Ayia Napa tours reach beyond the beach: jeep safaris to the Cape Greco caves and the Love Bridge, day trips to Famagusta and Salamis, Troodos wine and mountain days, a water park and dives. Find more trip ideas on Greece Tours.
Below we compare the land and activity tours, the sights, the season and the planning details.
What are Ayia Napa tours?
Ayia Napa tours are guided land and water trips that start in Ayia Napa, the largest tourist resort in Cyprus. They include jeep safaris along the east coast, day trips to Famagusta and Salamis, mountain tours in the Troodos, water parks, diving and shows.
Ayia Napa lies near Cape Greco and forms part of the larger Kokkinochoria area. The resort offers a capacity of 27,000 beds and more than 175 hotels and apartment complexes.
In 2017 the resort received more than 700,000 tourists and accommodated 5 million overnight stays, about 30% of all overnight stays in Cyprus. That scale explains why Ayia Napa tours cover so wide a range of interests, from family days to nightlife.
The town has a long history behind the beaches that Ayia Napa tours visit. Local tradition holds that the area stood empty, apart from the monastery, until about 1790, when Nikolaos Kemitzis of Thessaloniki settled in the village of Panayia.
This page covers the land tours and activity days. The cruises sit on the Ayia Napa boat trip page, and our Cyprus tours page places Ayia Napa tours next to the rest of the island.
Which Ayia Napa tours lead the bookings?
The Lazy Day Cruise to the Blue Lagoon leads the Ayia Napa tours on GetYourGuide, followed by Cape Greko and sea caves tours, jeep safaris, a Troodos jeep tour, a scuba lesson and the WaterWorld water park ticket on Viator.
We ranked the Ayia Napa tours that name the resort or its neighbours by review count and starting price. Cruises take the top spots, and our boat page covers them, so the rest of this page starts with the land and activity products.
Among the land and activity Ayia Napa tours, a First Scuba Dive with lesson and skills practice from Protaras ranks first on GetYourGuide. The WaterWorld Themed WaterPark admission ticket ranks first on Viator.
The land tours follow. A Cape Greko, sea caves and Bridge of Love tour in a small group of five from Larnaca ranks next, then the East Coast National Park caves jeep safari, the Grand Tour jeep safari with lunch and a mini bus tour to the ghost town of Famagusta.
Bucketlist 2 Life ranks five Ayia Napa tours as its favourites: the Aphrodite II Lazy Day Cruise, the half-day caves jeep safari, the ghost town of Famagusta tour, a Discover Scuba Diving course and the Troodos Mountains food and wine tour.
Which jeep safaris do Ayia Napa tours include?
Four jeep safaris start from Ayia Napa: the half-day caves safari in the East Coast National Park, the Grand Tour with lunch, the Enchanted Lagoon safari and the Troodos classic jeep safari. TUI adds a half-day 4×4 adventure through the bays and caves of Cape Greko.
Jeeps work the coast beyond the road. The East Coast National Park caves safari lasts half a day and visits the sea caves, the summit of Cape Greko and a path across the Bridge of Love, with hotel pick-up and drop-off.
The Grand Tour jeep safari with lunch appears as a separate product for Ayia Napa and for Protaras, so guests in either resort find a pick-up.
GetYourGuide also names the Enchanted Lagoon safari and the Troodos classic jeep safari, a trip to the mountains. Viator lists a caves jeep safari from Protaras and Ayia Napa.
TUI sells a half-day 4×4 adventure through the bays and caves of Cape Greko that lasts 2 to 4 hours. Compare the length, the stops and the lunch before you book one of these Ayia Napa tours.
What do Ayia Napa tours cover on the half-day caves jeep safari?
The half-day caves jeep safari covers a swim in the clear water at the Ayia Napa caves, a trek to the top of Cape Greko for 360-degree views, a visit to forgotten churches in Konnos National Park and a walk across the Lovers’ Bridge. Pick-up comes from your hotel.
Bucketlist 2 Life rates this tour 4.6 out of 5 across more than 1,000 reviews. The writers ask why anyone walks to the sea caves when a jeep reaches them in comfort, with a guide.
The swim is the first highlight of this Ayia Napa tour. The sea caves have clear water, and the safari gives time to enter it. Bring swimwear and a towel in your day bag.
The summit comes next on the jeep tour. The trek to the top of Cape Greko opens a view in every direction, and the guide points out the headland and the views.
A guest on the tour praised the guide for a good balance of history and laughter, from pick-up to drop-off. That mix of facts and fun is what jeep Ayia Napa tours aim for.
What is Cape Greco, the main sight of Ayia Napa tours?
