Travel Tips to European Countries: Cyprus
About the Country
Cyprus is an island located within the Mediterranean Sea. It is inhabited with
mountains on the north and south and also the south coast is covered with plains. The
temperatures are actually hot indicating Mediterranean climate. Winters are cooler.
Nicosia is the capital city of Cyprus. The currency used here is Cypriot Pound (Attractions).
Culture
Greek, English and Turkish are the languages spoken here. There’s a mixed
culture of Greek and Middle East. The locals are really friendly and welcome
outsiders with an open heart and make them feel at residence by offering them with
some thing to drink. To greet someone a handshake will do. It’s customary to
offer the guest a tiny gift when invited for dinner. One can dress casually, but
the swimsuits ought to be confined to the beaches only. Social functions call for
formal dressing.
Site Seeing
The country is full of vineyards, 12th century buildings, orchards and
monasteries. Be careful when photographing outside. It really is forbidden in military
areas and special permission need to be taken for taking photos in locations like
museums and art galleries. Most of them do not enable flash photography. Taxis can
be hired to move around the large towns in Cyprus, which charge according the
government regulated meters. Tipping the drivers is customary (Hotels).
Electricity
240 V, 50 Hz
Acquiring There
Port of Famagusta at Ammochostos and Port of Kyrenia, and airport of Ercan, have
been declared as illegal ‘ports of entry’, so check it out while planning to get
there.
The national airline is Cyprus Airways. It connects most of the main cities of
Europe. Other forty airlines, too, serve at the airport of Larnaca, which are 5
km away from Larnaka and 50km away from Nicosia. Taxis may be hired to reach any
destination from there as there’s lack of buses and trains services at the
airport. The other services that are offered at this airport is duty-free shops,
bank, tourism and hotels information, restaurants, vehicle hire, post office and
reservation office. The other airport, Pafos, is 15km away from the city and it
takes about 35 minutes to reach the city from the airport. It gives the same
facilities like the Larnaca airport.
The major ports of Cyprus are the Limassol port and Larnaca port which connect
other ports of Middle East and Greek. Not only ferry services are supplied here,
even cruise services are provided here.
Cyprus Island isn’t connected by roads to other countries, but roads run across
Cyprus connecting all the cities and villages. Buses run on roads except on
Sunday but they run late inside the mid-night throughout summers. Tourists can get on to
rural buses to surf by way of the remote villages, but they’re really slow. If
planning to hire vehicle, advanced booking is recommended, particularly in summer as
the booking is full most of the times. Do remember to carry a National driving
license or International driving permit (Restaurants).
Duty Free Items
1. 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco
2. 1l of spirits (over 22 per cent volume) or 2l of fortified wine or sparkling
wine
three. 2l of still wine; 50g of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette
4. 800 cigarettes or 200 cigars or 1kg of tobacco
5. 10l of spirits, 20l of fortified wine, 90l wine, 110l beer
Most of the food items and items relating to agriculture are prohibited.
Explosives and fire arms are a strict no-no.