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Wine, golf and spa routes in Cyprus
Thursday, November 12, 2009 Kathryn Liston
Wine routes Celebrate Cyprus’s 4,000-year-old love affair with wine with a tipple or two on one of the island’s six wine routes. The self-drive routes, which tour the wine-growing areas of Laona, Vouni Panagia-Ampelitis, Commandaria, Pitsilia and Limassol, visit local wineries, villages, museums, and areas of interest along the way. A map and guide are available from tourist information centres. Palm Beach Hotel & Bungalows is promoting five wine routes - Vavatsinia, Ayii Vavatsinia, Lefkra, Melini and Ora – and two religious trails in the Larnaca area – in the footsteps of St Paul and St Andreas. Golf A Nick Faldo golf course opens next April providing players with a choice of four 18-hole courses in the Paphos area. The course is the first phase of a five-year development plan for the Elea Golf & Spa Resort, which will include a clubhouse, teaching and practice facilities, a luxury hotel and real estate. It is situated overlooking the sea at Anatolikon near Aphrodite Hills, until now the island’s only golf resort and most challenging course (pictured). Golfers staying onsite at the deluxe InterContinental Hotel Aphrodite Hills qualify for reduced green fees.
The Secret Valley golf course is located nearby, making it possible to play both courses in the same day. Tsada golf course is a 15-minute drive north of Paphos. Many hotels run shuttle buses to the golf courses including the Columbia Beach Resort in Pissouri Bay and Coral Beach Hotel & Resort in Paphos. Village routes Discover authentic Cyprus villages on one of five self-drive village routes created by the Travel Foundation and Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative. A sixth route visiting the unspoilt Akamas peninsular will be introduced early next year. Route one takes travellers around central and western Limassol, stopping off at the Oleastro Olive Park, museum and mill and Kolossi Castle. Route two covers Orini’s mountainous villages, the Larnaca area and Lefkara, famous for its hand-made lace. Travellers can drive through the red earth villages of Kokkinochoria and windmills of Farmagusta area on route three. There are also several walking paths enabling visitors to explore the nature park on foot. Panoramic views and beautiful terraced vineyards will greet visitors to the Troodos Mountains on route four. It passes through the Commandaria region, where grapes for the island’s sweet wine are grown. The Pitsilia route, which was introduced last summer, takes visitors to the highest peaks on the island, the rose village of Argos, scenic churches and Commandaria Museum. Guests staying at the Palm Beach Hotel & Bungalows in Larnaca can enjoy village hopping by bicycle or on foot thanks to their new guide. Spas Clients wanting a serene and tranquil alternative to resort hotel spas should try the Ayii Anargyri Natural Healing Spa Resort in the Nerades Valley. Guests at the 17th-century monastery can enjoy mineral rich waters and wine made from grapes grown in the hotel’s own vineyard. Some of the rooms are in former monks’ cells with high ceilings and parquet floors now transformed into luxurious accommodation. Garden suites and bungalows are also available. Situated in a lush valley 15-minutes’ drive from Polis, treatments include holistic massage and healing, meditation and yoga. Weight loss programmes are also available. Cuisine is made from locally grown produce. Planet Holidays offers weddings as well as spa holidays at the hotel. Mathilde Robert, managing director, said: “Weddings to Cyprus are selling like hot cakes. This is great news as it is year-round business. It is also lucrative for agents, the hoteliers and specialist tour operators.”
Thalassa and Coral Beach hotels, Coral Bay. Cycling & walking Whether your clients want to explore on two legs or two wheels, they will find lots of cycling and walking trails all over the island. The circular, 57-mile long Troodos Cycling Routes Network is the first of 12 inland cycling trails launched at the end of last year by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and European Regional Development Fund. Routes are on paved roads and rural paths with signs, wooden benches at view points and bike stands installed along the way. There are plans to create an island-wide route network linking the rural cycle network with coastal areas. A second route from Pano Platres to Limassol is planned shortly. Over in Pissouri, the Columbia Beach Resort has put together 19 cycling routes of varying levels of difficulty. With 48 walking trails covering 200 kilometres of varying difficulty, hikers are spoilt for choice. Maps and leaflets can be found in Tourist Information centres. Useful links
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With new wine routes, golf courses, village tours and cycling trails, you’ll have no problem basing holidays around your clients’ interests – whatever their tipple. By Kathryn Liston
Non-golfers can enjoy the luxurious Retreat spa, fitness classes, tennis academy and nature trail.
Other excellent spas can be found at Le Meridien Hotel & Spa Resort and Four Seasons Hotel in Limassol; the Retreat at Aphrodite Hills Columbia Beach Resort in Pissouri; and 
