Cyprus-Forum.com

[khadden]

we are going to cyprus for first time on holiday , leaving here 4th july, staying at miramare hotel, limassol, after getting moved from atlantica hotel, what i was going to ask was
1 whats the lowdown on the mramare hotel ? good p[oints and bad
2 Limassol, whats it like as a place to stay
3 If we are wanting to go to north of island (my wife stayed there when she was young , when her father was in the army) how easy is it and is it true only certain car hire companies allow you to go there wiuth their cars

any help on these subjects greatly appreciated

thanks

[paul]

dont know the hotel in question....
limassol is ok i suppose if you want to see how the tourists live[prefer larnaca]
not many if any hire car places will let you take a car over,unless they approve.
but i'm sure that wherever you stay you'll enjoy the stay..... just get about dont just see cyprus as limassol.

[observer]

If we are wanting to go to north of island (my wife stayed there when she was young , when her father was in the army) how easy is it and is it true only certain car hire companies allow you to go there wiuth their cars

It is very easy to cross to the North in a hire car, and don't let GC propaganda put you off.

Your car hire insurance, issued in the South, will not cover you so you must buy insurance at the border crossing. It costs 10 pounds for a month (I think it's for a month). There are limits on what you can buy in the North (currently 135 euros/person) and don't think about taking back more than 40 cigarettes. The only real difficulty is finding the crossings, the GCs are rather shy about signposting them.

[larnaca]

I was in cyprus at 08-15 jun 07
I thank limassol more beautiful than larnaca for the tourists,
I was only one day there it has longer beach, more green.

About the turkish side i got a bus (green bus ) from larnaca to Nokosia
1:15 h . walking 10min from bus station to the controll gate between both side 10 min checking, 10 min walking to the taxi terminal , 30 min to north beach

[amazed]

Miramare is a nice hotel... I have been there many times for parties and conferences.
Nice view of sea from it...

Limassol is a great place to be and live (and work too) ....

For visitors there are good places to go in and around limassol....

[Peterc]

If we are wanting to go to north of island (my wife stayed there when she was young , when her father was in the army) how easy is it and is it true only certain car hire companies allow you to go there wiuth their cars

It is very easy to cross to the North in a hire car, and don't let GC propaganda put you off.

Your car hire insurance, issued in the South, will not cover you so you must buy insurance at the border crossing. It costs 10 pounds for a month (I think it's for a month). There are limits on what you can buy in the North (currently 135 euros/person) and don't think about taking back more than 40 cigarettes. The only real difficulty is finding the crossings, the GCs are rather shy about signposting them.

My brother came over last year and there was a restriction on him taking the car to the other side. Dont however know whether it was due to the hire company or legislation.
I apologies on behalf of my defensive friend above for trying to get you involved in the Islands Politics

[juliesewell]

Some hire car companies will allow you to take your car through to the north - best to check with them first. You may still need to purchase additional insurance at the crossing point and will need your driving licence and the documents from the hire company in relation to the vehicle. Cost for 1 day last time was Cy£10 and Cy£15 for 3 months.

Miramare is a nice hotel and on the sea side as opposed to Atlantica being on the opposite side across the road from the sea.

Limassol is a more central resort and ideal for exploring all of the other resorts by car. Less than an hours drive to Mount Olympus in the Troodos mountains, an hour to Paphos and similar to Larnaca. Allow about 90 mins to 2 hours to get to Ayia Napa and about an hour or so to Nicosia.

To drive through to the northern/occupied area - you can cross by the racecourse in Nicosia (take the exit at the side of the stadium) or Ayios Nikolias (follow signs for Famagusta and Kyrenia). The signs change to Girne when you get into the north. Get yourself a map of the northern side as signs coming back to the south are in Turkish and you will not find the signs coming back.

[Smiler Brian]

Is the insurance actually worth anything these days? Back in 1989 one of the lads from Troodos (RAF) went over on a regular basis and on one of the trips was involved in an accident with a cement mixer, his car was a write off. He tried to claim on the "insurance" but it turned out to be worthless. Left the car in a dam near Girne and came back to Ledra by taxi. On his return to the proper part of Cyprus he waited a few days and reported the car stolen from the square in Platres.

[juliesewell]

Not sure if it's actually worth anything - but you won't get through with your vehicle without it....

[observer]

My impression is that some individuals in some companies try to dissuade people from taking hire cars to the North rather than that there is anything barring you from doing it.

I don’t know what the position was on insurance 18 years ago but as far as I can tell (one accident about 2 years ago – not my fault, I was run into) the insurance works here works fine. My car is insured with AXA which is a pretty big international name in insurance.