Cape Greco is the headland that separates the two resorts of Ayia Napa and Protaras, where Famagusta Bay ends in the south. It is a national forest park and an important bird area, and the Republic of Cyprus holds no ground further east.
The cape was called Cape Pedalion in antiquity, long before Ayia Napa tours reached it. Strabo wrote that the trapezoidal hill above it belonged to Aphrodite.
The sea caves, a stop on Ayia Napa tours, line the coast of the Cape Greco National Forest Park. Locals know them as the fairy caves, or the Palaces, cut by nature into the limestone cliffs.
Birds make the cape special for Ayia Napa tours with a nature focus. BirdLife International lists the area as an Important Bird Area, because it forms a migratory bottleneck for red-footed falcons, pallid harriers, honey buzzards and common kestrels, and it supports breeding Cyprus wheatears, Cyprus warblers and black francolins.
Local legend gives the cape a monster. The Ayia Napa sea monster is said to live there. The Forestry Department of the Ministry of the Interior runs the park.
Can you visit Famagusta and Varosha on Ayia Napa tours?
Yes. Mini bus and bus tours run from Ayia Napa and Protaras to Famagusta and the closed resort quarter of Varosha, including the Red Bus Varosha experience and the Ghost-Town Famagusta tour. Famagusta lies across the border, so a passport or an EU identity card is required.
Famagusta tours appear high on the Viator list of Ayia Napa tours. The Ghost-Town Famagusta mini bus tour from Protaras and Ayia Napa and the Red Bus Varosha Experience in English from Ayia Napa and Protaras both start from the east coast resorts.
Bucketlist 2 Life rates the Ghost Town Famagusta tour 4.7 out of 5 across 551 reviews. The tour gives a close-up view of the deserted hotels along the coast, then a stroll through the streets of the ghost town to see abandoned hotels, homes and shops.
The booking details matter on Ayia Napa tours to Famagusta. The tour picks guests up at their Ayia Napa hotel, and to visit Famagusta you cross the border, so a passport or a European identity card is required. A reviewer travelled out of season in a shared minibus with one other couple and praised the driver.
TUI sells the Varosha experience tour by the Original Red Bus and a full-day Famagusta and Salamis tour. GetYourGuide lists a Famagusta and Varosha tour from Larnaca, Ayia Napa and Protaras.
Confirm the route with the operator when you book one of these Ayia Napa tours.
What is Varosha and why do Ayia Napa tours pass it?
Varosha is the southern quarter of Famagusta, a resort district that ranked among the world’s leading tourist destinations between 1970 and 1974. Its residents fled in 1974, and the Turkish army fenced the district, which has stayed largely abandoned.
In the early 1970s Famagusta was the top tourist destination in Cyprus. Developers built a wave of high-rise buildings and hotels to cater for the growing number of tourists.
The district drew stars. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot were among its famous guests, and the Argo Hotel was Elizabeth Taylor’s favourite hotel along JFK Avenue.
The story changed in August 1974. The Turkish army advanced as far as the Green Line and fenced Varosha, and its Greek Cypriot inhabitants, who fled to Paralimni, never returned. A United Nations resolution of 1984 called for the handover of the city to UN control.
The district is small, only 6.19 square kilometres, and the 2011 census of Northern Cyprus counted 226 residents.
The BBC reported in 2014 that sea turtles nest on the beaches of Varosha.
What does a walled city visit on Ayia Napa tours include?
A walled city tour of Famagusta visits the moat and Venetian walls, Othello’s Castle and the Gothic cathedral of Saint Nicholas, now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque. Bucketlist 2 Life notes that 356 churches once stood in the walled city, which earned Famagusta the name of the district of churches.
The Famagusta day on Ayia Napa tours continues with a circle of the moat of the old Gothic city, where the castle walls tower overhead. The Venetians built the roughly rectangular fortifications mainly in the 15th and 16th centuries, though parts of the walls date back to 1211.
Two gates once gave access to the walled city: the Land Gate and the Sea Gate. The original Sea Gate of 1310 is no longer in use and is being restored.
The landmarks inside the walls show every period of Famagusta. They include the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, Othello Castle, the Palazzo del Provveditore, the Venetian palace of the governor, Saint Francis’ Church and the Sinan Pasha Mosque.
Merchants built the churches. Wealthy traders of Famagusta believed that a person’s wealth showed in the churches they built, so they ordered churches in varying styles, and the city became known as the district of churches.
The city fell to the Ottomans in 1571 after a siege, and the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas became a mosque, so a walled city visit on Ayia Napa tours shows Christian and Muslim heritage side by side.
Do Ayia Napa tours visit ancient Salamis?
