May 23
My travel destination of this Summer
2005 at 03.17 am posted by Veerle Pieters
A while ago I asked your advice on my travel destination for this Summer and a lot of you came up with some nice tips and hints. Thing is that there were so many nice destinations that it was difficult to make a choice. Italy was a topper in the comments. I decided to go to a travel agency, get some travel books and do some browsing. My favorite destinations were : Kos, Sardinia, Sicily and Cyprus.
Finally I chose to go for Cyprus (mentioned by Mario in the comments also). A few years ago I was already thinking on going to Cyprus but work came in between and I couldn’t go. While browsing the travel books, there was this very nice hotel that caught my eye, called Amathus Beach Hotel (right at the sea and 10 minutes from Limassol’s town centre).
Since I was really doubting between 4 destinations I decided to go for the ‘best’ hotel. And this hotel really helped making the final decision. It was very clear to me: 5-star luxury, recently renovated, rooms and suites decorated in warm, pastel shades and genuine teak furniture, wellness centre, 1 indoor and 2 open-air swimming pools in a very nice garden… well, just see for yourself. Oh and there is internet connection in the room too ... yeah I know, I can’t help myself ;-) But actually I really need this. Being away for 2 weeks would otherwise leave a mess when I get home, and by this I mean my the mailbox!
We booked a deluxe room with balcony and sea view :-) I’m sure this will be my most luxurious holiday I have ever had! It is the only break we take so we decided to threat ourselves a bit. Since I’ll have Internet access I’ll be able to off-load my photo journal to Flickr and update you all on our adventures. Well I can’t wait! And as you can see I have my eyes targetted ‘temperature-wise’ on Limassol :-)
19served
1
Nice choice Veerle, though I think, Rhodes, Crete, Myconos and Santorini would be even better choices. Just a note: DJ Tiesto will be in Rhodes on July 24th.
2
I stayed here about 2 years ago! The amathus beach hotel has one of the best and private sections of beach along the entire strip, all the way back to Limassol.
Great watersports there to, parasaling, jetskis etc.
Cyprus is an amazing island, if you have time you should really check out the many jeep safaris they have. I went on one which combines a jeep safari and a glass bottom boat trip. I also did a day trip to Cairo to see the pyramids, a long day, but I loved it!
My gallery of cyprus is up here if you want to check it out here
I went in late July and it was H-O-T! One of the hottest places in the med I believe.
And here is your hotel :)
3
I remember my parents went to Limassol once .... A long time ago, in a continent far away…. Oops sorry, my mind wandered off.
Anyhow, they went there and if I remember well, they really liked it. So hopefully you’ll enjoy it to the max !
4
Careful, these images were taken with a fisheye lens. I don’t think they are as big as they seem.. (look at the room plans). It still looks gorgeous though ;-)
5
Goota be careful of those fisheyes! Standard issue I believe for ‘brochure shots’ :)
Sorry for my poor grammar and sentence construction in my earlier post, I was in a rush :) lol
6
Good choice, Veerle. I was two years ago in summer for a job stage in Nicosia and it was a great experience.
But I must say that I prefer the beaches of Aya Napa and Protaras, with golden sand and really blue water than the ones of the southern area of Cyprus.
Don’t forget to visit the Cape Greko and Troddos mountains (Caledonian Trail and Kakopetria waterfalls) and don’t hesitate if you have the chance to taste kekabs and grilled Haloumi at the small restaurant at the Central Bus Station of Nicosia. I must advise you that it doesn’t seem the most ideal place to go…but it’s the best one of the city…
I have some photos of Cyprus here
7
cyprus is too hot for holiday. u may search turkey; there are lots of better places in aegean sea. and the same luxury is cheaper. you can stay in villa hotel tamara and take a blue voyage. think about it.
8
I’ve never been to Cyprus, but your choice looks great! I noticed from Simon’s reply that he went to Cairo from Cyprus, if you get a chance to go and see the pyraminds, do it, it is quite a sight!
One tip for the pyramids, though; most of the guides take you to the smaller pyramid, don’t bother, go straight to Cheops, the biggest one, it’s amazing!
9
Yeh, the pyramids are amazing but you do only spend about 20 mins there becasue you also see the sphinx, papyrus factory, a local jewelery place, and the good fun cairo bazaar where you have to haggle for everything!. Even so, a truly awe-inspiring site and was enough for me to want to do the whole Nile cruise someday and see the rest of it! Egyptian museum in the centre of Cairo is fabulous too.
10
Simon;
You must do the cruise someday, great holiday and amazing to see the way people live by the river.
We went a few years ago; had a 250 berth boat to 12 guests!
There were more staff than guests!
Steve
11
My travel destination will be la bella Capri. Tomorrow I will swap Antwerp for Italy.
Cyprus is cool. Actually a lot to see and amazing things to do. You will have a blast!
12
Been there myself, since I’m from Cyprus. A very posh hotel, one of the the first hotels in Cyprus, recently renovated to keep up with the rest of the 5 star hotels. I particularly liked the “Limanaki restaurant” which means “little port” Good food and right on the Med, just extend your legs and your in it! Check out my photos of Cyprus from July 2004 at www.yergatian.com
13
i’ve never been to cyprus before,
but looks like,
it will going to be a great vacation for you, sis ;)
just an advice for your next vacation,
you will enjoy Bunaken at North Celebes.
It has a really beatifull under sea scenery.
anyway, enjoy your trip, veerle :)
14
I’ve just come back from Cyprus, very nice, hot and sunny every day. Went to Protarus great beaches.
15
Hi Veerle!, I was going to recommend you our sunny coast (Costa del Sol) in Malaga (Spain), but just read you’ve choosen you destination.
As I am in the same problem as you were a few days ago, I would ask you one thing: Is there any economy accomodation in Gent? I mean, something like log cabins in a camping nearby or apartment rental for 15 days…
Don’t want to use you as a tourism advisor or similar, just help me if you can and want to.
Thanks in advance.
P.S.: I love you work and style. And this is written right from my heart!. True.
16
Hi, Veerle.
I’m curious about the image of temperature in your post.
www.duoh.com/cms/images/uploads/limassol_temp.jpg
Where comes from the image?.
It’s one of your designs?.
Thanks.
17
Ajaaa! It’s clear I’m not a Mac user ;-)
Dashboard from Mac.
Wonderful Mac ;-))
18
Hope you have a great time in Cyprus. It looks very exotic and interesting!
Beaches in the U.S. are totally different looking from places like Greece or Cyprus. We have miles of sand and palm trees, lots of ocean, too! Someday you will have to try out the Caribbean, if you have a chance. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth, I think. No shortage of partying and fun to be had, or scuba diving, or sailing, etc. and you feel like you are totally removed from the rest of the world. There are also a few islands, i.e. St. Lucia, with active volcanoes, and other things to see, like rocky coastline, etc. The landscape is not all dried out and sparse, but lush and tropical.
Anyway, I’ve never been to Egypt, myself. Hope to do that someday.
19
@Bytecreek: Maybe you’ll find what you need at these two sites. The first is bookings.be and maybe this one too GTAholtels . If you want to find youth hostel places use this site. I also found this one ‘De Draecke’ Sint-widostraat 11 - B 9000 gent - Tel: +32(0)9 233 70 50 / Fax: +32 (0)9 233 80 01 / . Enjoy your stay here in Belgium ;-)