Duration: | 5 Day(s) - 4 Night(s) |
Tour Category: | Archaeological Tours |
Witness some of the best of Cyprus on a 4-night tour filled with interesting history and culture. Stay four nights in a 3- or 4-star hotel in Paphos or Limassol, and take daily trips to experience Paphos’ must-see archaeological treasures, Cyprus’ atmospheric walled capital of Nicosia, and the beautiful Troodos Mountains to see Byzantine-era churches and the picturesque village of Omodos. Your tour includes select meals, return airport transfers, and comfortable, air-conditioned transport by coach or minivan on your tours with an expert guide.
Highlights:
4-night Cyprus history and culture tour from Paphos or Limassol
Explore some of Cyprus’ top attractions, cities, and regions with an expert guide
See the UNESCO-listed Tombs of the Kings and House of Dionysus mosaics in Paphos
Visit the Greek south and Turkish-occupied side of Old Nicosia, the world’s only divided capital
Head into the Troodos Mountains to tour fresco-painted Byzantine churches and charming Omodos village
Stay four nights in either Paphos or Limassol, with daily breakfast and dinners included
Choose from 3- or 4-star hotel accommodation to suit your budget
Details:
Your 5-day tour takes in Cyprus’ key historical and cultural attractions, including the UNESCO World Heritage classical sites of Paphos —the intriguing capital city of Nicosia— and the scenic delights and Byzantine churches of the Troodos Mountains.
Choose to stay in Paphos or Limassol and enjoy daily tours from your hotel, with an included breakfast and dinner each day. A range of hotel accommodation is offered, with 3-star or 4-star hotel options in both Paphos and Limassol. Return transfers between Paphos airport and central Paphos or Limassol hotels to your Paphos or Limassol tour hotel are included, as are return transfers between Larnaca airport and your Limassol tour hotel.
Day 1: Paphos or Limassol
Begin your tour with an included transfer from your central Paphos or Limassol hotel, or from Paphos International Airport or Larnaca International Airport, to your tour hotel. Check-in, then unwind over an included hotel dinner.
Overnight: 3-star Kapetanios Odysia or 4-star Mediterranean Beach or Elias Beach hotel or similar in Limassol; or 3-star Aloe or Kissos hotel, or 4-star Aquamare or Athena Beach hotel or similar in Paphos.
Day 2: Paphos or Limassol – Paphos – Paphos or Limassol
Start your day with breakfast at your hotel, and then meet your guide for a half-day tour of the best of Paphos’ UNESCO World Heritage sites. Board your air-conditioned coach or minivan, and as you travel, hear historical anecdotes about Paphos and its time as Cyprus’ capital in the Roman era.
On route, stop to visit the church of Ayia Paraskevi. Step inside the Byzantine church and admire its wall frescoes, some said to date back to the 8th and 9th centuries.
Next, head for Paphos Archaeological Park, where an impressive collection of Roman relics neighbors the harbor. Walk to the House of Dionysus, the remnants of a 2nd century AD villa, and ogle the still-vivid floor mosaics as your guide explains their depictions of hunting scenes and most famously, the god of wine, Dionysus.
Continue to the Tombs of the Kings, a 4th- and 3rd-century BC burial complex for Paphos’ aristocracy. View the tombs, many carved with Doric columns, and hear how families would hold feasts here beside the buried dead.
Stop for lunch (own expense) and visit the Ayios Neophytos monastery, a church founded by hermit and writer Neophytos in the 12th century. Enter Neophytos’ hand-dug cave, where he lived as a recluse, and behold the beautiful frescoes on its walls. Then, travel to the 13th-century church of Panagia Chrysopolitissa, built on the ruins of an ancient basilica. Explore the relics and see the column where St Paul is said to have been whipped by the Romans.
After returning to your hotel, spend the rest of the day at leisure and enjoy an included dinner at your hotel.
Overnight: 3-star Kapetanios Odysia or 4-star Mediterranean Beach or Elias Beach hotel or similar in Limassol; or 3-star Aloe or Kissos hotel, or 4-star Aquamare or Athena Beach hotel or similar in Paphos.
Day 3: Paphos or Limassol – Nicosia – Paphos or Limassol
After breakfast, drive to Cyprus’ capital, Nicosia, the world’s last divided capital city. On the way, hear how Cyprus was divided into a Greek south and a Turkish-occupied north in 1974, and how consequently Nicosia was split in two: the Greek Lefkosia and the Turkish-occupied Lefkoşa.
See the 15th-century Venetian walls that ring Old Nicosia and explore the old quarter with your guide. Visit the Byzantine Museum to see its displays of icons, and enter the 17th-century St John’s Cathedral to admire its 18th-century frescoes.
Stop for lunch (own expense), and following a visit to Nicosia’s Archaeological Museum, delve into the Laiki Geitonia district. See the picturesque alleyways of this charming neighborhood and then cross the UN checkpoint into North Nicosia, passing the derelict buildings of the buffer zone, before entering the occupied area.
Here, walk around the Büyük Han caravanserai (old caravan staging inn) to view its Ottoman architecture, and take in the Selimiye Mosque, formerly the St Sophia Cathedral, as you hear how this Frankish church became a mosque in 1570.
Depart Nicosia and return to your hotel for dinner tonight.
Overnight: 3-star Kapetanios Odysia or 4-star Mediterranean Beach or Elias Beach hotel or similar in Limassol; or 3-star Aloe or Kissos hotel, or 4-star Aquamare or Athena Beach hotel or similar in Paphos.
Day 4: Paphos or Limassol – Troodos Mountains – Paphos or Limassol
Enjoy breakfast and take a full-day tour of the Troodos Mountains, an idyllic region of pine-wooded slopes, sleepy villages, and Byzantine churches seemingly suspended in time.
As you ascend the mountains, enjoy the cool, shady forests and stop at the church of Ayios Nicolaos, a 12th-century church UNESCO-listed for its steep-tiled roof and frescoes. Go inside to admire the murals showing the saints and Jesus' crucifixion, and then move on to the church of Panagia Pothithou to admire its equally beautiful frescoes.
After free time for lunch (own expense), visit the winemaking village of Omodos. View the pretty cobbled streets, and visit its revered Church of the Holy Cross, said to hold a piece of Jesus’ crucifixion cross.
After, return to your hotel for dinner.
Overnight: 3-star Kapetanios Odysia or 4-star Mediterranean Beach or Elias Beach hotel or similar in Limassol; or 3-star Aloe or Kissos hotel, or 4-star Aquamare or Athena Beach hotel or similar in Paphos.
Day 5: Paphos or Limassol
After breakfast, end your tour with a transfer to Paphos or Larnaca International Airport or a drop-off at any central Paphos or Limassol hotel where you’re continuing your stay.