Yes. TUI sells a full-day Famagusta and Salamis tour from Ayia Napa, and Viator sells a Famagusta and Salamis tour from Ayia Napa. Salamis was an ancient Greek city-state on the east coast, about 6 km north of modern Famagusta, with a Roman gymnasium and theatre.
Tradition names Teucer, son of Telamon, as the founder of Salamis. The earliest finds date to the 11th century BC, and Assyrian inscriptions mention the town as one of the kingdoms of Iadnana, the Assyrian name for Cyprus.
The city flourished under King Evagoras I, who ruled from 411 to 374 BC, when Greek culture and art thrived. The Romans annexed Cyprus in 58 BC, and the emperors Trajan and Hadrian favoured Salamis and restored its public buildings.
The cultural centre of the Roman city lay in the north. A gymnasium, a theatre, an amphitheatre, a stadium and public baths have all been revealed there.
The visitor sees baths, public latrines for 44 users, a harbour wall, a Hellenistic and Roman agora and a temple of Zeus that had the right to grant asylum. Archaeologists restored the theatre and the gymnasium extensively.
Statues stand in the central court of the gymnasium, and nearly all are headless.
Which Ayia Napa tours cross the island?
Ayia Napa tours also cross the island: a Troodos classic jeep safari, a full-day Caledonia Waterfalls tour with a hike, a Fikardou, Machairas and Lefkara tour, an ancient Kourion tour with a visit to Paphos harbour, and a Nicosia walking tour.
TUI lists the cross-island products that start at the harbour of Ayia Napa or at the resorts. The Famagusta and Salamis day, the Caledonia Waterfalls full-day tour with a hike and lunch, the full-day guided tour of Fikardou, Machairas and Lefkara and the ancient Kourion tour with a Paphos harbour visit all last more than 8 hours.
The Troodos classic jeep safari leaves from Ayia Napa as well. GetYourGuide also sells a Paphos and Kourion day in Polish, a Nicosia walking tour and a Tales of Two Cities tour of Nicosia and Kyrenia in Polish.
Fikardou is a settlement of Ayia Napa tours to the hills that kept its traditional medieval character, on the north-eastern slopes of the Troodos about 40 km south-west of Nicosia. The Department of Antiquities owns it, and nearby stands the Machairas Monastery, a historic monastery at about 900 metres, founded at the end of the 12th century.
Lefkara joins the same day. Lefkara is known for lace and silverwork, and Bucketlist 2 Life describes a stroll through Lefkara to see the village ladies making lace products.
These routes cover long distances. Love Protaras puts Troodos Square 160 km away, a drive of just under 2 hours, so Ayia Napa tours to the mountains take a full day.
Which Troodos tours start from Ayia Napa?
The Village Venture food and wine day, the Troodos classic jeep safari, the Caledonia Waterfalls hike and the EMAN Travel Troodos and Nicosia day all start from Ayia Napa. Our Troodos Mountains tour and Troodos wine tour pages cover the range and the wineries.
Wine routes for Ayia Napa tours depart from the east coast too. Winedering sells the Troodos Village Venture, a rural mountains food and wine tour from Ayia Napa and Protaras, and Cyprus Taste Tours runs it.
EMAN Travel, a coach operator with its head office in Ayia Napa, runs a Troodos and Nicosia day on Tuesdays in season. The coach drives to Nicosia first, then to Kakopetria, Troodos Square and Omodos.
Coach and jeep formats suit different guests, and the Troodos Mountains tour page sets out the choices, while the Troodos wine tour page covers the wineries.
Read the pick-up rules. TUI lists meeting points at Ayia Napa harbour for guests from Protaras, Ayia Napa, Larnaca and Mazotos, and a meeting point at Green Bay in Protaras, so Ayia Napa tours reach the nearby resorts.
What does the Village Venture food and wine tour include?
The Village Venture visits 5 destinations in the Troodos with a winery tour and tasting, a stroll through Lefkara, an authentic meze lunch with drinks at a village tavern and foods such as halloumi, village bread, honey and donkey milk products. A bilingual local guide leads the day.
Cyprus Taste Tours, behind one of the food-led Ayia Napa tours, was established in 2011 by foodies for foodies. Bucketlist 2 Life rates the Village Venture 4.9 out of 5 across more than 158 reviews, and calls it the ultimate Cyprus foodie adventure.
The winery stop is Ktima Christoudia Family Winery, which produces Cyprus wines. The price covers all tasting and entrance fees,.
The food list on this Ayia Napa tours day is varied. Guests taste halloumi, village bread, wine, honey, donkey milk products and traditional sweets at the foodie stops, and the meze lunch at a village tavern comes with drinks.
