Cheap Flights to Cyprus
22/06/10 09:52 Filed in: Information
When trying to book flights to Cyprus I have often found them to be expensive. This though was when I was taking them at face value and accepting the first prices I saw. The last time I wanted to book flights I decided to spend a bit of time and dig a bit deeper. It was worth it. Matt and I ended up flying to Cyprus for £89 return each!
How did I do this you ask? Well you need a bit of time, patience and perseverance but it can be worth it to save money you can spend on enjoying yourself whilst away. Just enter your preferred flight times and airport on the cheapflights tab on this website – www.holidayletsincyprus.com. You will be given some flight providers to click on. Click through each of these and you will be given different costs and a selection of different dates as well. If you are able to travel at short notice, be flexible with dates and are able to hold your nerve you can find some great deals as some providers reduce their prices the nearer it gets to the flight date. You also have to keep searching through and don’t always accept the price you see is the price you will pay. You need to take some of these through as if you are booking them to get the final price which can then be heavily discounted just before you enter your personal details.
We know leaving it until the last minute can be a bit daunting which is why we will be happy to hold your booking at one of our apartments until the last minute and accept your payment on arrival.
Give it a go. You never know how much you could save until you try.
Good luck.
Maria
How did I do this you ask? Well you need a bit of time, patience and perseverance but it can be worth it to save money you can spend on enjoying yourself whilst away. Just enter your preferred flight times and airport on the cheapflights tab on this website – www.holidayletsincyprus.com. You will be given some flight providers to click on. Click through each of these and you will be given different costs and a selection of different dates as well. If you are able to travel at short notice, be flexible with dates and are able to hold your nerve you can find some great deals as some providers reduce their prices the nearer it gets to the flight date. You also have to keep searching through and don’t always accept the price you see is the price you will pay. You need to take some of these through as if you are booking them to get the final price which can then be heavily discounted just before you enter your personal details.
We know leaving it until the last minute can be a bit daunting which is why we will be happy to hold your booking at one of our apartments until the last minute and accept your payment on arrival.
Give it a go. You never know how much you could save until you try.
Good luck.
Maria
Ten tips to make your pounds go further in Cyprus this summer
13/02/10 12:49 Filed in: Information
Everybody wants to enjoy a summer holiday. You’ve worked hard, and now you want to play.
1. Change your pounds into Euros wisely.
The Pound to Euro exchange rate is better now... than it has been (and it keeps on slowly but surely improving), but even so your Pound just won’t buy you as many Euros as it did in 2008. Change your money in a bank rather than a hotel to get the best rate. If you use ATMs to get your Euros, watch out that every transaction has a service charge applied.2. Stay in a self-catering villa or apartment rather than a hotel.
Independent research shows that on a per person basis, a villa holiday typically costs 50% of a comparable hotel holiday. Add to that hotel prices in Cyprus have rocketed over the last two years, whilst at the same time the cost of apartment rentals has stayed much the same. Not only will you get more for your money, you’ll be able to cook (or better still barbecue!) for yourself to save a bit more.3. When eating out, seek out tavernas the locals go to
. You’ll enjoy the experience more and it’ll be better value. You’ll be able to enjoy real Cypriot cooking with fresh ingredients rather than anothersteak out of the freezer.
4. When stopping for a coffee, avoid the cafes in the prime touristlocations
. A coffee by the harbour in Paphos will have a great view, but it’ll cost you twice as much as one in the shopping streets of Paphos. And you’ll probably half the cost again in the café’s in the villages like Peyia.5. When self catering, buy from the bigger supermarkets rather than thecorner kiosks and supermarkets.
A trip round Papantoniou, Orphanides or Carrefour in Paphos will save you a lot of money and the choices are much better. For fruit and vegetables, try the fruit markets – they’re a fantastic experience and you’ll get some great bargains.6. Eat like the locals.
The Cyprus climate means that fruit and vegetables are in abundance. They taste great in comparison with the products you’ll buy in a UK supermarket, even if they do sometimes look a bit odd! Also chicken and pork are both great value in Cyprus.7. Get around in a hire car.
