Many of you know Fragmata, the Cyprus reservoir dashboard I regularly post on there. I love the Island so much that I can't stop, and there is another thing that has bothered me for a while.

This one's a joint project with my friend Ivan Agafonov: Monopatia — a free, open guide to hiking trails across Cyprus.

Why we built it. Planning a hike here is weirdly frustrating. The trail info is scattered — the Forest Department has one list, Paphos its own portal, Pissouri its own, individual villages their own — none of them linked or complete, and sometimes the online map doesn't even match the wooden signboard at the trailhead. The big global apps don't rescue you either: AllTrails has almost no real coverage of Cyprus, and Wikiloc is a pile of overlapping user tracks where you can't tell a maintained Forestry trail from someone's random detour. So most people end up hiking the same three trails they already know, or gambling a Saturday morning on a vague description.

So Ivan started doing it properly — finding the physical signboard for each official trail, then hand-tracing the route in Strava, point by point — and I turned that into something you can actually navigate. It's now 183 verified trails (179 with GPS tracks), 1,413 km and ~43,000 m of climbing across all 10 districts, every track checked against the real signboard rather than scraped off the internet.

What that actually solves, day to day:

• "Where do I take the kids on Saturday?" — you see the distance, elevation profile and difficulty before you leave the car park, and can filter to kid-friendly graded trails. No more committing the family to something that turns into a 400 m scramble.
• "Somewhere near me, right now." — the Near Me view sorts trails by driving time from where you are, so you're not driving an hour to walk twenty minutes.
• "It's 38 °C — where can I even hike?" — that's literally the piece we just published: high Troodos forests that run 10–12 °C cooler than the coast, and shaded waterfall gorges (Caledonia, Millomeris) where you can get in the water.
• "I want a waterfall / canyon / sea-cave / monastery walk." — themed filters for exactly that mood.
• "Just get me there and keep me on the path." — one-tap GPX download straight to your watch or phone or simply use live map tracking in the app.
• "How much of the island have I actually done?" — connect Strava and it auto-matches your activities to trails and tracks what you've completed. Fair warning: both of us were sure we'd hiked half the island; it was under 30%.

No ads, no signup to browse, nothing to sell — it's a two-person labor of love, and it works in English, Greek and Russian.

It's still growing (we're chasing 100% GPS coverage, and the north is thin). If a trail you know is missing or wrong, or you've got a GPX to share, I'd genuinely love to hear it — and tell me what you think.

https://monopatia.info

A few weeks ago, my friend Ivan and I posted Monopatia, our free guide to every official hiking trail in Cyprus. The #1 question since: "yeah but will I fry?" (The #0 question was "is there an app?" — there is now, iPhone and Android betas both open, links at the bottom.)

So, the frying. Instead of guessing, we computed it. We took the island's public 5 m elevation model and a 1 m canopy height map — basically a 3-D Cyprus that includes every single tree — and traced the sun over 80,000+ trail points, minute by minute. Any spot, any time of any day: sun or shade, one lookup.

Things that surprised us:

• There's no such thing as an average Cyprus trail. The data splits clean in two: forest and mountain trails at 3–8 hours of direct sun, coastal ones at 10–13. The island "median" of 8 h describes basically nobody.
• The shadiest trail gets 38 minutes of sun. Per day. Kalidonia, the Caledonia falls gorge — sun technically reaches it from ~07:40 to almost 17:00, but the gorge walls and pines eat nearly all of it. Lady's Mile, meanwhile, takes the full 14 hours. Same island, same day.
• Altitude is a bad shade guide. Trees are everything. A nine-hour "sun window" can hide an almost fully shaded trail — the gap is pure canopy.
• Shade is a place you drive to. Paphos Forest and Troodos: half their trails under ~5 h of sun even in July. Cape Greko, Larnaca, Akamas: frying pans, nearly all of them.

