South Cyprus

Wednesday | Meet at the airport at 1:00pm for our flight to Larnaca with Emirates Airlines.  Upon arrival we transfer to our 3* hotel in Limassol, Harmony Bay Hotel, where rooms will be assigned.  Dinner at hotel (extra).

Thursday | Breakfast followed by a full day optional excursion.  Our first stop will be in the old city of Famagusta which is surrounded by one of the most well-preserved Venetian fortifications in the Eastern Mediterranean.  This city has plenty of medieval and renaissance buildings.  Unfortunately, most of them were severely damaged during the Turkish siege of the city in 1571.  Many cannon balls can still be seen in the fortification walls as well as in the walls of these buildings. We will round off the day with a stop at Metropolis Mall in Larnaca for some shopping. Return to hotel. Dinner at the hotel (extra).

Friday | After breakfast we will head off for another full day optional excursion.  We will visit Petra tou Romiou, also known as Aphrodite’s Rock, an area of immense beauty, and according to legend, this is the birth place of the goddess of love – Aphrodite.  We continue to Paphos, and in the afternoon we will visit the House of Dionysus. Here we will find the preserved ruins of a Roman villa dating to the 2nd, century and reknowned for the colourful mosaics of Dionysus.  Return to hotel. Dinner at the hotel (extra).

Saturday | Breakfast followed by a full day guided excursion to Larnaca, the oldest city in Cyprus, and Nicosia. Modern Larnaca, like other Cypriot coastal towns, is divided into an older city centre and a wide sprawl of hotels and restaurants along the beach. From certain facets in the centre of the city one can notice how the east meets the west between minarets and bell towers. We will also visit Nicosia, the world’s last divided capital with the northern side being the capital of the self-proclaimed Northern Cyprus and the southern half being the capital of the Republic of Cyprus. Nicosia has retained more of an authentically Cypriot air than the resorts of the southern coast. Return to hotel. Dinner at the hotel (extra).

Sunday | Breakfast followed by a full day optional excursion to the fertile region of the Troodos. The traditional village of Omodos is built on the side of a mountain amongst a green carpet of vineyards, surrounded by mountain peaks. This pretty village is famous for its wine, handmade narrow-knit lacing and ‘arkatena’ bread. We will make a stop at Kykkos Monastery also located in the Troodos Mountains. It is the wealthiest and most lavish of monasteries and stands on a mountain peak at an altitude of 1,318 metres. Its most notable asset is a silver-gilded icon of the Virgin Mary, one of the three surviving icons painted by the Apostle Luke, enshrined in an ornate tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl case. Our last stop will be in the picturesque village of Platres, another charming village in the Troodos Mountain range. Return to hotel. Dinner at the hotel (extra).

Monday | After breakfast, transfer by coach to Larnaca airport. Our Emirates flight to Malta will leave Larnaca at 12:20pm and is expected to land in Malta at 2:05pm.