Welcome to Cyprus!

Choosing Cyprus to visit with our toddler H at Easter was a pretty easy choice for us.  We were after somewhere warm in March and a holiday more akin to our successful Montenegro with toddler trip (beaches, old towns, ruins) than the resort based experience we’d had in Cape Verde. So, with a quick look at a map of Southern Europe and some recommendations on Cyprus highlights from friends and colleagues, we booked it – a Cyprus roadtrip with a toddler.

Where to visit in Cyprus with a toddler?  Some obvious places jumped out – Paphos (beaches and Roman ruins) and we were recommended the Kourion ruins near Limassol – but there was one major area to discuss.  Should we visit the Turkish occupied North of Cyprus?

No-one we knew had been to the North.  The Greek Cypriots we knew who were full of recommendations for the South advised not going to the Turkish side. Was it safe? Was it doable? Would the effort be worth it? Ultimately, it proved too hard for us to resist and we planned a third of our trip there.  And it was fantastic!!

DID YOU KNOW?  Cyprus is one of the lowest scoring countries in Western Europe (only ahead of Malta) in the Gender Gap Index 2017, coming in at 92^nd overall in the World. A particular area of concern is political attainment, with only around 10% of politicians and ministers being female.

Our Great Family Cyprus Highlights

Cyprus Highlights #1: Discovering how much the family-friendly Turkish Cypriots loved children – it was challenging to go down the street in Kyrenia and Nicosia without someone wanting to play with or kiss H!

Cyprus Highlights #2: For us, the Grecian ruins at Salamis were our favourite ancient ruins in Cyprus. All of the ancient ruins worked fantastically for us – to find out why read my sister blog on why Ancient Ruins with Toddlers make the best day out.

Cyprus Highlights #3: We found Nicosia to be one of the most interesting cities in the world to visit.  It’s the only city in Europe with a border through the middle and moving between the Northern/Southern sides offers a diverse juxtaposition of life.

Cyprus Highlights #4: The harbour and port of Kyrenia was a pleasant surprise. For some reason, our expectations were low but the relaxed vibe plus that H loved visiting the fort made Kyrenia special for us.

Cyprus Highlights #5: Paphos offered a great mix of beaches and ruins (Tomb of the Kings). We were lucky enough to visit in Spring which meant the flowers were in full bloom too.

DID YOU KNOW?  The birthplace of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite is believed to be in Cyprus.  Her mythical birthplace (Petra tou Romiou) is just outside Paphos and is marked by a sequence of large huge rocks along the beach.  Since Aphrodite was the Goddess of love and beauty, many believers swim around her birthplace rock three times in the hope of achieving everlasting youth, beauty and love.

Our Crete Family Travel Tips

• The Cypriots – both in the North and South – are extremely family-friendly and adore children.  Expect your young children to be fawned over and make the most of it. A friendly Cypriot may whisk your child away for a few minutes but think about it as free babysitting.

• Eating out becomes a doddle because children are welcome everywhere.  High-chairs are readily available and, even if they are not, the café/restaurant owners did not kick up any fuss due to H making a mess or running around.

• We visited Cyprus at Easter which meant it was warm enough for beaches and other sightseeing but not too hot.  Consider visiting outside the school summer holidays for cooler weather and less people at the main attractions.

• Most people we spoke to tended to visit just one destination in Cyprus. We wholly recommend travelling around this beautiful island; Cyprus is one of our favourite European road-trips.

• If, like us, you decide to hire a car then go for a reputable car hire firm. We were unlucky enough to have a car that broke down but we only had 45 minutes to endure at the side of a dual carriageway before we were picked up.  Trust me, that was long enough when needing to entertain H when it was nearing his bedtime!

For tips on why we think hiring a car with babies and toddlers is ideal for adventurous holidays and how to navigate the process, then read here.

Finding this interesting? Need a guidebook? We used this guidebook throughout our Cyprus holiday, which included the Cyprus highlights above.  If you are thinking about a Cyprus holiday then CLICK THROUGH to purchase (note – I am an Amazon affiliate member and will receive a small commission if you do buy, but it won’t cost you any extra. Thanks!)

Our day by day Cyprus itinerary

Accommodation Type/s: For our 9 days in Cyprus, we decided to stay in three different places – Paphos, Kyrenia and Larnaca.  We felt these gave us good bases to visit the ancient ruins and beaches in South Cyprus, plus visit North Cyprus which was more of an unknown to us. All of our accommodation was booked through www.booking.com and we chose affordable 2 bedroom apartments throughout.

Our day by day Cyprus itinerary included the Cyprus highlights described above.

Transport used: We hired a car at Paphos airport, making sure it was insured for North Cyprus.  At the end of our holiday, we dropped it off at Larnaca airport.

Days 1-3: Basing ourselves in Paphos, we spent a day at the Tomb of the Kings where there are some immaculately preserved Roman mosaics and archaeological tombs. Our other full day was spent at the beach.  Unfortunately, we experienced a bit of rain in Paphos so we also had some time entertaining H in our apartment.

Days 4-6: The drive up to Kyrenia was long, winding (1 vomit from H), rural and incredibly interesting.  Kykkos monastery offered a very interesting stop with very intricate, gold-plated murals.

When we arrived in Kyrenia, we loved the playgrounds because the locals were so welcoming. A couple of evenings at the harbour including a memorable visit to Kyrenia fort with H in explorer mode were rewarding.

Nicosia was only an hour away and we spent the morning on the Turkish side – a relaxing meander amongst Mosques and markets.  Crossing the border, we could have been in any first-world European city – the hustle and bustle was quite a culture shock after our quiet morning.

Days 7-9: On our drive back to the Greek South, we stopped at the ancient ruins of Salamis which were incredible. The ruins offered a wide open historic and scenic sight for H to run around in.

Almost as picturesque was the old town of Famagusta where we enjoyed a late lunch in front of Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, which was formerly a Catholic Cathedral.

Our two days in Larnaca were mostly spent on the beach plus the small old town, but we also enjoyed a side-trip to Kourion ruins too.

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Welcome to the World for a Girl community. Please share your own ideas and thoughts about Cyprus family travel. Do you agree with our Cyprus highlights or do you have others to add? What tips do you have for Cyprus family travel?