I have decided to create a bit of a mix-and-match post. All the below day trips have not been visited in one day during my Cyprus holidays. For example, I visited Limassol Marina and the Sunset at Aphrodite’s Rock on the same day as all the UNESCO Painted Churches. Ayios Neophytos Monastery, St. George’s Church and the Sea Caves were visited in one day. Lara Beach was part of the trip to Akamas Peninsula which was cancelled last moment; I will describe this trip in my next post about the small village Kritou Terra.

Paphos

I could’ve called this post “Limassol – Day Trips” or “Nicosia – Day Trips”, because Cyprus is a very small country and you can easily day trip (if you have a car) from any location. I’m focusing on Paphos because it’s my favourite town in Cyprus and because it was my base during these holidays.

I have already dedicated a whole post about the historical sights of Paphos when I visited in Spring 2014.

This time around I didn’t do much else in Paphos than watching sunsets from beautiful bars (Suite 48 has a particularly great view)…

…having dinner and drinks with friends and chilling at the hotel (inside because outside it was 44 degrees C).

If anyone would ask me which hotel I would prefer (since I’ve stayed in two) I would recommend Pyramos Hotel over the aforementioned Agapinor Hotel. The reason for this recommendation is: location, location, location. Pyramos Hotel is in the heart of Kato Paphos, where you can find all the nice bars, restaurants, and historical sights. Agapinor was great value for money for someone who already knows the town.

Sunset at Aphrodite’s Rock

In my previous post about Paphos I had already described Aphrodite’s Rock, better yet I had already pointed out that I saw this beautiful sunset in 2015. Finally, I can share the pictures.

And as we were driving towards Paphos I saw something I hadn’t witnessed before: a sunset behind clouds, beautiful!

Ayios Neophytos Monastery

Ayios Neophytos Monastery lies 15km away from Paphos, therefore it’s a great place for a quick visit. The monastery was founded by Saint Neophytos. The newest part of the monastery itself is not really special, apart from the fact that I can’t get enough of churches by the Greek Orthodox church.

What’s special about the monastery, is the original monastery which was built by Saint Neophytos in the 12th century. He used to live as a hermit in a cave. It’s a pity I couldn’t take pictures because inside you’ll find beautiful Byzantine frescoes. It’s just a shame that some people have spoilt the frescoes by drawing on them. There’s also writing on the walls inside the caves.

Something that I noticed in this monastery and that I retrospectively realized about the other monasteries I had seen in the Troodos Mountains is the fact that the eyes and mouths of prophets had been faded out (you might remember the below picture from the previous post).

The receptionist at Ayios Neophytos Monastery told us that this was done by the Ottomans.

The monastery is not really well-known with tourists because there was hardly anyone there, but I would really advise you to pay it a visit since it’s so close to the town.

St. George’s Church

When I googled the significance of St. George’s Church, I found that a lot of weddings are hosted there. I’m not surprised because the church looks gorgeous and the backdrop even more so. There’s a small harbour/beach next to the church which offers great views. If I would’ve had my bathing suit I would’ve gone for a dip in this clear blue water.

Sea Caves and Shipwreck

Driving back from St. George’s Church to Paphos City Centre, we passed signs guiding us to Sea Caves. I had wild ideas about sea caves that you can explore with a little boat. Unfortunately, Paphos does not have that kind of sea caves. I’m not entirely sure why there’s are called caves, but it’s a pretty sight.

Next to the sea caves you can find a shipwrecked boat. The Sierra Leone flagged ship has been stranded on the rocks since 2011. Apparently, there are some issues with the insurance of the owner which is one of the reasons why it hasn’t been removed yet.

Lara Beach

Lara Beach is a place I had mentioned before in my post about the Akamas Peninsula in Spring 2014. I said that my friend and I were lost and couldn’t really find the entrance to the beach. It turns out that we were lucky we didn’t find it, because only 4x4s can enter the beach.

It’s a remote beach in the southern part of the Akamas Peninsula. On the day that we went it wasn’t very busy but it was nicely occupied. I had a bit of an issue with my DSLR camera at the beach. Stupid me, I had forgotten to bring something that could provide some shade. So my friend suggested to give the bag to a Cypriot family who were having a picnic at the beach. I was really stressed out about the bag, but in the end there was nothing to worry about because they gave it back to me in one piece and no sand on the inside.

Lara Beach is famous for its turtles. Quite a few turtle species lay their eggs on this beach, unfortunately I didn’t see a turtle. But when we were driving away from the beach I noticed stacks of stones; so I walked up close to them to take pictures. I was wondering why there were piled up like that and saw all kinds of Blair Witch Projects scenarios in my mind. At the centre of the stones I found a sign. I walked through the piles to get to the sign and it said: “No entry. Turtle Nests”. Great! Why would they place this sign in the middle of the stones! I hope I didn’t disturb any babies…

Limassol Marina

Last time I visited Limassol the Marina was not yet finalized. This time around I visited the Marina, but I didn’t want to dedicate a whole post about, that’s why I’m adding it here. Limassol is an easy day trip from Paphos.  The Marina is worth an afternoon for coffee and lunch/dinner. It’s a great area with nice cafes and lovely restaurants.

Conclusion

Paphos has so many different options in terms of day trips! The ones in this post don’t include all the day trips I have made during my trip in Summer 2015, but the other ones will appear in future posts. My next post will be a rather short one and will focus on Kritou Terra, a small village in Cyprus.

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