Whilst taxis and organised coach trips have become expensive, renting a car can still be great value. Don’t rent at the airport – find a local supplier and you’ll be able to get around easily and cheaply. Don’t be put off by stories of Cypriot drivers – use common sense and you’ll be able to explore widely.8. Get off the beaten track.
Kato Paphos is much like any other Mediterranean holiday resort. To enjoy Cyprus at its best, stay in Peyia, Coral Bay, Sea Caves, Agios Georgios or Secret Valley. With a car, you’ll be able to pick your beach, pick your scenery and you’ll save a fortune over the prices in the tourist hot spots.9. Bring your suntan lotion with you.
Cyprus is an island, so everything that’s not made or grown in Cyprus gets shipped in – and that can make things expensive.10. Plan your days out.
The Paphos Aphrodite Waterpark is great fun for kids of all ages but for a family of four expect your day out to cost more than €100. Watch out for discount vouchers in supermarkets, local magazines and other outlets to help with this and take the free shuttle bus which runs from Coral Bay and Paphos every day throughout the Summer. Balance this out another day by taking a walk around the world–renowned Paphos Archaeological Park or fascinating Tombs of the Kings and you’ll get change out of €15 for the same family of four. Always have a good breakfast before you go out – breakfast bought in cafes can be pricey.Easter Traditions in Cyprus
07/02/10 16:45
Easter is the greatest celebration in the Greek Orthodox Church.It is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon of the spring
equinox and this year falls on the 23rd of April.
To celebrate Easter everything should look clean and new, so houses are
cleaned, painted or white-washed, and new clothes are a "must", especially
new shoes. Holy Week is dedicated to church-going and to baking, etc.
On Palm Sunday a procession makes its way around the church with an icon of
Christ. This procession is to commemorate Christ's entry into Jerusalem .
Everybody holds olive branches, kiriaki ton vaion, which is the Cypriot
version of the palm fronds that would have been used when Christ entered
Jerusalem. Sacks of olive leaves are taken into the church where they are
kept for forty days. The then dried olive leaves are shared out among the
congregation and taken to their homes to be used in the kapnistiri which is
a small burner in which some burning charcoal is placed with olive leaves on
top. The olive leaves would traditionally be burnt when asking for help from
God, when a visitor arrives, when they buy something new or when they start
something new.
In Peyia the traditional day for the housewives to do their Easter baking is
the Saturday after Good Friday, not the Thursday before as is usual
elsewhere. They bake flaounes, a kind of cheese cake of shortcrust pastry
made from sheep's milk with a cheese, egg and mint filling, formed into
triangular and square shapes. Koulouria are baked with milk, spices and a
little sugar and tyropittes are loaves with small pieces of the cheese used
for flaounes added and rolled in sesame seeds. In addition it is traditional
in Peyia to make a special meat pie called mpaskia or empaskia which is made
with the cheese stuffing for flaounes mixed together with meat from a young
goat.
Eggs are dyed as well. Traditionally they are dyed red with a special root
called rizari. In Peyia beetroot is also used to dye the eggs. Eggs can also
be dyed yellow. For this purpose the yellow marguerites that cover the
waysides and fields during April are used. In Peyia some people paint flower
patterns on the eggs with dye from the marguerites and place them in a
muslin bag to boil in the dye. This colours the egg and leaves the painted
design.
Good Friday this year is the 21st of April. In the afternoon everyone takes
flowers to church so that the young girls can decorate the Epitafios which
represents Christ's tomb, the Holy Sepulchre. This is a four-posted litter
with a canopy under which lies a richly adorned silk cloth with an image of
Christ on it. The whole structure is completely decorated with flowers, a
task that takes the greater part of Good Friday afternoon. Traditionally the
Epitafios was decorated by virgins, to signify The Virgin Mary.
At lunchtime the traditional Faki Xidati, vinegar and lentil soup is eaten,
containing vinegar because it is said that when Christ asked for water on
his way to Calgary but he was given vinegar instead.