A small group keeps this Ayia Napa tours day personal. The guide is bilingual and trained in the food and wine of Cyprus, and a reviewer called the group size, the tour guide and the foodie stops the highlights of the day.
Which Ayia Napa tours include a water park?
The WaterWorld Themed WaterPark admission ticket in Ayia Napa is the top water park product, sold by Viator and by TUI. TUI lists a duration of 4 to 8 hours with free cancellation, so a family can spend a full day in the park.
The ticket ranks first among the land and activity Ayia Napa tours on Viator.
The resort also lists hotels with water parks, such as the Maris Grand Waterpark Resort and the Panthea Holiday Village Water Park Resort.
Water park days balance the longer excursions. A family can pair a morning at the park with an afternoon on the beach, and then save a full day for a jeep safari or a Famagusta tour.
Which Ayia Napa tours add diving, jet skis and kayaks?
A first scuba dive with lesson from Protaras, a Discover Scuba Diving course, a sea caves scuba experience at Cavo Greco, guided jet ski tours to the caves and the Blue Lagoon, a SUP and kayak tour and an underwater walking or scooter tour all add water action to Ayia Napa tours.
Scuba leads the water activities on Ayia Napa tours. GetYourGuide sells a First Scuba Dive with Lesson and Skills Practice from Protaras, and Bucketlist 2 Life rates a Discover Scuba Diving course 4.9 out of 5 across 504 reviews, with all equipment and instruction included and a small group of six people or fewer.
Cavo Greco adds a cave dive. GetYourGuide lists a Cyprus Cavo Greco sea caves scuba diving experience, and Viator lists a scuba diving experience with a free edited video.
Jet skis cover the coast fast on Ayia Napa tours. GetYourGuide sells a guided Protaras jet ski tour of the caves and the lagoon that includes snorkeling, and a Blue Lagoon guided jet ski safari that lasts one hour.
Paddlers have a slower option among Ayia Napa tours. GetYourGuide lists an Ayia Napa SUP or kayak tour to the Blue Lagoon or into the sea caves, and TUI lists a Cyprus underwater walking or scooter small-group tour of up to 2 hours.
Snorkelers can join a trip to a local bay in Protaras or to the underwater museum in Ayia Napa. Cruises add a snorkeling stop too, and the Protaras boat trip page lists them.
Which Ayia Napa tours visit the Museum of Underwater Sculpture?
The Museum of Underwater Sculpture Ayia Napa, called MUSAN, holds 93 works by the British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor off Pernera Beach. It opened in 2021, the sculptures stand at 8 to 10 metres, and both snorkelers and scuba divers can see them.
The museum is part of the new face of the resort. Since 2013 the municipality has shut down problematic establishments, upgraded infrastructure, hotels and restaurants, and added a new marina and the underwater museum.
Snorkeling Report notes that the statues attract fish, and that the museum opened with more than 90 statues immersed at different depths.
GetYourGuide sells a snorkeling tour that visits a local bay in Protaras or the underwater museum in Ayia Napa. Ayia Napa tours to the museum suit guests who want art and marine life in one swim.
Other sculptures sit on land. The Ayia Napa Sculpture Park, on the east side of the resort, opened in the spring of 2014 with 17 sculptures, and the park joined the International Sculpture Symposium Alliance.
Which sights can you see on foot on Ayia Napa tours?
The walking sights of Ayia Napa include the medieval monastery in the centre, the Makronissos Tombs, the Sculpture Park, the Fisherman and the Mermaid at the harbour, Nissi Beach and the Ammochostos Motor Museum.
The monastery gave the town its name. The oldest parts of the building are wall sections from the Middle Byzantine era, before 1191, and the bulk of the buildings date from the 14th to the 18th centuries. It stands in the centre, next to the square that now forms the clubbing centre of the resort.
The Makronissos Tombs form an archaeological site of ancient rock-cut tombs, an adjacent sanctuary and quarry, and evidence of funeral pyres. In 2017 Travel Weekly ranked Makronissos Beach third among the beaches of Cyprus and Greece.
The harbour has two modern monuments. The Fisherman of Ayia Napa opened in June 2015 and honours the fishermen of the world, while the Mermaid of Ayia Napa, also from 2015, draws on the poetry of George Seferis and on the legendary sister of Alexander the Great.
Nissi Beach is the resort’s famous stretch of sand. It stretches for 500 metres, carries a Blue Flag and takes its name from the small islet of Nissi, which swimmers and waders reach through shallow water. It topped the TripAdvisor ranking of beaches in Europe in 2011.
TUI sells entry tickets to the Ayia Napa Ammochostos Motor Museum, a visit of up to 2 hours.
