Had a jab? Grab these top spots as Cyprus opens up
The island’s new Covid rules mean British travellers could be visiting as early as May, so book your villa and...
SUMMER comes early to Cyprus, with temperatures in May hovering around 25C (77F) thanks to its southerly position in the Mediterranean. So it’s good news that the island has announced that fully vaccinated Britons can travel there from May 1 without needing either to quarantine or to take expensive and time-consuming Covid tests.
That date is more than a fortnight before the UK Government is considering foreign travel again (May 17) but it means there is a strong chance that holidays in Cyprus with minimal restrictions will be back on the cards. Those who have not been vaccinated at least a week before travel can still go but will need a negative Covid test before and/or on arrival – details are yet to be announced. Children under the age of 12 are exempt.
The good news is there is still plenty of availability, but don’t leave it too long before booking, as villas fill up fast, whether you are in search of a romantic idyll or a place to get together with family and friends.
BEST FOR COUPLES
VILLAS for two can be hard to find in Cyprus, but at Modus Vivendi in the sleepy hamlet of Psematismenos, between Larnaca and Limassol, there are six of them.
Beautifully rustic, with stone walls, beam and bamboo ceilings and flagstone floors, their cast-iron four-poster beds, mismatched furniture and contemporary art make them charismatic boltholes. Four are clustered around a shared pool, shaded by cypresses, with another two in a cottage across the lane that can be joined together to make one independent house for families or two couples travelling together.
Although the coast is just a couple of miles away, this is the kind of place where guests are more likely to kick back and relax in the peaceful surroundings. A night for two costs from £90 (i-escape.com).
For even more seclusion, plus a chance to stay closer to nature, what about a wooden lodge in a quiet valley north of Limassol?
With country views and hiking trails from the door, this simple but cosy cabin near the village of Agios Mamas is perfect to get away from it all. Ideally, you should be a cat lover, as Panicos, who built the cabin (and lives next door) has a whole gang of them. He also has a lovely pool which guests can use, and will ensure you get the best treatment in his local bars and restaurants. It costs £39 a night, plus cleaning and a service fee (airbnb.co.uk).
Wine lovers should head for the hills west of Agios Mamas, where as well as olive trees surrounding the quaint cobbled village of Vouni, there are plenty of vineyards.
You can sample both local delicacies around your private pool when you stay in either The Lookout or The Hideaway, which each sleep two guests.
The appealing stone houses mix original features such as shutters and beams with modern bathrooms and kitchens. After you’ve finished the complimentary bottle of wine, visit some of the local vineyards for a few tastings. The owners can arrange a supermarket delivery or you can walk into the village for a bite to eat. A night for two costs from £137 with a two-night minimum stay (furtherafield.com).
BEST FOR FAMILIES AND SMALL GROUPS
ACTIVE families and friends will be spoilt for choice when staying at one of the many properties at the Aphrodite Hills resort in Cyprus, between Paphos and Limassol.
Play golf on a PGA course with amazing views, go riding, enjoy a game of tennis or just relax in the spa. As well as one-bedroom apartments for couples with selfcatering facilities, there are different-sized villas suitable for families.
The kids can enjoy soccer school or the tennis academy and, if you don’t fancy cooking, order in-villa catering or try one of the 18 restaurants and bars on the sprawling resort. A week in August costs from £1,310pp in a two-bed villa with private pool, including flights and car hire (jet2holidays.com).
Family getaways can be expensive, so it’s good to know that Olympic Holidays has some great places to stay that won’t break the bank.
For instance, a week in the school summer holidays at Hibiscus Villa near Protaras
costs from £625pp, with flights, based on seven people sharing (olympicholidays. com). For that price you’ll get your own pool, four simple, modern bedrooms, an open-plan living area and air conditioning. Set in a gated cul-de-sac, Hibiscus is within walking distance of a sandy beach.
Prefer something a bit swankier in the same area? Look no further than the designer’s dream that is three-bedroom Villa Sunset, a medley of greys and whites with everything you could possibly want for a fun stay.
Huge patio doors open to create an enormous space in which the living room merges with the deck and pool. There’s a built-in hot tub, sunset bar, beanbags round the pool, outdoor kitchen with two barbecues, trampoline, football goals and ping-pong table.
The large television even rotates so you can watch it from the pool.
Protaras, on the south-east coast, is near lively Ayia Napa if you fancy a night on the town, though you may just want to stay in your own exclusive party pad. A week for six costs from £2,156 (splvillas.com).
Another uber-stylish stay can be found on the other side of the island on a small development of 11 properties just outside Peyia village and near Coral Bay, with its sandy beaches and sea caves.
