The most comfortable way to travel in Cyprus is certainly by car, which you can rent, or take a taxi. Both options are good, when you’re confident driving and following left-handed traffic rules on the island and if there are no problems with your driving licence. In some cases, it is interesting and enjoyable to dive into the local spirit by using non-standard and original ways of transportation.
Cyprus offers some unusual methods of transport and travel, which will fully help you enjoy the sights of the island and will give you a lot of pleasant impressions.
Traveling by trishaw
In Larnaca you can use the services of a trishaw pedicab. Larnaca offers the excursion “City shuttles” (City Cruisers).
Cyprus does not have a bicycle taxi service that will normally travel to the desired location; these shuttles are exclusively on tourist routes, including sightseeing of Cyprus and monuments of historical and cultural heritage. The three-wheel design of the vehicle driven by the mechanical strength of cute Cypriot drivers, as well as an auxiliary engine, environmentally friendly and solar-powered.
For tourists, there are three routes, but if desired, and you will make personal agreement, you can expand their journey.
Rickshaw drivers are young people who speak at least two languages and have completed a course on the history and culture of the region. They offer you an incredibly interesting and rich excursion program. In addition, drivers are given specific psychological training and rules of first aid, which will make your trip as safe as possible. The cost of the trip depends on the duration and the specific route and is about 10-50 euros for 1-2 passengers.
Travelling by bus
Not less interesting for tourists in Cyprus can be a journey on the double-decker tour bus with an open top viewing platform, which received a special license from the government of Cyprus in late 2014. For a tour around Larnaca you can go with the “Love Bus”, and to visit local villages and ancient settlements – on the “Red Bus”.
The “Love Bus” can accommodate around 50 passengers. The route starts from Finikoudes alley and goes to the medieval fortress of Larnaca, the ancient aqueduct Kamares and Hala Sultan Tekke. The duration of the tour is 1-1.5 hours and the cost is around 30-40 euros.
The “Red Bus” offers a route around Larnaca to visit a number of villages, including Lefkara which is famous for its lace-makers and silversmiths, or to the territory of the ancient Neolithic settlement of Choirokoitia. The trips, which are designed for several hours, cost between 30 euros and above.
Traveling by buggy, quad bikes and mopeds
In the eastern part of Cyprus, Ayia Napa and Protaras, as well as in the west, in the towns of Paphos and Polis, rental buggies, motorbikes, quads and other small-displacement vehicles are widely used. Renting is only possible upon presentation of a driver’s license or a copy of it. These original and comfortable means of transport are well suited for exploring Akamas and Cavo Greco. The cost is from 5 to 20 euros per day.
Festive Transportation
In addition to classic bus routes and transport companies in Cyprus, numerous actions to mark the various holidays and special occasions are carried out. Participation in such events will diversify the tourists’ routine and leave pleasant memories of their stay on the island.
Every year on Christmas and New Year’s eve, the company Cyprus By Bus together with the television channel Canalli 6 and Sun Fresh bakeries organize a charity collection of gifts for children (”Who has Santa Claus forgotten”).
Brightly decorated in Christmas style, the bus runs through the city of Limassol during the day by collecting all the gifts for children in need, are passed to the City Department of Social Welfare and distributed among the children under its care.
During the festivals in Cyprus (wine, strawberry, grape and others) the organizers provide free shuttle service for everyone from all the cities of the island to the venue of the festival and back.
Donkey Safari
In the recent past the only means of transportation on the island were donkeys. But civilization does not stand still, and the cars quickly replaced the animals on roads, which has jeopardized their very existence. Thus, the charitable organization “Friends of the Cyprus donkeys” was created, located in Vouni, 36 km north-west of Limassol.
Thanks to the active leaders of the organization, one of the most memorable, original and more fully revealing the beauty of Cyprus kinds of travel on the island, is a safari on donkeys. Moreover, many Cypriots still consider donkeys the most reliable means of transport.
Excursions with donkeys also include an active entertainment program: meeting with other animals (horses, oxen, sheep, snakes, birds, etc.), local tours and, of course, familiarity with traditional Cypriot dishes and homemade wine as well as the popular and electrifying Greek dance Sirtaki. Donkey safaris are organized in almost all major towns in Cyprus, including Larnaca, Ayia Napa, Paphos and Protaras. Their duration can range from 1 to 8 hours.
The average price is 30-75 euros (adult) and 10-40euros (for children). The final stage of your safari can be a driver’s license in the design of a donkey for 5 euros (laminated for 6 euros).
