Report: Cyprus - Ayia Napa - Green Bungalows - Budget Travel

j@utis

We (me and my partner) visited cyprus in beginning of June. I had this idea to write a review for a good while.

First, why we chose this destination - actually we didn't choose it: it was last minute reservation, so we basically took what was left there. It was planned to be our little cheap & cheerful holiday to open this year holiday season. Total price of a package flights + accommodation for 7 nights was ~720eur, booked with Budget Travel.
So when we arrived whole plane of passengers seemed to be traveling with 'budget travel'. We were all rushed into several buses and transported to our final holiday destinations. Our resort was Ayia Napa where 'fabulous' Green Bungalows 'appartamentos' were located.

Ok, this is already turning into long story, so lets keep it short.

*** pros:
- local dishes were nice but not every restaurant was serving them (try moussaka, delicious)
- pints and cocktails from 2.80eur

***cons
- air conditioning at extra charge of 50eur/week
- hair dryer, iron, washing machine, jacuzzi all these at extra charge 2eur/hour
- do not expect tv in the room - there's tv lounge with 2 english channels
- internet 4eur/h
- have to get up early 8am to reserve the lounge chair/parasol by the pool
- about 25mins walk to the nearest beach where to rent lounge chairs/parasols were 5eur each
- most of the seaside was rocks
- expensive car rental, starting from 35eur/day
- expensive groceries in local 'supermarkets' (even smallest convience store was called a supermarket), poor choice too, nearest normal supermarket (Carefour) was about 15min drive, but there you needed the car as bus service was very poor
- and etc etc

Overall it was a horrible experience in a terribe tacky completely commercialized place and it at the end it cost us ~1400eur all together (budget travel my ar*e).
I would not recommend this to anyone! In few weeks we're going to spain and for less than 1k eur we're staying in 4* hotel all inclusive. Cyprus - never again, sorry.

And some pics at the end of review=rant:
- Green bungalows apartment, I mean studio where we stayed (fruit was not included!) don't miss the dry rot at the bottom of the cupboard:




balcony:


and the 'view' from the balcony


one of the biggest local 'supermarkets' where you can get affordable dodgy&gabanna stuff


and of course the rocky beach


archeological site in Paphos (we rented the car, as far as I remember that town was 150km away from our village)


moussaka yum yum:


and one cool petrol station:

poisonated

hey...im going there in a few weeks.just a few quick questions if you don't mind...What is ayia napa like for night life...is it expensive,is it vibrant? etc.is that a photo of nissi beach?
Thanks

BuffyBot

That just looks *nasty*

Rb

Cyprus?Never again?

Do you really believe Ayia Napa is a representation of Cyprus?

Sorry, but you wanted a cheap holiday and that's what you got. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Ayia Napa is generally reserved for young (late teens/early twenties) Irish and British party goers who couldn't give a f**k about where they're staying, as long as they have somewhere to sleep in between drunkenness.

Whatever you do, don't go to Ibiza!

j@utis

poisonated wrote: »

hey...im going there in a few weeks.just a few quick questions if you don't mind...What is ayia napa like for night life...is it expensive,is it vibrant? etc.is that a photo of nissi beach?
Thanks

the foto is not of the nissi beach, nissi beach is a bit of a walk towards the harbour. it was very over crowed at the we were there.
I would recommend visiting the amusements park, we noticed that rides were cheap comparing to here. pubs & clubs offer a free drinks or 2 for 1 just to get you into the place. but my partner got his collar bone broken just a few days before the holiday so it affected our entertainment schedule a lot.
most of the people in 'green bungalows' were interested in the drink only (getting locked from the time they get up, starting at the pool bar and then continuing at the village bars).

oh, and I also forgot to mention the karaoke. the staff in green bungalows was organizing karaoke every second night, so did the staff of the neighboring apartment complexes. It felt like we were staying in some karaoke battlefield, so no sleep. I would recommend grabbing a box of ear plugs if you're planning doing something more than drink and need some rest at night.

j@utis

Rb wrote: »

Cyprus?Never again?

Do you really believe Ayia Napa is a representation of Cyprus?

Sorry, but you wanted a cheap holiday and that's what you got. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Ayia Napa is generally reserved for young (late teens/early twenties) Irish and British party goers who couldn't give a f**k about where they're staying, as long as they have somewhere to sleep in between drunkenness.

Whatever you do, don't go to Ibiza!

I wouldn't mind if it was cheap. But my point was that it was expensive. We could get a package with half board at least in some decent placfe from some other travel agent for that money we spent in Ayia Napa with BT.
And also we rented a car for days and drove around a good bit and to be honest we hadn't found the place where we would want to return some time later.

And, yes, I agree with you 100% on this point "...party goers who couldn't give a f**k about where they're staying, as long as they have somewhere to sleep in between drunkenness"

p.s. we're in our twenties

theteal

poisonated wrote: »

hey...im going there in a few weeks.just a few quick questions if you don't mind...What is ayia napa like for night life...is it expensive,is it vibrant? etc.is that a photo of nissi beach?
Thanks

i can field that one, although it has been about 7 years since i was there, nissi was a strange one. it's a taxi journey from the town. it's kinda cool that the water is about 3-4ft deep for a good 150 yards out (there's a big rock out there that you can jump off , approx 25-30ft drop off the back of it). the main problem i had with it was that there were more cigarette butts on the ground than sand - still, it was good craic (lots of people, sun, music and drink:D)

ayia napa was expensive back then, i imagine it's still up there. we didn't care, we were there for a 2 week party. the nightlife was really good, you could go to a different club each night and still not experience them all - if that's the kinda thing you're looking for, you won't be disappointed

i'm back to cyprus in a few weeks incidentally but i'm over the in paphos with herself for the romance of the island of lurve - if anybody can share any experiences of there, i'm all ears

Pythia

First off, before I book anywhere, I always check the reviews on Tripadvisor. Gives you a good picture of the place.

Cyprus also has a reputation for being quite expensive, particularly since the euro came in. I am going to Paphos in a few weeks so I've looked into this.

Most cheaper places would charge for air conditioning which would not be unexpected.

The thing with the sun beds happens everywhere. We are going to a 4 star and all the reviews say get up at 6am for a chair.

Being charged for washing machines, what lovely hotels have you been going to that don't charge for this?

Lastly, what did you really expect going to Ayia Napa? It has an awful reputation!

thewools

Been in Green Bungalows before myself a good few years ago myself...

I would agree with most of your comments however it seems you didnt get to Nissi beach as it was quite big, open and nice.

As you went as a couple - I would defo not recommend Ayia Napa as a "couple" resort unless you basically want to party and get pissed every night. Its a great spot for a lads / girls holiday as generally you wouldnt be staying in your room too much anyways.

You also paid more than normal as you went during a peak time - I went to the Maldives, Eqypt both all inclusive for cheaper and going this year to Orlando for cheaper. I know you wanted a cheap and cheerful trip away however you clearly didnt do your research before hand.

I cannot recommend the use of Tripadvisor. Everywhere I go or plan to go I use it to get a general idea of what the feedback and facilities, pro / cons etc are...

podgemonster

Planning on heading to the green bungalows in September myself.

I heard that the drink in Napa isnt as affordable as the offers holidayers would see in Santa Posa, Salou, Greece etc... where club entry is free and free shots are thrown at ye all night.

Is Napa as expensive as Ireland club and drink wise.