From zip wires to mouth-watering meze and ancient castles, Cyprus’ Paphos is the perfect family holiday destination
It's easy to fall into a holiday rut when you have kids but Fabulous' Editor Sinead McIntyre says this is the perfect spot
ANYONE with young children will know that holidaying can be a minefield.
From keeping them occupied 24/7 to making sure they don’t drown or fall off the balcony, it’s never what you’d call relaxing.
Which is why, since finding our perfect child-friendly holiday spot in the sun three years ago, we have returned again and again. But now that my twins Riley and Harris are six, is it time to change things up a bit?
Culture vultures
We decide to branch out and book a trip to Paphos in south-west Cyprus.
The flight is four and a half hours, so it’s longer than we would normally do, but armed with iPads and colouring books we think we can handle it. And we can. Just.
It’s helped by the fact that when we land in Paphos we’re only a 15-minute drive away from our hotel – the five-star .
So we are on a sunbed just 40 minutes after our plane’s tyres hit the tarmac.
There are four swimming pools – including a kids’ pool, a brand-new infinity pool and an adults-only pool – tennis courts, a spa, a children’s playground with trampolines and even a zip wire.
There is also a full-throttle kids’ club to keep little ones occupied. Rooms start from £260 B&B per night.
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Although it’s tempting to stay in the resort, we explore Paphos, which became joint European Capital of Culture 2017 in January (along with Denmark’s Aarhus).
The ancient port city is soaked in Greek mythology and is the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
We stroll the short distance along the promenade to the centre and spot sculptures along the way – including a giant basket of eggs – celebrating its Capital of Culture status.
Paphos is split into two sectors. Ktima is the old town, where you’ll find elegant colonial houses and several museums. While in main tourist area Kato Paphos there’s a mix of the usual tourist haunts selling sarongs and sweets, and high-end shops offering diamonds and Breitling watches, as well as dozens of restaurants.
Secret city
At the harbour, we bag a table at Theo’s set right by the sea.
With a huge array of seafood on the menu, it’s our idea of heaven.
We tuck into mussels in garlic sauce, £7.50, followed by the fish meze, which includes salad, dips, swordfish, prawns and sea bream, £19 per person.
There’s also an ancient castle close by, which was a Byzantine fort built to protect the harbour, and further on is Paphos Archaeological Park, entry £3.90.
If you’re not in possession of two small children, hike around the ruins of Nea Paphos, an ancient city founded in the 4th century BC that was once the capital of Cyprus.
Don’t miss the incredible mosaics, which were discovered by a farmer ploughing his fields.
Our holiday gets even better when Riley and Harris make a friend at our hotel – a young boy from Manchester called Thomas.
They spend hours swimming together and playing cards, and for the first time in years I achieve the impossible: I read a book.
Let’s go meze
Dinner in the hotel’s main buffet restaurant, Mosaics, ranges from sushi and curries to traditional fare such as lamb souvlaki.
Riley and Harris experiment with a wide range of foods – sometimes all in one go. But their favourite thing is the unbelievable dessert selection.
And every night I indulge in my favourite passion: cheese.
We also try the other on-site restaurants.
The poolside Notios is a Mediterranean/Japanese fusion, where the signature sushi starter, £14, is out of this world and the black Angus sirloin, £31, is divine.
With incredible views of the sea and the town itself, it’s an all-round visual treat. But my favourite is the laid-back Ouzeri.
It sits next to a small shingle beach, so the kids could go and play when they got bored and we could enjoy wine in the sun without worrying.
On top of that, the traditional Greek meze – including octopus, £7.30, village sausages, £6, and village potatoes, £5.15 – is delicious and explains the queues to get in.
Just beware of the cats that sometimes hang around – not all are friendly!
See the views from the sky with a spot of paragliding.
Paphos Watersports is next door and is a thrilling way to spend 30 minutes, from £25 per person.
Mainly, though, this is a wonderfully relaxing place.
We were there for five days, but it felt like two weeks.
All of us were devastated to leave.
Riley cried in the taxi to the airport because she missed her new friend Thomas, whose family return here every year. And we may join them.
Or maybe, now we’ve finally tested the waters and realised there are many places to take kids and have fun, we might try somewhere new again!
FYI
Temperature 26°C
Flight time 4 hours 30 minutes
Time difference +2 hours
Currency Euros
Flights from the UK to Paphos start from £131 return with Monarch ()