Late arrivals
You have found flights at a good price, but the timings mean you don't arrive in
Cyprus until late. Not a problem. If you have booked a rental car you will find
not only are you driving on the left, but all the signposting is very clear, in
the UK style, which is helpful after a long day. and every villa owner is used to
late arrivals. In your travel pack you will find full directions to the property,
plus arrangements for gaining entry. If the owner is not there to meet you, typically
there will be a key safe by the front door, for which we give you the 4-digit code.
Some villas go for a lower-tech solution, with the key under the doormat. You will
also have an emergency contact number for any problems during your stay.
Late checkout
You have booked your flights but noticed that the return is quite late. Which poses
a problem because you are due to check out of the villa early. What to do?
Don't worry! Almost all flights out of Cyprus are late in the day, so everyone there
is very familiar with this scenario. The good news is that owners are usually very
flexible about your departure, so long as no-one is arriving on the same day. Clearly
if a party is arriving they need you out promptly so that they can clean the villa
and get everything ready. But unlike most destinations in Europe, there are flights
into Cyprus every day of the week, so there are often gaps of one or two days between
bookings. The chances are good that no-one will follow you in, but obviously no
guarantees are available in advance. We can't promise anything because no owner
is going to turn away the possibility of a booking that is due to arrive the day
you depart.
So let's imagine a worst-case scenario of a late-night flight home, and no facility
to stay at the villa. Let's further imagine you are staying in or near Coral Bay
and flying from Paphos, as that is a common scenario. Our advice is to dress in
beach gear, keep a change of clothes handy in a bag, and put your cases in your
car. After a last day on the beach, there are showers at the beach cafes to clean
up and get changed, putting your towel and swim clothes in the bag. Then head into
Paphos, parking in the huge car park behind the harbour, and have a last dinner
in glorious surroundings (we recommend the pedestrianised end of the harbour). Three
hours before your flight you set off to the airport, giving you time to return the
car and get sorted for check-in without being stressed.
If you don't have a hire car things get slightly more difficult, but this is still
a very common situation. Most groups will find they have struck up a relationship
with a particular restaurant or bar nearby. If you ask them if you can leave your
cases for a few hours the classic Cypriot reaction is delight at the opportunity
to demonstrate their hospitality. One of the joys of a holiday in Cyprus is the
way in which the locals go out of their way to make sure you have a good time.
So all in all late flights are not a problem. Just try and get some sleep on the
plane if you have any distance to drive when you get home, and don't forget to have
something warm to hand when you get off the plane to a rather different temperature!
|