10 Days in Cyprus: The In-Depth South-Coast Itinerary

Land at Paphos airport (PFO), collect your one-way rental car, and make the short drive into Paphos itself. Paphos sits on the southwest coast and works well as the first base because the airport is close and the town packs several major sites within a few minutes of each other. Check in, change, and ease into the trip.

Spend the afternoon at Paphos Archaeological Park down by the harbour, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose Roman villas keep some of the finest floor mosaics in the eastern Mediterranean, many of them telling Greek myths in stone. Allow a couple of hours and wear a hat, since there is little shade. From the park you can walk to the medieval Paphos harbour and its small fort.

Have an easy first dinner near the harbour or up in the old town of Ktima. Order a meze and try grilled halloumi, the squeaky local cheese, and cured lountza pork to start. Keep it relaxed; the bigger days come next.

Start at the Tombs of the Kings, a short drive north of the harbour. These are not royal tombs but the underground rock-cut burial chambers of Paphos officials from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, some with Doric columns carved into the stone. The site is open and exposed, so go early and bring water.

Drive up the coast to Coral Bay, the most popular sandy beach near Paphos, with a gentle slope into clear water and loungers for hire. Have a long lunch at a beachside taverna and spend the afternoon swimming. This is a slow beach day on purpose; the Akamas adventure is tomorrow.

Back near Paphos, consider a sunset catamaran cruise along the coast if the timing suits, or simply find a west-facing spot for the sunset over the sea. South Cyprus faces a long golden light in the evening. Dinner tonight could be souvla, large chunks of pork or lamb slow-grilled over charcoal, a Cypriot Sunday-lunch staple served any day in tavernas.

Today is the wild day. Drive north to the Akamas peninsula, the undeveloped headland at the island's northwest tip. Start with a walk into the Avakas Gorge, where the trail follows a stream between sheer limestone walls that narrow dramatically. Wear proper shoes and expect to get your feet wet; it is a there-and-back walk, not a loop.

Continue toward Polis and Latchi on the north coast. From the harbour at Latchi you can join a Blue Lagoon boat cruise to the Blue Lagoon, a sheltered cove of clear turquoise water that is the highlight of the Akamas coast and easiest to reach by sea. Near the trailhead into the peninsula, stop at the Baths of Aphrodite, a small natural grotto pool tied to the island's Aphrodite legends.

Have a fish meze dinner at a harbour taverna in Latchi, where the day's catch comes simply grilled. If you would rather not drive back south after a long day, this is a good night to stay over in Polis, a quiet town that makes a calm alternative base.

Leave Paphos and drive east along the coast, stopping at Petra tou Romiou, also called Aphrodite's Rock, the sea stack where legend says the goddess rose from the foam. There is a pebble beach and a viewpoint above the road. From here, turn inland and begin the climb into the Troodos mountains.

Your first mountain village is Omodos, a wine village of cobbled lanes around a monastery, with cafes, lace shops, and small wineries. Do a relaxed Omodos wine tour or simply taste at a family cellar (let a non-drinking driver or a tour handle the wheel). Settle into your mountain base for two nights in or near Platres or Pedoulas.

Mountain evenings are cool, even in summer, so bring a layer. Dinner in a village taverna means hearty cooking: try afelia, pork stewed in red wine and coriander seed, or a slow-baked kleftiko lamb. Finish with a small glass of sweet Commandaria, the amber dessert wine made in these hills since antiquity.

Drive deeper into the range to Kykkos Monastery, the richest and most famous monastery on the island, set high in the hills and known for its gold-leaf mosaics and a revered icon of the Virgin. It is a working monastery, so dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees). The drive itself, through pine forest and the Cedar Valley area, is part of the experience.

Spend the afternoon outdoors in the Troodos National Forest Park. Pick a stretch of Troodos mountain hiking such as the gentle Caledonia or Atalante nature trails, or drive up toward Mount Olympus, the island's highest point at 1,952 metres (in winter this is Cyprus's small ski area). The air is noticeably cooler and the views run all the way to the coast on a clear day.

Return to your village for another quiet mountain night. This is a good evening to slow down with a long taverna dinner. If you have the appetite, order stifado, a rich onion-and-wine beef or rabbit stew that suits the cool air.

