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GENERAL INFORMATION
Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean. It’s attractive all year round for rest and travel excursions: in the neighborhood with a modern hotel of the highest category and tidy resort centers you can enjoy the atmosphere of ancient and historicity, to visit traditional villages and visit interesting cultural monuments.
The island offers for tourists the best opportunities for a variety of leisure activities: beach holiday or a family vacation, sightseeing tours, visiting monasteries, trips to the monuments of antiquity. Parents with children can enjoy the visit to the water parks and the dolphinarium; fans of active rest can take the time to ride a horse, go on a safari tour or a sea cruise, go sailing, scuba diving, sea fishing. You can find on the island interesting opportunities for wine tasting in the many taverns, seafood restaurants, try the local wines, appreciate the Mediterranean fruit and delicious desserts in the confectionery. In the evening time hotels offer an entertainment and shows. Each season Cyprus has plenty of festivals and colorful local holidays.
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POPULATION
Cyprus has a population of 839 thousand inhabitants (2011). Ethnic groups: Greeks - 80%, Turks - 18%, other nationalities - 2%. Many foreigners choose Cyprus as place of residence, which can be explained relatively cheap level of living, favorable climate, a high level of security, policy of promoting offshore business.
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LANGUAGE
The official languages are Greek and Turkish. English is widely spoken, as well as French and German. Part of the staff of many hotels and service industry speak Russian.
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GEOGRAPHY
The island of Cyprus is located between 34-35 degrees north latitude and 32-34 degrees east longitude in the north-eastern part of the Mediterranean basin at a distance of 380 km from Egypt, 105 km from Syria, 800 km from the mainland of Greece. It is the third largest island of the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of 9251 sq. km. Maximum length is 240 km from east to west, a maximum width is 100 km from north to south. The nearest Greek islands - Rhodes and Karpasos - located 380 km to the west of Cyprus.
The Cyprus coast has a long coastline in the south, a rocky coast in the north. In the south-western part there is the scale of the Troodos mountain range (the highest point - 1952 m above sea level) with pine, oak, cypress, cedar wood (almost 19% of the territory of Cyprus). On the island there are two salt lakes, one of them are salt mining.
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CLIMATE
Cyprus is famous for its favorable climatic conditions. A typical Mediterranean climate of the island is marked as one of the most healing in the world. In addition, Cyprus is one of the sunniest islands of the Mediterranean (about 340 sunny days per year) and with a very warm sea water (between 16 degrees in January to 32 in August).
Summer on the island is hot and dry, with a cloudless sky, lasts from mid-May to mid-September. Winter is marked with a changeable weather during the period from November to March.
Relative humidity is the 60-80% in winter and 40-60% in summer. The winds on the island are mostly from mild to moderate.
The coolest place on the island is considered to be the west coast in the district of Paphos, the summer temperatures are on average in a couple of degrees lower than in the resort of Limassol and Larnaca.
In the period from January to February it falls on the island till 60% of annual precipitation, the snow appears in the mountains from December and can be until April at altitudes of 1000 m. The shallow but steady snow cover during the cold season attracts on the slopes of the Troodos fans skiing and snowboarding.
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CURRENCY
Currency - euro. In shopping malls, hotels and restaurants it is accepted credit cards of the biggest international payment systems.
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CUSTOMS REGULATIONS
Importing into the country more than $ 1,000 per person, money must be declared. It is possible to import without payment cameras, sport equipment, goods in the amount of EUR 85 or less with the exception of jewelry. It’s allowed the import of less than 50 cigars, 200 cigarettes or 250 grams of tobacco, 1 liter of spirits, 0.75 liters of wine, 0.3 liters of perfume or eau de toilette. The export of archaeological treasures without special permission is forbidden. When importing pets to Cyprus it must be provided six-month quarantine.
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ELECTRICAL NETWORK
240 volts, 50 Hz, three-phase electrical outlets. Most hotels provide the adapter at a deposit (about 5 euros) or you can buy an adapter from a store or tourist shop for 1-2 euros.
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MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AND INSURED EVENT
Medical services in Cyprus is payable, for the trip you need a medical insurance.
Pharmacies are open on the store schedule (in the summer from 8:00 to 19:00 with a lunch break from 13:00 to 16:00, in the winter from 08:00 to 17:30 with a lunch break from 13:00 to 14:30, on Wednesdays and Saturdays until 13:00), there are a duty pharmacies.
For visit a doctor, you must register the insured event by informing the insurance company, and take from the doctor a receipt for the visit and prescription medications.
In the summer in Cyprus you especially need protection from the sun; please, use sunscreen, sunglasses, hats. Safe time for sunbathing is until 10:00, then after 16:00.
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PRECAUTIONS
It is not recommended to drink tap water, it is better to buy bottled at the supermarket.
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POLICE
To contact the police in any city in Cyprus, please call 199. Police officers speak English.
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PHONE CODE
Cyprus phone code – 357
