Two days in Larnaca
August 27, 2010 3:43 PM Subscribe
What to do in or around Larnaca, Cyprus?
I will be with a friend in Larnaca on August 29 and 30. I don't have to remain in the city during the day, but this is where I have my hotel reservation. What do you recommend doing in the area, and how do you recommend getting there? (I don't want to rent a car.)
I will be with a friend in Larnaca on August 29 and 30. I don't have to remain in the city during the day, but this is where I have my hotel reservation. What do you recommend doing in the area, and how do you recommend getting there? (I don't want to rent a car.)
Best answer: Larnaca is pretty small, and you are probably in hotel close to Phinikoudes. It is the seafront promenade with a lot of places to sit down, have a coffee and watch the town go by.
At one end of Phinikoudes is the marina, and at the other end is the fort. I am not sure what the hours are for the fort, and museums and archealogical sites may be closed on Monday. Close to the fort, walkable from Phinikoudes is the church of St. Lazarus.
You could also take a short cab ride to Hala Sultan Tekke, which is close to the salt lake.
While the beach close to Phinikoudes is good, the younger folk are hanging out at Mackenzie beach. You could spend the day on the beach just lounging. Beds, and umbrellas are rented out by the municipality and cost about 2.50 euros each. You can keep them for the whole day, as long as you don't abandon them.
The hotel may be able to arrange with group tour buses to some of the archaeological sites near Limassol and Paphos. These are usually full-day affairs, and quite popular. There are many operators, all reliable, so it is just a question of finding a seat on a bus with a guide who speaks your language.
There are no more shared taxis in Cyprus, although there are regular but infrequent inter-city shuttle buses. They arrive and leave from the Phinikoudes area. If you want to travel by yourself to Nicosia or Limassol, that is an alternative to renting a taxi.
It is really hot and humid now, so come prepared for that.
It is a little difficult to answer not knowing exactly what you like so if you want to answer here or memail me, I can give you a few more suggestions.
posted by hariya at 6:34 AM on August 28, 2010
At one end of Phinikoudes is the marina, and at the other end is the fort. I am not sure what the hours are for the fort, and museums and archealogical sites may be closed on Monday. Close to the fort, walkable from Phinikoudes is the church of St. Lazarus.
You could also take a short cab ride to Hala Sultan Tekke, which is close to the salt lake.
While the beach close to Phinikoudes is good, the younger folk are hanging out at Mackenzie beach. You could spend the day on the beach just lounging. Beds, and umbrellas are rented out by the municipality and cost about 2.50 euros each. You can keep them for the whole day, as long as you don't abandon them.
The hotel may be able to arrange with group tour buses to some of the archaeological sites near Limassol and Paphos. These are usually full-day affairs, and quite popular. There are many operators, all reliable, so it is just a question of finding a seat on a bus with a guide who speaks your language.
There are no more shared taxis in Cyprus, although there are regular but infrequent inter-city shuttle buses. They arrive and leave from the Phinikoudes area. If you want to travel by yourself to Nicosia or Limassol, that is an alternative to renting a taxi.
It is really hot and humid now, so come prepared for that.
It is a little difficult to answer not knowing exactly what you like so if you want to answer here or memail me, I can give you a few more suggestions.
posted by hariya at 6:34 AM on August 28, 2010
Response by poster: Thank you both for your replies!
I'm not sure what my friend and I want to do, but I think we are more inclined towards cultural activities (museums, churches, relics, etc.) than spending a day at the beach. The biggest thing we have to decide, I think, is whether to stay in Larnaca or travel elsewhere.
Some questions of interest:
posted by iati at 9:13 AM on August 28, 2010
I'm not sure what my friend and I want to do, but I think we are more inclined towards cultural activities (museums, churches, relics, etc.) than spending a day at the beach. The biggest thing we have to decide, I think, is whether to stay in Larnaca or travel elsewhere.
Some questions of interest:
- How much would a (non-shared) taxi ride from Larnaca to Nicosia, Limassol or Ayia Napa cost? Are fares negotiable? And how much will a bus cost to any of these destinations?
- Could anyone recommend a good vegetarian-friendly restaurant in Larnaca?
posted by iati at 9:13 AM on August 28, 2010
Hariya, I'm really curious now- is Travel Express not considered a share taxi? That's what I was thinking of, but maybe it's actually something else. (Here's a link to this service, iati: http://www.travelexpress.com.cy/
Also I think a private taxi from Larnaca airport to downtown Nicosia cost about 25 euros the last time I was there (2008).
posted by Mouse Army at 5:42 PM on August 28, 2010
Also I think a private taxi from Larnaca airport to downtown Nicosia cost about 25 euros the last time I was there (2008).
posted by Mouse Army at 5:42 PM on August 28, 2010
I guess whether Travel Express is a shared taxi or not is up to the person. It picks up and drops off passengers from some standard locations in cities at scheduled times. You used to be able to go to the taxi stand, and wait till a few people headed in the same direction would collect, and go off in a taxi together. That is no more.
