1 Week Relaxing in Larnaka - Cyprus

✈️ Trip at a Glance

Airline: Wizzair

Route: Manchester ↔ Larnaka

Hotel: Tasia Maris Sands (Adults Only) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Room Deluxe Sea View with Breakfast

Total Cost £970.14

Sometimes the best trip you can take is one with absolutely no agenda. No spreadsheet of attractions, no must-see lists, no rushing about — just warm weather, a cold drink, and the Mediterranean stretching out in front of you. That was very much the vibe I was going for on this week in Larnaka, Cyprus, and by and large it delivered exactly that.

After a hectic stretch at work, I needed somewhere I could properly switch off. Cyprus ticked every box — reliably sunny, compact enough to navigate without a hire car, and with a beach I could walk to in under a minute from the hotel door. The package came in at £970.14 all in, which for a week of genuine decompression felt more than fair.

✈️ Getting There

Flights were with Wizzair from Manchester to Larnaka and back. The journey is roughly four and a half hours direct, which is just about the sweet spot — long enough to get stuck into a film or a book, short enough that you're not climbing the walls by the time you land. Manchester Airport is always a bit of a lottery but everything ran smoothly enough on both ends.

🏨 Where I Stayed - Tasia Mari Sands (Adults Only) Hotel

That golden-hour view from the balcony never got old.

I stayed at the Tasia Maris Sands, a four-star adults-only property that sits directly on the beach. I had a Deluxe Room with Sea View and breakfast included — and when I say sea view, I mean the beach was right there below the balcony, close enough that you could hear the waves from bed.

The hotel is clean, well-maintained and has a really calm atmosphere, which you naturally get with adults-only. The pool area was nicely set out and the beach loungers were well-spaced. Breakfast was a decent spread each morning — continental options, hot food, pastries — and a good way to set up the day before doing very little. It's not the flashiest hotel in Cyprus but it's in an unbeatable location for the area, and that matters more than the thread count on the sheets when you're this close to the water.

🚶 Getting Around

Almost everything I needed was within walking distance, which was one of the best things about Larnaka as a destination. The beach, a handful of restaurants, the Musan seafront sculpture trail — all reachable on foot without breaking too much of a sweat (well, you do break a sweat, it's Cyprus, but you know what I mean). For anything further afield I grabbed a taxi, which are easy to flag down or book and not too expensive.

🌊 What I Got Up To

Walking The Beach

Larnaka is one of Cyprus's oldest cities — and arguably its most underrated. Whilst Ayia Napa gets all the party headlines and Paphos attracts the history crowd, Larnaka sits quietly in the middle doing its own thing: a beautiful seafront promenade, a salt lake that turns flamingo-pink in the right season, warm locals, and some genuinely brilliant food. It's exactly the kind of place that rewards you for slowing down.

The Finikoudes promenade — Larnaka's famous beach boulevard

Exploring Musan

One afternoon we ventured a little further afield to walk around Musan — a quieter stretch away from the main tourist trail that gave a more authentic feel of everyday Cypriot life. Narrow backstreets, painted shutters, cats sleeping in doorways. It's the kind of area you wouldn't necessarily read about in a guidebook but absolutely should wander through if you get the chance.

It's a reminder that the best travel moments often happen when you just pick a direction and walk. No agenda, no map — just curiosity.

Blue skies, calm seas — mornings in Larnaka don't disappoint

Chilling by the Pool

Look, I'm not going to dress this up — a significant portion of the week was spent horizontal by the pool, and I have absolutely zero regrets. The hotel pool area was stunning, with views right over the beach and sea. Once you're settled in with a book and a drink, you're done for the day.

This is exactly what a proper holiday should feel like. No guilt, no FOMO, just pure, unapologetic relaxation in the sunshine.

Hitting the Gym

To balance out the food and the pool time (and there was a lot of both), I made the most of the hotel gym most mornings. There's something satisfying about getting a workout in when you're on holiday — it earns the rest of the day's indulgences. The gym had a great setup and, with the beach views outside, it never felt like a chore.

Where to Eat

Larnaka is quietly brilliant for food. You've got a mix of Cypriot classics, international restaurants and some genuinely standout spots that are worth going back for more than once. Here's where I'd send you:

The food scene in Larnaka is better than I expected. Prices are reasonable compared to the UK, portions are generous, and the quality across the board is high. Don't eat at your hotel every night — get out and explore.

⛵ Day Trip: Lazy Day Cruise to Ayia Napa

The one proper excursion of the trip was a lazy day cruise departing from Ayia Napa, ticking off Turtle Cove, the Blue Lagoon and a Sunday lunch stop along the way. At under £38, it's genuinely exceptional value for a full day on the water.

The water around Turtle Cove and the Blue Lagoon is the kind of vivid turquoise you assume is exaggerated in holiday brochures until you see it in person. The sea caves along the coastline were a particular highlight — dramatic limestone formations rising straight out of the water, best appreciated from the boat. There were stops for swimming in between, and the Sunday lunch element rounded the day off nicely. Highly recommended as a change of pace from the beach-hotel-restaurant loop.

The sea caves from the water — absolutely stunning. Book a cruise if you do nothing else.

Final Thoughts & Rating

Perfect for what it was — a proper, no-frills relaxing holiday. I'll be honest, I can't hack the heat like I once used to, and Cyprus in May is already no joke on that front. But having everything within walking distance, a hotel right on the beach, and the freedom to do absolutely nothing if you want to? That combination is hard to beat when all you need is a reset. Rating 3.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐½