When my daughter, Ashleigh, turned 29 in May 2021, her second pandemic-affected birthday, I suddenly realised that not only was her next a big one, but it meant that I could no longer be 30 either! 😔
With my children and their partners living at the opposite end of the country, two years of COVID had restricted seeing them much in person, so with fingers crossed that things may be better for travelling by the big day and everyone on board, I decided to organise a family holiday to celebrate.
I wanted a destination that would be warm in early May, have plenty going on, plus ideally be somewhere I hadn’t been to. Cyprus ticked those boxes, and a villa would allow us to spend some much-missed quality time together.
Villa Select were fantastic throughout. They recommended a three-bedroom, three-bathroom property with a pool in Kissonerga, a lovely village with a selection of tavernas within walking distance.
They were also able to package EasyJet flights from Manchester and Jet2 flights from Newcastle and Bristol, meaning we could all travel from our respective local airports as well as sorting our airport transfers in Cyprus.
We didn’t need car hire as it was an easy 20-minute downhill walk to the coastal road with buses every ten minutes to Coral Bay one way and Paphos the other. The walk back up wasn’t quite so easy but at least the bars, halfway, made an excellent refreshment stop!
As with a lot of travel currently, not everything went to plan and the schedule change on the Bristol flights affected the coordinated arrivals and departures, though Villa Select managed to sort an additional transfer vehicle to accommodate accordingly.
The villa was perfect. Three large double bedrooms with plenty of storage space – one downstairs with sliding doors straight out onto the patio pool area and two upstairs each with double balconies, one having a table seating six, with beautiful sunset views out to the ocean.
All the bedrooms were ensuite and the villa was equipped with a cooker, microwave, fridge/ freezer, dishwasher, washing machine and a lovely big swimming pool.
We had a food starter pack including a bottle of wine and the lovely added touch of a bottle of bubbly and a birthday card for Ashleigh. The local supermarket, a short walk away, stocked everything else we could possibly need, including litre boxes of wine for less than two euros and great value packs of local beer, both of which were good.
On the first day, we explored the village, including checking out local restaurants - though I had already booked a recommended one for the birthday night celebrations. We walked down to the ocean front and had a late lunch overlooking the ocean in a wonderful taverna.
The following day, the kids had booked to go diving in Coral Bay – three of them are qualified but hadn’t dived for over ten years and with the other a novice, they had decided to book a course for beginners.
We took a morning bus that costs a flat 1.5 euro, no matter the journey length. Diving had been booked for 1:30 pm and the plan was to wander around Coral Bay and have brunch before their undersea adventure. Whilst eating, we received a message that unfavourable conditions had disappointingly caused the dive to be cancelled and a rebook was scheduled for a couple of days later.
After a quick look at the bus route, we decided to head back past our stop, continuing towards Paphos and visit the archaeological site of the Tombs of the Kings. This turned out to be an excellent decision and we spent a few happy hours wandering around, clambering in and out of tombs.
The following day, we had pre-booked a jeep safari to see some of the island. Our knowledgeable female driver was fun and interesting, bringing the tour and surroundings to life.
We visited sea caves, viewpoints, a beach that protects sea turtles’ eggs, hiked through a gorge, swam in the ocean at the Blue Lagoon and visited the Baths of Aphrodite. It was a great day out and she even dropped us back halfway up the hill, right by our local taverna, for a perfect dinner and a few well-earned cold beers.
Sunday was the big day, and we woke early to decorate the villa with balloons and banners before the kids came down, cooked bacon butties and then watched the birthday girl open her cards and presents. I had found the nearby ‘Love Island Cakes’ online and pre-ordered a delicious cake which was kindly delivered to us. The kids then went off for their re-arranged diving trip leaving Malcolm and I to relax around the pool.
I’d done my homework in advance and the fantastic reviews for Tweedie’s assured me it would be perfect for a birthday celebration meal. It lived up to its reputation and we unanimously agreed it was comfortably the best meal we had in Cyprus, with outstanding service too.
The rest of our time was spent visiting Paphos, shopping, having a seafood lunch overlooking the harbour, hanging out on the beach and having a fun day at a very quiet waterpark before all too quickly it was time to pack and return home.
I’d certainly book a European villa holiday again. I loved the freedom, eating out in friendly tavernas, buying local produce, having our own pool and so much space without being surrounded by other people. It was a real bonus to have a washing machine and just bring back clean clothes too.
A wonderful family week together and some great memories.
