Cyprus 14-Day Grand Tour Itinerary: Every Region

Land at Paphos airport, collect your hire car and drive the short distance into town. Most arrivals reach their hotel within twenty minutes of leaving the terminal. Drop your bags and resist the urge to plan a big first day.

Walk down to the harbour at Kato Paphos. The medieval fort at the water's edge anchors a row of cafes where you can sit with a coffee or a cold drink and watch the boats. This is an easy, jet-lag-friendly afternoon: short strolls, no driving, a first look at the Mediterranean light.

Eat at a harbourside or old-town taverna. Order a meze to get your bearings on Cypriot food, and try grilled halloumi as a starter. Turn in early; the next two days are full.

Spend the morning at the Paphos Archaeological Park near the harbour. The Roman villas here hold some of the best-preserved floor mosaics in the eastern Mediterranean, with detailed scenes from Greek myth. The site is large and open, so go early to beat the midday heat and wear a hat.

Drive a few minutes north to the Tombs of the Kings, a necropolis carved straight into the coastal rock. Despite the name, it held high officials and aristocrats rather than royalty. The underground chambers and colonnaded courtyards are atmospheric and far cooler than the surface.

Back in town, browse the old market and the streets above the harbour. Dinner in the old town, where the tavernas are a notch more local than the seafront strip.

Make this a beach morning at Coral Bay, a sheltered sandy crescent just north of Paphos with calm, shallow water that suits a long swim. Loungers and snack bars line the back of the beach, so you can settle in for a few hours.

In the afternoon drive east along the coast to Aphrodite's Rock (Petra tou Romiou), the sea stack that legend ties to the birth of the goddess of love. There is a pebble beach below and a viewing area above. It photographs best in the softer light of late afternoon.

Return to Paphos for the evening. If the timing works, a sunset catamaran cruise from the harbour is a relaxed way to end a beach-focused day, with a swim stop and a drink on deck.

Drive north over the hills to Polis and the small harbour at Latchi, about 45 minutes from Paphos. From Latchi, take a boat trip out along the Akamas coast to the Blue Lagoon, a sheltered bay of clear, shallow water with time to swim and snorkel. Half-day cruises run through the warmer months.

Back on land, visit the Baths of Aphrodite, a shaded natural grotto and pool at the edge of the Akamas, with a short nature trail and coastal views. If you would rather see the peninsula by land, a jeep safari runs over its rough tracks to Lara Bay and back.

Have a relaxed harbour lunch or early dinner in Latchi, known for its fish tavernas, then drive back to Paphos before dark. The mountain road is best in daylight.

Check out of Paphos and drive east toward Limassol, around an hour on the motorway. Break the journey at Ancient Kourion, a Greco-Roman city set on a cliff above the sea. The restored theatre, still used for performances, looks straight out over the Mediterranean, and the House of Eustolios has fine mosaic floors.

A short drive on stands Kolossi Castle, a compact medieval stronghold once held by the Knights of St John and tied to the sweet Commandaria wine. Climb to the roof for views over the vineyards, then continue into Limassol and check into your hotel.

Settle into Limassol with a walk along the seafront promenade and dinner in the old town near the marina. The city has the busiest dining scene on the island, so you have plenty of choice.

Explore central Limassol on foot. Start at Limassol Castle in the old town, a medieval fort that now houses the Cyprus Medieval Museum and, by tradition, the site where Richard the Lionheart married. The lanes around it are full of small shops, cafes and the restored carob mill district.

Spend the afternoon at the beach. Lady's Mile is a long, flat stretch of sand and shingle just south of the city, easy to reach and lined with simple beach bars. It is a good place to read, swim and watch the ships heading for the port.

Dinner along the marina or in the old town. If you are visiting in late summer, the annual Limassol Wine Festival fills the municipal gardens with tastings and music; in winter, the carnival takes over the streets before Lent.

Set off early and climb into the Troodos mountains, the wooded range at the heart of the island. Fill the tank first, as stations are scarce up high. Drive to Kykkos Monastery, the wealthiest and most ornate on Cyprus, founded in the 11th century and decorated with gold mosaics and frescoes. The mountain air is noticeably cooler than the coast.

Continue toward Mount Olympus, the island's highest peak at 1,952 metres. In the surrounding national forest park you can walk one of the marked nature trails through pine and cedar, with long views across the ranges. The trails are graded easy to moderate and well signposted.

Wind your way back down to Limassol before dark, the mountain roads being slow and bendy. Dinner back at the coast, where the evening will feel warm again after the heights.

