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Cyprus’s sea is sparklingly clean and crystal clear and ideal for swimming. Most beaches have lifeguards on duty in high season, but look out for red flags, which mean bathing is inadvisable at that time because of high waves or strong currents. Most holiday hotels have at least one large outdoor pool for serious swimmers and a smaller pool for toddlers, but only a few deluxe hotels have indoor pools for use in winter.

Sharing the bay with Asprokremos, Takkas is also overlooked by pine-covered slopes and is the perfect spot for a cooling plunge.

The tumbling of skittles can be heard at state-of-the-art air-conditioned bowling centres in Agia Napa (where there is a combined bowling alley and Internet café on the waterfront), Pafos, Larnaka and Limassol. Most are open from noon until 2am.

Tennis fans will find all-weather, floodlit public courts all over Cyprus, and most 5-star hotels and apartment complexes also have floodlit courts.

The 20-km (12.5-mile) journey from Agios Georgios to Latsi is rewarding for tougher riders.

Wild and empty Toxeftra lies south of Cape Lara. It’s a long, straight expanse of pebbles which slopes gently into the sea. Just inland, the Avakas gorge opens onto the coast, offering pleasant walks.

Starting at Psilo Dendro, a shady 10-km (6-mile) run to Kato Amiantos.

A short but fairly energetic 8 km (5 miles) on wooded slopes.

This dive involves a plunge into a long, narrow gulley with a profusion of sponges, anemones, soft corals and lots of smaller marine life in depths of 25–30 m (82–98 ft). It is a relatively easy dive, and therefore suitable for beginners, but still offers a spectacular introduction to the underwater world of Cypriot seas.

Limassol, Larnaka and Agia Napa are the best spots for waterskiing, for beginners as well as for experts, because the sea tends to be calmer at these spots. There are dozens of competing water-ski outfits at each resort that will supply all the gear and take you out on the water, so look around for the best price.