Guides ·Itineraries

Pick one coastal base and stay put

With 48 hours, the single biggest time-saver is refusing to move hotels. Limassol sits almost exactly halfway between Larnaca and Paphos airports, roughly 50 minutes on the A5 from Larnaca and 55 minutes on the A6 from Paphos, which makes it the obvious sea-facing base. The Amathus strip east of the centre and the Marina end of the old town both put you within 10 minutes of the Molos promenade. Expect €160 to €260 a night in shoulder season for a four-star room with a balcony over the water, and €350 upwards at the Amara, Parklane or Four Seasons in July and August.

If your flights are both into Paphos, invert the whole plan and base yourself in Kato Paphos or on the Coral Bay road instead: the Almyra, Annabelle and Amavi all sit within walking distance of the harbour, and Elysium is a five-minute stroll from the Tombs of the Kings. Whichever coast you choose, book a room with a sea view rather than a pool view. On a 48-hour trip you will spend more waking hours on that balcony than anywhere else, and the price gap is usually only €25 to €40 a night.

Day one, morning: Limassol old town and the Molos

Start at Limassol Castle on Eirinis Street, open 08:00 to 17:00 in winter and to 19:30 from mid-April, entry €4.50. This is where Richard the Lionheart is said to have married Berengaria of Navarre in 1191, and the Medieval Museum inside is small enough to finish in 40 minutes. Walk out into the Old Port lanes behind it, then along Saripolou Square, where the coffee shops fill up from 09:00. A double espresso runs €2.50, a frappé €3.50, and a bougatsa or koupepia from a bakery on Agiou Andreou Street about €2.

Then take the Molos, the sculpture-lined seafront park that runs 1.7 km from the Old Port to the marina. It is flat, shaded in patches by palms, and free. Cut into Limassol Marina for a look at the yachts and a swim off the small artificial beach at its western end. If it is hot, the public sunbed pairs with umbrella on Akti Olympion beach cost about €10 for the day. Aim to be back at the hotel by 13:30 so you can eat, swim and get on the road west by 15:00 while the light is still good.

Day one, afternoon: Kourion above the sea

Kourion is 19 km west of Limassol on the B6, about 25 minutes by car and signposted from Episkopi. Entry is €4.50, gates open 08:15 and close 17:15 in winter, 19:30 in summer. The Greco-Roman theatre is carved into a cliff 70 m above the Mediterranean and still hosts summer performances; the House of Eustolios above it keeps fifth-century mosaic floors under a modern canopy. Give it 90 minutes. Wear proper shoes, because the site is exposed limestone and there is almost no shade between the theatre and the basilica.

On the way back, detour five minutes to Kolossi Castle at Kolossi village, a squat Hospitaller keep from 1454 with a rooftop view over the vineyards that produce Commandaria. Entry is €2.50 and 30 minutes is plenty. Below Kourion, Kourion Beach and Curium Beach have a long shingle-and-sand stretch with two tavernas; a swim here at 18:00, with the cliffs going orange behind you, is the best free thing on the itinerary. Buses do reach Kourion from Limassol on the 16 route, but the last return is early, so a car or a taxi is safer.

Day one, evening: fish meze at the Old Port

Cyprus eats late by northern European standards but not late by Spanish ones; tavernas fill between 20:00 and 21:30. Book a fish meze at one of the Old Port or Old Town tavernas around Agiou Andreou and Genethliou Mitella streets. A full fish meze is €28 to €35 per person and arrives as 15 to 20 plates: taramosalata, marinated octopus, grilled calamari, red mullet, sea bream, finishing with fruit. Order it for the table, ask them to slow the pace, and drink a local Xynisteri white, about €18 a bottle in a taverna.

If you would rather graze, the Saripolou Square block turns into an open-air bar zone after 21:00 with tables spilling across the pedestrianised street. A Keo or Leon draught is €3.50 to €4.50, a Commandaria dessert wine €5 a glass. Limassol Marina is the smarter alternative, with cocktails at €12 to €15 and a lit boardwalk you can walk off afterwards. Either way, get back to the hotel before midnight, because day two starts with a drive.

Day two: Paphos mosaics, harbour and Tombs of the Kings

Leave by 08:30 on the A6 motorway; Limassol to Paphos is 68 km and takes about 55 minutes at the 100 km/h limit. Park at Kato Paphos harbour, where public parking runs about €2 for two hours, and go straight into the Paphos Archaeological Park, entry €4.50, open from 08:15. The Houses of Dionysos, Theseus and Aion hold the finest Roman mosaic floors in the eastern Mediterranean, and the site is UNESCO-listed. Two hours is realistic. Come out onto the harbour, walk the mole to the medieval fort, and have grilled halloumi and a salad at a harbourside table for about €16.

In the afternoon, drive five minutes to the Tombs of the Kings on Tafon ton Vasileon Avenue, entry €2.50, closing 17:15 in winter and 19:30 in summer. These are rock-cut Hellenistic burial chambers on a low sea cliff, with peristyle courtyards you can climb down into and no crowds after 16:00. If you would rather swim, Coral Bay is 20 minutes north on the E701 with soft sand, lifeguards in season and free parking; the OSYPA 615 bus from Kato Paphos costs €1.50 one way, €5 for a day ticket.

Day two, sunset: Petra tou Romiou and the drive home

Time your return to hit Petra tou Romiou, Aphrodite's Rock, on the B6 coastal road 25 km east of Paphos. There is a free car park with a pedestrian tunnel under the road to the pebble beach, and a café on the hill above with the classic postcard angle. The sun drops behind the sea stacks between 17:15 in December and 20:15 in late June. Swimming here is legal but the pebbles are large and the shore drops away quickly, so most people just wade in for the photograph and dry off on the warm stones.

From the rock, Limassol is 40 minutes back along the B6 and A6. If you have a late flight instead, Paphos Airport is only 20 minutes west, which is why running the itinerary in reverse also works. Total driving over two days is roughly 180 km, or about €22 of fuel at the current €1.50 a litre, plus €16 in site entries per person. That leaves the budget where it belongs: on a sea-view room and one long fish meze.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

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