At Villa Palati, the infinity pool has a builtin bar, there is a sauna as well as a hot tub, and a pizza oven along with a barbecue. With three bedrooms, Palati comes with the kind of kitchen you’d love to have in your own house, and a rustic-chic living room.
Hit the beach, head to the Adonis Baths Waterfalls, or see the Roman mosaics at Paphos. A night for six costs from £137 (coolstays.com).
BEST FOR GROUPS OF MORE THAN SIX
PINE-SCENTED mountain slopes run down to craggy black cliffs at the northern end of Chrysochou Bay near the fishing village of Pomos, which is where you will find the villas Buffavento and Stella Maris.
On a rugged promontory with dramatic views to Akamas National Park, they share a large private pebble beach where, once you’ve navigated the 140 steps, you may see turtles laying eggs or rare monk seals. Go snorkelling in the sea or swim in the private pool that belongs to each villa. Inside they are identical, with three bedrooms and a simple contemporary style. Rent them both and you can travel with extended family or friends but still retain your privacy.
Seven nights costs from £1,249pp with flights and car hire (sunvil.co.uk).
Expect sublime sea views from the hot tub, terrace and most of the rooms at the Pomos View Villa, which overlooks the pretty fishing village.
Swim in the pool, dine under the stars by the barbecue area, or watch a movie in the cinema room. The stone villa sleeps eight in four colourful rooms, and costs from £1,344 a week (oliverstravels.com).
If you prefer a game of tennis once the sun goes down, Sea Pines, in the same area, comes with a floodlit court as well as a 14m pool. With an impressive open-plan living and dining area with a traditional tiled floor and wooden roof, it sleeps eight in three bedrooms and costs from £2,194 for a week (vintagetravel.co.uk). From here you can walk among the pine trees, take a day trip in the Troodos Mountains or explore the Akamas nature reserve.
For something even more swish, take a look at Villa Azure, which Frank Tiebosch, the director of Cyprus Villa Retreats, says is the most amazing place he has seen on the island during seven years of business.
Unsurprisingly, it is often used in TV shows – it has featured in the Hungarian version of Love Island and a German television crew is moving in during April to film a similar series. A ten-minute drive from the buzz and beaches of Coral Bay, it comes with a massive 22m by 8m pool, surrounded by beautifully manicured lawns and with terraces for outdoor eating.
Inside, its three floors have been kitted out with every comfort, with two ovens and dishwashers in the kitchen and six bedrooms with blue-and-white bedding. Not that you need to make your own bed – there is daily maid service. A week for 14 costs from £7,000 (cyprus-villa-retreats.com).
Similarly stylish and just steps from the sea at Vardas Beach, the chic twin properties Vista and Lara each sleep 12 guests in six rooms. With floor-to-ceiling windows and a hot tub on the rooftop, each one looks like it’s straight out of an architect’s sketch pad. Swim in the clear sea or in the pool, walk to the local bars and tavernas, then fall asleep to the sound of the sea. Take the family, as pop star Peter Andre did, or for a real celebration, book both and travel with up to 24 guests. A week for 12 costs from £5,500 (cyprus-villa-retreats.com). l Unless otherwise stated, prices are the cheapest available for a week between mid-May and the end of October. When booking, ensure that you have Covid cover in place and always check the holiday company’s refund policy.
HAVE you exhausted the list of outdoor family activities during the pandemic? Then why not get the gang on board for a survival course when restrictions lift? With spring almost upon us, outdoor centres are offering bushcraft adventures suitable for everyone from timid tykes to go-getting grandparents.
Should you be a fan of his TV shows, then test your mettle to become a graduate of the Bear Grylls Survival Academy. There are three 24-hour family survival courses – at the Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor and the South Downs.
Don’t worry, you won’t be tasked with drinking your own urine or sleeping inside a camel’s carcass. But Bear’s team will show you how to cross rivers, track an animal, hone knife skills as you prepare a rabbit for dinner, and forage some materials to build a shelter where you’ll sleep before waking up bright and early to navigate your way back to base. Courses start from £219pp (beargryllssurvivalacademy.com).
At a weekend Wildwood Bushcraft course in Sussex, you’ll learn how to purify river water and identify wildlife tracks. Come nightfall, watch the mesmerising glow of a campfire instead of TV and cosy up in your sleeping bag for a night under the stars.
This course is self-catering, so remember to stash a few easy-to-cook meals in your backpack, (plus loo roll for the pit latrine). The two-day breaks cost £110 per person (wildwoodbushcraft.com).
It’s not quite Tom Hanks in the hit movie Castaway, but discover how to get out of a crisis with the Coastal Survival School. Here, each family member can play at being a castaway on a stretch of beach along the Jurassic Coast in west Dorset. Learn how to create a signal for rescue and navigate your way along the shore to safety.
