Things To Do

I asked why their beers are so good;  Taras explained, "The biggest difference of Craft Beer is it has more flavour and taste, mainly because it's not filtered or pasteurised, making it a much richer flavour.  Craft Beer is like a finger print because we never brew our beer in a bad mood, that's how we are here at Octo and we hope you are just like us" …

... you just have to read their excellent reviews on Air bnb and check out their portfolio on their Web Site to realise just why Lambros is so successful.  Their extensive selection of villas and apartments are all near the beach and are mostly in the much sought after areas of Protaras, Pernera, Cape Greco and Ayia Napa.

I was delighted to be invited to 'Play 4 All' to catch up with owner Lucas Polycarpou and I have to say, I had no idea just how much they do here, with 6 Full Size Bowling Alleys, a Children's Play Room, called 'The Jungle' and a fully fitted club style party room called 'La Mour' for up to 150 of your friends.  There's also a restaurant with a top chef presenting a full a' la carte menu and that's just for starters, excuse the pun … oh and, a few big screen TV's so you can just pop in for a drink to watch all the live sports and the footie! … So it really is a fun place for kids, and grown ups!

The location is wonderful, up in the hills, with absolutely stunning panoramic views overlooking the St. George coastline of Paphos.  There's over 100,000 square metres of lush green vegetation, ponds, flowers, and trees including the amazing Silk Floss Tree from South America, covered in thousands of spikes, it's just crazy !

My initial interest was to find out about their gins, Aris explained, "it's what originally brought us back to Cyprus, 'to create a quality craft gin'.  Our initial inspiration was the aroma of The Troodos Mountains after a long dry summer when it first rains and we wanted to capture exactly that and put it in a bottle and we called it Aoratas Dry Gin which in fact last year won a gold medal. 

… One of the things I like about this 'Touristic accommodation' is their central position, just 300 metres walk from the square in Ayia Napa.  It's a small complex, with only 14 spacious, studio and 1 bedroom apartments with kitchenettes, but no pool, or cafe, but that's not a problem because you're just 50 metres from a mini supermarket, tavernas, bars and amenities and the sea is just a few minutes away.

I was delighted to be invited to find out more about this exceptional, luxury chocolate manufacturing company.  Established in 1990 by Constantinos' father Stavros.  Their story is almost as lovely as their chocolate tastes ... omg!  Constantinos made me very welcome as we talked about how it all started ...

They're in the quiet part of town but close by are lots of cafe's, restaurants, wine bars, convenience stores, bakeries, shops, and pharmacies.  Just a short walk is the old port, the new port a little further and all those gorgeous old buildings in old town, converted into lovely eateries, wine bars and exclusive designer shops.

There's nothing quite like a Guided Quad Bike Safari Tour with Mido and his crew ... Whether your looking for a relaxing sunset tour with your family or a little extreme adventure they have a cool selection on offer ... Catering for a minimum of 2, up to 20 people for either part or whole day tours ... check out their Trip Advisor reviews here.

Lucas then gained many more certificates, the wall behind his desk proudly showing the extensive effort this car lover has put into his business.  Opening back in 2005 Lucas has made it his job to study and keep up to date with technology, as these days you can just plug your car into a computer in Paralimni and BMW in Germany tell you what it needs, amazingly to the 'fraction of a litre' of engine oil.