Cyprus September 2013

billyboxer

Hi folks,
thinking about booking a villa in the Paphos area of Cyprus for September this year.
Have all the financial meltdown problems been sorted now? What's the best way of taking spending money there? We usually take approx £200 of euros and then use the local ATM's from then on. Anybody with any better ideas?

Thanks!!

Billyboxer

zaksmum

billyboxer wrote: »

Hi folks,
thinking about booking a villa in the Paphos area of Cyprus for September this year.
Have all the financial meltdown problems been sorted now? What's the best way of taking spending money there? We usually take approx £200 of euros and then use the local ATM's from then on. Anybody with any better ideas?

Thanks!!

Billyboxer

We just got back from Paphos and I wouldn't go again. We stayed on Bar Street thinking it would be a lively area, having stayed there three years ago.

It was deserted. In the afternoons we were, quite literally, the only two people walking in the street. In the evenings, about three quarters of the bars were closed and derelict, with old FOR SALE signs up. We went out about 10pm and by 1130 most of the bars that were open were closing for the night.

The area by the harbour was more lively in the daytime. We didn't go there in the evenings so don't know what it was like then.

It's become very expensive too. A beer costs 3 Euros and a tiny brandy 5 Euros. In the supermarkets, prices were a lot higher than in the UK while the kiosks had astronomical prices...a litre of water costs 1.5 Euros!

Taxis from the airport to Paphos, taking 15 minutes, are 30 Euros, and one man was charged 50 Euros in the week after Greek Easter, the taxi driver claiming prices were higher at that time.

The weather is the only good thing about the place now.

Mands

billyboxer wrote: »

Hi folks,
thinking about booking a villa in the Paphos area of Cyprus for September this year.
Have all the financial meltdown problems been sorted now? What's the best way of taking spending money there? We usually take approx £200 of euros and then use the local ATM's from then on.

Nope, that's a decent plan. Right now tourists won't see anything other than normal; there's no accounting for how things might be in September but for now that's fine. To be extra safe it'd make sense to have more than one debit card to give some backup in case of a localised drama.

zaksmum wrote: »

We just got back from Paphos and I wouldn't go again.

Paphos is what Paphos is. I live an hour or so along the motorway and go whole years without setting foot in the place. It's a little sub-country within Cyprus that doesn't represent the island as a whole, just as Ayia Napa is.

If anyone wants to see the real Cyprus then hop in a car or on the bus and go to Troodos or Tochni or old Nicosia; find wineries and orange groves and deserted beaches.

That aside: was the wedding good or am I mis-remembering threads?

Mands

Gloomendoom

We are off to Cyprus again this summer. We love it there. Having said that, we tend to spend most of our time out and about. We did go into Paphos on one evening last year and all the bars and restaurants we saw were packed. People everywhere.

We have always found prices similar to the UK, if not a little cheaper but, just like here, you can pay through the nose if you want to. We don't. Bottled water is easy to find and dirt cheap. Loaves of bread are less than 1 euro.

If you want to see what current supermarket prices are like, see here...

http://www.papantoniou.com.cy/files/2013_Offers_Papantoniou/2013_Offers_Papantoniou_May_5.pdf

I can't comment on taxi prices because we've never used one. From what other people have said, not just zaksmum, they are expensive and best avoided if possible. Buses in Paphos are 1 euro or 3 for a day ticket.

We usually just get money out of ATMs as and when. We will be doing the same this year.

If you can be arsed to put the effort in, you will be rewarded with scenes like this...

PompeyPete

Getting around the main touristy areas of Paphos and nearby villages is definitely easy, and for the time being at least the bus fares are a bargain.

Here's the website and timetables for all the Paphos area buses, and a few tips/ideas...

http://www.paphosbus.com/

The most popular routes on the opening page operate to and from the Harbour terminus.

But if you look on the blue bar at the top you'll get links to all the other routes that are covered. Most of the 'other routes' start at the Karavella bus station, which is tucked inconveniently out of the way in Ktima Paphos (Old Town) about a 5-10 minute walk from the market in Ktima.

Mess about along that blue bar, and you should get a bit of inspiration. The 645 service between Karavella and Polis a a particularly nice run out...

http://www.pafosbuses.com/busroutes/polis-latchi/polis-chrysochous-paphos

And the 616A or B will get you from the terminus at Coral Bay to Peyia village (more of a town these days). Wonderful views from up, and a place where thousands of expats have chosen to settle. You can carry on from Peyia to Agios Georgious, which is about as far west you can get along the coastal road from Paphos without needing a 4 x 4...

http://www.paphosbus.com/index.php/paphos-tourist-area/paphos-bus-616-agios-georgios

zaksmum

We spoke to a bar owner who claimed the trend for all inclusive holidays is seriously harming local bars. He said the financial crisis too has made many investors want to pull out of Cyprus, which may explain why so much of Bar Street was closed up and derelict.

Lokolo

I got back a week ago and loved it. I stayed at Athena Beach and was diving for 3 days (which wasn't that busy which means I got 1 on 1 tutoring plus the dives weren't that busy, made it better if anything).

I only travelled by foot so didn't venture too far and I was only there for a week (which included 3.5 days diving). I was there for the pool, sun and sand. Beaches weren't spectacular.

I also spoke to a few residents there and apart from the ATMs being closed for those 2 days there was nothing wrong with their bank. Only 2 of the main banks were in trouble.

However I couldn't see any problems, plenty of people paying by card.

greenface

Great advice PPete we are off to Paphos in the summer again staying All Inclusive (I know) but saves thinking about food and drink when on site . We get out and about most days eating out a few times and going on the local buses . Off on Georges Fun Bus as a special day out . Ticks a few boxes and you get well fed .Highly reccommend it. We are airport side of Paphos and from our hotel its a short walk onto a small area with a few kiosk bars with sometimes music or singers on the beach. Beers are about 5 euros for 2 pints but its nice to have a wander before tea/snooze time.

PompeyPete

In #5 I mentioned that the village buses in Paphos left from Karavella bus station, which is tucked away in the Old Town.
From the harbour bus terminus it's easy to get to Karavella on the 618. Timetable here...

http://www.paphosbus.com/index.php/paphos-tourist-area/paphos-bus-618-center