With more than 50 Blue Flag beaches, guaranteed sunshine and established resorts, Cyprus has always been a winner with the family holiday market.
This means hotels pay attention to little details, such as having separate sleeping areas for the kids in family rooms, having qualified sitters and even offering pureed food for babies.
As Orestis Rossides, UK director of the Cyprus Tourism Office, explains: “There is a wide selection of accommodation to choose from and many attractions that appeal to both young children and teenagers.
“The relaxed and easy way of life on the island ensures that families can enjoy a carefree and memorable holiday, whatever time of the year they visit.”
The infrastructure helps too – there are loads of classic family attractions, and most are easily reached off the island’s main road network.
There are also a number of good value all-inclusive resorts which have programmes for children. For summer 2010, Thanos Hotels is to open a Hercules club for teenagers at its Anassa property, complementing its Baby Go Lightly club for those aged three months to four years and the Smiling Dolphin Club for four to 11-year-olds.
The Hercules is for 13 to 16-year-olds and offers sailing, tennis, scuba diving, movie nights, kayaking, banana boating, meals out, local market trips, tenpin bowling, table tennis, windsurfing, surfing, beach games, waterskiing, squash, cooking lessons, snorkelling and themed Cyprus nights. That should keep their iPhones in their pockets for a while.
The four-star Dome Beach Hotel at Nissi Bay, a Thomas Cook Sunstar resort right on the beach, is another strong contender for families. New for 2010 is its Street Skills Soccer School which offers young guests six hours’ professional coaching for £25. Alternatively, the activity is also available at Sunstar resort Sentido Pafian Sun Village in Paphos.
Kids in search of the limelight will get a kick out of another Sunstar feature, the E3 Film and Stage Academy, where X Factor wannabees can sing their hearts out.
Paphos’ Aphrodite Hills Hotel, overlooking the spot where Aphrodite is said to have emerged from the sea, offers four clubs for different ages: Bizzy Babies, Pegasus Mini Club, Rainbow Kids and Grotto Fun Club.
While little ones splash in the kids’ pool and play games, teens can enjoy hip hop dance lessons and modelling classes before taking in a movie in the evenings or joining in the disco.
Sporting activity highlights include a climbing wall, mountain biking with trailer bikes or baby seats, kids’ karting, horse riding and snorkelling. There’s also babysitting and early meals provided for younger children.
Elsewhere, Le Meridien Limassol has a dedicated area for kids called Penguin Village. The facility has a mini football pitch, bouncy castle, swimming pool, mini amphitheatre and climbing frames.
Staff organise pebble painting, cowboys and Indians games and a talent show. All age ranges are catered for and there is a free club for three to 12-year-olds, who also have their own swimming pool next to the main pool.
Teens are offered discos throughout the summer and a choice of activities in La Sirene Fun Room and Leisure Land, while parents of babies aged from one month to three years can use the crèche, which costs €9 per hour.
There is also a dedicated kids’ restaurant, meaning hungry 10-year-olds don’t have to wait until adult dining times to eat.
At the Coral Beach Hotel in Paphos, located on a 500m stretch of sandy beach, family accommodation is available in the form of duplex studios, spread over two floors, which cater for up to five guests.
The Coral Kids’ Club is for children aged four to 12, while teenagers can enjoy the Coral water sports and diving centre which offers paragliding, waterskiing, jetskiing and scuba diving. Alternatively, the on-site arts and crafts centre offers the chance to try pottery, glass and silk painting.
The hotel also has its own tennis academy with private coaching and group sessions. Off-site, there is horse riding, trips to Paphos Castle, Kato Paphos Archaeological Park and the Tomb of the Kings to explore.
The five-star St Raphael Resort offers an Ultra All-Inclusive deal for families who want to know exactly what they are spending. It includes all meals, alcohol, afternoon snacks and ice creams plus a variety of sports activities.
The hotel also has an outdoor playground, a shaded kids’ pool, supervised clubs, a water slide and kids’ disco nights. Crucially, rooms are spacious too, with bedrooms featuring a separate bunkbed area which can be closed off with a sliding door.
Cyprus activities
- Windsurfing and sailing: The wind is strongest on the island’s peninsulas. Pissouri Beach, where the winds are mostly westerly, is ideal for kids learning.
- Diving: Larnaca and Limassol have dive centres. The Zenobia wreck off Larnaca offers great diving for advanced open water divers.
- Mountain biking and walking: There are four signed nature trails in the Troodos Mountains and two in the Akamas area. The Cyprus Tourism Organisation has leaflets for them all.
- Skiing: From January to mid-March, you can ski on the north and south faces of Mount Olympus.
- Horse riding: Recommend the Horse-Riding Ranch at Protaras, the Paphos Riding School and Trekking Centre, and the Larnaca Donkey Park.
Cyprus facts
- When to go: Families with small children may find high summer too hot as temperatures can climb above 40C. The shoulder seasons of April and May and September and October offer a gentler summer warmth.
- Weather: Typical Mediterranean climate. Summers are warm/hot and dry with virtually no rainfall between mid-May and mid-October. Winter is generally mild except in the mountains where snow is quite frequent. The highest rainfall is from December to February.
- Flight time: Four hours and 30 minutes
- Currency: Euro
Sample product
Thomas Cook offers seven nights for two adults and two children in a family room at The Dome Beach Hotel Nissi Bay for £2624 in total. Price includes accommodation, flights and board on an all-inclusive basis. thomascookworld.com, 0871 230 2399
Hotels4u.com offers rooms at the InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort from £60.97 per person per night based on a May 22 departure for a family of four sharing a junior suite. hotels4u.com
Jet2holidays.com is offering a seven-night stay at the family-friendly Corallia Beach Hotel Apartments in Paphos, Cyprus, for £1,689. The price is based on two adults and two children sharing on a self-catering basis, including transfers and 22kg of luggage. Flight departs Leeds Bradford on July 18, returning July 25. jet2holidays.com
