Travellers from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham were filing through the border checks at Paphos International Airport as passengers from Newcastle poured into the terminal on a warm Saturday night in southern Cyprus.
The island has been attracting arrivals from far afield for well over 2,000 years. The first were pilgrims, intent on worshipping at the Temple of Aphrodite in Palaepaphos. That ancient site is in the village of Kouklia, a 15-minute drive east of the airport.
Even today, the mythological origins of the Ancient Greek goddess of love and fertility are celebrated on this island in the eastern Mediterranean. Tours pause by the stony beach associated with her origin story.
At Petra tou Romiou, guides point to rocks by the coastline and recount how the divine beauty was formed in the foaming sea. Like an expert surfer, she drifted ashore balanced on a giant shell.
The grisly part of that tale is that the water she was created in was agitated by the severed genitals of the god Uranus, whom his son, Cronos, castrated. Though divine, Aphrodite clearly came from a dysfunctional family.
Thankfully, Cyprus is today a popular family holiday destination. Smiling faces at Paphos Aphrodite Waterpark provide ample evidence of that. My base was nearby, at the Constantinou Bros. Asimina Suites Hotel – an adults-only property that added a rooftop bar for the 2026 season.
The hotel has a private beach that’s celebrated for its sunset views and is a short stroll from the Agios Nikolaos chapel. The Orthodox place of worship’s domed ceiling features a magnificent depiction of St Nicholas set against a golden background.
On my first day, I embraced activities available to hotel guests, starting with a Pilates session in the seafront gazebo that hosts wedding ceremonies. Aqua aerobics, a cookery demonstration and even a rooftop art-and-wine session followed. I found applying reds to my glass easier than colours from my brush. Dinner included a crash course in traditional Cypriot dancing.
Paphos is ideal for both fly-and-flop holidays and breaks that combine relaxation with exploring. Rather than lounging by the poolside on day two, I layered on suncream and set out on the two-mile coastal footpath leading to Paphos’s harbour.
Known as Kato Paphos, the waterfront is guarded by a medieval castle. In the 1960s, remains of Roman-era villas were discovered near the harbour within what is today the Nea Paphos UNESCO World Heritage Site. Archaeologists have uncovered skilfully laid mosaics depicting mythological scenes; the most celebrated gives its name to the House of Dionysus.
Further along the coast, ancient tombs hewn from rock warrant exploration. Inaccurately known as the Tombs of the Kings, they were carved for senior officials and aristocrats. Featuring columns and burial chambers, they are as much monuments to life’s impermanence as they are to the people long ago laid to rest.
To learn more about the region’s history, I headed up to the free-to-visit Archaeological Museum of the Paphos District. Evidence of human settlement includes wells dug more than 10,000 years ago and 5,000-year-old cruciform figurines that could easily be worn today.
The museum is on the same road as the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, the home of Pafos FC. After finishing fourth in the Cypriot League in 2025-26, Pafos have qualified for the UEFA Conference League, where their opponents include Edinburgh’s Heart of Midlothian.
Anyone craving football while in Paphos could do worse than head to Why Not?, a sports bar on Poseidonos Avenue. Both the Newcastle and Sunderland matches were screened there on the Saturday afternoon ahead of my flight. Following a bite to eat and a couple of pints, I began my journey home by heading a few yards along the street to board a bus to the airport.
