Need to Travel
Over the last decade we have seen an obvious increase in private companies providing bus services … mainly due to the over spill of visitors, expanding the need for more public transport. This in turn has added to the services between main towns and villages, we even saw the introduction of a ‘Circle Line’, in the Ayia Napa area, which is the big loop road that links Napa, Protaras and Paralimni, and much similar in many major cities in Cyprus, as Europe demands improvements in communications and we comply’ish …
Busses or Coaches ?
I expect this trend to continue, until yet another service becomes just like home from home, you know, no busses for ages and then they’ll all come along together ! There’s no real way to distinguish the busses from the coaches as many companies double up their coaches as busses to help cope with the demand in peak season …
Cheaper than chips
The bus service in Cyprus is a very cheap, comfortable and quite a reliable way to get around. Services start very early in the morning and run frequently all day, though they finish at various times in the evening depending on where and what they’re servicing . Whatever you do, find out what time the last bus is before you set out on your journey, as many finish far too early for Cinderella !
I was going to do loads on here about busses but found this site; ‘Cyprus by Bus’ and it looks like they’ve got it covered !
Shared Taxis
We also have, what’s known as ‘Service Taxis’, a sort of cross between a bus and a taxi … They generally look like minibuses, but they will go almost anywhere that you want them to, right into the little villages if need be. Great if you have a specific place to go, but a pain in the ass if you want to get somewhere in a rush and everyone else on the bus has specific places to go …
Prices & Timetables
Most vehicles have full air conditioning to keep you cool … All ‘people carrying transport’ display a number plate starting with the letter ‘T’, so at least you can flag down the right vehicles. Bus Stops look much like any other and you’ll find them at quite regular intervals. Prices vary between municipal and private companies, but we can safely say they’re very reasonable. As for Timetables, they’re about as accurate as back home, well nuff said !
It’s a small island, go check it out !
By Tony Dynamou
