Cycling Cyprus

Why should cyclists visit Cyprus?

So what are the cycling routes in Cyprus like? In the past, Cyprus has been better known for mountain biking than road cycling, but with the Gran Fondo Cyprus (which is a UCI Gran Fondo World Championships qualifier) and hotels starting to market themselves to the triathlon scene, Cyprus is edging its way onto the radar of the road cycling world.

The main things Cyprus road cycling offers are a decent spring and autumn climate and a good road network. We were impressed by the smooth road surfaces and pretty scenery, the noticeable lack of traffic once you’re away from the coast, and good hotels and towns seeped in ancient history and mythology. For these reasons, we think biking in Cyprus makes a great alternative to the better known cycling destinations. It’s an excellent one to shortlist if you’re looking for somewhere your friends haven’t yet been!

(For a comparison between Cyprus and Mallorca, jump to this section).

An overview of cycling in Cyprus

Geography of Cyprus

The highest point in Cyprus is Mount Olympus in the Troodos Mountains. It stands tall at 1,952 metres, which is just over 500 metres higher than the highest point in Mallorca’s Tramuntana range.

The Troodos mountains run from Poli in the northwest down towards the famous city of Limassol in Cyprus, which lies in the south.

Paphos, which was our base for this trip, is in the middle of the west coast. This popular resort gives good access to both coastal cycling routes and fantastic cycling in the Troodos mountains.

Popular bases

Cyprus is definitely well behind the Mallorcas and Gironas of this world in terms of density of road cyclists; but this is gradually changing. Which is good news when you want to cycle in Cyprus!

When looking at Strava heatmaps for road cycling Cyprus, there seems to be a good number of popular rides from Poli in the north west, from Paphos in the west, from Limassol in the south (check out our full region guide to cycling Limassol here) and from the capital Nicosia into the Troodos mountains in the centre.

A lot of the rides are along coastal routes or you can follow the valleys up towards Mount Olympus / Troodos mountains (in either case, don’t miss the notes below!). There is also a lot of cycling activity within the Troodos mountains, which lie in-between the four towns mentioned above.

What are the roads like in Cyprus?

The general feeling we got was that Cyprus was more geared up for mountain biking than road biking: bike rental in Paphos and other places is more focused on renting, fixing and selling mountain bikes, and there’s a lot of well maintained mountain bike trails in Cyprus – especially around the Troodos forest.

Here are some points to note:

• around the towns there are some dedicated cycle lanes, but we would advise against using these as they tend not to have on/off ramps suitable for road bikes!
• if you’re on the coastal roads, you’ll be riding with traffic, probably in the traffic or on the shoulder (where there will probably be gravel); head for the hills to get away from the traffic
• as you ride inland you’ll encounter long climbs (20km+) with gradients that get up to the double digits and regular, fantastic views of the sea
• drivers in Cyprus don’t have a great reputation – see the notes below
• there are also a plethora of coastal cycle routes along the seafront: these are ideal for hybrid and mountain bikes.

This all said, the road surfaces we came across in Cyprus were good and, dare we say it, at least as good as those in Mallorca.

Scenery in Cyprus

In terms of Cyprus’s scenery, expect quite a lot of scrub but also pine-clad peaks, busy towns and tranquil old stone villages with vineyards, olive groves and ancient churches.

Even in December, we’ve heard you’ll find oranges on the trees and vegetables growing in the fields in some Cyprus destinations.

Northeast Cyprus

You might spot that we don’t suggest visiting the north of Cyprus.

While the whole of the Republic of Cyprus is a full member of the EU, the country is divided by the Green Line (a UN demilitarized buffer zone) which separates the self-declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” from the south.

The British government does not recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Thus there are various travel and other considerations you should be aware of. You can check out the detailed UK Foreign Office travel advice here.

Cyprus cycling routes

Cycling routes from Paphos

On our cycling trip to Cyprus we deliberately chose three rides that are somewhat different from each other:

• the first is up to the highest point on the island, Mount Olympus, as some hardened cyclists will probably want to “conquer” the peak. This is a little over 150km, with over 3,000m of climbing. 
• the second is into the Paphos Forest further north; whilst only 130 km long, it still has nearly 3,000 m of climbing.
• the third and final route is a flatter coastal route down to a pretty fishing village called Pissouri Bay via the Rock of Aphrodite: this route is 72km long and has around 750m of elevation.

