Cyprus - Paphos 2023

Flight

This was the first flight from Malta to Paphos for 2023, as there re no winter flights. We decided to go between the 28th March till the 1st April

• Timing was perfect as we went in, went through screening, we bought some drinks for the flight which we got a coke for 3.10€ each and it was time for the gate info. The Ryanair app was telling us that we will be in gate 15, but we did not trust it, since gate 15 is for non-EU countries, but indeed it was correct. Therefore, we had to go though passport check.

• At 12.15pm we started the boarding process. We had to wait outside of the plane for a couple of minutes for some reason, then got on and it was quite a smooth flight. It was not full of people either, which I loved. The flight was 2 hours and I ended up sleeping the whole 2 hours.

• When we arrived, the app was telling us that the arriving time will be 16.10, but if we left at 1pm and the flight is 2 hrs we arrived 1 hour earlier than what the app indicated. We then realized that there is a 1 hour time difference compared to Malta.

• The airport was quite small and weird in a sense.

• On our way back things went quite smooth as well and we had no problems with the screening. The only thing I didn’t like was that I was asked to remove my jacket but the person asking me this was repeatedly saying the same thing in Greek when she saw that I’m not understanding her. At least another employee then translated what she was saying. The flight was bound to leave at 18.40. At 17.40 we got the gate info and the boarding started.

• The Ryanair aircraft was not the usual layout. Seats seemed to have smaller space and also they were more upright.

Tea seat after our landing in Malta

• Both landings (at Paphos and Malta) were very harsh. On both flight the seat next to us. The landing back in Malta was so harsh that the seat got out of the structure - as shown in the photo.

• Prices with no luggage for 2 people:

Malta to Paphos: €44.98

Paphos to Malta: €43.48

Seats in total for both flights: €16

Total: €104.46

Passport check

• We were very surprised that we had to go though passport check for an EU country. We then realized the Cyprus is in the EU but it is a non schengen area. In Malta, both when we are leaving and when we arrived, the officials checking the passports seemed to be so bored in their jobs and that they are doing it just to earn a living. The first one told me ‘ejja hi’ translating to ‘come on just come’ when I was nit sure if I could go to his desk as everyone was going somewhere else. When we arrived the woman checking the passport was taking ages with each person. Apart from that when I gave her my passport she looked at me in a grumpy way and in a harsh way she told me ‘remove the passport from the cover’, not even a please or anything…l such a nice way to welcome tourists in our country.

• In Paphos we had the option to do the passport check through machines. This is what we opted to as it is much faster. You will then be given like a ticket and you will need ti give to the officials at the desk.

Transportation

Busses in malta

• Bus to the airport in Malta was a bit problematic as the usual bus stop showed that it is being disrupted on the tallinja app and yet it did not show another alternative. We then went with our gut feeling and waited at the previous bus stop. We waited for about 15minutes and got the X4 bus. X1 also passed but did not seem to stop on the bus stop that we were at.

• We got out of the bus at the airport to only see that the road near the airport is being resurfaced and we had no idea how we are going ti be able to cross the road. An airport member guided us that we are required to go from the tunnel.

• When we arrived back the surfacing was done and there were 2 busses which we were able to catch.

• The driver was very helpful as we were not sure if the bus passes from a specific bus stop because of construction and he guided us accordingly

Buses in Paphos

Transportation was something that was worrying us quite a bit before we left for ur trip. As on google it was not showing any information regarding busses at all. I have tried searching online but there was not clear information. I posted for feedback from other people on a group called RUBS travel. The people there all told us that the public transport is very good and efficient. Even the host of our accommodation told us so. In all honesty, since we were not sure of this we decided to rent a car which was the best move we have done. Reason being is that the public transport in not reliable at all.

We took the bus from the airport to our accommodation, there was only 1 bus that goes to the harbor (612) as per below photo of the time table. We arrived in march and apparently they were already using the summer time table which supposedly starts in April. Mind you this was written nowhere, our host informed us.