Which evening shows suit Ayia Napa tours?
Viator sells the Stardust Variety Dinner Show in Ayia Napa, and GetYourGuide sells the Stardust Variety Show with Drag Cabaret in Famagusta. The resort also hosts the Ayia Napa Youth Festival, which began in 2010 as a festival in the style of the big music festivals of Europe.
Ayia Napa is known for its nightlife. The square beside the monastery forms the clubbing centre, and the Cyprus Tourism Strategy of 2017 aims for Ayia Napa to rank among the top three beach and nightclubbing destinations in Europe.
The municipality also wants a calmer image. Under Mayor Yiannis Karousos, the city declared a goal of discouraging rowdy groups of young tourists.
The two shows carry the same name. The Stardust Variety Dinner Show runs in Ayia Napa, and the cabaret version, titled Stardust Variety Show with Drag Cabaret, is listed under Famagusta.
Cruises with music add another option, from the 80s and 90s cruise to the sunset sails and the private party yachts.
Which Ayia Napa tours suit families?
Families pick the WaterWorld water park, the half-day caves jeep safari, the small-group Turtle Bay and Blue Lagoon tour of 2 to 4 hours, the Motor Museum and the beaches of the east coast. The Famagusta and Troodos days suit older children who cope with a long coach or jeep ride.
The water park is the easy day, and TUI lists free cancellation for the ticket, so families book with flexibility.
A small-group tour of Turtle Bay with a Blue Lagoon stop is a shorter outing. TUI lists a duration of 2 to 4 hours for it.
Jeep Ayia Napa tours suit active families. The half-day caves safari mixes a swim, a short trek to the top of Cape Greko and a walk across the Lovers’ Bridge, and the guide gives a history lesson with humour.
Beaches fill the gaps between Ayia Napa tours. Nissi Beach in Ayia Napa has a shallow route to its islet, and Fig Tree Bay in Protaras has a Blue Flag and lifeguards from April to October between 9am and 6pm, so families on Ayia Napa tours find calm sand within a short drive.
Long Ayia Napa tours need planning. Famagusta and Troodos tours last a full day, so bring snacks, water, hats and swimwear, and pick the shorter half-day Ayia Napa tours for small children.
When do Ayia Napa tours run?
Ayia Napa tours run mainly from April to November, when boats sail and coach days operate. The coast gets long hours of sun all year.
Love Ayia Napa sets the first sailings in early April and the last in early November, depending on the weather, and that window also covers the water activities from jet skis to the water park.
The EMAN Travel Troodos and Nicosia day runs on Tuesdays from late July to early November.
The sun stays long on the coast. It shines from 5 to 6 hours a day in December to 12 to 13 hours in July.
Check each listing for its operating days, since the EMAN Troodos day runs on Tuesdays only.
How do you plan Ayia Napa tours?
Book a hotel pick-up where offered, check the meeting point at the harbour or in Protaras, bring a passport for Famagusta, and match the length of the tour to your day. the main airport lies near Larnaca, so allow time for the transfer to Ayia Napa.
Pick-up varies by product among Ayia Napa tours. The Ghost Town Famagusta tour collects guests at their Ayia Napa hotel, the caves jeep safari offers pick-up and drop-off at your accommodation, and TUI lists harbour or Green Bay meeting points for others.
Documents matter on one trip. Famagusta lies across the border, so Ayia Napa tours to the ghost town require a passport or a European identity card.
Think about the transfer to Ayia Napa tours. Viator lists private transfers from Larnaca airport to Ayia Napa and to Protaras for groups of 1 to 14 passengers, and the main airport of Cyprus lies on the outskirts of Larnaca.
Read the cancellation rules. TUI lists free cancellation for the products in its Ayia Napa list, and each listing shows its own free cancellation window.
For guests who split their stay, the Paphos tours page covers the west coast.
What do travellers ask about Ayia Napa tours?
Which Ayia Napa tours sell in the largest numbers?
The Lazy Day Cruise, the caves jeep safari, the Famagusta ghost town tour, the WaterWorld ticket and the scuba lessons from Protaras lead the lists.
Do Ayia Napa tours need a passport?
Only the Famagusta and Varosha tours. They cross the border, so bring a passport or a European identity card.
Can you visit the sea caves without a boat?
Yes. The half-day caves jeep safari visits them by 4×4, with a swim.
Do Ayia Napa tours include a water park?
Yes. The WaterWorld Themed WaterPark sells admission through Viator and TUI.
Can you reach the Troodos from Ayia Napa in a day?
Yes, on a full-day jeep, wine or coach tour, though the mountains lie a long drive away.