Paphos - Cyprus

You have booked your flights but noticed that the return is quite late. Which poses a problem because you are due to check out of the villa early. What to do?

 

Don't worry! Almost all flights out of Cyprus are late in the day, so everyone there is very familiar with this scenario. The good news is that owners are usually very flexible about your departure, so long as no-one is arriving on the same day. Clearly if a party is arriving they need you out promptly so that they can clean the villa and get everything ready. But unlike most destinations in Europe, there are flights into Cyprus every day of the week, so there are often gaps of one or two days between bookings. The chances are good that no-one will follow you in, but obviously no guarantees are available in advance. We can't promise anything because no owner is going to turn away the possibility of a booking that is due to arrive the day you depart.

 

So let's imagine a worst-case scenario of a late-night flight home, and no facility to stay at the villa. Let's further imagine you are staying in or near Coral Bay and flying from Paphos, as that is a common scenario. Our advice is to dress in beach gear, keep a change of clothes handy in a bag, and put your cases in your car. After a last day on the beach, there are showers at the beach cafes to clean up and get changed, putting your towel and swim clothes in the bag. Then head into Paphos, parking in the huge car park behind the harbour, and have a last dinner in glorious surroundings (we recommend the pedestrianised end of the harbour). Three hours before your flight you set off to the airport, giving you time to return the car and get sorted for check-in without being stressed.

 

If you don't have a hire car things get slightly more difficult, but this is still a very common situation. Most groups will find they have struck up a relationship with a particular restaurant or bar nearby. If you ask them if you can leave your cases for a few hours the classic Cypriot reaction is delight at the opportunity to demonstrate their hospitality. One of the joys of a holiday in Cyprus is the way in which the locals go out of their way to make sure you have a good time.

 

So all in all late flights are not a problem. Just try and get some sleep on the plane if you have any distance to drive when you get home, and don't forget to have something warm to hand when you get off the plane to a rather different temperature!