Cyprus Holidays and Escorted Tours
Cyprus rewards the sort of holiday where somebody else does the driving. The island is small enough to cross in a morning, yet it holds Roman floor mosaics still in the rooms they were laid for, Byzantine churches painted on mountainsides, and villages where the bread comes out of a communal oven.
Our Cyprus holiday is based in Paphos on the west coast, with a guide throughout and mornings given to the sites, the wine villages and Cypriot cooking. Afternoons are left free, so there is time for the sea, the shade, or a long lunch.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Cyprus Tours
A fair amount, and much of it on uneven ground. Sites such as the Paphos mosaics and the Tombs of the Kings are walked on gravel paths, bare rock and the occasional flight of rock-cut steps, and there is limited shade. Village lanes in the Troodos are cobbled and often steep. Nothing is strenuous, but sound footwear matters. If you have concerns about a particular day, ask us and we will talk you through what it involves.
The tour is based in Paphos, in the south-west of the island, and travels within the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, with the northern third under Turkish Cypriot administration and a United Nations buffer zone between. None of that affects a holiday in the Paphos region, which is a well-established resort area with good roads to the mountains and the south coast.
Return flights from the UK, with the quoted price based on departures from London Gatwick, plus return private coach transfers in the UK. Seven nights' accommodation is included, along with all breakfasts and evening meals, transfers and transport throughout the tour, the services of a professional guide, and entrance fees to the places visited. The holiday is ATOL protected. For details of the UK coach arrangements for a particular departure, please ask us.
Yes. Alongside our scheduled Open Group departures, we run Cyprus as a Private Group holiday for clubs, societies, church groups and groups of friends travelling together. You take the whole tour, and the itinerary can be adjusted to suit the group's interests, whether that leans towards the archaeology, the wine villages or a gentler pace. Talk to us about numbers and timing and we will put a costing together.
The mosaics and ruins of Paphos
Paphos has two halves. Kato Paphos, down by the harbour, is where the archaeology is: a coastal site of Roman villas whose mosaic floors were only found in the 1960s, when a farmer struck one while ploughing. The House of Dionysos alone runs to some two thousand square metres of third-century flooring, laid with hunting scenes, sea monsters and the odd unflattering portrait.
A short way inland are the Tombs of the Kings, cut down into soft rock in the Hellenistic period and built to look like houses, with columns and courtyards for the dead. No kings were buried there, as it turns out, only wealthy officials.
South along the coast, the sea stacks at Petra tou Romiou mark the spot where Aphrodite is said to have come ashore. The upper town, Ktima, is the working Paphos: a covered market, back streets and coffee served slowly.
Troodos villages and Cypriot wine
Inland from the coast the land climbs quickly to the Troodos massif, topped by Mount Olympus at just under 2,000 metres. Scattered through these hills are the painted churches, ten of which carry UNESCO listing. From outside they look like farm barns with steep pitched roofs; inside, every surface is covered in Byzantine frescoes, some more than 900 years old.
This is also the wine country. Cyprus grows grapes that have largely stayed put: white Xynisteri, red Mavro and the more temperamental Maratheftiko. Its sweet Commandaria is often described as the oldest named wine still in production, made from sun-dried grapes in a handful of villages on the southern slopes and known to crusader knights.
Villages such as Omodos and Vouni are built for shade rather than views, with cobbled lanes, vine canopies and a monastery or church at the centre.
Eating in Cyprus
Cypriot food sits between Greece and the Levant, and it arrives in quantity. A proper meze can run to twenty small dishes and is not a starter but the whole evening: dips, grilled halloumi made from sheep's and goat's milk, koupepia rolled in vine leaves, wild greens dressed in lemon and olive oil.
The set pieces are cooked slowly. Kleftiko is lamb sealed into a clay oven for hours until it falls apart; souvla is larger cuts turned over charcoal rather than the small skewers found elsewhere. Village bakeries still work stone ovens, and the local sweet things lean on carob syrup, almonds and rosewater.
Our tour includes a cookery session as well as meals out, which is a better way to learn what goes into these dishes than reading a menu. Evening meals are included throughout.
