A base in Cyprus
What to do in Ayia Napa
Two reputations in one town. Nissi Beach at eight and Nissi Beach at two are different places, and both are twenty minutes from the emptiest cliffs on the island.
Airport
Larnaca (LCA), 45 min
Car
Optional
Beach
Nissi Beach
Best months
June–September for the nights, May or October for the water without the crowd.
Without a car
The strip, the monastery, the harbour and Nissi are all walkable or a short bus.
-
Nissi Beach before the loungers go out
Free · MorningGet there by eight and the sandbar to the island is yours. By eleven it is a different place entirely.
-
Ayia Napa Monastery and the sycamore
Free · MorningA sixteenth-century courtyard and a six-hundred-year-old tree, fifty metres from the loudest street on the island.
-
Makronissos tombs, then the beach
Free · AfternoonNineteen rock-cut tombs above a quiet bay. Ten minutes of history and then an afternoon in the water.
-
A boat out of the harbour
€38 · Afternoon · Apr–Oct onlyParty catamaran or a quiet cruise with a swim stop. The same coast, two entirely different afternoons. Pick deliberately.
-
The strip, after midnight
€32 · Evening · May–Sep onlyIt does not start before one and it does not pretend to be anything else. Everything is within four hundred metres.
-
Thalassa Museum of the Sea
€4 · AfternoonA reconstructed ancient trading ship and a good hour out of the afternoon heat.
What a car adds
Cape Greco, Konnos and Ayia Thekla need a car, a bike or a bus. The strip and Nissi do not.
-
Cape Greco sea caves and the arch
Free · MorningCliffs, caves and the natural bridge, all within a couple of kilometres of coast path. Best in the first hour of light.
-
Konnos Bay
€5 · AfternoonA pine-backed horseshoe of clear water between Ayia Napa and Protaras. The prettiest swim on this coast.
-
Love Bridge at sunrise
Free · MorningA small rock arch on the cliff path, and the one hour of the day when it is empty. Bring coffee.
-
Cliff jumping at the sea caves
Free · Afternoon · May–Oct onlyLocals jump from several heights; the lowest is plenty. Check the water below you first, every time.
-
Ayia Thekla and its chapel
Free · AfternoonA little sunken chapel and a bay with nobody in it, ten minutes west. The antidote to Nissi.
-
Potamos Liopetriou for fish
€22 · AfternoonA working fishing harbour with blue boats and one very good taverna. Lunch there and skip the strip.
Air and sea, by month
Long-run averages for the coast, rounded to the degree.
Jan
17°C
17°C
Feb
17°C
17°C
Mar
19°C
17°C
Apr
23°C
19°C
May
27°C
21°C
Jun
31°C
24°C
Jul
34°C
27°C
Aug
34°C
28°C
Sep
31°C
27°C
Oct
27°C
25°C
Nov
22°C
22°C
Dec
18°C
19°C
What things cost
Checked August 2026, away from the resort strips. Cars, taxis and restaurant meals move with the season, so treat them as the middle of a band. Accommodation is not listed: you have already booked yours.
| Coffee | €3.50 |
|---|---|
| Beer | €4.50 |
| Lunch | €16 |
| Dinner | €28 |
| Museum entry | €4 |
| Hire car, a day | €35 |
| Buses, a day | €5 |
| Taxi from the airport | €45 |
Questions
Do you need a car in Ayia Napa?
Cape Greco, Konnos and Ayia Thekla need a car, a bike or a bus. The strip and Nissi do not. Without one, 6 of the things below still work.
When is the best time to visit Ayia Napa?
June–September for the nights, May or October for the water without the crowd. In January most of the town is shut.
Which airport is closest?
Larnaca (LCA), 45 min.
Get this cut down to your own dates.
Plan Ayia Napa →The other bases
Approximate drive from Ayia Napa, off-peak.