Napa! (check out the pictures of Agia Napa Marina and info regarding some other beaches of this beautiful region).
Sightseeing While Travelling to Paphos
As we were flying back from Paphos, it was logical for us to finish our trip to Cyprus by exploring the western part of the island. Paphos is the least explored area for us, so we decided to stay there for 4 nights to explore this part better.
On our way to Paphos, we stopped in Limassol district, to explore two attractions: Kolossi Castle and Rocks of Aphrodite.
Kolossi Castle is a former Crusader stronghold in Kolossi village which is 14 kilometres west of Limassol. The Castle was originally built at the beginning of the 13th century and then rebuilt in the middle of the 15th century by the Hospitallers. Now the Castle is a Museum, and it's open every day from Monday to Sunday from 8:30 am until 17:00 (winter) / 19:30 (summer). Check the updated hours on their website.
The area Kolossi is also known for its sweet wine - Commandaria. According to the legend, at the wedding banquet following King Richard the Lionheart's marriage to Berengaria of Navarre at Limassol, he declared Commandaria to be the "wine of kings and the king of wines." Now Commandaria is considered to be the oldest continually-produced wine in the world.
After Kolossi, we went to see Aphrodite's Rock (Petro tou Romiou), which is, according to the legend, the place of birth of the goddess Aphrodite. We are not fans of this place: it's overrated, overcrowded, and overall, there is nothing extraordinary - just a few rocks of different sizes.
Getting Lost in Green Paphos, Troodos & Polis
Town of Paphos
In Paphos, we stayed in a hotel close to Coral Bay beach, which I enjoyed a few years ago when my family was visiting me in Cyprus, but this time I was disappointed.
The beach is still nice, but not as beautiful as the beaches of Protaras and Agia Napa (as we went there before, I could distinctly see the contrast). Also, the water was so dirty, that I couldn't stop counting the number of plastic glasses and orange peels while swimming.
In the evening, we went to explore Paphos: starting from the Paphos Castle, we walked by the harbour and continued exploring the island along the endless beautiful promenade.
Paphos Castle was a Byzantine fort built to protect the harbour; in the 13th century, it was rebuilt by the Lusignans and dismantled by the Venetians. In the 16th century, it was rebuilt by the Ottomans when they conquered the island.
The views are amazing, and we also spend some time observing the local cats - the kings of this island: they are respected by locals and tourists, and they look amazing - I think they deserve at least a couple of photos.
Polis Area
For the next day, we planned to explore Akamas National Park, which that worth attention to, but it was +35 degrees, so we decided to postpone hiking in the largest natural park of Cyprus to our next trip and go explore Polis areas instead.
We made our first stop at the Edro III Shipwreck. Edro III was a cargo ship built in 1996 and ran aground off Pegeia in October 2011. After the accident, there was a lot of research regarding how to take the ship off the water, but in the end, it was decided to abandon the ship due to the complexity of the work of towing the shipwreck. Now it's one of the local attractions.
In around 30 min by car (30 km), we reached Polis and stopped for a couple of hours at Latsi beach - a nice one, where we came back the next day as well. For lunch, there is a nice local black Yialos Beach Grill House with an amazing sea view and delicious souvlaki dishes.
After that, we continued our trip to the west, to Pomos, where we spent some time enjoying nice views of its tiny picturesque harbour, quiet and peaceful and charming beach.
Then we returned to Paphos, had a walk along the promenade, and enjoyed our dinner in the historical centre. For drinks, we went to Bedroom Craft Pub - a nice place (a bit overpriced though), where they serve our favourite beer Pivo as well!
Day Trip to Troodos
The next day we went for a day trip to Troodos, to repeat one of our favourite hiking trails.- Artemis Nature Trail, a circular path around the Olympus Mount, which starts and ends from the parking lot of the Cyprus Ski Club, at an altitude of 1850m. The trail is around 8km and is relatively easy. While walking you can enjoy panoramic views of Cyprus from the top, and it's a perfect choice for someone who visits Troodos for the first time.
For other ideas on what to do in Troodos, check out my other post.
After Troodos, we came back to Paphos via Limassol and checked out the Pissouri beach - a beautiful relaxing place, quite popular among tourists and locals.
Last Day in Paphos
As we have already seen the major attractions of Paphos, like the Archaeological Site or Tomb of Kings, we decided to skip them this time, and instead had a relaxing day sunbathing at Latsi beach in Polis and observing the local cats while walking by the seaside in the centre of Paphos.
Overall, for those who have already visited this island, 10 days in Cyprus is a bit too much, but if you shorten the number of days and fit the above attractions and things to do into one week's schedule, with additional things to do in Nicosia and Cyprus in general, then it would be the perfect itinerary for first-time comers to this beautiful island.
Comments