Click on the buttons below to take you through to cycling route maps and detailed descriptions of these Cyprus cycling routes.

If you’re cycling from Paphos, it’s super easy as each ride starts and finishes near our Paphos cycling base. This is on the sea front in Paphos, at the Aliathon hotel, but of course you can easily amend this.

Read our tips for planning a Paphos cycling holiday and our tips for cycling in Cyprus before you set out.

Cycling Mount Olympus in Cyprus’ Troodos Mountains

152km 3160m

Cycling to Pissouri Bay, Cyprus

72km 770m

Paphos Forest loop, Troodos Mountains, Cyprus

130km 2970m

Cycling routes from Limassol

We’ve written an entirely separate guide to cycling in/around Limassol. You can find it here. It includes a number of suggested routes to discover by bike in the Limassol area.

Easy cycling in Cyprus

We have deliberately not written up some of the more family-friendly coastal Paphos cycling routes along the seafront, as these are easy to follow on mixed terrain cycle paths and can be done easily without a “.gpx file” or guide. Most outlets for bike hire in Paphos rent out hybrid bikes for both adults and children that are suitable for cycling these coastal routes.

If you fancy an easy group ride, you could also check out the weekly Wednesday evening bike rides from Limassol, between 7:45 and 10pm. There’s more information here.

Cycling events and races in Cyprus

The Cyprus Cycling Federation, which is a member of the UCI, has been organising road races in Cyprus since 1978.

Probably the best known cycling event in Cyprus is the four-day international mountain bike competition (the “Cyprus Sunshine Epic” – it was originally known as “Afxentia”).

Cyprus Gran Fondo

The Cyprus Gran Fondo is a more recent addition to Cyprus’ cycling scene, and is organised by Activate Cyprus. It usually runs during the last weekend of March and offers a three-day road “Cycling for All” event.

The first day gives you the chance to qualify for the Individual Time Trial World Championships. The following two days provide two separate chances (one in every stage) to qualify for the Road Race World Championships.

Triathlons

For the triathletes out there, there are a number of triathlons based in Paphos (see here).

Also Ayia Napa Triathlon is another early season race which is growing in stature and worth checking out. It has grown from 23 athletes in 2014 to around 700 in 2019. There are middle distance, standard distance and sprint distances available. The course is reputedly flat and fast.

L’Etape Cyprus

Last, but certainly not least is the exciting L’Etape Cyprus (by Tour de France) which was held for the first time on 13 November 2022.

Where to stay in Cyprus (for road cyclists)

What’s the best place to stay in Cyprus (for cyclists)?

Cyprus is known as Aphrodite’s Island, the Goddess herself symbolising love, beauty, passion and procreation.  Aphrodite’s birthplace is on the west coast of Cyprus some 25km southeast of the main town of Paphos.

Both Paphos and Limassol make good bases for cyclists. Here are some points to consider:

• Paphos is much closer to an international airport being about 10 minutes away from Paphos airport (but 1.5 hours to Larnaca airport) whilst Limassol is more like a 40 minute drive from Paphos and Larnaca airports.
• Both towns host events – which one are you doing?
• Paphos bike rental is probably more plentiful – but bike rental delivery to Limassol is possible via a local bike shop in Cyprus.
  

Do bear in mind that both Paphos and Limassol are on Cyprus’ busy coast, so it’s not a rural idyll. Base yourself in the mountains if that’s what you’re after.

Where to stay in Paphos (for cyclists)

Our choice: Aliathon Hotel

The Aliathon Hotel is a large hotel that’s close to the seafront and makes a great base for cycling in Paphos. It has seven different swimming pools and is also close to the Geroskipou Municipal stadium running track and the Yeroskipu 50m / 10 lane international pool. It’s the hotel of choice for sports companies such as ETE TriCamps, Aspire Cycling and Mokapot Productions and offers bike rental in Cyprus via Aspire Cycling.

