February 2019
Cyprus. An island steeped in history. Not only is it full of beaches and great Greek Meze. You can find all the Ancient Greek Archaeological sites you could ever dream of…
We were stopping in the well known area of Limassol (Lemesos). Just across the road from our lush hotel was a little battered blue excursion shop and we went in to book a trip. We decided on the Kourion to Paphos tour. The company we booked through was called Ascot Tours.
The tour cost £45 and lasted from around 8.00 to 16.00. All entrance fees were included in the price (apart from the archeological site in Paphos) and if you wanted to buy any dinner.
https://ascotcyprus.com/pafos-kourion/
The day started with an early pick up time of 7.45 by our lovely tour guide Chris. We got on a small private mini bus with a few other hungry culture vultures ready for our day trip to the ancient city of Kourion and Paphos.
Our first stop was the ancient city of Kourion on the South West Coast of Cyprus. What a treat! This place has a lot of mosaic pieces still visible and an amphitheatre. Kourion is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is based on a hilltop.
A local guide met us there and took as around the side. The guide was included in the tour price.
When you visit the amphitheatre go down onto the middle and stand on the hole and speak. You’ll hear an echo from your voice. We had a treat when we were there and a local guy sang us a song.
Our local guide then took us to the other side of the ruins and we got to see some lovely pillars. Have a look around and take in the history.
We hopped back on the mini bus and went to The Birthplace of Aphrodite. On the way the mini bus pulled up at the side of the road so you can get a wicked picture of the rock from the hillside.
Our driver then took us down the hill and pulled up into a little cafe car park. We jumped off and headed into a tunnel that took us under the road and onto the beach where you can take some great pictures. Although, we got confused as to which was Aphrodite’s Rock. You’ll also have time to grab a quick coffee at this stop and if you really want you can have a swim around the rock which will ‘apparently’ make you look ten years younger.
It was also interesting on our drive to pass through the British Army Barracks and to see where the high ranking serving soldiers live. I am very jealous of their hillside houses.
The next location on the tour was a quick stop to try the famous Cyprus Delights ‘Loukoumia’. So Loukoumia is a lot like Turkish Delight and comes in a variety of different flavours.
We then headed off into Paphos. We went to see The Pillar of Saint Paul. Saint Paul was said to have been tied between two pillars and lashed for preaching the Christian Religion. This is a great archeological site with many ruins still remaining. You can also go and look in the Church.
Next on the tour was a stop at the Catacombs of Saint Solomoni. This was an interesting site. We followed our guide Chris and he took us down into the caves. There are still many catacombs under Paphos but a lot are closed off because they are too dangerous and you could get easily lost. I think someone was a fan of Emmerdale?
The last stop on the tour took us into Paphos and we then had a few hours free time to grab some dinner and have a look around. We went into Paphos archeological site and had some dinner next to the marina. Paphos archeological site boasts some of the best mosaics in the world.
The marina was also a lovely area to have a walk down and we even spotted this creature! Pelican vibes!
We met back at the mini bus around 15.30 and Chris drove us all back to our hotels. It was a great day and I highly recommend Ascot Tours. Our guide was very knowledgable and funny. Furthermore, the tour was informative and you didn’t feel rushed. If your planning a trip to Limassol, get yourself booked on the tour.
Until next time Kourion and Paphos…
Travel with Bee 