Things to do in Larnaca
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Larnaca
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best season with a warm sea from May, open everything, and crowds and prices below the August peak.
Best season shared with spring, warm sea, cooler air and the Larnaca Biennale in odd years.
Full programme and warmest sea, but heat above 35 degrees, highest prices and crowded east coast beaches.
Flamingo season at the Salt Lake roughly November to March, with local life, low prices and winter rain.
Worst months for a beach first trip, with the likeliest rain and a sea too cold for most swimmers.
Worst month overall if you can choose, combining heat, crowds and the year's highest prices.
What's on
- Kataklysmos Festival of the Flood Whit Monday and surrounding days, late May to early June
Larnaca's biggest festival, six days of concerts, folk dance, races and stalls along Finikoudes.
- Anthestiria Flower Festival May
Flower parades and performances along the Finikoudes promenade celebrating spring.
- Larnaca Summer Festival July
A municipal month of open air theatre, music and dance at the castle and Pattichio amphitheatre.
- Saint Lazarus Procession Lazarus Saturday, eight days before Orthodox Easter
The icon of Saint Lazarus is carried through the old town in a major religious procession.
- Larnaca Biennale October to November in odd numbered years
Cyprus's largest contemporary art exhibition, spread through venues and streets across town.
Best things to do in Larnaca
Church of Saint Lazarus
A 9th century stone church over the tomb of Lazarus, and the living heart of old Larnaca at morning quiet.
Finikoudes Beach
The palm lined city beach and promenade where Larnaca swims, strolls and has coffee, all in one place.
Mackenzie Beach
A longer, livelier Blue Flag beach with shallow water, fish tavernas and low planes skimming in overhead.
Larnaca Salt Lake
A winter lake filled with thousands of flamingos, and in summer a white salt crust walked on a flat trail.
Hala Sultan Tekke
A serene Ottoman mosque and tomb in palms on the Salt Lake shore, one of Islam's holiest sites.
Larnaca Medieval Castle
A small Ottoman era fort at the end of the promenade, worth it for the wall top view along Finikoudes.
Kamares Aqueduct
A long row of floodlit Ottoman stone arches from 1747, a beautiful free stop on the Salt Lake road.
Kyriazis Medical Museum
Cyprus's only medical museum, in a 1927 house, where visitors can handle the exhibits instead of viewing glass.
Where to stay in Larnaca
Finikoudes and the city centre
first trip, all round base without a car
Beach, church, marina, castle, tavernas and the intercity bus are all walkable from Athenon Avenue.
Saint Lazarus old town quarter
character and couples
Restored townhouse boutiques in lanes around the church, with local cafes and morning bells.
Mackenzie
beach days and evening energy
On the sand with tavernas and beach bars at the door, and the liveliest evenings in Larnaca.
Dhekelia Road and Pyla
resort stay and families wanting a pool first hotel
Self contained beach resorts on better sand, with a frequent bus into town 6 to 11 km away.
Think twice about
- Mackenzie beachfront strip in high summer
Beach bar noise runs late on weekends, so light sleepers in sea facing rooms on the strip will hear it.
- Far eastern Dhekelia Road and the Pyla fringe
Isolated and car dependent with little to walk to, beyond the main resorts near the buffer zone.
- Inland residential sprawl northwest of the centre
Scruffy in patches and poorly lit on side streets, with no beach, old town or taverna row in walking reach.
Best restaurants in Larnaca
Nippon Japanese Restaurant
Precise Japanese cooking in a calm formal room, where Larnaca's own diners go for a special occasion.
Red Pepper Restaurant
A small chef owned room cooking seasonal modern European food from local suppliers, with limited services.
ALMAR Seafood Bar
The upscale seafood bar on the Piale Pasa seafront, for whole fish and crudo with the sea in front.
To Kazani Traditional Tavern
The Larnaca area's best Cypriot meze, served in a restored historic house with live music at weekends.
Militzis Restaurant
Larnaca's taverna institution for clay oven kleftiko, big, loud and on the seafront by the castle.
Maqam Al Sultan
Generous Lebanese meze and grills by the sea, with portions groups consistently fail to finish.
Eu Kouzin
A consistent modern Cypriot Mediterranean kitchen that locals name when asked where they eat out.
Art Cafe 1900
An art filled old house with a bar below and a quiet dining room above, plus a winter fireplace.
Outdoor things to do in Larnaca
Alpha Divers
The established Zenobia specialist for certified divers, running boat days to the ferry wreck and its lorries.