The streets along which the Epitafios will pass in solemn procession later
that night are being decorated with coloured lights and Easter eggs. The
procession starts after the evening service with the priests preceding, then
the Scouts or young men carrying the litter of Christ and then the choir,
singing hymns. The whole congregation follows, and children light sparklers
on the way. Fireworks are lit around the church. But before the procession
leaves the church the congregation will kiss the hand of the priest and take
a flower. (After the service the flower will be taken home and used together
with the olive leaves as incense). Then the whole procession led by the
Epitafios leaves the church in an easterly direction and returns from the
west after going around the village square which has been decorated for the
occasion. On returning to the door of the church the Epitafios is raised
aloft and the congregation passes underneath it back into the church.
On Saturday there is a sermon during which the church doors are banged and
candleholders shaken, this is to signify that Christ is no longer in His
grave.
At five in the afternoon a bonfire is lit in the churchyard and someone will
sing the song of the Virgin Mary. The bonfire represents burning Judas
Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ.
The service of resurrection is at 11pm on the Saturday. Everybody, very
formally dressed, goes to church with an unlit candle and the sermon is held
to the accompaniment of fire-crackers. The priest proclaims that Christ has
risen with the words 'thefte lavete fos' or 'come and take the light'. The
congregation now light candles and everyone greets each other with the
phrase 'Christos anesti', 'Christ has risen', to which the other answers
'alithos anesti', 'indeed he has risen'.
There will be a church service at eleven on Sunday morning after which the
celebrations begin. The children go around cracking and winning colored
eggs, if your egg cracks then you lose it and the child with the unbroken
egg gets it. At lunchtime picnics and family gatherings are held
everywhere, lambs are roasted on the spit and wine flows freely.
In the villages Easter is an all-village affair apart from being a big
holiday. On such days after Mass the priest stands at the church door with
the Cross and everyone leaving kisses the Cross then shakes and takes the
hand of the person in front, thus forming a large circle in the church yard
which symbolizes the renewal of friendship with one another. After this,
friends and relations are invited to the villagers' homes where they sit
down together, eating and drinking until late in the afternoon.
On Easter Sunday the fun starts which lasts until Tuesday. There are various
games, dances and jokes. The young people celebrate by hanging up souses, or
swings. For this purpose young men and girls hang ropes from trees and while
the girls swing, they all sing songs, love songs or teasing songs called
tchatismata. These songs are made up at every festive occasion and there are
even professionals who sing them. The characteristic of the tchatismata is
that someone gets up and starts by opening the subject in reciting praises
for the host, something to tease a friend, or a love song for a girl. If he
can, the one who has been made the subject of the song gets up and replies
by reciting his views on whatever has just been said. More usually, however,
there are two people singing the tchatismata by making up the song as they
go along, one making up the first few lines, the other the next few and so
on. In the old village way of life this would have been one of the few times
during the year when young men and women would have been left alone
together.
The Easter celebrations last many days. So please bear in mind that shops
and petrol stations etc are likely to be closed from the 21st April until
the 25th and again from the 29th until the 1st May.
Paphos (Pafos)
24/01/10 12:43 Filed in: Places to go
The town of Paphos is famed for being the birthplace of Aphrodite (the Goddess of Love) and home to Aphrodite's Rock (Petra Toy Romiou), which was erected by the Myceneans in the 12th century BC. The town also boasts majestic landscapes, lovely coastline, as well as numerous historic sites including the beautiful Mosaics of Paphos, the Tombs of the Kings, the Medieval Fort, the Paphos District Archaelogical Museum, the Byzantine Museum and the Ethnographical Museum. The impressive second century Odeon, which was rediscovered in 1973, the 12th-century Saranta Kolones Castle, which was built by the Lusignans but virtually destroyed by an earthquake in 1222, and the fifth-century Panagia Limeniotissa Basilica are all also worth a visit for their architectural and historical importance.
