Larnaka

back up to Cyprus * New Info from Nicolas Nicolaou's FAQ

Introduction
- Larnaca is a small city of around 60,000 people and the third largest in Cyprus the highlights are the Saint Lazarus church, the small medieval fort, the small district archaeological museum, the Saint Joseph Catholic convent and the palm tree sea front area with its many cafes and restaurants.

Location
- Nicosia is 45 Km to the north, Limassol 70 Km to the West, the excellent beaches of Agia Napa and Paralimni 50 Km to the east and the famous village of Lefkara about 40 Km nort west.

Climate
- The maximum normal temperatures in Larnaca during the hottest period from early July to early September are around 34 degrees in the day and fall to around 24 degrees in the night. During the day south coastal area have similar temperatures but the west ie the Paphos region tends to be 3 degrees lower, lowland inland areas like Nicosia tend to be 4 degrees higher while in the higher mountains temperatures reach 28 - 29 degrees. - Summer heat waves can elevate temperatures by 5 or 6 degrees above normal but these usually arrive once, rarely twice, per year and do not last for more than 7 - 10 days. Some years they do not happen at all. - In Larnaca during the coldest period between mid December and late February typical day time temperatures are about 16 - 17 degrees and in the night they fall to about 7 - 9 degrees. There are rarely occurring cold spells that produce temperatures of 7 - 10 in the day and 2 - 5 degrees in the night but rarely last for more than one week.

Current Weather in Larnaca

Beaches
in and near Larnaca are not brilliant since they are made of fine grained, dark coloured sand that tends to stick together so it is not a free flowing kind of sand. On the good side they are virtually free of pebbles, shingles and rocks. The MacKenzie beach is considered to be the best, it is right next to the airport fences and one can observe airplanes at very low height as they are coming in too land. The sea near the beach is shallow.

To/from Larnaca Airport
The airport intercity shuttle (express) buses leave the airport from outside the arrivals terminal level, after exiting the luggage reclaim and customs areas go left then walk straight on until you leave the building and you will enter their parking area. Tickets to Nicosia cost 8 Euro and to Limassol 9 Euro. There was until recently a shuttle bus to Paphos with a change in Limassol but it has been suspended though unofficially there seems to be some other service going on. Most likely you will need to be picked up or use a taxi or bus once you arrive at the terminus of these buses.

If you arrive at a convenient time and travel light you can go to Paphos with 7 Euro by taking a bus to the city centre then a bus to Limassol and then another one to Paphos. ALL intercity buses leave from Finikoudes which is the name of the sea front promenade. You can go there from the airport with the 440 bus or take any other bus and get off at the Astinomia (Police station) stop and walk to the Finikoudes stop in less than 5 minutes. In Limassol you can take the bus to Paphos from the same place where the Laranaca - Limassol bus stops at the Old Port roundabout. In fact it terminates there unless there are passengers going to the New Port which is rarely the case.

Alternatively take the Limassol shuttle bus to the last stop and then take a service taxi to Paphos, total cost Eu 17.50 (Sundays Eu 19) HOWEVER service taxis operate only between 6 am and 6 or 7 pm.

Taxi drivers at the airport do not like using the taximeter To the city instead they make a standard charge 12 - 15 Euro during the day and 15 - 18 Euro during the night to the city centre. These prices are higher than what one would expect from the per Km rates. In the day such a 10 Km trip should cost around 11 Euro plus any luggage fees, in the night about 13 Euro plus any luggage fees. '''With the bus it's only 1 Euro per person. '''