Taxi from the airport to Nicosia is 45 euros now. It is a standard fare. Taxis have become really expensive in the past few years.
The cheapest way to get to Nicosia from the airport now is using the airport shuttle bus from the arrivals lounge. It costs 7 euros and drops you off close to downtown. There are plenty of taxis available at the drop-off point to take you to your destination.
If you are strictly vegetarian, you won't have too many choices besides Indian food. There is Ganga and Masala on the Larnaca-Dhekelia road but it is a taxi ride away. I don't know of any good Indian or vegetarian restaurant within Larnaca.
If you don't mind fish, go south of the fort at Phinikoudes, heading towards the airport and Mackanzie beach, about 1 km away, on the water side, near a small marina, there is a pretty good fish restaurant. I can't remember the name. It is a white building with plenty of boats and cars parked nearby.
posted by hariya at 10:46 PM on August 28, 2010
Taxi from the airport to Nicosia is 45 euros now. It is a standard fare. Taxis have become really expensive in the past few years.
The cheapest way to get to Nicosia from the airport now is using the airport shuttle bus from the arrivals lounge. It costs 7 euros and drops you off close to downtown. There are plenty of taxis available at the drop-off point to take you to your destination.
If you are strictly vegetarian, you won't have too many choices besides Indian food. There is Ganga and Masala on the Larnaca-Dhekelia road but it is a taxi ride away. I don't know of any good Indian or vegetarian restaurant within Larnaca.
If you don't mind fish, go south of the fort at Phinikoudes, heading towards the airport and Mackanzie beach, about 1 km away, on the water side, near a small marina, there is a pretty good fish restaurant. I can't remember the name. It is a white building with plenty of boats and cars parked nearby.
posted by hariya at 10:46 PM on August 28, 2010
Response by poster: Thank you for all replies! I'll let you know what I ended up doing when I get back.
posted by iati at 3:22 AM on August 29, 2010
posted by iati at 3:22 AM on August 29, 2010
Response by poster: The promised follow-up:
We ended up arriving very late on Sunday, so we didn't have time to do anything. On Monday we went to Nicosia. We took a bus getting there. The bus station (pic with schedule) is on the beach, across from the Sun Hall Hotel. Tickets are very cheap: a one-way ticket costs €3, and a day pass costs €5. On Monday to Friday, buses leave Larnaca at 06:00, 06:30, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:30, 16:15, and on Sunday and Saturday at 06:30, 08:00, 09:30, 10:30, 13:00 and 16:00. All information (possibly) true at the time of writing. Use at your own risk.
Having been a while in Nicosia, we discovered we had to make it back to Larnaca post-haste, so we took a taxi, which cost us €50. We did not even try to negotiate, so I don't know whether this is a fixed (or fair) price.
A bonus tip for those visiting Larnaca: There are free (and very useful) tourist maps of Larnaca by a company called T.K.S. Publications. We got ours from our hotel, so it's worth asking.
posted by iati at 5:41 AM on September 4, 2010
We ended up arriving very late on Sunday, so we didn't have time to do anything. On Monday we went to Nicosia. We took a bus getting there. The bus station (pic with schedule) is on the beach, across from the Sun Hall Hotel. Tickets are very cheap: a one-way ticket costs €3, and a day pass costs €5. On Monday to Friday, buses leave Larnaca at 06:00, 06:30, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:30, 16:15, and on Sunday and Saturday at 06:30, 08:00, 09:30, 10:30, 13:00 and 16:00. All information (possibly) true at the time of writing. Use at your own risk.
Having been a while in Nicosia, we discovered we had to make it back to Larnaca post-haste, so we took a taxi, which cost us €50. We did not even try to negotiate, so I don't know whether this is a fixed (or fair) price.
A bonus tip for those visiting Larnaca: There are free (and very useful) tourist maps of Larnaca by a company called T.K.S. Publications. We got ours from our hotel, so it's worth asking.
posted by iati at 5:41 AM on September 4, 2010
Response by poster: One more note which has just occurred to me (for the benefit of a hypothetical future reader): a taxi from Larnaca airport to the city cost us €15, and a taxi the other way around the same. But it's only about 5 km (by my Google Maps reckoning), so if you're on a very tight budget, and like to enjoy the fresh road-side air, I suppose you could walk.
posted by iati at 7:22 PM on September 4, 2010
posted by iati at 7:22 PM on September 4, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Here's a link to the museum page on the dept. Of antiquities: http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/da/da.nsf/DMLmuseums_en/DMLmuseums_en?OpenDocument
If you don't want to rent a car to get to another city you can get seats on a share taxi, but expect to spend a long time en route and back again. The share taxis go to all of the major cities, but I expect Nicosia and Limassol would make the most sense since they are pretty close. Both Nicosia and Limassol have good museums, and wandering around in the old city is especially fun. There are lots of little restaurants and touristy places. You can also cross into North Cyprus at the Ledra street crossing if you want.
Sorry I can't tell you more, I mostly know about the museums and archaeological sites there : )
posted by Mouse Army at 7:39 PM on August 27, 2010