On the bus, you need to pay by cash as they don’t accept cards and there is nowhere where you can buy the tickets prior to boarding the bus. You will also have no idea where you are exactly as the voice of the bus is not understandable and there is no screen which shows the name if the next bus stop. Apart from this, the bus has a wrapping which does not allow you to see outside properly which is also a drawback. Bus stops are not all marked with which bus passes from there and there is no timings either.

During our stay we used the car or we walked, other than that we scrapped the option of busses. We only used the bus again on our way back to the airport. We went directly at the harbor where the main station is and planned to get the 15.10 bus. But this did not arrive at the station. We asked the information office and she mentioned that she does not know where the bus is but is was supposed to leave at 15.10 (mind you the next bus ti the airport after 15.10 would be 6.20). In my opinion this is quite unprofessional. I understand that the bus could have gotten stuck in traffic, which are

things that happen but passengers or at least staff members should be informed with the real time of the bus.

Paphos Harbor Main Station

We believe that the bus was the best option to go from the airport to the accommodation and vice versa. Reason being is that a taxi would have cost €45 for a 20 minute driver. If you share the cab you will still need to pay the same amount. We heard someone going through this, then they negotiated and they were able to pay€20 each (cab was shared by 2 people)

Car Rental

Since the public transport was not reliable at all we decided to rent a car. It was very difficult to find something as a lot of the car rental companies either took a huge amount of deposit, or they won’t let you go explore the mountains. Also, the websites are not updated and a lot of companies did not get back to our emails. We then managed to find a company called Thrasos Rental (https://thrasoscars.com/). We spoke with the company through whatsapp in January. The person we spoke with to told us that for 2 days it will cost €80 and no deposit required just you will have a €250 access. The good side of it was that it was also close to our accommodation. A day before we had also communicated with the company to make sure that everything is fine. When we arrived at the company, the guy told us to go with his friend. His friend came for us to go to the main office, for us to only realize that we were sent to a different company called A & G Rentals (https://www.agrentacar.com/content/car-hire-terms). In my opinion this is very unprofessional. The woman was writing down the details if the ID and license (which she did wrong) and we had to sign a kind of contract which is normal. The only difference is that she mentioned that the access was €800 not €250? We immediately mentioned that this was not what we have agreed to and she just cut the amount with a biro, wrote over it and signed… again very unprofessional.

The car we were given was a Chevrolet spark. It was very well maintained but we think that the company did something to the car. Reason being is that The car was extremely slow, it was only able to go maximum 80kilomiters per hour on the highway. Even when going up a hill it struggled a lot, to the point that it only went up with 20 kilometres per hour and we had to find a place where to stop on the side to let the cars behind us pass.

When we returned the car, the owner immediately told us that she cannot drive us back to the accommodation and we will have to walk it. She took away the contract which was our copy and also the map that she had provided for us.

Accommodation

As for accommodation we decided to go with Airbnb as it was the only one which we found that is quite close to all amenities. The apartment is Called Athina 8 in Diagorou Street in Paphos. The host, Andreas was very helpful and we communicated well. He had instructed us well on how to get to the flat, gave us a lot of tips on places we should visit and explain in detail everything in the apartment.

All in all it was a great accommodation. The flat looked exactly as in the photos of Airbnb, the neighborhood was quite and the neighbors were very friendly too.

For 4 nights we paid €163.43. Below you can find the direct link for the Airbnb accommodation we stayed in.

https://www.airbnb.com.mt/rooms/44594024?source_impression_id=p3_1680628607_jaX6qN%2FFThN%2FbeLB

Side note:

1) Google maps does not work properly at all times in Cyprus. At one point we needed to give petrol to the car and google maps just sent us in the middle of nowhere)

2) It is a miracle to fine a gas station. We had to drive so many kilometers to actually find a petrol station in Limassol