I currently live in a small residential area called “Kapparis”, which is part of the town of “Paralimni”, which is just south of the border between northern and southern Cyprus, just below the ghost town of “Famagusta”. It is a quiet place, slowly becoming more popular with people who want to have a holiday or second home, with a lot of development still under way. There are now villas of all sizes popping up all around the area and new amenities also appearing on the main high street. These include some very good Greek Cypriot restaurants, serving fresh seafood and the famed “Meze” (many delicious, healthy starters, a bit like the Spanish “Tapas”). Also to be found on the main street is a newly opened Chinese restaurant, which serves excellent food (The head Chef is the father of one of my best friends), as well as a newly opened fish ‘n’ chips restaurant, if you find that you are missing the UK too much!

In addition to these eateries, you will find several bars and pubs scattered along the road, unfortunately a few of them are exactly like English pubs and when you walk into one, you’ll think you’re back in the UK again, although the good thing is that you will be able to get a pint of the local beers (“Keo” and “Leon”) for about 1.30 Cypriot pounds or roughly 1.50 Sterling, which is very reasonable. One word of warning, it seems that when the Brits come on holiday to Cyprus, they suddenly all want to become Karaoke superstars. You really cannot go to any of the resorts in the evening and not be exposed to the many wannabe Kylies, Elvis’s, Jason Donovans, etc. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll love it here, if you don’t, then you’ll just have to buy some earplugs!

What I really like about this area is that it is nice and quiet, yet only 10 km away from the clubbing capital of “Ayia Napa”, where, as we all know, you can party until the cows come home. Just 3 km from where Kapparis is the popular resort of “Protaras”, which also has its array of restaurants, bars, pubs and more than its fair share of karaoke singers. However, unlike Ayia Napa, it is geared more towards families, though you can still party hard here if you want to.

Obviously, with all that drinking, eating and partying, you will have to do something during the day to relax or recover from that hangover. Luckily, you are spoilt for choice with the number of beautiful beaches found on the East coast (arguably the best beaches in southern Cyprus). The beaches are pretty much all sandy and the water is so clear and blue, it reminds me of the scenes from the movie “Beach”.

Lying around tanning yourself all day in the 30 + degree heat can get boring, so for the more adventurous among you, there are a plethora of activities available.These include Para-sailing, Jet-skiing, Banana boat riding, Snorkeling, going out on the speedboat and cruises which take you around the various sites of the island. If you are really brave you can also try bungee jumping or go on the “Sling shot”, basically being strapped in and launched at several G’s!

I haven’t really been out to Ayia Napa yet because it does not really start to get really busy until July, but from what I can tell, you can have a great time here if you like to drink and dance all night, although Protaras is definitely more suited to families or people who want to take it a bit easier. For some photos of the scenery around the east coast of Cyprus, take a look below. For Villa bookings in and around the Kapparis area, take a look at this excellent company: http://www.dreamcyprusvillas.com
2006