What we loved

• The Aliathon hotel complex has a total of seven swimming pools: some of which are quiet around the Aegean Village area and suitable for sunbathing.  The largest pool, called the Faros pool in the Fishing Village area, is probably large enough to host a triathlon!
• The Aliathon Plaza at the front of the hotel has pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops, a pharmacy, medical centre and, perhaps more importantly, a Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop.
• The rooms are a decent size and generally have a microwave and kitchen area. You probably won’t need this, though, as the restaurants are very good.
• The main Pantheon restaurant has very good buffet food with something for everyone including local dishes and also has free water, wine, beer and soft fizzy drinks.
• The restaurants did not seem to mind fruit and other little pieces been taken out of the restaurant for the ride: our favourite was a nut and carob syrup based “brittle” called Pastelaki.
• We thought it was very good value for money. The price even included buffet meals on a half board basis, as well as free water, wine, beer and soft drinks.
• There is a Faros spa by the main large Faros pool where you can get decent massages pre or post ride.
• We were allowed to keep our bike in our hotel room, which gives peace of mind and convenience when planning a Cyprus cycle trip.
  

Things to know

• Just in case you’re not a fan of this – bikes are kept in your room. There is no dedicated bike room on site.
• The hotel is on the “wrong” side of the road for the sea; you have to walk over a road to get to the beach.
• The hotel is split into the Aliathon Aegean (relaxed tranquility) and Aliathon Ionian (fun filled, action packed family holidays).

Conclusion

The Aliathon was good value for money. It’s very clean, and set in wonderful gardens with a surprisingly large number of housemartins flying low along the paths catching insects in mid-flight.  The food was good and there were no “add-ons” like having to pay for bottled water: something we find annoying in some budget Mallorca hotels.

Other hotels for cyclists in Paphos

Athena Hotel

If we had wanted to be on the sea side of the road then opposite the Aliathon Hotel is the Athena Hotel.  The Athena hotel was slightly more expensive than the Aliathon when we were booking, but it has better views over the sea and also dedicated bike rooms.  The Athena is also used by multiple sports companies and we regularly saw triathletes training in the pool.

Almyra Hotel

If we had gone with the family and needed a smarter, but more expensive hotel, we would have probably chosen the 5* Almyra hotel which is also slightly closer to Pathos harbour and the old town area. It is used by some of the sports companies, and was recommended to us by friends who stayed there in 2018.

Casale Panayiotis

Alternatively, if we had been in Cyprus to really get to know the Troodos mountains, we might have stayed at the very highly rated Casale Panayiotis. This is based around a handful of stone cottages in a luxurious spa retreat in the Marathasa valley, right in the heart of the Troodos mountains.

We would have had to rent a car as this hotel is very remote, but is on the doorstep of some very good riding within the mountains. It is significantly more expensive than the Aliathon and Athena, but does come highly recommended.

Aphrodite Hills

Another option that would require car rental; but stay here and you’ll probably never want to leave again (except to ride your bike)!

Read this article on cycling Paphos from the Aphrodite Hills.

Where to stay in Limassol (for cyclists)

Check out the “where to stay” section of our guide to cycling Limassol.

Bike rental in Cyprus

Bike rental in Paphos

	Cyprus bike rental and services
Ride Easy Kato Paphos, Agapinoros 1, Paphos Tel: +357 26 220803	Bike rentals and repairs in Paphos: specialises in Cervelo, Orbea, Specialized, Ridley.  Rentals are mainly Cannondale and Olympia. Bring your own pedals, helmet, bidons and lights. They can also provide guides. We found Ride Easy to be a great bike shop: they seemed to sell most makes, hire out good bikes, and could provide guides with a few days’ notice. They also have a good central location near the Old Town.
Activate Cyprus Olympic Lagoon Resort bike station Poseidonos Ave 48, Paphos Tel: +357 24332112	Bike rentals: Scott bikes with various models on offer. For an extra fee you can also hire pedals, helmet, GPS, car bike rack and multitools. Note: Activate Cyprus’ HQ is in Larnaca. They have bike stations in Paphos, Troodos and Tochni Village.
Aspire Cycling Aliathon Holiday Village, 3 Theas Aphrodites Avenue, 8204, Paphos. Tel: +357 967 079 20	Bike rentals: specialises in Canyon bikes.  Advisable to bring your own pedals, bottles and Garmin as Aspire Cycling Cyprus charges extra for these. Can provide guides.
CWC Pro-cycle Works Cyprus Ltd Kouklia, Paphos 8500 Tel: +357 26432033	We saw Alan Yates, the director, with a race car loaded with decent road bikes: it is not just a mountain bike rental company. Bikes are Boardman and Ribble bikes. They also offer guided tour options, service car support and a stranded rider recovery service.

