Where to stay in Cyprus
Clear blue water, beautiful beaches and an excellent choice for families.
Best for beaches and families. The guide below covers what the area is actually like, how easy it is to get around, and who tends to enjoy it most.
Protaras is for people whose main priority is the sea. If your ideal day is a short walk to a sheltered bay, a swim in clear shallow water and a low-key dinner nearby, this is the area to shortlist. It appeals strongly to families with younger children and to couples or older travellers who want beach quality without a nightlife scene.
The resort is small and easy to understand: a main street lined with restaurants and shops, a series of sandy bays along the coast and a coastal path that links many of them. Fig Tree Bay is the best known, but the surrounding bays are often calmer. The mood is friendly and unhurried, busy in high summer but never chaotic, and much of the resort is walkable, which reduces the need to plan transport around every outing.
Larnaca Airport is the usual arrival point and the transfer takes roughly an hour, so factor that in when booking flights with small children. Within Protaras itself you can manage without a car if your accommodation is near the centre or a bay: buses run along the coast, there is a seasonal tourist road train and taxis are available. A car becomes useful for reaching Cape Greco, the sea caves, inland villages or day trips further west.
This is the classic Cyprus family choice. The bays shelve gently, the water is clear and often calm, and lifeguard-patrolled sections and sunbed rental are widespread in season. Because the centre is compact, you can walk to food and shops without organising transfers, and many properties are apartment-style with kitchens — genuinely useful when travelling with children.
Couples who want beaches rather than clubs are well suited here, especially if you choose accommodation towards the quieter northern or southern edges of the resort. Sunrise over the sea, the coastal walking path and the small chapel viewpoints give the area a gentler, more scenic side than its neighbour.
Deliberately low key. Bars are family-friendly, there is live music and entertainment aimed at a broad audience, and things wind down comparatively early. Ayia Napa's nightlife is a short taxi ride away, which lets you have one lively evening without staying in the middle of it.
Expect a large supply of self-catering apartments and aparthotels, mid-range beach hotels, all-inclusive family resorts and a growing number of private villas with pools in the residential streets set back from the coast. Adults-only properties exist but are fewer here than in Ayia Napa or Paphos.
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Accommodation examples
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Example onlyProtaras, Cyprus
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Example onlyProtaras, Cyprus
Curated stay recommendations are being prepared for this area.
Hotel recommendations and booking links will be added after partner verification.
Example onlyProtaras, Cyprus
Curated stay recommendations are being prepared for this area.
Hotel recommendations and booking links will be added after partner verification.