Protaras
Fig Tree Bay's shallow turquoise water, a chapel on a rock with 153 steps, and evenings that end at midnight rather than five.
Fig Tree Bay in Protaras with shallow turquoise water and sunbeds on pale sand
Why people stay in Protaras
Protaras is Ayia Napa with the volume turned down, which for most people is an improvement. The centre of gravity is Fig Tree Bay: a broad, pale-sand bay with a small rocky islet a short swim offshore, water that stays waist-deep for a long way out, and a fig tree that has been there since the sixteenth century. It is regularly voted among Europe's better beaches and it earns it — the sand is fine, the shelf is gentle, and there are lifeguards, showers and sunbeds at around €5-7 a pair through the season.
The town itself is essentially one road, Protara Avenue, running behind the beaches with hotels on the sea side and restaurants, mini-markets and a few bars on the other. It is not beautiful architecture and nobody claims it is. What it does have is a run of good coves in both directions — Sunrise Beach and Vrissiana to the south, Pernera and Kapparis north, Konnos Bay in its pine-lined amphitheatre towards Cape Greco — all within a few kilometres and all swimmable.
At nine in the evening the seafront is families walking off dinner, ice creams at €3, and the dancing fountain shows that a couple of venues run nightly in summer. Bars exist and stay open until one or two, but there is no club scene and no promoters; Ayia Napa is ten minutes away by bus if you want that. Above it all sits Profitis Ilias chapel on its rock — 153 steps up, floodlit at night, and the best free view on this coast, taking in the whole bay and Cape Greco.
Base here with children, with parents, or if you want the eastern coast's water without the eastern coast's noise. Skip it if you are after nightlife, if you want history — this stretch has almost none beyond the chapel and Paralimni's churches — or if you are travelling from November to March, when a large share of the hotels close and the seafront is empty. May, June, September and October are the sweet spot: warm sea, half the price, room on the sand.
The seafront road either side of Fig Tree Bay is the premium band: four- and five-star hotels with direct beach access at €150-280 in August and €80-130 in May or October. One street back from Protara Avenue you save €30-50 a night and lose a three-minute walk, which is the smartest trade in the resort. Pernera and Kapparis, two to four kilometres north, are quieter and more apartment-heavy at €60-110, with small sandy coves and a much more residential feel — good for two-week stays, less good if you want to walk to dinner variety. Konnos-side hotels towards Cape Greco are the calmest and priciest and effectively require a car. Avoid booking blind on "Protaras" alone: the name is used loosely from Kapparis to Cape Greco, a spread of eight kilometres, so check the exact distance to Fig Tree Bay before you pay.
Things to do in Protaras
Signposted off the main road just inland from Fig Tree Bay. A whitewashed chapel on a rock outcrop reached by a long flight of steps; free, open all day and floodlit at night. The view runs from Cape Greco to Paralimni and out over the whole bay. Go at sunset with water.
Dead centre of Protaras on the seafront road. Fine pale sand, a long shallow shelf and a small islet a hundred metres offshore that decent swimmers reach easily. Lifeguards and showers in season, sunbeds €5-7 a pair, and a line of cafes directly behind for €3 frappes.
Four kilometres south towards Cape Greco off the E307, with a steep access road and its own car park. A horseshoe cove backed by pine-covered cliffs, boat trips anchoring offshore and calm clear water. Less sand than Fig Tree and considerably more atmosphere; go early because parking fills by 10.30am.
The national forest park begins about 5 km south of Protaras. Marked paths lead to the sea caves, the Kamara tou Koraka natural bridge and the Agioi Anargyroi chapel on the cliff. Free, no shade, best before 10am. From the tip on a clear day you can make out the Syrian coast.
On Protara Avenue near the centre, a ten-minute walk from Fig Tree Bay. Around thirty tanks plus an outdoor garden with penguins, crocodiles and flamingos. Roughly €15 for adults and €8 for children, open daily through the season. It kills a hot afternoon and is genuinely aimed at under-tens.
The inland town four kilometres north-west, reachable on bus 101 or 102 for €1.50. This is where the resort's staff actually live — a proper square, the Agios Georgios churches, greengrocers, and tavernas charging €14-18 for a main rather than €26. Best on a weekday evening after 8pm.
What to see
Hotels in Protaras
No hotels are listed in Protaras yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Every hotel we cover in Protaras
- Mythical Sands Resort Antonios 4★ · 5/5
- Panorama Penthouse 4★ · 4.8/5
- Lora Pearl Luxury Villa By Louis Hotels 4★ · 4.7/5
- Louis Althea Beach Hotel 4★ · 4.7/5
- Louis St. Elias Resort & Waterpark 4★ · 4.6/5
- Pernera Beach Hotel 4★ · 4.5/5
- Anais Bay Hotel 3★ · 4.5/5
- Flokkas Hotel Apartments 2★ · 4.5/5
- Ayia Triada View 4★ · 4.4/5
- The Golden Coast Beach Hotel 4★ · 4.4/5
- Vrissiana Boutique Beach Hotel 4★ · 4.4/5
- Melini Hotel Suites 3★ · 4.4/5
- Fig Tree 202 Platinum 3★ · 4.3/5
- Sweet Memories Hotel Apts 2★ · 4.3/5
- Malama Gardens 3★ · 4.1/5
- Marlita Beach Hotel Apartments 3★ · 4.1/5
- Toxotis Hotel 3★ · 4.1/5
- Tsokkos Protaras Hotel 4★ · 4/5
- Silver Sands 3★ · 3.9/5
- Antigoni Hotel 3★ · 3.7/5
- Polycarpia Hotel 4★ · 3.6/5
- Windmills Hotel Apartments 3★ · 3.6/5
- Anastasia Hotel Apartments 4★ · 2.8/5
- Great Kings Resort Apartment 10 Block 19 4★ · 0.6/5
Getting around Protaras
Larnaca airport is 55-65 minutes away; shared transfers cost about €14-20 a head and a taxi €65-80. Intercity coaches run from Larnaca to Paralimni and Protaras for roughly €5, several times daily. Locally, buses 101 and 102 loop between Protaras, Paralimni and Ayia Napa every 15-30 minutes in summer for €1.50 a single or €5 a day pass, with the Protaras stops strung along the main seafront road. Within the resort a road train also shuttles the beaches in season. Everything from Fig Tree Bay to Sunrise Beach is walkable in twenty minutes; you only need a car for Cape Greco at dawn or trips north to Famagusta.
Questions about Protaras
Protaras, in almost every case. The beaches are shallower and calmer, the seafront is a promenade rather than a club strip, and evenings end around midnight. Ayia Napa is ten minutes away by bus if the teenagers want a night out, so you lose nothing by sleeping here.
Very shallow for a long way. Adults can stand well beyond the swimming buoys and the bottom stays sandy, which is why it suits small children. The rocky islet a hundred metres out is an easy swim for anyone competent, and there is a lifeguard through the summer season.
Only partly. A majority of hotels and most restaurants close from November to March, leaving a handful of year-round tavernas and the supermarkets serving Paralimni residents. The coast path and Cape Greco are lovely in that weather, but you would sleep in Larnaca and drive out.
Not for a beach holiday — buses 101 and 102 cover Fig Tree Bay, Pernera, Paralimni and Ayia Napa every 15-30 minutes for €1.50. A car helps for early starts at Cape Greco or Konnos before the parking fills, and for day trips to Famagusta or the Karpaz, which no bus serves.
