“If you want some winter sun, Cyprus is the place to go,” I was told. I went to test it out…

And they’re not wrong; 20 degrees, blue sky, sea warm enough to get in without completely the ability to breathe, and even coming back with a tan line. But is it worth the five hour flight? In short: yes. But there’s definitely a few things to note…

Me and my wonderful best friend searched Lastminute, scouring for an affordable December holiday, some much-needed rest before the height of holiday season. Working in hospitality and events is a lot this time of year.

We wanted sun, but we were on a bit of a budget. Neither of us have any particular pull to Dubai, and South America and Asia are a little too far for a long weekend.

So why did we choose Cyprus?

Apart from the fact that with careful booking, this little holiday cost us a very respectable £150 each, we got nicely timed flights from Gatwick to Paphos and back, and a two bed apartment about a 20 minute walk from the main strip.

This was both our first time visiting the island so we didn’t know what to expect. We knew it was going to be low season, but we weren’t sure how much so. Would there just be locals, immigrants and expats, or would there be lots of tourists too? We also wondered if there was going to be an overwhelming amount of British people since it’s definitely a place that has been British-ified.

We stepped off the plane at Paphos airport, which was small with parts still being built, from what we could tell (a recurring theme, as you will find out). From the landing strip to the walk inside, you could see brown hills spanning everywhere you looked, with dotted green trees. It was still a very Mediterranean landscape but it reminded me of hills from Chihuahua in Mexico. A welcome change from England’s cold, grey skies.

The first day, it rained

Not Mediterranean storm rain, but a smattering. Met Office hadn’t mentioned rain, and we quickly learnt not to trust the forecast. I’d say take a light raincoat though. Luckily it stopped pretty quickly, and the sun made an appearance.

The flight time from Gatwick was estimated for around 4.5 hours but it felt like we were landing for about an hour. You have to do a loop around the island to get to Paphos airport and it just felt endless. A cab via Bolt (their version of Uber) set us back €38 so not too bad. There is a bus, the 612, but it was too confusing to understand when it was coming, and we wanted to get in the sun as soon as we could.

The sun in Cyprus is in the sky for much the same time as England for winter daylight…

…maybe a little earlier in the morning, but by 5pm it’s dark, and pretty cold. It’s still 16/17 degrees but it’s definitely not micro shorts and summer vest weather.

We were staying at Arthemus Cynthia Complex which has 6/7 blocks of rooms and apartments, and four pools. I can imagine every pool is packed in the summer, but they weren’t heated and were colder than the sea. So there were a few sparse tourists (and some cats) sunbathing, but no one swimming.

I don’t know what you’d pay in high season, but for a two bed with a nice balcony and all the amenities, including a bath and a washing machine, we were very happy.

The view from the balcony wasn’t anything special, we could see the below pool, a couple of the other blocks, the Amazon Mini Mart at the end of the street, and a new block of buildings being constructed.

We were a 20–30-minute walk away from Katos Paphos main area, which houses a long strip of cocktail bars and restaurants. And even in December there’s a large number of men outside these places offering a 10 per cent discount because “you’re a such a pretty lady, oh my god.” Maybe it’s more intense because there’s fewer people, but honestly some of them would not take no for an answer. No, I don’t want to eat at the restaurant you’ve got a captive pelican outside of, thanks.

Our first night

By the time we’d checked in, dropped our bags off, made our way down to the strip for the first time, it was already dark, and it was cold. We settled for a cocktail and one of the trashiest and cheapest looking bars, and headed off to bed.

Now, me and my friend are not big partiers. I’m more of a get up early and go on a hike kind of girl, and she’s more of a read a book in a hammock in the sun kind of lady, so we weren’t there to club, and it’s a good job too.

In December it’s like a ghost town in large of parts of the back streets. Desolate bars taken over by colonies of cats, restaurants with no lights, and the occasional sports bar with five loud British men yelling at the screens.

The main strip however is all open. There’s a large selection of places to eat, from seafood to pasta, but not much choice for genuine Cypriot food, and definitely not all that great for a vegan. I mostly ate veggie burgers, which are nice, but not anything I can’t have at home.

On day two we started the day late, I had an online zoom interview at midday, so we didn’t go anywhere prior to this for fear of not making it back on time (it went well, thanks for asking).

We decided to take a stroll down to Paphos Castle, see the tombs and all the historic bits, which was all very nice. But very quiet and not all that accessible this time of year. It’s not like stepping off the bus and seeing the pyramids, but it’s nice to see some of the islands culture. Although I feel most people holidaying in Cyprus aren’t there to learn about its history.

Read more: Why Anguilla is the best place for a Big Birthday

The walk along the strip in the day was a lot nicer than at night. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still bombarded with comments and invites, but everything looks a lot prettier. There are people busking Christmas music, iguanas and their owners sitting by the port side, and warm enough you could walk around in shorts.

I feel like they try to be festive, there’s Christmas music playing everywhere, weekend Christmas markets, light up led… boats, whatever Christmas is to you, hey? But I think being English, my idea of Christmas is cold and wet and dark, and hearing a samba remix of Feliz Navidad on repeat everywhere did feel surreal.

