10 Places in Paphos You Can Only Reach by Car

Paphos has a reputation problem. Most visitors do the harbour, the Tombs of the Kings, maybe Coral Bay, and head home thinking they’ve seen it. They haven’t.

The real Paphos region, the one locals love; is scattered across hills, gorges and coastal coves that the tour buses can’t get to. You need a car. And once you’ve got one, a whole different holiday opens up. Here are ten of our favourites, in no particular order.

1. Lara Bay and the turtle beach

Lara Bay sits at the bottom of a long, rough track that snakes down through the Akamas Peninsula. The road eats normal hire cars for breakfast — you really do want a 4×4 or at least an SUV — but at the end of it is one of the most beautiful beaches in the eastern Mediterranean. Loggerhead and green turtles nest here between June and September, and the Department of Fisheries protects parts of the sand with little wire cages over the eggs. Bring water, bring shade, bring lunch. There’s nothing here but sea, sand, and the occasional fisherman.

2. The village of Kathikas and its wineries

Up in the hills above Coral Bay, about twenty minutes from Paphos, sits Kathikas — a small wine village on the Laona plateau. The drive up is gorgeous, all curved roads and sea views, and at the top you’ll find a handful of family-run wineries that pour generous tastings for a few euros. Sterna Winery and Vasilikon are the easiest to recommend if you’ve never done a Cyprus wine tasting before.Stay for lunch at one of the village tavernas. The lamb is what you came for, even if you didn’t know it yet.

A note on driving and drinking
If you’re tasting wine, take someone in your group who isn’t. Cyprus drink-drive limits are low and the police do check. Or do what we do — book a taxi up, taxi back, and pick the hire car up the next morning.

3. Avakas Gorge

Half an hour from Paphos, tucked into the southern edge of the Akamas, Avakas Gorge is the closest thing Cyprus has to a slot canyon. You park at the entrance, walk in along a dry riverbed, and the walls climb thirty metres above you in places. It’s cool, shaded, and an absolute lifesaver in August.
The full hike takes about ninety minutes round trip. Wear proper shoes — the riverbed is rocky — and don’t go after heavy rain in winter, when the gorge floods.

4. The Baths of Aphrodite and the coastal walk to Fontana Amorosa

The legend says Aphrodite bathed here. The reality is a small, fern-fringed pool fed by a cold spring, set just back from the sea near Latchi. It’s pretty, and it takes ten minutes to see, but the real reason to drive up is the coastal path that starts from the car park.
Walk west for forty-five minutes and you’ll reach Fontana Amorosa, a quiet bay with crystal-clear water that almost nobody visits because almost nobody walks the path. Bring a picnic. Stay all afternoon.

5. Statos-Agios Photios and the Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery

If you’ve got an afternoon to spare, head inland into the foothills of Troodos. The drive itself is the attraction — winding roads through pine forest, with the occasional view down to the coast. Your destination is Chrysorrogiatissa Monastery, a working Orthodox monastery dating back to the twelfth century, perched at 700 metres with a view that goes on forever.

6. Petra tou Romiou (but at sunset)

Yes, Aphrodite’s Rock is in every guidebook. But here’s the thing: nearly everyone visits at midday, takes the photo, and leaves. Come back at sunset instead. The car park empties around 6pm in summer, the light goes pink, and the rock formations turn into silhouettes against the sea. There’s a small taverna across the road for a sundowner before you drive home.

How to get there easily
It’s a straightforward drive on the B6 coastal road between Paphos and Limassol — about twenty-five minutes from central Paphos. There’s a free car park right on the beach side of the road.

7. The fishing harbour at Agios Georgios

North of Coral Bay, past the chicken farms and the development site, the road suddenly empties out and you find yourself at Agios Georgios — a tiny fishing harbour with a small Byzantine chapel above it and three or four fish tavernas right on the water. The fish came off the boats this morning. Order whatever the waiter recommends. Don’t ask the price first; you can afford it.

8. The abandoned village of Theletra

Theletra is a strange and slightly haunting stop. The original village was abandoned in the 1960s after a series of landslides made it unsafe, and the residents built a new village a kilometre up the hill. The old village still stands — empty stone houses, a crumbling church, fig trees pushing through the floors of someone’s living room. It’s a fifteen-minute drive from Paphos and takes about half an hour to wander through. There’s no entrance fee, no signs, no shops. Just a quiet reminder that Cyprus has a longer memory than the resorts let on.

9. Blue Lagoon at Akamas

Most people see the Blue Lagoon from a boat tour out of Latchi, which is fine. But if you’ve got a 4×4 and a sense of adventure, you can drive there yourself along the coastal track from the Baths of Aphrodite. The road is rough — genuinely rough, not just-a-bit-bumpy rough — and it’s not for ordinary saloons. When you arrive, you’ll find a turquoise bay so clear you can count the pebbles ten metres down. Bring a snorkel. Bring a sandwich. Stay until the boats leave around 4pm and have it almost to yourself.

10. The Cedar Valley

This one’s a commitment — about ninety minutes from Paphos, deep into the Paphos Forest — but worth every minute. Cedar Valley is exactly what it sounds like: a hidden valley filled with Cyprus cedar trees, some of them five hundred years old. With luck and an early start, you might also spot a mouflon, the wild sheep that’s the national animal of Cyprus and lives nowhere else in the world. The road in is paved most of the way, then forest track for the last few kilometres. Take a picnic. There’s no café, no shop, nothing — just trees, silence, and the occasional eagle.

Make the most of having a car

The thing all of these places have in common is that you can’t reach them by bus, you can’t really reach them by taxi without spending a fortune, and most tour buses don’t bother. They’re the reward for hiring a car. If you’d like a vehicle to make all of this easy — a 4×4 for the rougher tracks or a comfortable saloon for the coastal drives — we’d love to sort it for you. Free delivery to Paphos Airport or your accommodation, full insurance included, no hidden fees. Get in touch and tell us your dates.