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Pachyammos, or “Thick Sand”, is aptly named. Although it can be too exposed for comfort when a north wind is blowing it is uncrowded and a fine spot for beachcombing.

Pafos’s best beaches are on the eastern edge of town, near Geroskipou, where the Cyprus Tourism Organization maintains a well-managed, family-friendly strand, and still further east at Floria Beach, next to Pafos airport. Close to the centre of Kato Pafos, there is also a municipal beach beneath shady palm trees, with loungers and umbrellas for hire, a snack bar and restaurant (see Pafos).

Pafos municipality has transformed an unpromising stretch of shore opposite the harbour by planting lawns and palm trees, importing extra sand, providing sun-loungers, installing a beach bar, and offering an assortment of watersports.

A couple of basic snack bars and one (as yet uncompleted) hotel complement Paloura’s clear blue water.

You don’t need any special skills to strap on a parachute harness and soar into the air as you are pulled along by a fast-moving speedboat, but you do need a certain amount of nerve. The reward is a splendid bird’s eye view of your resort and an exhilarating ride. Again, most resorts have competitive outlets offering this activity.

Although not native to the island, migrating pelicans are sometimes seen resting on Akrotiri’s salt lake.

For those who want to work up an appetite before dinner or burn off calories after lunch, this brisk stroll is ideal. Start just south of Troodos Square in Troodos Resort and walk through lush woods to the Makria Kondarka viewpoint, 1,700 m (5,575 ft) above sea level. The farmlands of the Limassol plain spread out below you.

This is a shallow dive set around large offshore boulders. Surrounding these rocks the sea bed attracts huge shoals of smaller fish, as well as the occasional octopus or larger fish such as grouper and barracuda.