A lively Mediterranean holiday hotspot
Originally a small fishing village in south-west Cyprus, Ayia Napa is now the Mediterranean’s party capital – the place to go for lively holidays and night-time clubbing.
Ayia Napa, in Cyprus’s market garden area, boasts superb golden sandy beaches, and retains vestiges of its cultural heritage in the form of a Venetian decorated monastery fronted by a 600-year-old sycamore tree, and a quaint harbour populated with colourful fishing vessels. Proturas, a quieter holiday resort nearby, also has excellent beaches and is better suited for families.
The most famous beach is Fig Tree Bay, with Nissi Beach and Nissi Bay in the west also being popular. In the east, Cape Greco poses a challenge for holiday divers, who leap from the rocks into the sea, and at Konnos Bay you can hire a speedboat or while away some time at the beach café.
Ayia Napa offers superb shopping opportunities. Look out especially for bargains on designer goods – watches, sunglasses, clothing, cameras and jewellery are up to 30 per cent cheaper than in the UK. Local handicrafts make good holiday souvenirs – Lefkara lace, ceramic pottery, silver jewellery, baskets, woven and silk goods and high-quality leatherwear. Most shops and boutiques welcome customers until 11pm every day except Sunday, and major credit cards are accepted everywhere.
If you’re dining out in Ayia Napa you will be spoilt for choice, with everything from gourmet cuisine to pub meals on practically every street – whether you fancy a burger, fish and chips, chow mein or formal French, you won’t have far to go. Try Cypriot fare in the delightful tavernas around the harbour, which serve traditional meze and specialities such as taramosalata, tsatsiki, moussaka, stifado, aphelia and sweet loukoumades.
The nightlife in Ayia Napa is legendary. Indeed, many visitors have an afternoon siesta to prepare themselves for the resort's after-dark activities! Step out after sunset to find bars, discos, nightclubs and bouzouki clubs open well into the early hours, with big-name DJs appearing at some clubs. Hotels also provide evening entertainment such as with live music and Greek nights with folk dancing.
For a taste of Ayia Napa holiday high life at the cheapest prices, try Co-op Holidays.