Bike rental in Limassol

Check out the “bike hire” section of our guide to cycling Limassol.

Tips for bike hire in Cyprus

• Book bike rentals in Cyprus in advance, particularly in peak season. Especially if you want a bicycle in Limassol and require delivery.
  
• Remember to bring your own pedals, shoes and helmet. This packing list may help!
• Check which way around your brakes are set before you ride away (i.e. whether the front brakes are on the right hand (as is usual in the UK) or on the left (as is usual elsewhere in Europe)). Also take a look at our list of things to check before hiring a bike. 
• Undecided on whether to hire a bike or bring your own? Read this now.

When to go

The best times to visit Cyprus for road cycling are probably in October and November. Then, after winter, in March, April and May.

Check out this article on why Limassol makes a great winter cycling destination – many of the points relate to Cyprus generally!

While air temperatures are pretty decent between December and March, the high number of rainy days is a less attractive prospect.

During summer, average high temperatures are around 30-33 ⁰C, so for most of us it would be too hot. Besides, the summer is the European racing season, so many of us would be busy elsewhere.

	Air Temp (0C)	Sea temp (0C)	Hours of sun	Rain days / month
January	16.6	16.4	6.1	8
February	16	16.9	6.4	7
March	18.4	17.3	6.7	6
April	22.8	18.6	9.0	3
May	27.2	21.0	10.6	1
June	30.5	24.0	12.3	0
July	33.3	26.3	12.4	0
August	33.6	27.7	11.9	0
September	30.8	26.6	12.5	0
October	27.3	25.1	8.7	2
November	22.9	21.9	7.3	4
December	19.2	18.9	5.6	7

Source: Cyprus Tourism Board

Cyprus v Mallorca – a weather comparison

The table below gives a good comparison of the High/Low data in the European off-season for both Cyprus and Mallorca. You should see from this Epic Cyprus and Mallorca table that the former’s low monthly average is some 4-5 ⁰C above that of Mallorca, but the average high temperatures are not so different.

Cyprus’s more consistent temperature range is most likely due to the fact that the sea around Cyprus (last two columns) is also 2-3 ⁰C warmer than that in Mallorca. Cycling in Cyprus, particularly around the Paphos area, is ideal for triathlon training as well as road cycling.

Cyprus is less windy than Mallorca (and in fact the island seems to promote the fact that headwinds are rare here). However, in December, January and February, Cyprus has greater levels of rainfall than Mallorca. Also, between January and March there is often snow in the mountains, which is in fact sufficient for skiing.

In April, (when we went), the rainfall is less in Cyprus than in Mallorca, with an average of only three days over the month.

Month	Cyprus: Paphos Temp High/Low (0C)	Mallorca: Palma Temp High/Low (0C)
November	22 / 13	19 / 8
December	18 / 10	16 / 5
January	16 / 8	15 / 4
February	17 / 8	16 / 4
March	18 / 9	17 / 5
April	21 / 11	20 / 8

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Tips

Getting to Cyprus

If you do want to cycle on the west coast, south coast or in the Troodos mountains then it is advisable to use either Paphos Airport or Larnaca Airport.

It is illegal to land in the Turkish occupied north eastern side of Cyprus and then cross the UN controlled partition to the Republic of Cyprus. More information here.

Highway code and travel information

As ever, it’s a good idea to check current travel information before you book and travel. For UK visitors, the UK government travel information pages for Cyprus are here.

You should also read and follow Cyprus’ highway code.

Cyprus’s history

Cyprus historically held a strategic location as a trading route to and from the holy lands. Consequently, Cyprus has been occupied many times over – from the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Alexander the Great, Roman Empire, Arab caliphates, French Lusignan dynasty, the Venetians and then Ottoman rule for three centuries.

Cyprus was formally annexed by the British in 1914, gained independence in 1960, was invaded by Turkey in 1974 (and is still split by the Green Line, a UN buffer zone, because of this act of aggression). Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004 and adopted the Euro in 2008. Although the island is geographically Asian, it’s an EU-member and, certainly in relation to the southern part of the island, culturally and politically is part of Europe.

