Cyprus 2024 - Part 3

Part 1 covered the start of our holiday to Cyprus, part 2 was our day out exploring, and part 3 wraps up the rest of the trip. This part can really be summed up in one video, as we mostly spent our time relaxing by the pool and enjoying restaurants and bars in the evenings.

Hotel breakfast was epic. We loved sitting out on the balcony with a glass of champagne as the sun came up — the perfect way to start the day.

Straight after our first breakfast, we headed to the pool hut to choose our allocated sunbeds for the week. This was hands down our favourite feature of the hotel. You get to choose your sunbed, it’s yours for the entire week, and you can change it if you’re not happy. No early alarms, no fighting for the best spot, and no passive-aggressive towel reserving at 5am. Every morning we’d nod to the pool attendant, who had already set up our sunbeds with fresh towels, chilled water bottles in a cooler, and — most importantly — a buzzer to summon pool bar service.

On the first morning we had a bit of rain, but in true British fashion we stuck it out for a couple of hours, sitting in our swimsuits under an umbrella pretending this was totally normal. Luckily it passed quickly and was followed by glorious sunshine.

Most of the week followed a very similar rhythm, mainly because this was very much a rest-and-recover holiday. We’d have breakfast, spend the day by the pool, forget how cold the pool actually was, jump in anyway, instantly regret it, and then spend the rest of the day lying on the sunbed in the sun trying to warm back up. The hotel was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. The service was proper five-star, with the buzzer making it dangerously easy to order drinks or food. The pools were spa-quality (if a little on the cold side), and the spa itself was fantastic. We both had full-body massages — I loved mine, while Lee enjoyed his slightly less after specifically asking them to avoid his injured leg… which they then focused on.

The cocktails were unique, each with its own meaning or story behind it, and every one we tried was excellent. Breakfast was outstanding too, with an incredible amount of choice and the option of champagne — which we took full advantage of most mornings, except after the nights where we’d perhaps enjoyed ourselves a little too much.

In the evenings, we’d head into town for a wander, stroking as many cats as possible along the way, before choosing a restaurant and a few bars to try.

Ayia Napa wasn’t the type of party town I was expecting at all. It was mostly families and couples like us out enjoying the town, with surprisingly few hardcore party groups.

My sister Kirsty did an amazing job of sending us recommendations for places to eat, bars to visit, and things to do — and every single one was spot on. Some of our favourites were:

• En Yevo Tavernaki — a traditional restaurant where we had the meze: lots of small Greek and Cypriot dishes, and very reasonably priced.

• AVRA Authentic Cypriot Kitchen — well recommended for good reason. Fun, friendly, and delicious. 

• Senior Frog’s Party Bar — fantastic atmosphere, cheap drinks, and ridiculous light-up cocktails

• The Square Bar — live music every night, and genuinely good live music rather than the usual holiday-resort singers. A great open-air vibe and perfectly positioned between the quieter town area and the party street.

We did venture into the party district for a couple of nights, but I honestly can’t remember all the names of the bars we went to — there were a quite a few, and they were all good.

As you’ll see from the video, Ayia Napa is full of contradictions: serene and beautiful, mature and elegant, yet also wild and party-ready. There really is something for everyone.

We were also lucky enough that our last night coincided with the Ayia Napa Festival. We got to see traditional arts and crafts, local food and the techniques used to make it, regional produce, music, dancing, and even a puppet show — none of which we understood, as it wasn’t in English, but it was still brilliant. We learnt a lot about the history and culture of local life, alongside some of the more modern creative scenes outside of the tourist bubble. The finale was a big open-air concert with local singers and dancers, and it was a fantastic way to end the trip.