Recently Viewed
Full-day Famagusta, Ghost City of Varosia and Salamis Tour: Exploring Historical Cyprus from Paphos
4.5
186 Ratings
Choirokoitia
Explore the historical wonders of Cyprus on a full-day tour from Paphos. Visit the ancient Kingdom of Salamis, the monastery of St Barnabas, and the city of Famagusta. Discover the hauntingly beautiful 'Ghost Town - Varosi' and enjoy the best sandy beaches of the island.
Duration:
11 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Choirokoitia - Coffee break at Choirokitia on your way.
- Strovilia - Strovilia check point to pass to North Cyprus
- Salamis - Visit to the ancient Salamis (entrance fees included)
- Monastery of Apostolos Varnavas - Visit to the monastery of Saint Varnavas.
- Famagusta Walled City - Visit to the St.Nikolaos cathedral
- Famagusta Walled City - Free time at leisure or Lunch
- Famagusta - Short walking to visit part of the Ghost town -Varosi
What's Included
- Licensed guide
- Hotel pick-up/drop-off in Paphos
- Air-conditioned transportation
- Professional driver
What's Not Included
- Meals and drinks
Additional Information
Our first pause will be at Choirokitia, where we’ll have a coffee break before we proceed to the Strovilia checkpoint (bring your passports) to traverse the United Nations Green Line. We’ll make a stop at the former monastery of St Barnabas, now a museum exhibiting a collection of icons and the tomb of St Barnabas. Next, we’ll head to the ancient Kingdom of Salamis, established in the 12th Century BC, where we’ll explore the amphitheatre and gymnasium. We’ll then reach the city of Famagusta, renowned for its Gothic churches and encircled by Venetian walls. We’ll carve out time to visit the 1312-built Cathedral of St Nikolaos, repurposed into a mosque in 1570, after which we’ll have some free time for shopping and lunch (not provided). Lastly, we’ll take a short walk to visit a section of the “Ghost Town – Varosi”, where we can view the deserted residences and hotels that have been cordoned off behind wire since 1974, as well as appreciate the island’s top sandy beaches.
Note: A Passport or EU ID (for EU citizens only) is required. Individuals from Turkmenistan, Nigeria, Syria & Armenia are not permitted to cross the checkpoint.
- Passports are required to cross or European id (Passport holders of Turkmenistan,Syria,Armenia and Nigeria cannot cross .Also handwriting Greek identity cards are not accepted).
- Hotel pick ups commence 30-60 minutes earlier than the tour start time displayed on the voucher. Exact time will be advised after reservation is made.
- If you won’t receive a message through Viator for your exact pick up point and time please call us at least one day prior.
- Not recommended for persons with mobility issues
Location
Choirokoitia
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.5
(186 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Sean_g
Jun 29, 2024
Great tour - Excellent tour with a very knowledgeable guide. Very hot so make sure to bring bottles of water. Refreshments also for sale at most of the stops. Advanced warning toilets over on Turkish side are 50cent to use so bring some change.
Review provided by Viator
Paul_t
Jun 22, 2024
A very long but enjoyable excursion - Walking through the ghost town in Famagusta was very interesting and sad at the same time.
The visit to Salamis was great although a little hot.
Review provided by Viator
596kirstenb
Jun 16, 2024
Great Day Out! - A great day out but beware it is a full day, we got picked up around 07:10 and arrived back at around 20:00 as we were staying at a hotel in Coral Bay. It takes a few hours including the pick ups to arrive at the check point, on the way there is a coffee/toilet stop which is definitely needed due to the long drive. Once past the checkpoint, it's a full itinerary with some wonderful stops with our guide giving plenty of background information. It was a really hot day and our guide was aware of that, trying to keep us in the shade and giving everyone time to buy drinks at the various stops. We really enjoyed the trip and would definitely recommend it if you have time during your stay in Cyprus, I don't think it would be very easy to try and arrange everything yourself and for the price it's a great deal.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Deb-straight-talk
May 18, 2024
A day well spent - Wasn’t sure about booking this trip as a long day out, but so glad I did. I learnt so much about the Island of Cyprus and its rich history. The guide was fantastic at sharing his knowledge and pointing out things you might not necessarily learn any other way. Driver was great, coach clean and air conditioning very welcome. If your interested in both past and more recent histories, I would highly recommend this trip. Offers great value for money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karenby6215pp
May 11, 2024
FANTASTIC ❤️ - Absolutely fantastic day, albeit a very long one - but so worth it!
Mr Vasos was an amazing guide, and we learned so much about the history from the very distant and not so distant past of Famagusta. Mr Adamos took great care of us, and on what ended up a lengthened journey, due to some passengers going missing for some time, he drove with great care.
Would highly recommend this tour - worth every single cent/penny/lira. 👌
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lorna_r
Apr 27, 2024
A very interesting day... - A very interesting day out. Really enjoyed all the sites of Famagusta although the highlight of the trip for me, was the Ghost City of Varosi unique and fascinating place with a sad history. Our guide Vasos was excellent!
Review provided by Viator
Natasha_r
Jun 16, 2024
Long day, much of the trip could be skipped to the good bits - The trip said it was full day but we didn’t realise this meant 7am to 7:45pm before we got back to the hotel and we didn’t run behind at any point. The tour guide was very thorough however could win an award for sending you to sleep. The first stop was a cafe at the side of the road which was an hour after picking everyone up. We also stopped here on the way back for half an hour each time. I personally would have preferred more time in the town stop in the Turkish side of Cyprus, it’s a lovely place but never had enough time to explore. The ghost city is very weird and a bit like a theme park, armed guards everywhere and most of it is still off limits. You can use the beach here however because we only had 20 mins here no one had enough time. We could have easily have spent more time here instead of other pointless stops in the day. It’s a long day however the coach is comfortable, no toilets on board and not allowed to eat or drink on board, not even water! I’d recommend doing this trip by hiring a car and going yourself to allow the flexibility to do what you want. We had a 3 year old with us who luckily loves being on a bus with his iPad so wasn’t phased by the long hours of driving however I wouldn’t recommend this trip to people with kids unless they are used to long boring journeys where they can’t use the toilet, eat or drink!
Review provided by Viator
Anna_k
Apr 28, 2024
Prepare for a very long day we also had about 12 pickups before we got going - Nothing prepares you seeing a whole town lost. Roman arena also impressive. Take good shoes floor very uneven. Very knowledgable guide although a bit dry.
Review provided by Viator
Patrik_s
Jun 23, 2024
Interesting excursion. - Nice site of Salamis, but not enough Time and no sufficient explanations.
Impressive and interesting site of the ghost city. Poor job of the guide.
Review provided by Viator
Nigelw729
May 23, 2024
Disappointing outcome to the day out - It was an interesting trip with an extremely knowledgeable guide
Unfortunately my partner hurt her knee stepping down from the high exit step of the bus onto the sloping and rough ground that the bus parked on, causing a painful rest of the day with all the walking involved
Also in Famagusta 3 members of the trip were missing at the agreed leaving time meaning we waited 45 minutes before leaving without them this caused the visit to the deserted no go area (the main reason I booked the trip) to be cut short not giving any free time to veiw the buildings.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
