Still on the list of travel corridors and extremely popular in the shoulder season, you can still be enjoying 25c days in September in Cyprus. In 2019, Cyprus enjoyed over 2m tourists but in 2020 this number has fallen, like all countries, by 70%.

Today we explore reasons to enjoy a Cyprus Holiday… apart from the heat and the terrific value of the holidays and the lack of tourists on the beach in 2020.

The food is first rate

Have you ever enjoyed a Cypriot meze? If not then you’ve never lived. A meze comes with around ten small dishes that you’ll also find are very popular in the UK thanks in large part to the increase in tourism to Cyprus and Greece. Those dishes will include pita bread and hummus, stifado, stuffed vine leaves, souvlaki and many more favourites. Wash this down with a glass or two of Keo or the local Cypriot wine for a perfect meal on the Med.

From beaches to skiing

Cyprus isn’t the first place that leaps to mind when considering different places to ski but Mount Olympus and the Troodos mountains are topped with snow most of the year round making it possible for you to enjoy a beach holiday and a skiing holiday all in the same day! 

Get your PADI licence in Cyprus

With coral reefs, amazing instructors, plentiful dives and ancient shipwrecks, Cyprus is a diver’s dream. Take that perfect Instagram dive shot on your waterproof camera and pass your PADI course for the full diving experience.

Clean beaches 

Crystal clear seas and tidy beaches typify the Cyprus beach holiday experience. The most popular and surprisingly well kept beaches are in Ayia Napa with the most interesting, Aphrodite’s Rock, at Paphos.

The best souvenirs are from Cyprus

The prices in Cyprus for most goods are around half the price of the UK so picking up an amazing souvenir or gift for those back home is easy. Delicate filigree jewellery and fine lace items can be found in Lefkara whereas in Larnaca you can find exquisite pottery and in Ayia Napa is great for olive oil.

The amazing flora and fauna of Northern Cyprus

Did you know that Cyprus had its own sheep? The mouflon is a type of sheep that originated in the hills of Cyprus and can still be found there today, tended by local shepherds. If you pay careful attention, you’ll come to realise that this is why Cyprus Airways has a sheep on its logo and the mouflon can also be found on the coins and notes.

North Cyprus is especially varied and interesting for those interested in flowers. Between 1988 and 1993, Dr Deryck Viney collected over 1,000 different types of flowers in Northern Cyprus. He then wrote an illustrated book about what he had discovered, called “An Illustrated Flora of North Cyprus”, this has proven to be an invaluable guide to the amateur or professional botanist. The springtime is the best time to visit Cyprus for those interested in Botany.

Larnaca is of particular interest to bird watchers due to the migrating birds that stop off here over winter. Home to its own salt lakes, these also offer home to an array of wildlife throughout the year.

The best club scene in Europe?

Ayia Napa is famously home to some of the best club nights in the world with the biggest names in music and DJ sets hitting the beaches between June-August. If you’re into clubs and club nights, there’s no better place on the island.

Driving like a Brit – the right way!

There’s no better holiday for the nervy driver than Cyprus where the road are for driving on the left – as god intended. 

Surprisingly good and cheap vino

Cyprus has been producing wine since pre-Roman times, in fact evidence of wine production on Cyprus begins in 2300 BC. The wines over the last decade have improved so much as to be competing for international medals. The local grape is Mavro, which makes up 25% of the production, but international varieties are being planted in droves with Carignan, Syrah and Cabernet fast growing in appeal.