Head back into the southern Troodos foothills, this time to the wine villages of the Krasochoria. Omodos is the best known, built around a monastery square with cobbled lanes, small wineries and shops selling local sweets and the village pasta. Tastings of the indigenous grapes are easy to arrange.

Drive between a couple of neighbouring villages on the wine route, stopping for a long village lunch of grilled meats and meze. This is the home of Commandaria, a sweet fortified wine made here since antiquity and worth a dedicated tasting if you enjoy dessert wines.

Return to Limassol in the late afternoon. A quieter evening tonight, with an early dinner, as tomorrow you move base east to Larnaca.

Leave Limassol and drive east toward Larnaca, around 45 minutes on the motorway. Pause partway at Choirokoitia, a Neolithic settlement and UNESCO site where reconstructed round dwellings show how Cypriots lived more than eight thousand years ago. The visit is short and the setting peaceful.

Continue into Larnaca and check in. Spend the afternoon on Finikoudes, the palm-lined town beach right on the seafront promenade, with cafes and tavernas a few steps from the sand. It is an easy, walkable introduction to a more low-key city than Limassol.

Stroll the promenade at dusk and have dinner along Finikoudes or in the streets behind it. Larnaca keeps a slower pace, which suits the midpoint of a long trip.

Start at the Church of Saint Lazarus in the old town, a 9th-century stone church built over the tomb of the man the Gospels say Christ raised from the dead. The interior is dark and richly carved. From here it is a short drive to the Larnaca Salt Lake, ringed by a walking path.

In winter and early spring the salt lake fills with water and draws flocks of flamingos, best seen from the boardwalk near the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque on its shore. In high summer the lake dries to a white crust. Afterward, head to Mackenzie Beach for a swim and a long lunch at one of its beach bars.

If you dive, this is the base for the Zenobia, a huge car ferry that sank off Larnaca in 1980 and now rates among the best wreck dives in the Mediterranean. Non-divers can book a glass-bottom or snorkel trip. Dinner back in town.

Drive up to Nicosia, about 45 minutes from Larnaca on the motorway. The capital sits inland and is the last divided city in Europe. Walk the old town inside the Venetian walls, starting around Ledra Street, the main pedestrian artery, with its shops, cafes and the buffer zone at its northern end.

A guided old-town walk pulls together the layers: the Archbishop's Palace, the cathedral, the restored Faneromeni quarter and the small museums. The Cyprus Museum holds the island's best collection of ancient artefacts and is worth an hour if you have the energy.

Eat an early dinner in the old town's lively restaurant lanes, then drive back to Larnaca for the night. The road is quick and well lit.

Check out of Larnaca and drive east to the resort coast, around 45 minutes. Settle into a base in Ayia Napa or quieter Protaras. Spend the first hours getting your bearings and, if you arrive early, a swim at Nissi Beach, the wide white-sand bay that defines Ayia Napa.

In the afternoon head to Cape Greco, the headland and national forest park between the two resorts. Walk the coastal paths above the sea caves, where the limestone has been carved into arches and inlets, and look down into water that turns a deep blue. It is a complete change of scene from the busy beaches.

Dinner in your chosen base. Ayia Napa is the louder option with a big nightlife scene; Protaras is calmer and more family-oriented. Pick the one that matches how you want to end the trip.

Give the final full day over to the best of the eastern beaches. Fig Tree Bay in Protaras is a long arc of soft sand with shallow, clear water and a small island a short swim offshore. Get there early to claim a spot before the loungers fill.

For a change of scene, drive to Konnos Bay, a sheltered cove tucked into the Cape Greco park between the two resorts, backed by green slopes. The water is calm and good for snorkelling. Families with younger children may prefer the watersports and slides at one of the resort beaches, or a half day at the Ayia Napa water park.

Make the last evening count with a longer dinner and a walk along the front. If you have energy left, Ayia Napa's bars run late; Protaras offers a gentler seafront stroll.

Fit in a final swim if your flight allows. Makronissos Beach, on the western edge of Ayia Napa, has fine sand, sheltered coves and easy parking, which makes it a good last stop before you turn west toward the airport.

Drive to Larnaca airport, roughly 45 minutes from the eastern resorts, returning the hire car before you check in. The airport sits right on the coast, so the drive in gives you one last look at the Mediterranean.

Fly home, or extend your stay with another beach day if the schedule is generous. After two weeks you will have seen every region of the south at a pace that left room to actually enjoy it.