Best Day Trips from Protaras

TLDR

Protaras is a practical base for day trips across eastern and southern Cyprus. Cape Greco is 10 minutes away, Ayia Napa is a short bus ride, and Larnaca, Nicosia, and even Paphos are all feasible as full-day outings. This guide covers nine trips with bus numbers, EUR budgets, and realistic timing.

1. Cape Greco National Forest Park

Distance from Protaras: 10 km. Time needed: half a day. Cost: free entry, roughly EUR 5 to 10 round-trip by bus 101 or 102 from the Protaras strip.

Cape Greco is the obvious starting point. The headland sits between Protaras and Ayia Napa and gives you the best sea cliffs on the island, the famous sea caves, and a network of well-marked walking paths. Start at the Aphrodite Nature Trail, drop down to the sea caves, then loop back via the Church of Agioi Anargyroi on the ridge. Wear closed shoes. The limestone is sharp and the cliff edges are unfenced.

Cape Greco is signposted as part of the Protaras natural area and appears in most guided walking maps you can pick up from tourist offices. For official tourism information, see Visit Cyprus.

2. Ayia Napa

Distance from Protaras: 7 km. Time needed: half a day to full day. Cost: EUR 1.50 bus each way on route 101.

Ayia Napa is 10 minutes down the coast and feels like a separate world. The harbour has a working fishing port, the Medieval Monastery sits in the pedestrian square, and Nissi Beach draws a younger daytime crowd. The bus every 15 to 20 minutes makes this the easiest day trip on the list.

Skip the club strip during daylight. The worthwhile Ayia Napa is the old town, the Thalassa Museum of the Sea on Kryou Nerou Avenue, and a walk along the harbour past Makronissos toward Nissi. Pick any of the small tavernas on the back streets away from the main square and you will eat better for less.

3. Larnaca Old Town and Salt Lake

Distance from Protaras: 75 km. Time needed: full day. Cost: EUR 7 bus each way via Intercity route.

Larnaca is the easiest city day trip. The Finikoudes promenade runs along the beach, the Church of Saint Lazarus in the old town is one of the most important Byzantine sites in Cyprus, and the Salt Lake hosts flamingos between November and March. Hala Sultan Tekke, the mosque on the lake shore, is worth the detour.

Take the Intercity bus from the Paralimni station and allow roughly an hour and 15 minutes each way. If you are flying in or out of Larnaca Airport on this day, it pairs well with luggage storage at the main bus terminal. See our transport guide for bus timetables and Intercity ticket details.

4. Nicosia (Lefkosia)

Distance from Protaras: 105 km. Time needed: full day. Cost: EUR 7 Intercity bus each way.

The capital sits in the middle of the island and is the only divided capital in Europe. Cross from the southern side to the Turkish-administered north at the Ledra Street pedestrian checkpoint with your passport. Walk the Venetian walls, visit the Cyprus Museum for the ancient collection, and eat in Laiki Geitonia.

Leave Protaras on the first Intercity bus around 08:00 and you will be in Nicosia by 09:30. That gives you a full day before the 16:30 or 17:00 return. Not a beach day. Wear city shoes and bring water.

5. Famagusta and Varosha

Distance from Protaras: 35 km. Time needed: half a day. Cost: EUR 10 to 20 with a rental car, or an organised tour around EUR 35.

Famagusta sits just across the UN buffer zone in the north. The walled old town contains the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (originally the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas) and several ruined medieval churches. The most visited area recently is Varosha, the ghost resort closed since 1974 and partially reopened to visitors.

Cross at Dherynia checkpoint with your passport. Car hire is the easiest way. Several Protaras tour operators also run half-day coach trips with a guide, which is the simpler option if you are nervous about driving across the line.

6. Konnos Bay and Profitis Elias

Distance from Protaras: 6 km. Time needed: half a day. Cost: EUR 3 round trip on bus 102.

Konnos Bay is the protected cove between Protaras and Cape Greco with calm, sheltered water and sun loungers from EUR 5 per day. Combine it with a walk up to the little whitewashed Church of Profitis Elias on the hill above the town. The church is open most of the year and the ridge view over the whole Protaras coast is the photograph you will come home with.

7. Blue Lagoon Boat Trip

Distance from Protaras: boat from Protaras harbour. Time needed: full day. Cost: EUR 25 to 45 per person.

Boats leave Protaras harbour daily for the Blue Lagoon, the bright turquoise bay near Cape Greco. Most trips include lunch, swim stops at Konnos Bay and Fig Tree Bay, and a pass under the sea caves. Morning departures at 10:00 are the best light. Afternoon departures are rougher when the wind picks up.

8. Paphos Old Town and Kato Paphos

Distance from Protaras: 180 km. Time needed: full day (long). Cost: EUR 30 with a tour, or EUR 40 for a rental car for the day.

Paphos is on the western side of the island and a long day trip. Kato Paphos Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has the best Roman mosaics in the Mediterranean. The tombs of the kings sit just north of the harbour. Realistic timing: leave Protaras by 07:30 and you will be home by 20:00.

9. Troodos Mountains

Distance from Protaras: 160 km. Time needed: full day. Cost: EUR 40 to 60 by rental car, or EUR 45 on an organised tour.

The Troodos range is the inland cool. Pine forest, mountain villages, and a completely different Cyprus from the coast. The painted Byzantine churches of the Troodos (nine are UNESCO-listed) are worth the winding drive. Summer temperatures are 10 degrees cooler than the beach. Snow is possible January to March at the higher elevations.

You might also find these useful: Best Restaurants in Protaras, Getting to Protaras, Things to Do in Protaras.

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For official tourism information, see Visit Cyprus.