CYPRUS, NORTH TO SOUTH

Day 1 Fly from your chosen airport to Larnaca, and transfer to Kyrenia for four nights at the 3-star Dome Hotel. (D)

Day 2 Full-day tour to St. Hilarion Castle, the largest of three crusader fortresses in the mountain range. Continue to the beautiful village of Bellapais, made famous by Lawrence Durrel in his 1950s book ‘Bitter Lemons of Cyprus’, and little changed since; and visit the 12th-century Bellapais Abbey. Return to Kyrenia to visit the Venetian castle. (B, L, D)

Day 3 Start in the ruins of ancient Salamis. Continue to Famagusta, recently re-opened to visitors. Visit the 14th-century St. Nicholas Cathedral (now a mosque), the medieval citadel ‘Othello’s Tower’, and the old city walls. After lunch by the beach, visit the Monastery of St. Barnabas, Cyprus’ patron saint. (B, L, D)

Day 4 A half-day tour to the northern sector of Nicosia includes visits to the iconic St. Sophia Cathedral (now Selimiye Mosque), the Covered Bazaar, the caravanserai, and the 17th-century monastery, Mevlevi Tekke, now the Whirling Dervish Museum. Dinner in Bellapais. (B, D)

Day 5 Cross the border to South Nicosia, to visit the Cyprus Museum, with the statue of Aphrodite and relics from the royal tombs of Salamis; the 17th-century St. John’s Cathedral, within the old city walls, and the neo-Byzantine style Archbishop’s Palace, housing the collection of 9th to 19th century art and icons of the Byzantine Museum. Continue to Limassol for three nights at the 4-star Mediterranean Beach Hotel. (B, D)

Day 6 Travel into the Troodos Mountains, visiting picturesque villages and UNESCO-listed Byzantine churches, and reaching Kikkos Monastery of the Virgin Mary on its 1,300m-high peak, built on the site of a medieval monastery. Within the monastery’s estate, we visit the tomb of the first President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, who began his ecclesiastical life here. (B)

Day 7 Visit ancient Curium (Kourion), founded in the 12th-century BC and inhabited as a Greek, Roman and Christian town up to the early Middle Ages. Travel along the coastal road to Aphrodite’s Rock, the mythical birthplace of the goddess of love. Continue to Paphos to visit the harbour area and its medieval fortress; the haunting 2nd-century BC catacombs of Saint Solomoni; the 14th-century Ayia Kyriaki Church, and the House of Dionysus, its mosaics are the jewel in the archaeological park’s crown. (B, L)

Day 8 Transfer to Larnaca airport for your return flight. (B)

• Key
• B - Breakfast
• L - Lunch
• D - Dinner