This guide focuses on the internationally recognised Republic of Cyrus; i.e. the south western part of the island that is within the Eurozone. If you’re concerned about the politics, you can find details of the current Foreign Office advice, here.

The result of all this culture (or, depending on your perspective, occupation) means that Cyprus is littered with historic monuments and churches. This means that exploring Cyprus by bicycle can be very interesting, whatever your ability.  Of particular interest are the painted churches in the Troodos mountains. These ten UNESCO Byzantine churches are dedicated to the Holy Cross and are particularly significant in so far as they pay homage to Agia Eleni, Mother of Constantine the Great, who passed through Cyprus on his way back from the Holy Land.

British influence

Due to historic British occupation, Cypriots still drive and cycle on the left hand side. They also speak very good English. However they tend to do everything else via the more European metric system, including the speed limits displayed on Cyprus road signs.

Books

Take a look at The Cyprus Cycling guide by Helen Smeaton (though this is targeted towards mountain biking).

The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop is also worth a read. The story is based in Famagusta in Cyprus during the conflict between Cyprus and Turkey. It was a No 1 Sunday Times bestseller.

Cyprus vs Mallorca

The Republic of Cyprus lies on the east side of the Mediterranean sea, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon. Its location is considerably more eastern and southern than Mallorca within the Mediterranean sea. Consequently, because of its location, Cyprus is some 4-5 ⁰C warmer than Mallorca during the European winter season at night and in the mornings. The sea is also consistently a few degrees warmer. It is less windy than Mallorca but it does rain more over the early winter months.

The overall population at circa 860,000 is very similar to that of Mallorca, but the island of Cyprus is nearly three times larger (it’s the third largest island in the Mediterranean): so for cycling this means less traffic and longer roads.

Conversely the flight to Cyprus from London is around 4 hours 30 minutes; double the flight time to Mallorca and as a consequence the cost of the flight is also roughly double that of flights to Mallorca. The longer flight time and cost was the main reason cited by Paphos bike hire shop owners for the relative lack of cyclists compared to numbers in Spain.

But honestly, Cyprus is also not as “sophisticated” as Mallorca having suffered from the March 2013 IMF bailout and haircutting of all deposits over Euro 100,000 during the 2012-2013 financial crisis. This seems to have left many buildings half built, and probably is still contributing to general lack of confidence to invest heavily in say a fancy restaurant, factory or hotel.

Yet despite this, we really enjoyed our trip and there’s always something special about exploring a destination that is a bit off the beaten track.

History

If you are into history, there is tons to see close to the roads in Cyprus.

The Archaeological Park of Kato Paphos (Kato means lower) is located near the harbour close to the majority of the hotels.  It was built by Nicocles, the last king of Palaipafos at the end of the 4th century BC and around this time Paphos was the capital city of Cyprus. The complex includes important monuments such as the Asklepieion, the Odeon, the Agora, the Saranta Kolones castle (forty Columns), the Limeniotissa ruins of the early Christian Basilica and the Tombs of the Kings.

Paphos is also home to the famous Tombs of the Kings and the underground tombs are carved out of granite rock.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Limassol has two impressive and ancient castles, the Kolossi Castle and Limassol Castle. The Kourion Greek and Roman site is also well preserved and extensive.

A few final tips

The British Foreign Office guidance refers to the fact driving standards are poor: “In 2018 there were 53 road deaths in Cyprus (source: Department for Transport). This equates to 6.1 road deaths per 100,000 of population and compares to the UK average of 2.8 road deaths per 100,000 of population in 2018.” So do take care.

Be aware that it gets dark early in Cyprus during winter. In December, the sun sets around 4:45pm and even in mid March, it’ll be dark by 6pm.

Watch out for the goats, aka mouflon, free-roaming even inland. There are quite a few and you don’t want to meet one on the road if you’re descending at speed!

And finally – don’t miss our cycling tips for Cyprus!

Enjoyed our guide?

We’d love to hear from you – comment below or drop us a line.

Did we mention Cyprus is on the list of our best cycling destinations in the world? Check out the rest here!

Want more? Don’t miss our guide to cycling Limassol, the best Cyprus cycling routes (Mount Olympus, Paphos Forest and Pissouri Bay) and other articles on Cyprus, below.

Want to check out some other destinations? Search by the month you want to travel or cycling destination you want to visit, here.