How to travel in Cyprus without a travel agency
Unlike, for example, Turkey, excursions in Cyprus cost a lot of money. A trip to the Troodos Mountains and the Kikos Monastery with lunch - 65 euros, a trip to the places of the erotic glory of Aphrodite - 45 euros without lunch, etc. In general, the cheapest excursion is 45 euros. Basically, all companies carry on the same routes. But there is an alternative - the operator "Biblio Globus" takes pilgrims and all those interested in Orthodox shrines, and there are enough of them in Cyprus. And the guide is very knowledgeable and good, so I leave his address just in case, because it is very difficult to find such excursions in Cyprus: pafos@bk. ru.
With their help, you can get to the monasteries, which ordinary travel agencies do not carry, and public transport does not go there, except by car.
Gasoline in Cyprus is cheaper than in Europe: 1.2 Euro instead of 1.5 Euro, as in other countries. The cost of the car very much depends on the season and the ability to bargain.
As a rule, a car is rented for at least 3 days. If you want less, you have to look. In general, the cost of a category "A" car is about 30 euros per day, if taken for at least 3 days.
Despite the fact that Cyprus is part of the EU, there are almost no European cars on the streets, except maybe BMW and Mercedes. Basically, everyone drives Japanese and Korean cars. I took Kia Picanto - I didn't like it. The engine is weak, it barely goes uphill in 2nd gear, but at the same time, gasoline consumption with the air conditioner on is about 7 liters. It seems to me that for a class "A" car, this is a lot.
Insurance: it is best to take Full CDW with no Excess. The latter means that you have zero deductible. But this rarely happens, usually offices offer insurance with a deductible of 400 Euros. In this case, the amount of 400 euros must be paid in cash (they will give it to you later) or this amount will be blocked on your card. If you take "...with no Excess", then the rent will cost more.
There are also options with gasoline: either you take the car with a full tank and return it with a full tank, or you immediately pay for a full tank of gasoline, then you can return the car with an almost empty tank. I note that the first option is more profitable in terms of money, but in this case they ask you for a deposit, for example 50 euros, or block an amount of 50-100 euros on the card. If you return the car with a full tank, as expected, then the deposit will be returned to you, or the same amount will be released on the card (approximately 2 weeks later).
The car can be delivered directly to the hotel, then after the end of the rental period, just leave the keys at the Reception.
In general, rental offices work there conscientiously, usually there are no problems.
Important: in Cyprus, there is left-hand traffic, that is, the steering wheel in the car is on the right, and the gear knob is on the left.
A couple of comments on the rules of UD: the rule of the left hand (instead of the right) applies, when entering a roundabout (roundabout), you must always give way to those cars that move in a circle.
In general, when you sit behind the right wheel, the main thing is caution, because everything is very unusual. At intersections, leave only when you see that you are giving way.
There is no railway in Cyprus, but there are excellent roads, and all of them are free. A bus from Limassol to Larnaca or Paphos costs 3 euros one way or 5 euros round trip for one day. Taxis are very expensive: they charge about 3 euros for landing and 1.5 euros for each kilometer.
HITCH-HIKING
Hitchhiking is possible but not recommended and should only be used as a last resort. Once we missed the last bus from Paphos to Limassol. The prospect of spending the night on the beach in Paphos was not particularly encouraging.
Since the taxi was very expensive, there was only one option left - to catch a ride. From the bus station to the exit to the autobahn, one of the bus station employees gave us a free lift in his jeep. By the way, he went specially to take us, and told us in detail where it is best to catch a car, for which many thanks to him.
In general, we had to stand for quite a long time. Many cars passed by, but no one stopped, there were not even hints. After about 10 minutes, a large jeep stopped, a woman was driving, a bunch of children were in the back seat. However, she did not go to Limassol, she offered to give me a lift somewhere halfway to Limassol. I had to refuse.
After that, no one stopped for 20-25 minutes, until the Mercedes finally slowed down, in which there was only one driver. This time we were lucky - our benefactor was on his way to Nicosia and agreed to give us a lift on the way to Limassol.
Drove me to the hotel and took no money.
On the way we started talking, it turned out that the person who helped us out was a Christian pastor (but not Orthodox, I still didn’t understand from which church). I immediately remembered the lines from the New Testament about the good Samaritan.
THE LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION
In general, there are many immigrants from the CIS in Cyprus, so many people know Russian there. And even many Cypriots more or less speak Russian. Therefore, in stores, on the street, you can first ask in Russian, and if they don’t understand, switch to English.
Do not forget that Cyprus is a former British colony, so many people speak English there. In general, we can say that without English there is no way, you need to know at least a basic level. I note that the Cypriots treat the British quite well, although they are their former colonizers. They say that the British at one time did a lot for the development of Cyprus and now they are investing a lot of money in Cyprus.
I tried to tell you that Ukraine also invests a lot of money in Cyprus, because for our oligarchs it is offshore zone No. 1. But they didn't support me.
By the way, there are still a lot of British tourists in Cyprus, while I almost never saw the ubiquitous Germans there. Looks like everyone is in Turkey.
WHAT ARE THEY, CYPRUS?
The population of Cyprus (excluding its northern part) is mostly Greek, but unlike their continental brothers, the islanders are considered more enterprising and hardworking. The driver of the car that drove us to Limassol said that many of them work two jobs. I was surprised that continental Greece got into huge debts, but at the same time the Greeks still do not want to work.
The crime rate in the country is very low. In general, a tourist is a “sacred cow” for them, therefore, no matter what happens, they try to create all the conditions for them.
For example, everyone knows that in July an ammunition depot 25 km from Limassol exploded. The only powerful power plant in Cyprus, Vasilikos, was blown to smithereens, and it provided 60% of the electricity for the country. And what: a rolling blackout occurs only in the depths of the country and in residential areas, but not in the resort area. In hotels, water and electricity are not turned off even for a minute.