Know before you go : Cyprus Edition

In this article, I’ll make an overview of everything useful to know before going to Cyprus, including some travel tips.

You’ll find : 

Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean basin, located south of Turkey north of Egypt, east of Greece and west of Lebanon and Syria. It’s the third largest island in the Mediterranean after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

Its capital and largest city is Nicosia. It is the world’s last divided capital city. Indeed, after the Cyprus crisis in 1964, both Greek and Turkish Cypriot respectively segregated into the south and north of the city. After Turkey invaded the island in 1974, this separation became a militarized border between the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus

Cyprus is 240 km long maximum and 100 km wide, the island’s population is around 1,2 million people.

The best time to visit Malta would be on the shoulders seasons, so either in May-June or September-October.

We went end of September and it was a great weather (around 28-30 degrees everyday at least). I would not recommend trying to come in July or August as the weather is hot and there are way more tourists on the island.

The currency in Cyprus is the Euro.

Almost every restaurants and grocery store accept the card for paiements, but you should withdraw some cash for small museums tickets, bakeries…

Prices in Cyprus restaurants quite affordable, for example moussaka of souvlaki main dishes were around 10-13€, a trio of dips served with pita bread served as a starter was 6€ at max, we even found tzatziki for 1€ at some places ! However if you go to more touristy places, it will get more expensive.

Regarding the places to visit such as the various activities or the different boat rides, to give you some examples, the boat day to the Akamas Peninsula was 33€ per person and the museums are between 2-5€.

Regarding accomodations, you can find a lot of Airbnb / hotels on the island for around 70€ per night for two people. We chose to stay in Tochni village which is not touristy, so we paid way less (50€ a day for two people !). If you’re interested in booking it, here’s the link. It was a nice studio, with everything you could need for a short stay. Plus the host was really welcoming and helpful.

Clothing : I would suggest packing first a hat or a cap as well as sunglasses and sunscreen because the sun is strong, and you’ll definitely need it if you come to the Akamas Peninsula and the Blue Lagoon.

Of course, bathing suits, and nice trainers if you plan on walking. 

Adapter: Cyprus uses Type G power outlets, so most travellers will need a plug adapter. A power bank is also handy for keeping your devices charged during a long day of exploration !

There’s a lot to bring back from Cyprus !

Food : When exploring the different villages, you’ll come across a lot of food related items to bring back such as the olive oil, olives, wine, jams or my favorite : the delicious halloumi cheese that is not so common in other parts of Europe.

In Cyprus there’s also a lot of carob trees, so you’ll find many carob-derived products. This healthy alternative to chocolate is referred as “black gold” by Cypriots and is said to have many health benefits.

Traditional items : If you are looking for a traditional souvenir you can bring back lacework, embroidery, or silver jewellery !

The official language is Greek in the south and Turk in the north, however you’ll find that everyone has a decent level in English.

But here are a few words you can use in Greek (as the northern part of the island is less accessible and touristy, so you probably won’t need to know so turkish words) :

Hello : Γεια [Yah]

Thank you : Ευχαριστώ [eff-kha-ri-stoe]

You’re welcome : Παρακαλώ [para-kah-loe]

I understand / I don’t understand : καταλαβαίνω / Δεν καταλαβαίνω  [katalavaíno / then kah-tah-lah-veh-noh]

Sorry : Συγνώμη [See-ghno-mee]

My name is… : Με λένε… [may leh-neh]

Yes / No : Ναί [nee] / όχι [oh-hee]

As we came from France, our mobile plan included internet and calls in Southern Cyprus. So my advice would be to turn off you mobile data when getting close to the Northern border and download offline maps (either on Google Maps or on the app Maps.me).

However if you need to buy a SIM card upon arrival, you can look for Epic or Cytamobile (Vodafone) at the airport, it has great options available for tourists and it’s not that expensive.

Now for renting a car, I recommend booking via Kayak. It allows you to filter on category, capacity, price, choose options and advantages… However I wouldn’t recommend FIRST autolease as they rent very used cars in poor conditions.

Also note that most car rentals company in the South of Cyprus don’t allow driving the car in Northern Cyprus. That’s why we skipped Golden beach, Salamis and Saint Barnaby Monastery.

There’s a lot of things to see in Cyprus ! You can spend a day in visiting an archeological site, discover the many beautiful beaches, or have a boat tour…You won’t be bored a second !

Here’s a list of the best things to do on the island :

That’s it for my Cyprus travel tips ! To have a lot more information and pictures about these places, you can read my ultimate Cyprus itinerary.

I have also made a detailed post about the food specialties to try out in Cyprus.