Things to Do in Ayia Napa Beyond the Strip

The beaches, ranked by what you want

Nissi is the famous one and deserves to be: fine pale sand, water that is genuinely luminous, and a sandbar you can walk out on to a small island. It is also the loudest beach in Cyprus in season, with music from late morning. Go early if you want it calm — before about ten it is a different place.

Makronissos, a few minutes west, is the same quality of sand at a fraction of the volume, with three sheltered bays and a family crowd. Ayia Thekla further west again is quieter still. If Nissi looks like too much, you have not run out of beach — you have run out of about two kilometres.

Cape Greco and the sea caves

Twenty minutes east of the strip the coast turns to white limestone cliffs and the landscape changes completely. Cape Greco national forest park covers the headland, with clifftop and coastal walking trails, blue holes in the rock, and the small white chapel of Agioi Anargyroi above the water.

The sea caves on the way are the signature image of this coast — arches and hollows carved into the cliff by the sea, best seen from the water but impressive enough from the path above. Sunrise here is the single best hour on this side of the island.

There is very little shade and no facilities on the headland. Take water.

The sculpture park and the monastery

The sculpture park runs along the clifftop between the town and the cape — a large open-air collection of contemporary work from sculptors around the world, set against the sea. It is free, it is never crowded, and it is a genuinely unexpected thing to find here. Best in the late afternoon when the light is on the stone.

In the centre of town, the monastery of Ayia Napa is a 15th-century walled complex around a courtyard with an enormous sycamore fig in it. It sits directly beside the square where the bars are, which tells you most of what you need to know about the town.

On the water

The harbour is the departure point for most of the island’s boat trips: cruises east to the caves and Cape Greco, family pirate ships with a show, glass-bottom boats over the reefs, and fast RIBs for people who mostly want to swim.

It is also the prettiest part of town at night and where the better fish restaurants are, well away from the noise of the square.

Eating and the nights

The food in Ayia Napa is better than the town’s reputation suggests, provided you walk away from the square. The harbour and the residential streets north of the centre hold proper tavernas, and there is real fine dining out toward Cape Greco.

For the nightlife itself — which venues do what, and the after-hours circuit — we have a separate guide that covers the strip properly.

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