Contact Addresses
Pafos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), 7 Athinon Avenue and Alexandrou Papagou Corner, Tolmi Court, First Floor, Office 101-102, Pafos, Cyprus
Tel: (26) 235 115
Website: www.ccci.org.cy
Transportation
Road: Car: Coastal road east to Paphos (from Limassol); coastal road south to Paphos (from the Polis region); road southwest, past Platres and Kedares. Then join coast road east from Limassol (from Troodos).
Kykkos Monastery (Panagia tou Kykkou)
24/01/10 12:09 Filed in: Places to go
Kykkos Monastery is the largest and most famous monastery in Cyprus. Founded in AD 1100 by the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos, the monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is home to one of the three surviving icons painted by the Apostle Luke. Kykkos Monastery is ornately decorated and covered in a silver gilt, enclosed in a tortoiseshell shrine.
It is also famous for its museum, located within the monastery grounds, which houses an impressive collection of icons, woodcarvings and manuscripts, and other Cypriot antiquities. The nearby Troodos Mountains, with magnificent hills and valleys, should also be explored as they are home to nine Byzantine churches, included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and richly decorated with murals and Byzantine paintings.
Contact Addresses
Kykkos Monastery, PO Box 24850, 1304 Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel: (02) 942 736 (museum) or 590 768 (office)
Website: www.kykkos-museum.cy.net
Transportation
Road: Car: Road to Pedoulas which leads to Kykkos (from Troodos); road north towards Platres, past Pedoulas to Kykkos (from Limassol); towards Limassol, then northeast past Kedares to Platres (from Paphos). The monastery is well-signposted.
Location
Kykkos
Things to Know about Cyprus
17/01/10 17:55 Filed in: Information
Religion
The Greeks are Greek Orthodox Christians which represent 78% of the population while the Turks are Muslims represents 18% of the population and Maronite, Armenian, Apostolic, Latin, and others 4%.
Weather and Climate
Cyprus has a typical Mediterranean climate, warm and rather dry, with rainfall mainly between November and March. In general, the island experiences mild wet winters and dry hot summers which are separated by short autumn and spring seasons. The higher mountain areas are cooler and moister than the rest of the island.
Cyprus Languages
The official languages are Greek and Turkish with English often used as a second language and widely understood by both ethnic groups.
Cyprus Currency
The official currency in North is Turkish Lira (TL) and the currency in South is Pound (CP) however the English sterling is highly accepted.
Currency in South Cyprus
The legal tender of the South Cyprus is the Euro. Former Cyprus Pound was used until 31 December 2008. Check current exchange rates.
Currency in North Cyprus
The Turkish Lira (TRL - Türk Lirasi) is the current legal tender of Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, issued on January 1, 2005. The currency was accompanied with its inflation mostly in 1994; in summer 2001 seven banks failed. At present unit of 1 YTL is equivalent to 1 million old Turkish Lira that was introduced in 1983 (and remains valid until the end of 2005). The Turkish Lira is divisible into 100 new kurus (cents).
Electricity
Throughout Cyprus, voltage is supplied at 220/240 volts AC, supplied at 50 Hz. Plugs at 5 amp or 13 amp are generally of British type with 3 pins, but also exist some 2 pinned. Most anti-mosquito machines are fitted with the continental 2-pin type of plug, so an adaptor is required. These are widely available in supermarkets, grocery shops and electricians, or provided by holiday hotel itself. Since not many accommodations have a shaver point, it is better to take wet razors. Power cuts are quite often. Larger hotels and holiday villages have their own generators. A torch is therefore useful to bring, as there is little or no street lighting in the villages and along the minor roads. Batteries (including alkaline and Ni-Cad) are manufactured locally or imported, and are available in all popular sizes.
Time
Cyprus is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT/UTC), and seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST). Clocks go forward one hour for summer time at 3 am on the last Sunday in March and back again at 3 am on the last Sunday in October. In South Cyprus a recorded time message can be heard by dialling 193.
Cyprus Traffic
<http://www.cyprus.com/cyprus-tourist-info-things-to-know-traffic.php>
In Cyprus traffic circulates on the left, the traffic signs are international and seat belts must be worn. Maximum speed is 100 km/hr and vehicles entering Cyprus must be insured upon arrival.