There are many activities to help keep you fit and focussed and to occupy your leisure time here in Paphos, whatever the weather.
Rugby
Paphos is blessed with a very strong rugby team – The Paphos Tigers. Made up of South African, Australian and British repatriate Cypriots and expats, the Tigers are now in their fifth season. They also run Tiger Cubs for children aged 6 and above.
Football
Professionally, the local club is AEP , but there are a number of five-a-side teams and after-school football clubs for children. Santos FC under-12s meet every Wednesday evening throughout the summer, as well as on Saturday mornings during league season and there is also the Paphos Cheetahs. George Gregoriou the owner of the Kiniras Hotel also happens to be the official match agent for UEFA, and is currently the spokesperson for all UEFA agents. Its quite common to find the national team of the many UEFA members training in the Kiniras sports centre or even staying at the hotel. If this interests you take a look at cyprus-football.com
Martial arts
Extremely popular in Cyprus, there are many martial arts centres around Paphos.
Scuba Diving & snorkelling
There are several scuba diving centres in the Paphos region, ranging from the larger year-round operations such as Cydive or Dive-in, to the smaller, more seasonal operators.There are numerous dive-sites around Paphos suitable for all levels of ability, as well as tours to sites across the island, including one of the world’s top ten dive wrecks, The Zenobia RoRo Ferry which went down just outside Larnaca.
Out to sea
Local cruises; glass-bottom boat trips; mini cruises to Egypt/Israel/Greek Islands and numerous watersports are available throughout the year. Most of the smaller activity based boats can be found in the harbour with your options ranging from superfast speedboat thrills (Tiger Trips are reccommended) to Tuna and deep sea fishing trips The two main day cruise operators are Paphos Sea Cruises and Wavedancer. The former has several boats with the sea star being a luxury millionaires style cruiser and the Jolly Roger being a sail boat with a pirate theme (as the name suggests) – great for the kids! Wavedancer on the other hand is an ex ferry with a vast deck area for sunbathing and other activites ranging from fashion shows to wedding receptions! To have a look at them go to Paphos sea cruises or Wavedancer or for a unbiased view have a look at this review.
On safari
There are a number of companies offering safari and adventure tours and excursions. Particularly worthwhile are visits to the Akamas and Avgas Gorge. We recommend Zephyros Adventure tours, run by Lucy and Lee, a couple with an insatiable energy for all things related to ‘the real Cyprus’.
Young & young at heart
The Paphos Bird & Animal Park is a very peaceful and enchanting place- the vision of Christos the owner to showcase his many feather friends, and put them on the stage! (the parrot show is a hoglight for the kids) and its not just birds- Giraffes, tortoises and wildbeest ad to the mix. In the same Coral Bay /St georges area you can also find the Athiki Amusement & Mini Golf Park; Snake George Reptile Park, and why not take a trip up the mountain to the Trakkos donkey sanctuary where you can take a donkey safari on a registered nature trail. Also well documented and promoted is the Paphos Aphrodite Waterpark a cool way to spend a hot day!; You will also find the Paphos Aquarium; Adonis Baths waterfall; Cosmic Bowling; Kids’ Kingdom Indoor Play Centre; go-karting; horse riding; and various amusement parks as an alternative to the beach.
Golf
There are three superb championship golf courses within 20km of Paphos, two of which, Secret Valley and Aphrodite Hills, are situated along the coast near Paphos Airport. The third club, Tsada, has been built inland in the beautiful mountains near the main road to Polis.
These contrasting and challenging courses are playable throughout the year and remain green during the long hot summers. All three clubs are open to both residents and visitors, and each hires out buggies, trolleys and clubs through their pro-shops. Due to the popularity of these courses, it is advisable to book tee-time well in advance. To play in competitions in Tsada and Secret Valley visitors need to present their recent handicap certificate.
Places of archaeological interest
There are so many historical and archaeological sites within upper and lower Paphos (in common with Bath and Venice) that UNESCO decided against listing them all separately and simply added the whole town to its world Cultural Heritage List. However, most well known in Kato Paphos are the mosaics of Paphos, the Tombs of the Kings and the Medieval Fort, Panayia Chrysopolitissa Church and Byzantine Basilica. In the old town of Paphos (Ktima) there is the archaeological museum and the Hammam (Turkish Baths) which quite interestingly has a cafe running out of the lower level. We reccomend the cafe as a haven of peace and ‘chilled tranquility’ which allows the visitor to combine a cool drink with a tour of the baths.
Places of interest and activities in the region and further afield – too much to mention!
Polis and Latchi with the Baths of Aphrodite; the Fountain of Love (fontana Amarosa ; scuba-diving; snorkelling; boat trips; Akamas nature trails, Akamas villages and stone houses; the Petratis Gorge; Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite’s Rock) Kouklia and the ancient city of Palea Paphos; Byzantine grotto and frescoes of Palea Enklistra Limassol Region Castle and mediaeval museum; the bazaar; municipal gardens and archaeological museum; winery tours and the September wine festival; waterparks; the ancient site of Kourion (approx 12km west); Kolossi Castle (approx 9km west); the Troodos and the krasichorio vilages (wine making region) including Omodos (approx 35km northwest) the wine museum at Erimi; the Oleastro olive oil museum; Nicosia The Ramparts; Cyprus Museum; Kanakaria Mosaics; Gothic church of Ayios Mamas; Ledra shopping street; cross-border city views; and, of course, trips to Northern Cyprus.
