Кипр - супер! Cyprus is great!

I want to share my impressions of Cyprus in general and the Cynthiana Beach Hotel in particular. We rested there, however, for a long time, in September 2010. But it's only now that I've been able to write. I went there with my daughter. She was 14 at the time. I chose the hotel for a long time, re-read the entire Internet, because there were certain requirements for the hotel. Firstly, I wanted to go to Paphos - there is something to see. I wanted a hotel that was not noisy, quiet. And not very expensive. Plus, the view from the window of the room is preferably on the sea. And close to the beach. Everyone liked Cynthian. The child is not small - the entrance to the sea did not bother. Vouchers were taken in the Biblio-Globus. There are no complaints about the tour operator. Departure-arrival on time. Transfer too. From the airport in Larnaca two hours away. The hotel is located about seven kilometers further than Paphos, therefore, at first the tourists were taken to all the hotels located in Paphos itself, and then we were taken. There was no Russian speaking staff at the reception. Actually, it's there, of course. Just at that moment, no one was found. And there are Russian speakers at the beach bar. My English is no - "hello", "goodbye" and something from a phrasebook. My daughter, of course, is better - at that time the school curriculum was for the 7th grade. We explained on our fingers that we wanted to settle on the highest possible floor (the sea view was paid for even when buying a ticket, it turned out to be three thousand more expensive). They gave us a room on the fourth floor in the farthest wing. To the restaurant and the beach, of course, not very close (well, about five minutes), but quiet. And when they went out onto the balcony, they simply lost the gift of speech - beauty !! ! The building stands on a high rock and the sea is right below the balcony. Always the sound of the waves. These are numbers eight hundred or nine hundred, it seems. If you go to Cintiana, be sure to take a room with a sea view, you won't regret it. The room is nothing special. Old, but clean: double bed, armchair, TV, etc. Regarding food. We are not spoiled people. I'm generally omnivorous. The daughter, of course, showed off. But vegetables, cheese, french fries, etc. saved us. We took breakfast and dinner. If you wish, you can replace dinner with lunch - only in the morning you need to warn the restaurant. It suited us, because. During the day we were almost never at the hotel. Breakfasts in Cintian are ordinary, continental. For dinner, everything is there - fish, meat, fruits, soups, ice cream, etc. About the animation. Very unobtrusive. During the day, some games were played on the yarn, but we were not interested. In the evening there were some theme nights, but the music reached our room a little bit. We went to bed early and got up early, because it’s not so hot in the morning - you can go somewhere. We swam in the pool a couple of times to check in. It's not ours. We came to the sea, and not to splash in a puddle. The rooms were not cleaned very well. But it didn't bother us too much. Not a bar. Yes, and I am such a person that I clean the bed, garbage, etc. myself - I don’t like a pigsty. The maid did not have to strain much. They left money (1 euro). It didn't get better. The copra on the floor seems to have been vacuumed a couple of times in ten days. Towels could not be changed. They began to throw it on the floor - it helped. Excursions. Our guide on the first day tried to persuade everyone to go everywhere. We initially decided to rent a car and did not intend to go on excursions. But since. we were told that there are very steep and narrow serpentines in the mountains, and we should not forget about left-hand traffic, then we decided to take an excursion to the mountains. After we went, I can say that if you are not quite a beginner behind the wheel, you can also go by car. We went to the Kykkos monastery. Very beautiful, but a lot of people, some kind of fuss. On the way we stopped at another monastery, Panagia Chrysoroyatis - we liked it there. There are no people. You can calmly collect your thoughts. The view is again very beautiful. We had lunch somewhere in the mountains in a restaurant. Then we climbed to Olympos - the highest point of the island - a miracle, how beautiful. The sea is visible. The pines there are some interesting - without tops. In the Troodos mountains, in general, it is very, very beautiful - sheer abysses, rocks, in a word - I recommend visiting. On