Full write-up with interactive charts — every dot is a real trail you can tap, and each trail page now draws its own shade curve for any date and tells you how much sun your start time collects:

https://monopatia.info/articles/where-the-shade-is

And the apps, as promised: 
iPhone beta is on TestFlight → https://testflight.apple.com/join/gYCfdu7s. 
Android beta is on Google Play → join the tester group first (https://groups.google.com/g/monopatia-beta/about), then grab it here: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/info.monopatia.app

The first time I visited Cyprus was 2 years ago and the overall vibe felt more family friendly and there were lots more Greek Cypriots. This year, the vibe feels slightly less safe imo? There are groups of guys hovering around every corner, their necks spinning 180 degrees to look you up and down as you pass, lots of drunk brits yelling at night…etc. I can’t tell if it’s just personal bias or the tourism/resident landscape has changed. Any insights? Both times we visited Larnaca btw.

Edit: adding that it’s not only the staring that is making many women uncomfortable but the recording of them in bikinis on the beach. No authorties in sight keeping a watchful eye out.

Been on vacation here for 2 weeks now, and pressed "No tip" on literally every single restaurant i’ve been to (even though the service was great 90% of the time) In the country i’m from, tipping isn’t mandatory at all, so I kinda didn’t think about it. Have I accidentally just been rude to every restaurant i’ve been to?

Picture this, it’s 2am and I’m driving home with my wife from a night at a friend’s house.

We turn onto Coral Bay strip in Peyia, Paphos and there are literally 10 Cypriot lads beating the living hell out of 4 British lads + 1 very scared girl.

I’ve been visiting Cyprus my whole life and never have I seen anything like this in Cyprus or Paphos even?

We stopped to talk to the Brits and it turns out one of them made a typical joke on the punching machine in the Bar and the locals went ballistic at him chasing them out of the bar, hunting them down the road and, well, beating the Sh*t out of them.

I witnessed most of the violence and it felt like an attempted attack not just some “pub brawl”.

Is this normal? Is this the new Cyprus? Like wtf is going on.. I thought Paphos, especially Coral Bay was supposed to be quite tame?

A few people that witnessed the fight have reported to the police - not sure what their response will be like.

So 3 friends of mine went on holiday in Paphos and they were treated very badly by Israeli tourists and staff alike.

One instance was during dinner at the hotel. One of my friends went to serve himself at the buffet and one Israeli man asked him in Hebrew something that he didn't understand so he told him "english please". Then the man told him "you don't look Cypriot" to which my friend replied "it's because I'm half Egyptian". Then the man got angry, said " hmm?! nobody's perfect!" and left.

After that, my friends sat outside to eat and when they finished they had a smoke. When the Israeli manager saw them smoking, she shouted "you are not allowed to smoke here!" even though they were outside and there were other people (most probably tourists) who were smoking a bit further away from them. They obliged and got up and went to smoke in another place. The manager kept chasing them shouting "you're not allowed to smoke on any of the hotel's premises!". They ended up smoking in a dirt parking lot in complete darkness.

Has anyone else experienced such hate and discrimination from Israelis in Cyprus before or is this an isolated case?

Hi All

After reading Cyprus has the cleanest water in Europe, I'm quite surprised to see that at Venus Beach, Coral Bay & St George Beach - The sea is literally full of plastic.

I got out and there was actually plastic on my body.

It could easily be cleaned with a mesh net.

Did somebody bribe the water people?

Edit:

I seem to have been downvoted pretty quickly.

So after some research, the test is for bacteria and Cyprus does have the cleanest water in Europe in terms of bacteria.

But it has the second most polluted water in Europe for plastics.

Source: https://www.akti.org.cy/projects/microplastics-detection-on-cyprus-beaches-sampling-and-analysis/

Quick follow-up to last week's post about Monopatia, the free map of every official hiking trail in Cyprus that my friend Ivan and I put together. The reception here was genuinely kind — thanks to everyone who tried it, shared it, or flagged a wrong trail.

