We stayed in the Athene Tourist Apartments, which is on Mackenzie Beach in Larnaka. The view from our balcony was amazing, with the Mediterranean to the Left, a medieval fort to the front, and the mountains in the distance to the right. We would like to thank the folks running the Athene, as they were friendly, helpful, and polite. The price was amazing as well, a full $20US cheaper than another Tourist Apartment we checked that was 100m inland from the beach, no balcony, and a smaller room.
Traveling around Cyprus is a treat, no matter if you take the freeway or the back-roads. There are busses and taxis, but we knew we would travel a lot and rented a car. Driving of the left side of the road takes a few kilometers to get used to, but isn�t that tough as long as you remember. The much harder part is remembering that the controls are on the opposite side of the steering column. For the first few days I had a tendency to turn on my windshield wipers when I wanted to turn�
The freeway is modern and convenient and does offer some nice scenery, especially in the hills and cliffs towards the southern part of the island. The back-roads are the real treat though, as you are so close to the greenery. The island is covered in vegetation, both naturally occurring and farmed. Orange orchards were everywhere, as were grape arbors. More occasionally we could see lemon trees and almond groves. The natural grass is thick and lush, and trees range from short scrubby affairs in the rocky areas to large pines in the forests.
We would often set a destination but no timetable, just stopping at anything that seemed interesting. Attractions range from ancient ruins to medieval castles to marvelous natural rock formations. Cyprus caters to the tourist with brown signs along the highways pointing out anything of interest. The signs are in English and Greek. Unlike some places I�ve visited, the signs don�t run out once you turn off the Freeway. They�ll guide you along the side roads until you are in sight of the attraction.
The ruins of Roman and Greek buildings from 3 BC to 4 AD are interesting spots to visit. It�s amazing the amount of labor that must have went in to the construction of the houses, let alone the temples. The Temple of Aphrodite is almost completely destroyed, but the Temple of Apollo still has a decent amount standing. One of the coliseums is almost completely intact, as well, and has a series of private houses and a public bath in close proximity.
Kolossi Castle was one of my favorites. The Crusaders built the castle during the Crusades, as Cyprus was a launching point for raids into the Middle Eastern mainland. It�s completely intact and you can walk around in almost all of it. The turret was under repair in the upper section, so I couldn�t go up to the roof, but we did see the rest of it.
Natural scenery was amazing, as there is such a variety packed into a very small area. Mountains and cliffs run right up to the beach and the gently rolling hills. Sometimes you�ll find a �pocket beach� in a bowl cut into the side of a mountain by the tides. The photos can�t do these places justice; you just have to visit them yourself.
The local restaurants are nice and prices are about the same as a comparable American restaurant unless you order seafood. That�s a bit cheaper. Cypriot food is pretty comparable to other Mediterranean cuisines, especially Greek. The prices on the menu may or may not include taxes and service charges, but the bottom will usually tell you.
On a final note, the prices were a bit of a shock after living in Qatar. Especially gas, which was about 8 times more expensive. Because we went in the off-season, it wasn�t too bad for the apartment and the rental car, but day-to-day purchases such as groceries and cold medicine were a bit pricey. Most of it is comparable to US prices, though.