Travel advice for Cyprus
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Cyprus
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Cyprus, north and south, has a huge range of hotels, hotel-apartments and villas, ranging from the palatial to the cheap-and-cheerful. There is also a growing number of “agrotourism” options – village houses, barns, small public buildings adapted and renovated to provide modern comforts and facilities. However, unlike in Greece for example, the renting of rooms in the homes of local people does not feature strongly.
In all establishments rates are approved by the CTO, and guaranteed for the range of dates specified. Rates should be displayed in the room or apartment, and include overnight stay, breakfast, VAT and ten-percent local taxes. Air conditioning is compulsory in three- to five-star hotels and “category A” apartments and villas in the big resorts on the coast, though not in the Troodos Mountains. There are reduced rates for single occupancy, children sleeping in parents’ rooms, and for additional guests in apartments.
There are reduced rates per person for single occupancy, and for children sleeping in parents’ rooms.
Bear in mind also that land ownership in the north is still extremely controversial. Many of the north’s hotels and villas, once owned by Greek Cypriots, are regarded in the south as stolen property. The Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a list giving the ownership status of every hotel in the occupied north – only sixteen are considered legitimate, since they were owned by Turkish Cypriots before 1974, or are built on land owned by Turkish Cypriots. While this is extremely unlikely to affect the casual visitor, it is worth bearing in mind for those considering buying or leasing property in the north.
Tourist accommodation in the north is listed in the “North Cyprus Hotel Guide”, available at tourist offices and northcyprus.net. Though the guide offers no guarantees regarding standards or prices (it is produced by the hotel owners themselves, after all), it is a useful summary and provides helpful lists of travel agencies, taxi and car rental firms, restaurants, festivals and museums.
SOUTH CYPRUS
Cyprus Agrotourism Company (22340071). Supported by the Cyprus Tourism Organization, the Cyprus Agrotourism Company handles properties across the island including Choirokoitia, Kalopanayiotis, Omodos and Arsos.
Cyprus Villages (24332998). Established by a Greek Cypriot in 1987, Cyprus Villages offers apartments and villas in Tochni and the nearby villages of Kalavasos and Psematismenos.
The Laona Foundation Lemesos (25358632). The Laona Foundation promotes and supports agrotourism projects and rents villas through Sunvil Holidays.
Skarinou Agrotourism 7731 Skarinou, Larnaka (24322089). A small company which deals exclusively with five properties in the village of Skarinou, conveniently located close to the Larnaka–Lemesos motorway.
NORTH CYPRUS
Though the potential benefits of agrotourism are beginning to be recognized in the north, little headway has yet been made into actual provision. For a glimpse of things to come, take a look at EcoTourism Cyprus, a local association trying to develop the village of Büyükkonuk at the base of the Karpaz Peninsula, offering cheap accommodation in traditional houses, craft, art and cookery activities, and putting on such things as donkey days, outdoor fests and, in late spring, an eco-day festival.
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Cyprus
written by Andy Turner
updated 26.04.2021
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