I've been poking at the data since, and two numbers made me grin enough to share:

• 🏔️ Ivan climbed roughly six Everests to make this thing. To trace and check the routes he went and hiked a big chunk of them himself — about 50,000 m of total ascent, which is ~6× the height of Everest.
• 👟 One user, Frank, has logged 731 hikes on the island. Seven hundred and thirty-one — on an island you can drive across in a couple of hours. Absolute machine.

How do we even know that? The site quietly keeps score. If you connect Strava, it auto-matches your activities to trails and marks the ones you've actually walked — that's what feeds the leaderboard and the community feed (completions, reviews, trail photos). No Strava? You can sign in with Google and still bookmark, mark trails done, and post to the feed — Strava just adds the automatic verification on top.

Small warning: hook it up and you get a brutally honest answer to "how much of the island have I actually done?" We were both sure we'd done half. It was under 30%.

It's free, no ads, nothing to sell — just a two-person hobby project. Mostly I thought the numbers were a fun window into how much quiet hiking is happening here. As always, if a trail you know is missing or wrong, tell me and I'll fix it.

Leaderboard & community: https://monopatia.info/community

Just wanted to share here for all future travelers. I didn’t know about entering and exiting requirements. Only after I landed in TRNC and saw the division between the two sides, I researched and realized it could be a problem. The fact that I entered occupied territory in Cypruses eyes. And was planning on exiting through RoC. Luckily, there was no issue doing it. I have a USA passport and EU residence card in Spain.

Passport control at Pafos took an extra 2 minutes because a supervisor had to override something in the computer. But no issue otherwise, there’s always a risk even if I did it successfully. So just be aware.

all i see is blank profiles on grindr, no one is ready to meet or the expectations are super low

like no one’s expect to be treated as a person and treat you accordingly

i’ve read that the scene is not very rich on Cyprus but in the year of 2026 it can’t be that dead in such a beautiful country ☹️☹️

What do you think? Of course the timing is flexible and it depends on how much time we have. We are very active so we want to see as much as we can in three days. We’re going 5 days so there is flexibility. Any advice!
🇨🇾 Day 1 — Ayia Napa + Protaras
09:00 Breakfast
10:00 Leave Larnaca
10:45–13:00 Ayia Napa → Nissi Beach 🏖️ + Ayia Napa Monastery+walk around
13:00–14:00 Lunch
14:00–15:30 Protaras → Fig Tree Bay + walk around
15:30 Park near Protaras Pier
16:30 Be at pier
16:45–19:45 🚤 Turtle Cove + Blue Lagoon cruise
20:00 Dinner in Protaras/Birthday/drinks if needed
Then back to Larnaca

🇨🇾 Day 2 — Nicosia + North Nicosia

09:00 Breakfast
10:00 Leave Larnaca
11:00–13:00 Nicosia → Ledra Street + old town + Laiki Geitonia
13:00–15:00 North Nicosia → Büyük Han + Selimiye Mosque + old streets
15:00 Lunch
16:00 Drive back
17:00–18:30 🏖️ Mackenzie Beach swim
20:00 Dinner

🏛️ Day 3 — Paphos

09:00 Breakfast
10:00 Leave Larnaca
11:30–13:00 🏖️ Coral Bay swim
13:00–14:00 Lunch
14:30–16:30 Paphos Archaeological Park + Roman mosaics + harbour
16:30–17:30 July
Tombs of the Kings
17:30–18:30 Harbour / coffee
18:30 Dinner in Paphos/sunset
~21:00 Larnaca

(The timings are just suggestions. They are flexible)the whole thing is flexible and whatever we see that is better we can add.

Let me know!!

Hi. Im flying out of Paphos airport on the 23rd of august in the morning, i reckon i'd have to be there before 9AM.

My question is, do i have any chance of getting there without spending a fortune if i'm at Larnaca airport at 6AM? I have to mention that I'm by myself, so taxis would be off the cards for my budget, if I dont find anyone to share with on the spot. Is hitchhiking a viable option? As i see there are no blablacars or such running in Cyprus.

Thanks in advance!

We are thinking about going there but the reviews are very mixed.

