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It may be difficult to tear the kids away from this cool cavern full of tanks housing scary piranhas and sharks, menacing morays, stingrays and hundreds of other fascinating denizens of the underwater world. It may be even more difficult to persuade them to go back in the water after they have seen what may lurk beneath. In the aquarium gardens there are also crocodile and turtle ponds and a penguin house.

Children (and most likely parents) will be enthralled by this one-hour rainbow-like display of illuminated fountains that seem indeed to make the water dance and change colour to a programme of classical and pop music themes. Get there early or book in advance from the tourist office, as seats are always at a premium.

Children can try their hand at turning clay on a potter’s wheel at this welcoming commercial pottery. You can also buy their cheerfully coloured plates, bowls, cups and jugs.

Fasouri is the largest and best of the Cyprus water parks, with more than 50 different rides, slides and games, organized activities, thrills such as the near-vertical Kamikaze Ride and gentler paddling for toddlers. There are also two restaurants, three snack bars and a souvenir shop (see Fasouri Watermania Waterpark).

For slightly older children, this thrilling multi-media attraction plunges its audience deep into Cyprus’s past. As you sit in your seat you travel past an audio-visual that traces the island’s history from the earliest settlers until the present day. Lasting around half an hour, shows run every 40 minutes (see Time Elevator, Limassol).

Kids with a taste for scaly critters and creepy-crawlies will love this collection of snakes, lizards, tortoises (sometimes including newly-hatched babies), scorpions and hairy spiders. Nervous mums and dads may be less enthusiastic.

Fun for all the family is the theme of this enormous water park, which boasts more than 30 rides and attractions, ranging from fairly gentle slides and floats to exciting five-lane “mat racing”, a simulated wave pool, and a shallow pool for toddlers. A very welcome break from the often oppressive summer heat (see Aphrodite Waterpark).

Kikiriko is Greek for the “cock-a-doodle-do”, and one of the main attractions of this park, which is especially designed for children of all ages, is a giant bouncy cockerel. There are also swings, roundabouts, climbing frames and other activities for all the family to enjoy.

See the marine world through the portholes of this miniature 30-seat submarine, which cruises the Agia Napa coast and its underwater grottoes. A high point of the two-and-a-half hour cruise is the feeding session, when the skipper attracts dozens of fish to eat food from his fingers.

Flocks of long-necked ostriches roam in the fields of Europe’s largest ostrich ranch. A mini-train carries families around the park to admire these eccentric flightless birds in a safari-style habitat. There’s also a restaurant serving ostrich burgers and steaks for lunch, after which you can browse in the entertaining on-site shop, where you can buy gigantic ostrich egg ornaments or fresh eggs to cook a family-size omelette.