Come down out of the mountains toward the coast and Limassol, the island's second city and main port. On the way in, stop at Ancient Kourion, a Greco-Roman city on a cliff above the sea with a restored theatre still used for performances and the mosaic floors of the House of Eustolios. The setting above the gulf is the draw.

Just inland sits Kolossi Castle, a compact Crusader-era stronghold linked to the Knights of St John and to the early Commandaria wine trade. Then head into Limassol to see Limassol Castle in the old town, traditionally tied to the medieval royal wedding of Richard the Lionheart, now a museum. Wander the restored old port and marina afterwards.

Limassol has the liveliest dining scene outside the capital. Eat in the old town or along the seafront and try a full meze, which keeps arriving in small plates: sheftalia (a herby grilled sausage), koupepia (stuffed vine leaves), and tava, a baked meat and cumin casserole.

Take a slower morning on the Limassol coast. Lady's Mile Beach is a long, flat strip of sand and shingle southwest of the city with shallow water and simple beach bars, good for an easy swim and a coffee. East of the city, the dark-sand Governor's Beach sits below low white cliffs if you fancy a change of scene.

This afternoon goes back into the hills behind Limassol for wine. Join a Limassol wine villages tour through the vine-covered slopes, or focus on a Commandaria tasting in the designated Commandaria region, where this amber dessert wine has been made for centuries and is often called one of the oldest named wines still in production. Let the tour drive so everyone can taste.

Back in Limassol, have a relaxed final city dinner. If your dates line up in late summer or early autumn, the Limassol Wine Festival takes over the municipal gardens (recent years have run it in late September); in late winter the Limassol Carnival fills the streets before Lent. Otherwise just enjoy the seafront and an early night before moving east.

Drive east along the A1 toward Larnaca, stopping partway at Choirokoitia, a UNESCO-listed Neolithic settlement with reconstructed round stone dwellings that show how Cypriots lived more than eight thousand years ago. It is a quick, worthwhile stop just off the motorway.

In Larnaca, head to the Larnaca Salt Lake on the edge of town. In winter and spring it fills with water and draws flamingos; you can join flamingo birdwatching on the shore (in high summer the lake dries to a white salt crust). Beside it stands the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque. In town, visit the Church of Saint Lazarus, a 9th-century stone church said to hold the tomb of the man Jesus raised from the dead.

Stroll the Finikoudes palm-lined promenade along the seafront, where the cafes and tavernas spill onto the sand. This is an easy place for a relaxed dinner; order fresh fish and a cold local beer and watch the harbour lights.

Drive up to Nicosia, the capital and the last divided capital in Europe, about 45 minutes inland on the A2. Park outside the Venetian walls and explore the old town on foot. A guided old-town walking tour is a good way to make sense of the layers of history packed into the narrow streets.

Walk the restored Laiki Geitonia quarter, the Cyprus Museum for the island's archaeology, and Ledra Street, the pedestrian shopping spine of the old town. At the top of Ledra Street is a crossing point in the buffer zone; you can see across the divide and read the city's modern story without leaving the government-controlled south. Break for coffee and a sweet plate of loukoumades, honey-soaked dough balls.

Drive back to Larnaca for the night. Have a calm dinner near your base, and if you saved room, try flaounes, the cheese-filled pastry that appears especially around Easter, from a bakery. Repack lightly for the final two beach days in the southeast.

Drive southeast to the resort coast around Ayia Napa and Protaras, about 40 minutes from Larnaca on the A3, where Cyprus keeps its clearest, shallowest water. Start the morning on the bright sand of Nissi Beach or the quieter Konnos Bay tucked into the headland.

Head to Cape Greco and the surrounding national forest park for the sea caves, low cliffs, and clear snorkelling water at the island's southeast tip; a short boat cruise reaches the caves from the water. Finish with a final swim at Fig Tree Bay in Protaras, one of the island's most loved family beaches, with calm, transparent shallows.

If you fly out tonight, time your drive back to Larnaca airport (about 45 minutes) with a buffer to refuel and return the rental car. If your flight is the next day, stay a final night in Ayia Napa or Protaras and end the trip with one more relaxed seafront dinner and a toast with a glass of Commandaria.