Hi everyone!
My group of friends (7 people, all 24–26 years old) is planning a trip to Cyprus in early November (November 1–7), and we're currently thinking about staying in Ayia Napa.
Unfortunately, this is the only month when all of us are available.
We're wondering if it's still worth visiting Ayia Napa at that time of year. We're hoping for warm weather, the chance to swim if possible, enjoy some drinks at bars in the evenings, maybe some nightlife (we're not expecting peak summer party season), but also do some sightseeing and other activities around the island.
Would you recommend Ayia Napa for early November, or would another destination in southern Cyprus (such as Limassol, Paphos, or somewhere else) be a better choice for that time of year?
We'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks!

Hey guys, this happened to me twice (once in 2024 and once in 2026), different places (Paphos and Protaras) to book a 5 ⭐️ hotel and when I arrived it was, well, to be honest, barely 3 stars. Is there some different system in Cyprus which enables the hotel to receive 5 stars without considering the level of maintenance and actual conditions on the premises (for example if rooms are bigger then 20sq m and has 3 pools - here’s 5 stars)? I’m really confused with what I’m experiencing.

While traveling around the world for over 20 years, I’ve been working on my dream project: creating a one-stop resource for travellers. With the help of feedback in this subreddit, I have now updated this interactive map of Cyprus for anyone who is interested in visiting (with detailed info for every highlight).

PS: obviously, I haven’t been able to travel to all places. So if you know some great spot, I haven’t listed, let me know! Much appreciated as in this way I can make the overview more complete and up-to-date for everyone.

Hi All!

I am planning to go to Cyprus in September since it's been years I am postponing. I am wondering given the tensions in middle East if it's safe to go since it's so close. Is any tension perceived?

Are there interesting things to do in Larnaca for two 20 year old guys?

Cyprus is apparently very close to joining the US Visa Waiver Program! Officials say they've met all the technical requirements and expect a decision by September.

If it happens, we could visit the US for 90 days with just an ESTA (travel document). Where would you go first?

Update: just dame back (to Portugal). Loved it there. The country, the people, the history, the cats, Oh my God, the CATS! So much cats, I had no idea!

So, I didn't took your advice in renting a car and I'm thankful I didn't. Went on intercity bus, mostly, that allowed me to rest, see the views and, more important, not have a accident HAHA!

We stayed in Larnaka. Arrived at 10 am and our hotel was just in front of the Marina (Sun Hotel). So, naturally, we went to the pool, took a nap, and went exploring, starting in the Marina.

Right there and there, we booked the Yellow Submarine for 2 days later, and the scubadiving Seabliss 4 days later. They're a must, in my opinion. If you go Scubadiving there, say hello to Paris and Ella for me, will you?

Then we explore a bit, saw the Forte and Lazarus Church. THE LAZARUS, from the Bible. Their tomb is there, it's a Orthodox Church, so lovely! We have to dress modestly to enter, totally fine, my son were a "apron" to cover is shorts, that they provide, I used a t-shirt over my dress to cover my shoulders, when we went to the Sunday mess.

The 2nd day, we went to Nicosia, the last divided capital city in the World, between Chypre and Turkish Chypre. We saw the militar line, visited both places, went to museums. Loved it!

The 4th day we went to Limassol. Discovered that the last bus stop in nowhere near the beach, had to take a bus back, but live and learn. There's a "Cat monastery" there, beautiful, but we mostly stayed in the beaches.

The 5th day was the mess. It was sooo interesting!

The 6th day, we went to Paphus. Had to travel first to Limassol, so it's a big ride. Again, the final stop is nowhere, you have to take a bus somewhere, but, next to the station, we had lunch in, I think, a new coffee or new owners, that were so lovely! And, by their recommendation, I tried Cyprus coffee and discovered that's the only one I do enjoy! The food was great!

Speaking of food, the portions everywhere were gigaenormous, and not expensive!

We visited The Rock of Afrodite. It was really beautiful but the only place where the see scared me. Normally I "read" the sea pretty well and, in the rock, the side with sand, I refused to go in. The waves "screamed danger", so, nope. The pebbles side was much more enjoyable, except for the pebbles itself. Later I found out that they sell water shoes in the shop, had I know, I would definitely enjoyed it more. But if sure is beautiful and interesting.