Yellow Submarine
A two hour cruise to swim and snorkel above the Zenobia wreck, the non diver way to see the ferry.
Cape Greco National Forest Park
Sea caves, the Bridge of Love and turquoise Blue Lagoon swimming on Cyprus's finest protected headland.
Cyprus Taste Tours
A small group Troodos food and wine day of village bakeries, halloumi, Commandaria and a meze lunch.
Pano Lefkara
A stone foothill village famous for UNESCO listed lace and filigree silver, walked free through steep lanes.
Choirokoitia Neolithic Settlement
A UNESCO listed Neolithic village of round stone houses from around 7000 BC, with faithful reconstructions.
Voroklini Lake
A protected wetland with a bird hide where spur winged lapwings nest, quieter and wilder than the Salt Lake.
Camel Park Mazotos
Cyprus's only camel park, a gentle family half day of rides, animals, pool and play areas in Mazotos.
Best hotels in Larnaca
Radisson Blu Hotel, Larnaca
Larnaca's flagship tower with very large rooms, strong service and a breakfast guests praise for years.
The Golden Bay Beach Hotel
The resort strip's five star, on its own beach in Pyla with two pools, a spa and gardens to the sand.
Lordos Beach Hotel & Spa
A beloved four star resort with palm shaded pools and food guests rate above its star rating.
Palm Beach Hotel & Bungalows
Bungalows in extensive palm gardens on the resort strip, greener and more spread out than the towers.
Hotel Indigo Larnaca
An adults only boutique in restored townhouses by Saint Lazarus, with a rooftop pool and courtyard restaurant.
Rise Urban Art Hotel
A street art design hotel five minutes from Finikoudes, with a sports bar and a panoramic rooftop bar.
Lokàl Boutique Hotel
A 17 room boutique in the historic centre with a courtyard pool, steps from Saint Lazarus church.
Mesogios House Suites
Spacious kitchen suites with daily housekeeping and a rooftop hot tub, built for longer stays.
Is Larnaca expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €65 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €125 a person |
| Splurge | €280 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Larnaca Sunset Cruise: a few days ahead
- Alpha Divers: weeks ahead
- Yellow Submarine: a few days ahead
- Cape Greco National Forest Park: a few days ahead
- Cyprus Taste Tours: weeks ahead
- Softades Beach: a few days ahead
- Aphrodite Hills Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Harry's Inn Guesthouse: a few days ahead
- Book To Kazani days ahead, and weeks ahead for a Friday or Saturday with live music.
- Reserve Nippon and Red Pepper days ahead, noting Red Pepper serves Sunday lunch and Wednesday to Saturday dinners.
- Book Zenobia dive days when you book flights in high season, and bring certification and logbooks.
- Book Troodos food days, Cape Greco small group tours and Kataklysmos week hotels a week or more ahead.
Is Larnaca safe?
- Larnaca is calm and walkable at night in lived in areas, with ordinary awareness and no special precautions.
- Summer heat passes 35 degrees, so swim morning and late afternoon and treat midday as lunch and siesta.
- Road risk is the main danger, so drivers should adjust to the left and pedestrians should look right first.
- Refer to the north as northern Cyprus in conversation, and use only official crossing points in Nicosia.
- The emergency number is 112, as across the EU.
Larnaca travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Finikoudes front row restaurants charge for the view, so walk one street back or to Piale Pasa to eat better.
- Finikoudes and Mackenzie are town beaches, while Nissi and Cape Greco sand and colour are a day trip east.
- Kition is historically important but fragmentary above ground, so do not rank it above the Salt Lake or Lefkara.
- Promenade lace at souvenir prices is imported machine work, while real Lefkara lace is made and priced in Lefkara.
- Castle walls, Choirokoitia and Kamares have almost no shade, so visit them early rather than at midday.
Getting around Larnaca: public transport and more
- The airport is 4 km away, ten minutes by taxi or the 425 bus, so transfers never eat a day.
- The centre, Finikoudes, old town and castle are flat and walkable, and city buses cover Mackenzie and Dhekelia.
- Intercity buses from Finikoudes reach Nicosia in about an hour, plus Limassol and Ayia Napa.
- Hire a car for two or three days for Lefkara, Choirokoitia, Cape Greco and Troodos, not the whole stay.
- Cyprus drives on the left, and no one should fly within 24 hours of diving the Zenobia.
Who Larnaca suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Larnaca your trip
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