Limassol, Cyprus

[Gonzo70]

Hello,

 

Our Holy Land cruise itinerary recently was changed and Cyprus was substituted for Egypt. I have heard that Limassol, Cyprus has lots of activities to offer such as horseback riding, wineries etc. At our other ports we are doing a lot of cultural tours and sightseeing, so I thought it might be fun to do something sporty in Cyprus (i.e. horseback riding) and/or take in some wine tasting at vineyards. Anybody have any recommendations as to who to book something like this through or any other ideas or comments about this port?

 

Thanks

[Mands&Ian]

Hello,

 

Our Holy Land cruise itinerary recently was changed and Cyprus was substituted for Egypt. I have heard that Limassol, Cyprus has lots of activities to offer such as horseback riding, wineries etc. At our other ports we are doing a lot of cultural tours and sightseeing, so I thought it might be fun to do something sporty in Cyprus (i.e. horseback riding) and/or take in some wine tasting at vineyards. Anybody have any recommendations as to who to book something like this through or any other ideas or comments about this port?

 

Thanks

 

Sorry to hear that you're having to make late changes to your plans.

 

Some suggestions of sporty options rather than cultural that are do-able from Limassol:

 

Horse riding at the Santa Marina Retreat

http://www.santamarinaretreat.com/

 

A visit to the Mazotos Camel Park

http://www.camel-park.com/article.php?id=56

 

The Fasouri Waterpark

http://www.fasouri-watermania.com/

 

The waterpark is about 15 minutes from the port, Santa Marina is about 30 minutes and the camel park would be about 45 minutes away. There is no public transport to any of these so you'd need to hire a car or take a taxi to/from.

 

If you fancy wine tasting then quite a few of the wineries welcome visitors and there's usually no need to pre-book. Wine has been made on the island for the last 6000 years and there are dozens wineries scattered across the island.

 

Some are quite modern and industrial and while they welcome visitors for tastings it isn't particularly scenic. Places such as Aes Ambelis and Kyperounda fall into that category; both make some lovely wines though :)

 

Other wineries have chosen to retain some of their older buildings giving a more picturesque feel to the place. The wineries within villages of Vasa and Omodos fall into this category, as does the particularly lovely winery at Tsiakkas.

 

If you want the whole tasting experience then there is a winery where it is possible to taste their full range of wines whilst eating a full meze.

 

They have no restaurant licence but there is nothing to stop them from inviting visitors to eat with the family whilst tasting some of the wines. To this end they have built a 100 seat extension to their family kitchen and each day one of the older relatives is dispatched to sit at a table in the corner and enjoy his lunch. They charge a nominal fee for the wine tasting, 20€ I think, but nothing for the food and then everyone is happy. Cyprus is a such a pragmatic place :)

 

To get a broader view of the wines of the island there is always the Wine Museum in Erimi, less than 30 minutes from Limassol. It features wines from 30+ wineries.

 

http://www.cypruswinemuseum.com/eng/tour/

 

Hopefully that should give some ideas to get your planning started. Feel free to shout if there's anything else you want to know.

 

Mands

[Gonzo70]

Thanks so much for all the helpful information. :)

[Gonzo70]

Mands,

 

One other questions; is Tsiakkas the winery that offers the meze, or is that a different one?

 

Thanks :)

[Mands&Ian]

Mands,

 

One other questions; is Tsiakkas the winery that offers the meze, or is that a different one?

 

Thanks :)

 

Hi Gonzo,

 

It's a different one and I didn't include the name as I wanted to double check that I had the right place in mind.

 

The winery is Kolios in the village of Ayios Fotios which is the name of one of their most well-known wines. They may have formalised their wine tasting with lunch now as the website makes reference to it. It should be about an hour's drive from the port to the winery. If you wanted to combine that with some culture it would be easy to stop by at Curium on the way there or back.

 

Mands

[Gonzo70]

Great, thanks again.

[aussie cruzer]

Hello,

 

Our Holy Land cruise itinerary recently was changed and Cyprus was substituted for Egypt. I have heard that Limassol, Cyprus has lots of activities to offer such as horseback riding, wineries etc. At our other ports we are doing a lot of cultural tours and sightseeing, so I thought it might be fun to do something sporty in Cyprus (i.e. horseback riding) and/or take in some wine tasting at vineyards. Anybody have any recommendations as to who to book something like this through or any other ideas or comments about this port?

 

Thanks

 

We are stopping in limassol on our holy land cruise in october,i have booked a private tour of cyprus with cyprus chauffeur.

They are picking us up at 8.30 am & we are seeing the historic & scenic highlights of southern Cyprus .

We plan to have lunch at a winery along the way.

 

http://www.cypruschauffeur.com/

[Mands&Ian]

We are stopping in limassol on our holy land cruise in october,i have booked a private tour of cyprus with cyprus chauffeur.

They are picking us up at 8.30 am & we are seeing the historic & scenic highlights of southern Cyprus .

We plan to have lunch at a winery along the way.

 

http://www.cypruschauffeur.com/

 

Hi there,

 

If they've given you an outline itinerary that you were prepared to share I'd be interested to see it. It's always fascinating to see what other people consider to be the non-missables :-)

 

Mands