We went to The Harbour restaurant for dinner, where there’s a great beach biew, and they had a solid five vegan options. At this magic place, my friend got a chicken gyro filled with salad and chips for less than €4. What a win!

We enjoyed a couple of cocktails there, and then wandered on, deciding to head back up to the apartment and get evening ready. For us this doesn’t mean getting glammed up in skimpy dresses and makeup, but more extra layers as the sun was going down.

Later that evening…

We discovered  Pingouino, a lush lounge with a heated outdoor space. They showed the football but it felt so far from a sports bar, and we returned for another evening. The cocktails weren’t too expensive either; I think the classics were all around the €9.50-€10 mark, which was a little more pricey than a lot of places, but the couple of extra euros made all the difference to the quality of the drinks. It also seemed to be the place that (at this time of year), wasn’t full of just British tourists, and rather locals, which was a much nicer vibe.

We got a little tipsy and headed to bed, ready for a beach day ahead

Now, to spare you some disappointment if you decide to venture to Paphos, Coral Bay is not so named because of its abundance of coral, but because they thought it sounded nice.

It’s a lovely beach, about a 25–30-minute cab ride, or two busses away, with sandy and clear waters. We got there around 10am and it was still quiet, just locals going for a picturesque run or morning swim. Quite a few of them in – dare I say – the skimpiest Speedos I’ve ever seen.

The pictures of the bay in summer shows thousands of people lounging under umbrellas and the sea heaving with swimmers. In December, it’s not so much like this. The beach bar and the activity centre was well and truly closed, although you could still shower, and there were changing rooms and toilets. But if you were hoping to hire a lounger and umbrella or even a glass bottomed canoe, you’ll be disappointed.

By this point we’d learned not to trust Google Maps. A few long walks met with closed and very much not-opening-any-time-soon bars and restaurants taught us this. My best advice is maybe don’t go to that really far out of the centre, even if Google says it’s open. Because chances are it might not be – the Google listings are not always up to date.

We were determined to get in the sea

So we’d come with sandwiches and boxed wine, bikinis and rented towels, what more could you need? Obviously we got in the sea, it was crystal clear blue, and you could see shoals of little fish. The tanned locals were saying it’s too cold, but we were never going to listen.

It wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t cold by any means. I’d say it’s about as warm as late June in England. I think we stayed in for a solid 15 mins, and then lounged on the beach for a few hours, downing dodgy Cypriot box wine, and got our tan on.

We’d heard of caves the other side next bay, so we decided to walk along the coast to find them. Unfortunately we never did, and I was sad to have missed out. Maybe it was blindingly obvious, but we were too sun- and wine-kissed to see the signs?!

Either way, lots of locals and other tourists told us we’d missed out, so if you’re there, go and have a look for me?!

From beaches to donkeys

On our final day, we decided to visit Animal Rescue Cyprus, which was a 10-minute walk from our apartment. This is Cyprus’s oldest no-kill shelter, which offers sanctuary to animals like cats, dogs, horses and of course donkeys. What they do is fantastic, they help to minimise over-population in animals by neutering them. They feed them, take care of them and give them medical attention. The sanctuary can be overwhelming; there are a LOT of animals. Some of the dogs are tied up, and look intimidating, but they all love the attention. They’re tied up because they don’t always get on with other dogs, but they all have beds, food, water and shelter.

When you arrive, you just go straight in, making sure to lock the gate to stop donkeys escaping, and I would recommend only bringing food if you are confident around animals. The second you whip out some food, you’ll be surrounded by an array of large animals. I almost got my head kicked in by a horse while sitting on the floor feeding some cats, so watch out!

It was a lovely visit, but it was a hard one. They’re doing everything they can for the animals but they’re not working with much so it can feel a little bare. But like I said, all the animals were happy there and loved some pats and snacks. We made a cash and food donation, and went on our way.

Heading back to Pingouino we enjoyed some dinner, a few drinks, stroked a few passing cats before calling it a night. We had an earlyish flight and not much idea on how fast security would be through the airport. I have some nightmare flights before!

On our last morning, we got booted out at 10am

So we read books in the sun by the pool and grabbed a cab to the airport. The airport is small and the technology feels like Gatwick used to when I was a young kid. No liquids over 100ml, everything separated, the oldest scanners, a whole two rows of security. It’s a small airport, but it’s got some good food options, and even an outside café/bar area.

The flight back was bumpy, we got unlucky on turbulence, but otherwise it was fine. The flight each way is just under five hours, which is a little long for a 5-day trip, but with a glass or two of wine, and a late night behind you, you can sleep through it, as I discovered.

Cyprus is well worth a visit for some winter sun. It’s cheap, it’s accessible, it’s not as far or as pricey as other locations for winter warmth, and it’s got a certain British charm. Check it out, but take a real map with you as well as your mobile.

• • • We stayed at the Arthemus Cynthia Complex, which was €xx per night – obviously expect to pay more during the high season
    • Flights were by xxx and cost € / £ from Gatwick to Paphos – again, prices will vary
    • Holiday booked via Lastminute.com
    • Bolt from the airport to the resort €38