the way back we were taken to a mountain village. Well, the village is a relative name, especially in our understanding. Stone cobbled streets, cafes in the shade of trees. Lots of stalls and shops. Grandmothers are sitting on the porches - knitting lace. It's very nice to take a walk. Of course, they dragged us to the "necessary" shops: to a jewelry store, to a wine tasting. Everyone rushed to buy wine. And they are exactly the same as near the hotel, only an order of magnitude more expensive. So you don’t need to buy anything on excursions, but I realized that later. You can only buy the Commandaria in the Kykkos Monastery - supposedly the monks do it. I also bought small icons and consecrated them at the image of the Kykkos Mother of God - as a gift for my friends. One day we went to the famous Coral Bay beach. It is located even further from Paphos. It takes fifteen minutes to get there by bus. From the hotel to the bus stop, walk about ten minutes along a dusty road past banana plantations. At the crossroads with the main road there are several shops and cafes. One shop (right at the turn to our hotel) we really liked. We bought water, beer, chocolate and almost all souvenirs there. Souvenirs in it were cheaper than in Paphos. Well, of course, the magnets are different, Zivania vodka in souvenir packaging for men (rubbish, in their opinion, rather smelly moonshine), ceramics, key chains, etc. Let's return to Coral Bay. Coral Bay is a very pleasant sandy, or rather coral, beach. There are a lot of people, especially children. The fact is that in Paphos the beaches are mostly stone and rocky, and the entrance to the water is by stairs. Let's say our Cynthian has two entrances to the sea. One directly into the sea immediately to the depth, but since winds and, accordingly, waves are not rare in Paphos, a red flag often hung over this entrance, which means that entry into the water is prohibited. Another staircase leads to a small lagoon. Water in it to the waist and a little more. There are no waves, and if there are, then only where the water from the sea overflows over a low stone ridge that separates the sea from the lagoon. My daughter loved to ride the waves in this place. Small children all bathe in this lagoon. If they do not reach the bottom, then in inflatable circles. The lagoon is just like a swimming pool. I also want to say about Coral Bay that sunbeds and umbrellas are paid there. Beach workers go and collect money. There is a cafe on the yarn. About a hundred meters from the shore - a stone island. We swam on it, but it was difficult to climb it, because the stones are very slippery. Now about renting a car. At first we wanted to take it to some small company near the hotel - it's cheaper there. But then there were no cars and it was necessary to wait for someone to hand over the car back, then there was no Russian-speaking worker, and I didn’t want to agree on such a serious matter on my fingers. We ended up renting a car from our tour operator. It cost us about 60 euros per day (they took three days), plus gasoline. In the morning they brought us Nissan Note directly to the hotel. Driving in Cyprus is on the left. Many do not want to take the car because of this. Nothing wrong with that. You get used to it in half an hour. On the first day we drove towards the Akamas peninsula. The road there is dirt. It's even further away from Paphos towards Coral Bay. The road runs along the sea - very beautiful. We arrived at the Avakas gorge, along which paths were laid, all sorts of bridges. Signs hang with the names of trees. The English love to visit it. We didn’t go far along it, because it was getting hot and we really wanted to go to the car to the Conder. And some groups went deep into the gorge fully equipped (some mountain boots, ropes, helmets), apparently they were going to do rock climbing. Further, our path lay in Polis, in the bay of Latchi. We decided to visit the baths of Aphrodite. From Paphos to Polis kilometers 37. The roads in Cyprus are very good. There are signs everywhere. The locals drive very carefully. Cars rented by tourists have red license plates. And the indigenous people always make allowances for the fact that they have a right-handed newcomer in front of them. We didn't see the cops. You can drink beer while driving, but without fanaticism (a bottle is different). Polis is a very pleasant town. It's worth going to it. In Cyprus, most of the beaches are municipal. Swim in any. So we stopped near one of these behind Polis in Latchi. The road ran along the sea. We