The resort at Ayia Napa is strung out along the long east - west shoreline with the main street Leoforos Nisios parallel to the shore. It meets Leoforos Makariou running north-south with the town centre clubs to the north and the beaches and harbour area to the south. The village takes its name from the ancient Greek word nape which means wooded valley. There is no wooded valley today, just a ghastly urban sprawl. This is a huge tourist resort with about 40 hotels, 200 apartments and a tourist village. In all there are around 19,000 beds. An endless succession of clubs and bars caters for an unending stream of young drunks. Noisy, brash and tasteless it attracts about one third of all Cyprus tourists. A low point is bumping into loudly drunk British squaddies from the base at Dheklia on a boys' night out of drinking in the street, swearing in the street and throwing up in the street.

Beaches
The sands at Agia Napa are exceptionally good, if you can find any not packed with sunbathers. They are all crammed end-to-end with umbrellas and loungers. If you don't want a lounger, you should find a spot at the back of the beach somewhere. Those beaches nearest the resort are blessed with all-day music bars.

Nightlife centres around clubbing and clubbing centres around the Square. The area is actually quite small so it quickly gets packed as the punters pour in. There are at least 200 clubs and bars centred around the Square, most of them decked out with Disney-style frontages. The main ones are The Bedrock, the Castle and Ice. Competition between clubs is ferocious and persistent touts are always out in force with offers of free shots for passers by. They are notoriously annoying and some will even drag you in, if you look timid enough to take it. The strip club touts are the worst and to be avoided if possible.
Many hotels have deals with the clubs, offering free tickets or free shots and touts will often cruise the hotels looking to part new arrivals with their cash with special offers or unabashed hard sell. The night's clubbing starts around 11pm with tours of the bars until the clubs are open around 1am and don't close until after daybreak.

As though all-night clubbing wasn't enough, the Luna Park boasts a clutch of expensive fairground rides to entertain the youngsters at up to C£20 a throw. Main rides are the Skycoaster (C£12) which drops you from a great height, the Aerodium (C£20) which offers free-fall parachuting, the Wall (C£5) where you try not to fall off and the Slingshot (C£12) which does just that to you. It's not a good idea to mix drinks and rides and don't expect to have anything left in your wallet.

Those who tire of being thrown about can glide from a great height at the Atlantis waterpark about 3km west out of Ayia Napa which boasts of being the biggest themed waterpark in Europe. There are a huge range of water rides, including some extreme chute and funnel slides. Greek mythology has been heavily pillaged for ride names, everything from Posiedon's Wave Pool and Aphrodite's Bath to the Midas Gift Shop and Homer's Fast Food. To complement the mega rides there are the usual mega queues in the high season.

It hardly competes with the other entertainment highlights but the small, private museum is reasonably good, with displays of fossil shells, stuffed fish, sharks, turtles and sea birds. It is found on the ground floor of the Agia Napa town hall and displays are well documented.

An oasis of serene calm in the commercial bedlam of the resort, the beautiful cloistered monastery of Agia Napa is sited next to some of the loudest and most vulgar clubs. Tradition has it that a miraculous icon was found in a cave and became a shrine Ayia Napa - saint of the wooded valley. A well was found in the cave and a marble fountain built in 1530 as the shrine became a church and later a monastery. The fountain is there today, covered by a pillared dome. The oldest part of the monastery is to north-east where there are four cells with cross-like ceilings. It is no longer an active monastery but is still beautifully preserved with gates to the north and south. Outside the south gate is an enormous fig tree said to be 600 years old. The rather dark and gloomy church is sunk below the courtyard level. The whole monastery is surrounded by a stout wall that once helped to keep pirates at bay but now serves to keep out the dozens of street drunks wandering outside from club to club.

The Ayia Napa coastline is blessed with a succession of good beaches forming small to medium sized bays between outcrops of rocks. Working west to east they are:

Ayia Thekla
About 7km west of Ayia Napa is the small and pretty beach of Ayia Thekla. It is within walking distance from the main road leading into Ayia Napa from Limassol and takes its name a tiny old chapel in the area. There is a small island offshore and the only frequent visitors are the owners of the neighbouring up-market villas. It's one of the quieter beaches in the area. To the west of the church is a cave called the 'Catacomb of Ayia Thekli'.

Makronisis Beach
A cluster of bays forms the popular beaches at Makronisis or Makronisos, about 6km from Ayia Napa. There are three main bays, one to the west, another south west and a third south east and all three well sheltered with fine white sand. These beaches are very popular with local Cypriot families and have all the usual services. They are also highly favoured for beach parties so can get very busy, noisy and crowded.

Landa Beach
This beach is medium sized - about 300m long beach and is midway between Makronisos beach and the hugely popular Nissi Bay. It's also known as Golden Beach and is quieter that its more popular neighbour though the proximity of nearby hotels means it can still get quite busy.

