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Scrapbook of Local Attractions ...
Listed here are specific activities. Day trips are mentioned on the Information page (and detailed in guidebooks).
Beaches
There are enough beaches within 25 minutes by car to allow you to visit a different one each day of your holiday. All have free parking. Most have at least one taverna within strolling distance which can provide anything from a light lunch to a full banquet. Most Cypriots prefer to eat at beachside tavernas (particularly Sunday lunch) rather than to swim. If you take a self-drive motor launch from Latchi you can find your own deserted cove for a picnic lunch or a swim (though the harbourside restaurants at Latchi are perhaps too good to miss).
Boats and Boat Trips
There are boat trips from Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca and Latchi varying in duration betwen 1 hour and a whole day. Size and style varies from swank motor yachts to typical tour boats to sailing schooners There are also self-drive power boats available to hire at Paphos and Latchi. You require a U.K car driving licence to hire one. At Pissouri Bay you have a range of water sports facilties for hire including dinghies, sailboards, jetskis, banana rides etc. The activities are fairly small scale and swimming areas are well protected. There are no water sports facilities for hire at Melanda Beach for those who wish to get away from such activities (though locals sometimes launch their power boats there).
Donkey Sanctuary
Among the wine villages on the way to the Troodos at Vouni you will find over 100 donkeys with rides for children, a gift shop/café and picnic area. Two ex-pats Mary and Patrick Skinner run this Cyprus registered charity.
Evening Entertainment
There are no night clubs or discos to speak of in or near Pissouri (One restaurant/bar has a disco/dance floor in the basement). There is Cypriot dancing (professional dancers) in the Main Square every Wednesday throughout the summer (from about May to October) with an opportunity for everyone to join in. In fact the whole village joins in. This is not just a show occasion for tourists and you can get intoxicated by the atmosphere without touching the wine! There is more Cypriot dancing at the Vine Leaf Taverna at the beach on a Friday night. There are plenty of bars and tavernas both in the village and at the beaches. Eating out is cheap (Less than half what you would pay in the UK) and the quality of the food is excellent. Cypriot wines are of a very high standard and drinks generally are inexpensive. Most eating out is done outside and the informal welcoming atmosphere encourages the making of new friends. Nothing closes before midnight. If you want professional entertainment other than Cypriot dancing the Columbia Beach Hotel has a resident trio to serenade diners and three nights a week they do a buffet for about £11 per head.
Four Wheel Drive Safaris
There are a number of outfits offering convoys up into the Troodos mountains or around the Akamas. You can book these locally. Hire of a four wheel drive weekly or fortnightly costs roughly twice as much as an ordinary car so a Safari can be a sensible alternative. They are effectively a cross between a chaffeur drive and a coach tour over rough terrain.
Golf
There are golf courses at Secret Valley 5 miles away on the Paphos Road and at Tsada on the Paphos/Polis Road which is about 20 minutes away. Pissouri is the nearest seaside resort to Secret Valley Golf Course which plays to a par 71 and measures 5904 metres. Tsada Golf Club is set in the grounds of a 12th Century Monastery. It was created by Donald Steel, plays to a par 72 and measures 6060 metres. The website
Medical Tourism
Unexciting but practical - Cyprus provides an inexpensive venue for reliable medical and ancillary services. Spectacles and contact lenses are less than half the U.K. price and there are plenty of opticians ready to deal with your requirements. Private dental work is also relatively inexpensive. Cosmetic surgery costs about 40% of UK prices. There are even package holidays available which include kidney dialysis as part of the package. Whatever your needs the product/service will be much less expensive in Cyprus.
Mountain Biking
Bikes can be hired in the village from the Blackrock Dive Centre by the week or by the day as desired. Price is £4 for the day and less for longer lets - helmets included. The husband and wife team of Hayden and Martine Falloon have bags of information about local tracks and paths. I cycle daily in the early morning when out there. You can take the Trachonas route or other walks mentioned below and/or cycle to the top of the village near the Hillview Restaurant for spectacular 360 degree views. For the fitness fanatic the cycle back up the hill from the beach is a real challenge "because it is there". The Falloons plan to get in kid’s bikes but presently the smallest is for an average 10-11 year old. Mid-Summer it is too hot to cycle unless you are an early riser, very keen or don’t aim to do much.
Scuba Diving
Cyprus is a diver's paradise. There are lots or wrecks in the shallow waters offshore. Black Rock Dive Centre (see above under Mountain Biking) is in the centre of Pissouri and also now has a shop down at the beach. Hayden and Martine are very safety conscious. They are PADI approved. They run all types of dive courses from beginners to night dives. Ann has had a go with them. A beginner's dive cost £35 for the thick end of a day's activity. If you are new to diving they have regular free trial sessions in local swimming pools to make sure you are comfortable and will enjoy the experience then book you in for the dive proper later in the week. If you are not up to scuba diving a mask and snorkel may prove useful in the crystal clear sea at Melanda Beach and elsewhere. You can buy them locally cheaper than in the UK.
Walks
If you want to leave the car behind there are several decent walks within a few minutes of the House. You can walk to the Trachonas which is the high point and headland to the west of the village. In the book of walks kept in the house you will find a circular route from here down to the sea below. Further inland (You need the car to get there) there is a spectacular 6 mile walk to and through the Khapotami Gorge which can be linked to a 7 mile walk from Alekhtora to Aphrodite's Rock for the really energetic or turned into just a circular 6 mile walk for those who wish to develop an appetite for their evening mezes. These walks are on tracks. Stout walking shoes, a sun hat and sensible clothing are all you require (plus suntan lotion and a drink). There are many other similar walks within a short drive detailed in the books.
Water Parks
There are waterparks at Limassol (in fact three of them) and Paphos where kids of all ages can squeal with delight and make themselves weary. Watermania at Fasouri is the nearest and probably the best with all manner of slides and "black holes", the largest wave machine in Europe (they say) and, at a guess, over a thousand sunbeds.
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Scrapbook of Local Attractions ...
P.S. You can also do nothing!!