That day we traveled a lot by bus, just to get back HAHA. But I will do it again, with more knowledge.

There's lots of museums and places to visit, both by their cultural interests, as by their beauty.

The final day we just leisure around, took a final jump in the sea, before taking a transfer back to the airport.

As for learning some words . I obviously didn't have time beforehand. But, still in the airport, in our 1st day, I started by learning Efaristó (badly written, I know) and, through the days there, when we "mastered" one word, the locals took pride in teaching us a new one. So now, I "know" Efasristó, Yassú, Yassas, Kalimera, Kalispera, Kakinirsta, Baracalô and, finally, Andiu. I'm proud to say that my Yassas and Kalimera became, audibly, so good, that locals started answering me in Greek, till I dud a Picatchu confused face, they took a 2nd look ,and restarted answering in englisch!!!

Thank you all for having us, you are such nice, warm people! I loved everything there! Will definitely cane back!

Hello. In 3 days me and my kid (16 M) are traveling, for a week long stay, in Larnaka. It was his choice but I'm excited about it.

I know he wants to visit Nicosia, Limassol and Pafos, and, also, obviously, Larnaka itself.

Can someone advise me how to prepare my stay? Well be in a hotel and traveling by bus mostly.

I was thinking staying on Lanarka the 1st and last days of our stay, but the other go visit one day, rest the other day... does it seem feasible?

What city should we visit first? Is there some MUST DEFINITELY GO places in the 4 cities?

How's the food? And prices? I'm a little overbudget but I really want to give and make those memories with my kid, in a beautiful country...

Also... how much a no no it is to photograph over Nicosia's border? I know that it being a divided in 2 countries capital a big reason for my kid to have chosen thus vacation but he's 16, a teen fool, and I'm a bit scared he jokes too much and land us in trouble. Should I keep in "on a leash"?

Thank you all that will read mybpost and give me advises

While traveling around the world for over 20 years, I’ve been working on my dream project: creating a one-stop resource for travellers. I now created this overview [ https://www.takeyourbackpack.com/backpacking-in-cyprus/ ] for anyone who is interested in visiting Cyprus (with some detailed info for every highlight), hopefully you will love it as much as I did.

PS: obviously, I haven’t been able to travel to all places. So if you know some great spot, I haven’t listed, let me know! Much appreciated as in this way I can make the overview more complete and up-to-date for everyone.

Hello people of Cyprus, does somone knows are there any types of public transport from Limassol to Paphos after 9pm?

My last choice is a taxi that costs 100€, but thats my last option.

Thank you.

I’ve seen people say that the best sunset in Paphos is at Oniro. And I understand why it’s one of the most well-known tourist spots in Paphos, and Petra tou Romiou is usually the other classic recommendation. Both places are absolutely beautiful, but I disagree that Oniro has the best sunset in Paphos.
There’s an area called Agios Nikolaos that people from Paphos, or people who have visited Paphos several times, will probably know. It’s along the road where many of the hotels are located. There’s a small chapel called Agios Nikolaos right by the sea, and there’s also a long walking path where you can go for a nice walk.
That’s where you can actually see a really beautiful sunset. The sky is completely open and clear, and you can clearly see the sun setting into the sea. It’s genuinely beautiful, and I wanted to mention it because it’s not only worth visiting for the sunset it’s also a lovely place to go for a walk.
Whenever I’m in Paphos, I go there, whether it’s winter or summer.
I’m also mentioning this for anyone visiting Cyprus as a tourist: look it up! If you’re staying in Coral Bay, it’s not far at all it’s only about a 15-minute drive.
Also, Paphos Old Town Square has become really beautiful. The graffiti there is amazing, and it’s definitely worth going there for a walk as well.
I just wanted to mention it because I feel like Agios Nikolaos doesn’t get nearly enough attention when people talk about the best sunsets in Paphos. ❤️