Nissi Beach
The most popular beach in the area is about 3km kilometres west of Ayia Napa. This is where all the boys go to parade their pectorals and the girls to tan their . . . well, just about anywhere really. It's Gucci country though and you can't afford to be seen in anything but the latest designer beachwear. A wide sand bar leads to a small offshore islet and divides the beach into two, creating shallow, sheltered waters that are ideal for children to play. And play they do. The beach attracts thousands of young visitors each year. It's well sheltered from the wind and sea swells and has every type of water sport imaginable. Windsurfing, jet biking, banana riding, bungy jumping - it's all here. Music blares from several beach bars so, all in all, this is no place to take a nap. Behind the beach bars are cafes, pubs, restaurants and shops to service the multitudes.

Sandy Bay
Between Nissi and Ayia Napa are several assorted beaches. Sandy Bay known locally as Vathia Gonia ia about 500m east of Nissi Bay. The deep sandy bay is well sheltered and there are the usual sunbeds and sea sports. Further east is Pernara beach, about 200m long leading to Katsarka, a beach of stone and rock about 800m long and the last before the fishing harbour at Ayia Napa.

Pantahou
West of the harbour is Pantahou, the main beach of Ayia Napa. That's not its only name however. It is variously known as Harbour Beach, Ayia Napa Beach, Kryo Nero or Greko Beach. Whatever, it's one long, straight stretch of sand that heads east for more than 1km. It's not considered as chic as Nissi but thousands still pack the sands and all the usual tourist facilities are there, sun beds, sea sports cafes, snack bars, and restaurants.

Cape Greco
Beyond Pantahou are the much-visited caves of Cape Greco. Before then are a couple of small beaches, difficult to get to except by boat. Ammos tou Kambouri and Kermia are small sheltered inlets of stone and sand. Cape Greco itself has a string of spectacular sea caves and large rocks. The more adventurous chance diving into the sea. A British Army radar station prevents you reaching the end of the cape but there is a coastal walking and cycle track

Palaces
Beyond Cape Greco stand the Palaces, named for the striking rock formations and the rocky beach sculpted by the waves that give it an almost architectural appearance - hence the name. White rocks and crystal waters give the sea an ethereal blue and green glow. This site can only be reached by boat but there is no shortage of excursion boats.

Konnos Bay
Just beyond Cape Greco is the beautiful sheltered beach of Konnos Bay, overlooked by a pretty little café. A fine spot for those looking for peace and tranquility were it not for visiting boat trippers and a watersports centre where you can hire noisy jet skis to annoy everyone. By road it's about 2km east of Ayia Napa on the road to Protaras. It must be one of the most picturesque beaches on Cyprus and well sheltered from the winds.

Limanaki Beach
This fine sand beach is about 4km east of Ayia Napa. It curves around a long bay with a small fishing harbour at one end and well sheltered from the wind. It must have been a beautiful spot before a rash of supremely ugly hotels went up along the shore. At least there is a good selection of cafes and restaurants.

There's not a great deal to attract inland day trippers in this part of Cyprus. The area is known for commercial potato growing and there's only limited pleasure to be had from touring flat potato fields. Villages tend to be more workmanlike than quaint and restaurants are few and far-between. Be prepared to face squadrons of bikes and scooters on roads all around Ayia Napa as they head for the beach resorts along the coast.

The small town of Paralimni has adopted the mantle of administrative centre for the east of the island after Famagusta was taken over by the Turks in 1974. It's an unprepossessing, if shabby, little town with a pleasant paved central square with a couple of churches, restaurants and shops. The town is noted for it's excellent gardens, worth a visit in spring when the flowers are in bloom, and for its ceramics. The town is also noted for its dancers and folk poets, regarded as the island's best. They are in great demand at social events, weddings, fairs and festivals.

Most go to Deryneia to peer across the border that separates North and South Cyprus though the practice is becoming increasingly redundant as the North opens up to more visitors. The town is notorious for the beating to death of a young Greek Cypriot Tasos Isaak during a peaceful protest in 1996 and the shooting of Solomos Solmou three days later as he tried to climb a flagpole in no-man's land in protest at the death of his friend. Graphic wall posters describe the shock at the events. There are a couple of viewing platforms, the best being Annitas - one of the last buildings that was not occupied when Turkish troops halted their advance in the town. The empty and abandoned former Greek Cypriot village of Variosa can be seen from here, much as it was in 1974.

The British were granted sovereign rights to Dhekelia as part of a deal with the Republic in 1960. It's now home to several satellite and radio listening stations and held in perpetuity by the British, although they have agreed to return it to a 'united' Cyprus. Although large iron gates were erected on roads into the base area they are not closed and access is unrestricted except into the installations themselves. The border with the north runs through the area but attitudes towards it are much more relaxed and there is no buffer zone as, for example, in Nicosia. It is quite easy, though not advisable, to stray cross the border.

