Things to see & do when visiting Cyprus!

You might be sick of hearing me witter on about the amazing time I had in Cyprus the other week, but guess what? I’m not done sharing all of the amazingness that went on over there, oh no! In this post I am going to share all of the amazing places we got to visit, as well as great places to eat, drink, visit, shows to go & see and activities to get involved in when visiting Cyprus. So hold on tight, because there is a lot of photographs…

Sea Walking with UnderSea Adventures

On our first full day in Ayia Napa, we were picked up by the amazing Undersea Adventures time, which I have written about on my blog recently. And we did a spot of sea walking, which was honestly, one of the most amazing experiences. You can read that post, here; Sea Walking in the Mediterranean with UnderSea Adventures.

Would I recommend these guys? 100%! They are professional, they have your safety at the front of every step you take as well as making you feel at ease and most of all, they make sure you have fun! You can find these guys over on their Facebook page, as well as their website and if you do visit Cyprus, they are based in Agia Napa, over on Trinity Beach in Protaras. 

Moodz Restaurant & Bar

After our sea walking adventure, we were starving! Which, was only natural because all of that supposed weightlessness of being underwater is tiring stuff! However, it turned out, our instructor, John {and his lovely wife, Debbie} had just opened up a restaurant nearby. Well, if that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what is!

He kindly dropped us off, introduced us to his wife and before we knew it we were making boomerangs of our strawberry daiquiris and ordering from the menu. The decor inside was gorgeous. It had a really relaxed feel about the place and the food, including the service, was top notch.

You can feel when a lot of love is poured into a place, and Moodz Restaurant & Bar had this feeling, in spades! A really great place to hang out, have food and enjoy time with family and/or friends. 

The Original Red Bus Tour

We made the decision to go on an all-day bus tour, because, how else would we get to see what Cyprus has to offer!? We booked ourselves onto the Original Red Bus tour, for the full day, which is split into two parts. 

On the first part of the tour, you’ll be taken into Northern Cyprus, where you will visit the stunning Venetian walled city of Famagusta. There is also loads of free time on the full day bus tour, and we were given 2hrs to have a good look around this charming city. Which was filled with glorious little cafes, that contained the most delicious looking treats! From loads of little shops and so many beautiful sights to see. 

We got to visit the beautiful Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque; where we had to remove our shoes & scarves where provided to cover your head. It was something very new to me, personally, but what a beautiful building, both inside and out. 

We were able to see the oldest hinged door in Europe and even see a busk of William Shakespear himself. 

The second part of the bus tour would take you to visit Varosha {also known as a ghost town}, which is over on Constantia Beach. We got to stop for some more free time here, after a little bit of information about the area. The Army guard this area, and no photography is allowed. If caught, they will make you delete everything you have taken. We were allowed to take one, though. Which is the image below. 

Being on the beach was the weirdest part. When you’re looking out to the gloriously blue ocean in front of you, people happily diving into the water or sunbathing but when you turn back, you see an entire City laying broken and dormant. It is a sight to beyond and is so beautifully tragic all at the same time. 

Yo Thai Asian

Another great place to eat, which is along Nissi Avenue, is Yo Thai Asian. I cannot even tell you how delicious the food is here. It was just one of those days where we were in the mood for a tasty Chinese dinner, and a tasty Chinese dinner we had! 

The decor inside was glorious {I was loving all of that green!} and the customer service was on point. So much so, we came back for a second time during our week in Cyprus.

Santa Napa Day Cruise

One thing, you must do when on holiday, is going on a day cruise {if you can} because they are such fun excursions to go on – fun for all the family, too. We chose the Santa Napa Day cruise to go on – which you need to pre-book ahead of the cruise. It leaves around 1130hrs {am} from Ayia Napa Harbour, round by the Black Pearl. Yes, you heard me right; the Black Pearl – which is an unmissable giant Pirate Galleon ship. One I will be going on with my kids when we revisit Cyprus, one day! 

We loved that you could sit in the shade on board the Santa Napa – our seats were facing the bar, what shame! And even though the boat was pretty full, there was still space for everyone. There were plenty of toilets on board and we also had a good few spots to stop and swim. 

We got to see some truly gorgeous views along the coast between Ayia Napa & Protaras. The above photo is Kraken Caves.

This is known as Cliff jumping place – a popular place for tourists {and locals} to leap off the cliff into the water. 

This is known as Lovers Lock Bridge.

This is Cape Greko – and it’s told if you stand on the farthest point {the tip towards the right side of the photo} that you will be the first person in all of Europe to see the sunrise. 

The Lighthouse – which is also something to do with Nasa – I believe. 

Siranas Caves.

We got to stop for a swim in the utterly stunning, Blue Lagoon. Its name is easy to see why! 

This is as close as we were allowed to get to the Ghost town, Varosha, Famagusta on the day cruise. 

An adorable little clifftop church.

Smugglers Caves

We stopped for another swim at the beautiful Konnos Bay.

Sea Caverns.

The day cruise with Santa Napa was amazing. The sailings are daily from 1130hrs until 1500hrs. It will cost you 20 euros for an adult and 12 euros for a child and infants go free. Lunch is also included and I can confirm – it was delicious! I can highly recommend this day cruise when you’re visiting Ayia Napa. 

StarDust Cabaret Show

As fate would have it when we boarded the Original Red Bus for our bus tour, so did the owner – the lovely Kieran – of the Stardust Variety Show and one of his ‘girls’, Christian. Both were such nice guys and when we got to talking {and after being recommended to go & see the show by several people!} we decided, there and then that it would be the finale of our week in Cyprus. And we honestly could not have ended it on a better note. 

It costs 47 euro per person, which includes a coach to the show, free local drinks {beer, wine, soda etc}, your dinner and a coach ride back into Ayia Napa.  Which is pretty amazing, if you ask me! 

Each section of the show is amazing. Each one of the queens sings songs, dance, and make you roar with laughter during their funny sketches. 

Kieran, the owner, isn’t just the compare and owner of Stardust. He pulls off some delicious vocals, dances, and gets involved in the acts.  

This show was hands down, the best drag comedy show I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a few! I can also say – hand on my heart – that I have never laughed so hard, or as much, ever. It’s also pretty family-friendly, too, as you can see with all the Disney-esk parts of the show. 

I cannot recommend this show enough, it is hilarious, the food tastes great, the drinks flow nicely and the laughter never stops. A definite must-do if you’re in Ayia Napa.

Paragliding

I had never paraglided before, until my holiday in Cyprus. But I am so excited that I did it and I honestly cannot wait to do it again. After our Santa Napa day cruise, we walked along Ayia Napa Harbour and we came across a little Watersports stall, in front of a pier, where a speedboat was just speeding off with a boatload of people. We bought our triple paraglide ticket and waited for the boat to return. That was the nerve-wracking part – the waiting!

It cost 90 euro for a triple paraglide, 30 euro per person, which I thought was a great price. 

We reached around 400ft when we were fully up there and the views were something else! I honestly could have stayed up there much, much longer {you get around 15mins} but before we were brought back to the boat, we managed to spot a turtle in the water – which made it all so much more special. 

We had – as you can see – a pretty fun-filled week in Cyprus, with Clickstay. You can pop over to my post sharing our Villa in Ayia Napa and how we found the surrounding area if you fancy a read and were thinking of booking a Cyprus holiday. 

It all still feels a little like a great dream if I’m honest with you and I now have a real bug for sunning myself by a private pool, exploring amazing places, doing extreme sports and sipping strawberry daiquiris as the sun sets. Now…where to next?