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I travelled to Cyprus during Covid-19 and it was amazing– Here is A Super useful guide

By December 16th, 2020Featured, Travel


Hey Everyone,

Welcome back to my blog!

I recently went to Cyprus for a long weekend trip from the 19th to 22nd of September and it was epic.  You can watch the highlights of my trip on my Instagram here. 

I visited the district of Paphos and had the most amazing time although aside from sharing with you what I got up to, I did want to share with you guys a few things that are worth noting if you are planning to travel to Cyprus specifically during COVID- 19. 

Now, not only is Cyprus a great place to visit for the warm weather, beaches, and ancient historic landmarks, it’s also great a remarkable location because it has remained as one of the most consistent countries not to be removed from the UK travel corridor list meaning you can travel to Cyprus without the need to self-isolate for fourteen days on arrival to the UK.

Originally the plan was to go to Mykonos in Greece although on the 7th of September it was announced that upon return all arrivals must self-isolate for fourteen days. This was not an option for me. After a look at a few flight alternatives, my friend and I decided Cyprus would be the best option. Once we had narrowed down our hotel to a location in Paphos. Planning around the trip became a lot easier. 

 

Testing for Covid-19

First, it’s important to note when travelling to Cyprus, proof of a negative PCR COVID- 19 test is required 72 hours before departure. This was probably the biggest and trickiest obstacle for us as we thought it would be quick and easy to get a free test through the NHS. The NHS is extremely overworked and as a result, we had to go private testing centre and pay a fee. Through a thorough search on twitter, I was able to locate other people who were travelling to Cyprus with the same query as mine and I came across this link to the test centre I went to have my COVID- 19 test done before my departure – https://www.facebook.com/nlclinic/  also please see here for a list of other reputable UK test centres https://www.paphoslife.com/news/private-covid-testing-in-the-uk 

Our test came back negative on Friday evening and we were good to go! We were surprised once we landed and learned our flight had been selected for a random COVID- 19 test. After the most painful experience (in comparison to my first test in London, which was gentle) we were free to leave the airport. We got the results of our 2nd test via text the morning that we have tested negative.

Airport Info, prices and Taxis 

We landed at Paphos airport and our hotel was about 30 minutes away. I had read online before our journey that the Taxi price from the airport was about €20. However, when we got to the airport the taxis were asking for €50. I checked for Uber and Bolt and no cars were available. After haggling, I managed to get us to our hotel for €35 which I later found out should’ve been about €25 max.

On the way back to went to Lancara airport, the cost of that taxi was about €100 and the journey time was about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Aside from the money-hungry taxi men at the airport the Taxi service we used for the duration of our stay was King Taxi Paphos. I would highly recommend using them – http://www.kingstaxipaphos.com/ 

We pretty much had the same driver every time and he didn’t disappoint. Most of our journeys were about €10 and €20 return. It might be worth taking out some cash as although most places are cashless all the taxi we travelled didn’t have a card machine. 

Things to do in Paphos 

We stayed at the amazing 5-star King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort. As mentioned previously our hotel was about 30 minutes from Paphos airport.

During our trip we visited:

  • Kings Avenue Shopping Mall – The mall has a supermarket and many international stores and brands.
  • The Dome Cocktail & Sushi Bar (Rooftop) – The Shisha was 16 euros and the Dj Was really good. It also closes at 2 am which is great. 
  • Annabelle Rooftop restaurant (Ouranos)– This hotel is Glamour and Chic. They have an international menu. The food was amazing and the service was 10/10
  • Paphos Habour – We went on a Glass Bottom Boat Cruise for 10 euros. It lasted about 90mins. You also have the opportunity to go for a swim. There are also countless restaurants and activities available at Paphos habour 

You can also visit these places (if we had more time we would’ve loved to have visited them):

As we stayed at a resort we took full use of our infinity pool and didn’t have much time to visit the beach. https://www.paphos.com/v/beaches/ 

Important Things to note 

Please be sure to check beforehand if places are open. 

Overall we had an amazing time in Paphos. From what I understand Cyprus is divided into two parts. The northern side is the Turkish Republic of Cyprus and south Cyprus which includes destinations such as Ayia Napa and Paphos were I visited.

Cyprus has 6 districts Nicosia, Larnaca. Limassol, Famagusta, Paphos, and Kyrenia. There are also four airports open to the public with Paphos and Larnaca being the most popular. I believe entry requirements may be different for the northern part of Cyprus.  

be sure to refer to  https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cyprus – rules change all the time! 

 I believe Cyprus has some of the lowest rates of COVID-19 making it one of the best and possibly safest places to travel to. This may be down to the tight entry requirements. I had to fill out a Cyprus flight pass 24 hours before departure, take two COVID tests, and fill out a Return to UK form before departure. 

P.S – Be aware cats randomly show up during dinner and breakfast so if you are not a cat lover this may take you by surprise. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my trip to Cyprus.

Will you be visiting Cyprus soon?

Till Next Time.

Lot’s of Love,

Sasha x

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