Experienced guides will show you what useful morsels the English Channel has to offer, from sea kale to plump mussels. They’ll also touch on how to stay mentally strong in the case of being marooned, so you can make calm decisions. The two-day course, with a night of beach camping, costs £138pp (coastalsurvival.com).
For those who don’t fancy sleeping in a tent or makeshift shelter, roll on over to 7th Rise. This quirky bushcraft school near Truro in Cornwall was set up by outdoorsman and TV presenter Thom Hunt.
Thom describes survival courses as the ‘ultimate family bonding experience because everyone gets to enjoy the satisfaction of completing a task together’. Adventure-seekers
are tested even before arrival at 7th Rise, as the secluded venue takes quite a bit of finding. Once you’ve trekked across three fields, down a steep track and through ancient oak woodland, you’ll find Penperth, a delightfully renovated blacksmith’s cottage which serves as camp. There is also a treehouse and a converted potting shed if you’re after a more off-the-wall place to sleep.
Classes include how to butcher a freshly caught deer, tuck into a delicious fireroasted dinner with a spoon you carved earlier in the day, and go canoeing on the River Fal in front of the cottage. Fully catered weekends cost £315pp (7thrise.co.uk).
The outdoors educational charity, Field Studies Council, encourages everyone to leave tech at home before venturing on to one of its three-day courses. Andy Pratt, who manages the FSC base in Somerset – a picturesque Tudor manor house on the edge of Exmoor – describes courses as ‘the ultimate remedy to lockdown boredom’.
He adds: ‘Learning some survival skills, even if it’s as simple as cooking on an open fire, brings with it a sense of adventure and excitement and, let’s face it, isn’t that what everyone is craving after months of homeschooling!’ Prices start from £144pp (fieldstudies-council.org).
If you’re strapped for both for time and cash, then navigate your way to the beautiful Rame peninsula in Cornwall. The Family Foraging Kitchen (familyforagingkitchen.co.uk) offers free courses to lowincome families, otherwise, it’s just £25 per adult while children and grandparents go free. Pick up some seaweed from the beach during a coastal walk and learn how to cook it or grab a handful of dandelion leaves to make a surprisingly delicious salad.
RUTH Langsford and Eamonn Holmes are TV royalty, gracing our screens for more than three decades. And now you can get to know them in person as they join you on board an Emerald Cruises Star-Ship during this fantastic eight-day river cruise along the mighty Danube.
As you sail through Europe, you’ll enjoy a series of exclusive events with Eamonn and Ruth, who join the ship from Durnstein to Bratislava. You will get the inside track on their careers, from favourite guests and behind-thescenes gossip to Ruth’s experiences on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017. You will join them for a drinks reception and a Live With Eamonn & Ruth event, as well as having the chance to ask them your questions.
The Danube is one of the greatest rivers in Europe, flowing through ten countries and four capital cities – Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Belgrade. Your unique itinerary in April next year starts in Passau, an ancient town on the edge of the Black Forest in Germany.
You will sail from Passau with stops at Linz and the Unesco World Heritage-listed town of Cesky Krumlov. You’ll pass terraced vineyards and apricot orchards on the way to Melk before visiting three of Europe’s great capitals – Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest.
For added peace of mind, Emerald Cruises offers a free Deposit Protection Plan and Flexible Booking Policy, which allows you to defer your travel plans and transfer to an alternative departure date or itinerary up to 60 days before departure.
REASONS TO BOOK
Meet Eamonn & Ruth: Eamonn and Ruth will host a reception on board and take part in an informal question and answer session, where you will get the chance to ask them your own questions. There will also be time for a photo opportunity.
To cap it all off, you will then join them for a unique event – Live With Eamonn & Ruth – in which the pair will present their own show in Vienna, including topical conversations with guests and a cooking demonstration of a Viennese delicacy, with a tasting opportunity, hosted by one of the onboard chefs.
Discover the Danube: During this voyage you’ll sail through stunning scenery and visit two of Europe’s great capitals – Vienna, famous for its art and culture, and the historic city of Budapest, Hungary’s capital. There’s also Bratislava, with its Gothic architecture and imposing castle. Along the way, there will be much to enjoy, such as guided walks, bike rides, evening entertainment and on-shore excursions, plus the chance to discover the old towns of Passau and Linz, and the beautiful Wachau Valley.
Your Deluxe Star-Ship: The Emerald Cruises fleet offers spacious and stylishly designed staterooms, an indoor heated pool with retractable roof, fitness centre, large open-air sun deck with putting green and an evening cinema.
Flexible Booking Policy: Emerald Cruises allows guests to change travel dates or itinerary up to 60 days before departure at no cost. DAY 2
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