Literally translated as 'red villages' Kokkinohoria is the name given to the famous potato growing region of Cyprus and is taken from the deep red colour of the earth. The soil colour is quite striking, as is the landscape which reminds you of the Australian outback. Wind-powered water pumps add tot eh illusion. The main villages have little to offer the tourist, devoting themselves to the more lucrative potato crop but the rural atmosphere is in stark contrast to the garish coastal resorts. The villages of Liopetri and Sotira are most famous for their traditional basket-making, a craft actively encouraged by the Cypriots who have recognised it as a cultural heritage. There are also a number of beautiful chapels in these villages and also in Frenaros and Xylofagou, dating back as far as the 13th century.

The village of Pyla found itself in the UN buffer zone between north and south and extraordinarily both sides live in peaceful co-existence. The presence of a UN peacekeeping force is something of an unnecessary and Greek and Turkish cafes sit harmoniously enough on opposite sides of the main square with a token UN checkpoint between them. Greeks and Turks live in mixed neighbourhoods and wander at will across a border where they would need passport checks up the road in Nicosia.

Protaras and its neighbour Pernara were once separate village but are now linked by a string of hotels, bars and restaurants following an explosion of tourism in this once sleepy stretch of coast. It's a less frenzied version of Ayia Napa, more suited to couples and families though that hasn't prevented the inevitable downmarket slide into tackiness. Most hotel options are packed along the shoreline strip and are heavily geared to package tours.
The beaches are as good as anywhere and more spread out that Ayia Napa so it doesn't feel quite as overcrowded and claustrophobic, but sleepy village resort this isn't. Facilities are mainly hotel-based and there are as many hotels as you can shake a stick at - around 200 at the last count.
Shops, restaurants and bars clutter the main street that runs right through the centre and though adequate, the restaurant menus are firmly unimaginative and service somewhat jaded. What seems sadly missing from Protaras is any sort of natural shade. Blistering heat pours from the vast acreage of concrete and barely a tree in sight. At night the resort is a cacophony of sound as pubs and clubs compete for attention in a contest that no one will ever win.
On the outskirts is the church of Ayios Ilias, a small attractive stone building on top of a rocky crag. It is well worth a climb to the top where there is a panoramic view of Protaras and the surrounding countryside.

The coastal area of Protaras has some of the best beaches in south Cyprus though few can be called pretty and almost all are smothers end-to-end in sun loungers. Long stretches of sand are backed by quick-build hotel development that has cemented over any character the area may once have had. Working from north to south the main beaches are:

Skoutari
Crumbling cliffs form a backdrop to this small beach of hard-packed sand and broken rock. It sits at the end of a sheltered bay and is popular with snorkellers. There are restaurants nearby for refreshment.

Ayia Triada
There is only a small beach here, about 200m. The sand is course and stony but the waters are shallow, so families might prefer it. Drivers tend to park their cars on the beach making it less attractive as a place to stay. There is a small collection of seaside tavernas and cafes dishing up basic food and drinks.

Mouzoura
This tiny stretch of sand is only 100m long and popular with Cypriots so it soon fills up and you must get there early to get a good spot. A large hotel nearby also helps keep the beach busy. The sand falls away rather steeply so it's not a favourite with families. There is shade at the southern end and plenty of parking space and a sprinkling of restaurants for meals and drinks.

Louma
An rock wall provides shelter at the popular beach of Loma which is the last before the busy Protaras beach zone. The scimitar strand of fine, soft sand is about 400m long and shelves gently into the well-protected bay. There are trees for shade at the northern end and plenty of watersports on offer. Further south are a few coves for those who prefer privacy but they can be hard to find and difficult to get to.

Pernera
The resort at Penera has virtually melted into its neighbour Protaras but a belt of rocky coves, mostly backed by large hotels, separates Penera beach from its busier neighbour. Smaller than Louma at 200m it still has many similarities - a curve of fine, soft sand around a sheltered bay. Differences are the lack of tree shelter here and the way the sands, at first shallow, suddenly drop away a few metres out. Several restaurants back the beach and there is good parking available. There is also a diving centre here.

Fig Tree Bay
The most popular and busiest beach in the area is at Protaras. The beach is long and sandy and covered in sun loungers. A huge selection of water sports is on offer. The southern end is called Fig Tree Bay and, yes, there is a single specimen standing guard at the back. Several access roads lead to the beach along its entire length as well as from Protaras town proper so parking is no problem and there are no end of restaurants to choose from. The only real problem is the huge numbers on the beach itself. There ar many shops, restaurants and cafes overlooking the whole beach strip.

Green Bay
This popular beach is one to head for to avoid the worst of the crowds, though it's not exactly isolated. The bay sits at the southern end of the main Protaras beach strip and split between a sandy stretch to the north and sandstone rocks to the south that provide pleasant sunbathing spots if you get there early enough to bag one for yourself.

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