In the end of August, I went to Cyprus with my boyfriend. We went to Protaras/Fig Tree Bay, and the purpose of the trip was to relax on the beach. Honestly, that was also the only thing to do in the area, as it is built for tourism and there is nothing else to see or do. The main streets are full of overpriced restaurants and souvenir shops, but it was a nice place to relax for a week. But, as the travel geek I am, I wanted to see a bit more of the island. We had planned to rent a car and drive around the country – but as I got sick after the first day, we decided to take it easy. Instead of renting a car, we rented a “buggy car” and drove along the east coast of Cyprus for one day.

We started in Fig Tree Bay, where we also stayed. Fig Tree Bay is located in the area Protaras, and it is a very popular tourist destinations. Everywhere we went we could hear people speaking Norwegian (or Swedish), and some restaurants even had menus in one of the languages… It was a bit too much for me, as I prefer more authentic places. But, it was an OK place to stay, and it was very cheap. We paid around 3700NOK per person for a 4 star hotel for one week and a direct flight from Trondheim (and there are rarely any direct flights from Trondheim at all). Not too bad! As mentioned, there was not much to see in the area, other than beautiful beaches and the Church of Prophet Elias, which is located on a hill. From the hill you get a great view of Protaras as well.

We then drove north, with no special destination in mind. We tried to take the roads along the coast as much as possible (they were in quite bad condition, so an ATV or a buggy is recommended). Here we explored secret beaches, and visited some more known tourist beaches – and they were all so beautiful! We visited Pernera and Kappari, two popular tourist destinations, and many smaller beaches – they are easy to find, just drive along the coast!

After exploring this part of the island, we drove south, passing Fig Tree Bay and down to Cape Greko. Cape Greko is a national park, where you for example can find a view point showing you the most amazing view of the coast. You will also find the famous Cape Greko, a cave, which is a good spot for snorkeling.

We ended the trip by driving down to the famous party destination Ayia Napa. This is where Scandinavian teens go to party for two weeks and do nothing else… We drove through the popular party streets, and it was like a ghost town during day time – I can’t imagine how this looks at night, ha ha… Anyways, we didn’t spend much time here. One of the other days in Cyprus we took the local bus to Nissi Beach, which is a lovely (but crowded) beach – definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.