Edwin Doran Sports Travel | Destinations : Cyprus

A history spanning 10,000 years has seen civilizations come and go and everyone from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra stake their claim here. Aphrodite made her home on Cyprus, and travellers throughout antiquity came here just to pay her tribute.

The third largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus is blessed with golden beaches and the laid-back, Mediterranean way of doing things, usually slowly. Today Cyprus is a modern country that mixes European culture with ancient enchantment.

Since the coup in 1974, after which the UN partitioned the island, all traces of Greek culture were removed from the northern part of the island, and since further UN intervention by way of a proposal for reunification in 2004, which was largely rejected by both sides, the southern Republic of Cyprus entered the EU alone.

Cyprus has many attractions, from the warmth of the locals to the attractive variety of landscape and the island's rich history. Tourism is generally concentrated around the coast but with the number of Roman ruins, Crusader castles and Byzantine monasteries, there is plenty to see for those seeking a bit of culture.

The Neolithic settlement of Choirokoitia, 32 kilometres from Larnaka and 48 kilometres south of Lefkosia, is UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The ruins are of an Aceramic village, with a collection of circular stone dwellings. A Greco-Roman theatre built into the side of a bluff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the site of Kourion is simply spectacular. Its riches include the House of Eustolios, its extensive Roman mosaics visible from covered walkways, the Early Christian Basilica, the ancient Forum, the Nymphaeum, the public baths and House of Gladiators. Paphos is also a World Heritage Site. In addition to being a delightful town, one part of it, Kato Pafos is home to the remains of the ancient city of Nea Pafos, now an Archaeological Park which contains among others the magnificent Roman mosaics in the Houses of Dionysos, Theseus, Orpheus and Aion.

Many sports are enjoyed on the island, from fishing, golf and tennis to numerous watersports in the warm sea, including sailing, surfing, scuba diving and of course, swimming.

The wilderness of the Troödos Massif provides excellent walking opportunities, and you will find plenty of small wine-making villages and Byzantine monasteries dotted among the pine trees.

TRAVEL

As tourism is Cyprus' main industry, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to charter flights to the two main airports of Larnaca and Paphos. The only to consider is that you must spend one week in the country, whereas when you travel on a scheduled service, you have a far greater flexibility in determining the length of your stay.

British Airways ~ Daily departures from London Gatwick and Manchester.
Cyprus Airways ~ Daily departures from London Heathrow, Stansted, Birmingham and Manchester.
ThomsonFly ~ From 17 regional airports, including a frequent service from London Gatwick.

FIXTURES

Unlike its other Mediterranean island which was a part of the Commonwealth, the Cypriot local population have not shown as much desire to participate in the full range of traditional British sports in the same way Malta has. Consequently, whilst there is a reasonable level of availability in sports such as cricket, hockey, netball and rugby, the main sport played in Cyprus is football. This is very highly geared to the extent that they have prepared special complexes to cater for Scandinavian clubs to undertake their winter training there.

It is possible to play cricket, hockey, netball and rugby, however, we would want to assess the standard of your touring side before we made our fixture recommendations. Many of these sports are played within the British forces community, which, as you can imagine, is very transient, depending on where our forces need to be deployed at the time.

Be aware also that cricket is played on mats.

ACCOMMODATION

It is our company policy to get you the very best accommodation at the best price. Taking your budget into consideration, we hope you will have enough for 3* accommodation as our experience shows us that the lower accommodation you use for your stay, the less respect the tourists have for where they are staying.

The Cynthiana Beach Hotel would be typical of the type of value we would be seeking for our customers. It has the advantage of an excellent location, whilst being away from the main touristy area of Paphos. It also has the great advantage of its own lagoon, extensive grounds and a number of other facilities:

Spacious sun terraces
Fresh water outdoor pool close to a sheltered sandy beach
Large indoor heated pool
Floodlit tennis court
Gym and sauna
Table tennis
Volleyball court
The hotel's team of chefs lay on spectacular buffets, with a fine selection of hot and cold delicacies.
Each room is fully climatised with private balcony, bath, direct dial telephone, hairdryer, satellite television and radio.

An additional benefit is that in inclement weather, it is sufficiently close to most of the fascinating ruins and archaeological sites on the island. For more information, see What to Do, below.

Cyprus

DESTINATION INFORMATION

BEST TIMES FOR TOURING

TRAVEL

FIXTURES

FIXTURE SUITABILITY

ACCOMMODATION

WHAT TO DO