left the car on the side of the road and immediately swam. Here, right on the beach, we had lunch in a cafe. The bartender caught a Russian speaker. I ask him: “How much beer can you drink while driving? ”. Says: "Bottle. " (And the bottles there are 0.33 liters). I say: "Take it. " He brings a liter of Kalsberg. I honestly drank half a bottle - I didn’t risk it anymore. By the way, Kalsberg in Cyprus is very decent. There is also Leo, also nothing, but noticeably worse. Bath of Aphrodite. It didn't cause much excitement. Rather not so. The place is beautiful. Grotto in the rock. Water flows along the far wall of the grotto and a lake is collected from which a stream flows. The grotto is green and cool. But, a lot of people. The hum of voices. Everyone is washing up. All in all, we didn't stay there long. We climbed the paths above the baths uphill - a very beautiful view of the bay of Latchi opens up. Plane trees grow and olives. The benches are standing. On the way back to the hotel, we got lost. Apparently somewhere they missed a turn and drove to Ktima (Upper Paphos), and this place is not a resort. Cypriots live and work here. We got stuck in traffic because it was the end of the working day. We thought for a long time how to get to Kato Paphos (Lower Paphos). Finally saw a familiar crossroads and calmed down. The next day we went the other way. We visited the "Royal Tombs" (or "Tombs of the Kings"). Liked. But the museum complex is located in a bare field - it is very hot. It should be examined early in the morning, preferably before ten in the morning. Let's go to Paphos. We wanted to see the Catacombs of St. Solomon, but it was closed there. But the place is interesting. I went down as far as I could. A huge pistachio tree grows there, all in ribbons and ropes. If you get a chance, take a look. We walked around the archaeological park in Kato Paphos, right next to the port. We looked at the Odeon amphitheater and mosaics. The ruins are not well preserved. Therefore, I advise those who are not particularly interested not to watch it. Better go to Kourion. Then we went to the Turkish fortress, which is located in the Paphos harbor. Nothing special either. There are a lot of shops and cafes on the waterfront. Barkers offer to ride on yachts - if you wish, go ahead. Cheaper than the tour operator. Further, our path lay in Petra tou Romiou, where, as they say, Aphrodite emerged from the sea foam. A very beautiful place. It is about 25 kilometers from Paphos. But, as elsewhere, a lot of talking, noisy tourists. We walked around the huge rock for a long time. Trying on which side to swim. On the one hand, the waves were very large - only our compatriots, who were very drunk, swam. On the other hand, we still swam and went on. Our next stop is in Kourion (another 25-30 km to it). I advise you to go there along the old road, do not return to the motorway from Petra tou Romiou. She walks along the sea. Kinds of waste. In Kourion, the amphitheater is larger than in Paphos, and even better preserved. Mosaics are the opposite. Everything else is the same except for one. Kourion is built on a VERY high bank above the sea. The panorama opens up so that... In short, there are no words, go and understand for yourself. Paragliders are flying. And the beach below. We could not resist and went down to him. The beach is very cool. Firstly, there are few people, secondly, an awesomely beautiful place, and thirdly, very cool waves, which are great to ride. And the entrance to the water is good. In short, we swam there for three hours and went home. On the third day we went to the zoo. This was my desire. The daughter resisted. Apparently at 14, monkeys and lemurs are no longer very interesting. But I advise parents with small children to go. True, the entrance there is not cheap, it seems 15 euros. Drive past Coral Bay. On the right is the zoo, there are signs. And after the zoo we went home. I would still ride, but my daughter begged - “I want to go to the hotel to watch TV! ”. I had to return. We parked the car at the entrance to the hotel, and left the keys at the reception. We really enjoyed our stay in Cyprus. There is something to see, eat, where to relax and swim, etc. . Cynthiana is a very nice, quiet and secluded hotel with good service. And it is in the most beautiful place. By Turkish standards, 4+ will pull. If we ever happen to go to Cyprus again, we will definitely go to Cintiana again. I could write a lot more about it, but, so, it seems, I went too far. If you have any questions - ask. I will definitely answer.