On 29th August 2020 we beat the Covid-19 blues and boarded the plane to Cyprus. You had to wear a mask/visor around the airport which was a new experience for us but it wasn't too bad. Because of the entry requirements for Cyprus we had to show our Cyprus flight pass and negative Covid-19 test result before we could board the plane. At least we knew everyone on our plane was Coronavirus free!
We landed in Pathos airport, cleared customs smoothly, grabbed our bags and headed to the Taxi rank where we met George (if you prebook a taxi it is 35 Euros instead of 50). On arrival at our hotel, St George Hotel Spa & Beach Resort, George gave us his card and told us to WhatsApp him if we needed to go anywhere and he would give us a good price. We took him up on his offer and he picked us up every day to take us on trips, to dinner, even picking us up from a bar at 3am! He was always with us within 10-15 minutes of texting. If you are heading to Cyprus I cannot recommend him enough and you can contact him through WhatsApp on +35799563066 to book.
The Hotel was lovely and clean with friendly staff and a good sized pool area. It was right on the beach (it was a very small beach with a large grass area for sunbathing but perfect if you want to swim in the sea) with beautiful views of sunset every evening. If you want a hotel with luxurious comfortable beds and powerful showers, this probably isn't the hotel for you but it done the job for me and I was happy with my stay. We really enjoyed the spa and had a relaxing massage. Whilst we were waiting for our massage they have the hot stone beds for you to chill out on which are amazing and you can use these after your massage also. There are a lot of stray cats in Cyprus but they are very friendly and will come up and see you for a stroke. We made a little furry friend at the hotel who came to see us every day.
As we had arrived at the hotel quite late on the first night, we just dumped our stuff and headed across the road to Pepperoni Pizza for dinner. The food here was delicious and we really enjoyed our meal and drinks here but we didn't stay too late as it had been a long day and we were ready for bed.
On our first full day we upgraded our hotel package to include an all inclusive drinks for 17 Euros per person per day which we found very reasonable. (I mean for me I only had to have 3 cocktails in a day to make it worth while and I'd managed that by lunch time!!) We made some friends round the pool, got a bit merry, went back to the room for a nap and then headed back to Pepperoni pizza for dinner.
The following evening, after another pool day, we decided to check out the harbour where we found a boat trip to book for the following day. There was some great shops down there selling copy bags, jewellery, watches, souvenirs etc. We came across a lovely Mezze Restaurant called Hondros Taverna and the food was delicious. It wasn't the cheapest but we enjoyed it!
We woke up the next morning and got ready for our half day boat trip! As the weather was so hot this was perfect for keeping cool with a nice sea breeze and sunbathing with live music going on and unlimited drinks (although the sea was very choppy and the boat was rocking side to side the whole time, so if you suffer from sea sickness I wouldn't recommend it). The boat anchored in coral bay where we could jump in the sea for a swim, take the kayaks out, go snorkelling and just generally cool off. We had so much fun and then once we had enough we got back on the boat for a lunch time BBQ. This was well worth the money we paid and we had a great day. We were recommended a cocktail bar to visit that evening for dinner called Muse. The cocktails were lovely and the views amazing but we were not impressed by the food and wished we had eaten elsewhere. On the way back we came across O'Neills Irish bar where we stopped for drinks and got chatting to couple who visit Cyprus every year. They gave us some great restaurant recommendations to choose from.
The sun was very strong and we had become a little sun burned so decided to spend the next day out of the sun and have a date day. We text George and got him to take us on our own little excursion to a local Vineyard called Sterna Winery & Museum in Kathikas. Although the winery was only small we had a great day, they were very welcoming and friendly and gave us so much information on the brewing process and the history of the winery. After we had a little look around the museum and wine cellar we were sat at a table where they provided us with bread, olive oil and lemon dip, olives and cucumber. We were given a medium-sweet and dry White, Rose and Red to try, a 10 year old aged red, a shot of firewater and a taster of desert wine and whilst we were tasting the owner brought us out fresh figs and cactus fruit to eat (this was all free of charge including the wine tasting). We then were offered to purchase a glass of wine to drink and they had a food menu for lunch. The desert wine was delicious so I ordered a glass of this and asked if they had some cheese to go with it which they brought out for me (and didn't charge me for either) and then we purchased a few bottles of wine to bring home and some herbs and olives.
After we had finished in the winery we asked George if he could stop at some view points on the way back so we could get some nice photos and see parts of Cyprus. We even stopped off and picked us some fresh grapes to eat! Our last stop was the Shipwreck where we stopped in Oniro by the sea for a drink, it was so peaceful here with gorgeous sea views, before heading back to the hotel.
That evening we tried a restaurant that the couple in the Irish bar had recommended call Gustoso and it was lovely - although the portions were huge! We were so full after we headed back to the hotel to sleep.
The next evening we wanted to have some cocktails and watch the sunset so we stopped in Bacchus Restaurant on our way to dinner. This was the perfect place to watch the sunset (although it was a little cloudy on the day we went) and there are some perfect photo spots. After our drinks we asked George to take us to a traditional restaurant that he would go to with his family as we wanted to get away from the tourist hotspots and eat where the locals eat. He took us to Myrra Tavern, a beautiful little gem in the heart of pathos old town for Mezze and it was the best meal of the holiday. This traditional family run Cyprus tavern had the most delicious food, so good we went back 2 days running! The meat Mezze was absolutely beautiful and then after speaking to them we pre ordered the fish Mezze for the following day where they took the boat out to go fishing for us to catch the dinner for that evening! You couldn’t get more fresh if you tried and the fish was cooked to perfection. We had Red snapper, Red mullet, squid, prawns, muscles and the bread and salad and it was absolutely fantastic 👌🏽 They even picked us some fresh grapes from the ceiling to try! I would highly recommend checking this place out if you are in Pathos!
On our last day we asked George to take us to Adonis baths. If you are a nervous passenger, I would not recommend the car journey down there and it would have been much easier on quad bikes or off road vehicles. It is a very long and very steep journey down on thin rocky roads around the edge of the mountain (a bit like what you'd see on a James Bond film) but all part of the adventure! Once you finally get down there you pay 9 euros per person (cash only) to enter. It is only a small place but beautiful nonetheless. There are God/Goddess statues to greet you as you enter and then when you get down to the baths there are rope swings, a tree to climb, ledges to jump off into the the water and a waterfall. There were people jumping from the top of the waterfall into the baths but we wasn't sure if it was safe so didn't want to risk it. When we jumped into the water it was absolutely freezing (think fresh melted snow coming down the mountains and ending up in a pool of water at the bottom). We probably spent about an hour here before facing the drive back up the mountain to get back to the hotel.
For dinner that evening we met our friends we had made in the Irish bar and headed out to a Japanese restaurant they had recommended to us called Samisen. What a brilliant, fun night this was. The chefs put on a live show for you as they cook your dinner in front of you on the teppanyaki grill. They are juggling their utensils, throwing food for you to catch in your mouth, throwing bowls of rice at you to catch and making flames come up all whilst singing along, laughing and putting on a great performance. The food they cooked was incredible. We had sushi to start and then rice, veg and with your chosen meat/fish/veg dish for mains. This restaurant is definitely one to check out.
Although Cyprus was never our first choice and was a really last minute holiday due to the travel corridors constantly changing and needing to find a country we didn't have to quarantine from upon out return, we had such a good time! The weather was amazing, the island beautiful, the people friendly and the food great! I would definitely recommend visiting Pathos for a holiday.
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