8 Places Near Paphos You Can Only Reach Comfortably With a Car

The public transport network in the Paphos area covers the main hotel strip and the town centre. Beyond that, it becomes infrequent, slow, and in many places nonexistent. A hire car does not just add convenience to a Paphos trip for most of the best places to visit, it is the only practical way to get there.

These eight destinations illustrate exactly why the hire car is worth having. Each is within a sensible day trip from Paphos. None is accessible by public transport in any realistic sense.

For the hire car that gets you there, the best car hire in Paphos covers all 20 operators. For the scenic routes between these destinations, the scenic drives guide covers the six best drives in detail.

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1. Lara Beach

Drive from Paphos: 45 to 55 minutes Why you need a car: No public transport. The last section is a rough dirt track.

Lara Beach is one of the most important sea turtle nesting beaches in the Mediterranean and one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Cyprus. It is protected as part of the Akamas Peninsula nature reserve.

The access road from the main paved Akamas route is a rough dirt track of approximately 4km. Most standard compact hire cars can manage it slowly in dry conditions, but confirm with your operator before attempting it. The beach itself has no facilities beyond a few seasonal umbrellas.

In high season, the beach fills by mid-morning. Arriving before 9am gives you the place largely to yourself. The turtle nesting season runs June to September, during which nesting areas are roped off and night lighting restrictions apply.

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2. The Baths of Aphrodite

Drive from Paphos: 50 to 60 minutes Why you need a car: No direct public transport. Bus routes to Polis are infrequent and do not cover the final 10km to the Baths.

The Baths of Aphrodite is a natural rock pool shaded by a fig tree on the northern coast of the Akamas Peninsula, accessed from the end of the coastal road beyond Latchi. According to mythology, this is where Aphrodite bathed a claim the site leans into with appropriate enthusiasm.

The actual pool is small and swimming in it is discouraged to protect the vegetation. The value is the surrounding landscape: the Akamas coastline, the walking trail that starts here leading into the peninsula, and the fishing harbour at Latchi 10 minutes back down the road.

The drive there, along the northern coastal route through Coral Bay and Polis, is one of the best in the Paphos area.

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3. The Paphos Forest and Cedar Valley

Drive from Paphos: 70 to 90 minutes Why you need a car: Entirely inaccessible by public transport.

The Cedar Valley is a forested mountain area at approximately 1,200 metres altitude within the Paphos Forest. It is home to a colony of wild mouflon the mountain sheep that appears on the Cyprus coat of arms and a forest of endemic cedar trees found nowhere else in the world.

The valley is genuinely quiet on most days. A car is the only way to reach it. The drive through the wine villages of Polemi and Kannaviou before entering the forest roads is itself part of the experience.

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4. Kykkos Monastery

Drive from Paphos: 80 to 90 minutes Why you need a car: No practical public transport connection.

Kykkos Monastery is the most important and richest Orthodox monastery in Cyprus, built on the slopes of the Troodos at 1,140 metres. The monastery holds what is claimed to be one of three icons painted by Saint Luke, and attracts thousands of pilgrims and visitors throughout the year.

The monastery itself is a working religious community with a substantial museum and gilded architecture. Dress code applies: shoulders and knees must be covered. The surrounding mountain scenery on the drive from Paphos via Pedoulas or via Cedar Valley is among the most dramatic on the island.

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5. Pissouri and Cape Aspro

Drive from Paphos: 30 to 40 minutes south Why you need a car: Infrequent buses to Pissouri village; the cape requires a car.

Pissouri Bay is a crescent beach between Paphos and Limassol, considerably less crowded than the main Paphos beach areas and popular with long-stay visitors and expats for exactly that reason. The beach has good facilities and a row of tavernas.

Cape Aspro, 5km from Pissouri, is a limestone headland with views in both directions along the coast and sheer white cliffs to the sea. The viewpoint is accessible by car only via a narrow approach road from the B6.

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6. Omodos Village

Drive from Paphos: 35 to 45 minutes Why you need a car: Entirely impractical by public transport for day trippers.

Omodos is a traditional wine village in the Troodos foothills, built around a cobbled central square and the Timios Stavros Monastery. It is one of the most photographed villages in Cyprus and one of the most visited for its combination of wine tasting, local crafts, and preserved architecture.

The village has multiple small wineries and local product shops around the square. Arriving early avoids the tour bus crowds that appear from around 10:30am. With a hire car, you can arrive at 9am, have the square largely to yourself, buy wine directly from the winery, and leave before the coaches pull in.

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7. The Avakas Gorge

Drive from Paphos: 35 to 45 minutes Why you need a car: No public transport. Rough approach road requires a short walk from a car park.

The Avakas Gorge is a 2km limestone gorge cut through the Akamas hillside above the coast. The walk through the gorge is one of the most popular short hikes in Cyprus, involving boulder-hopping, a narrow passage between 30-metre cliffs, and a turnaround point at a natural rock arch.

The trailhead car park is accessible from the main road between Coral Bay and Agios Georgios via a dirt track. Standard hire cars reach the car park without difficulty in dry conditions.

The walk takes 1.5 to 2 hours return. Wear shoes with grip. The gorge is cool even in summer, making it a practical hot-weather activity.

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8. The Ancient Site of Kouklia (Palaepaphos)

Drive from Paphos: 20 to 25 minutes east on the B6 Why you need a car: Bus connections are infrequent and the walk from the main road is long.

Kouklia is the site of ancient Palaepaphos, the original city of Paphos and one of the most important sites in the ancient Mediterranean world as the main cult centre of the goddess Aphrodite. The archaeological site includes the ruins of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, a Lusignan manor house, and an excellent museum.

The site is managed by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities and is open daily. Admission is modest. With a hire car, the visit from Paphos takes 20 minutes each way and can be combined with a stop at Cape Aspro and Pissouri on the same route south.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which of these places is the easiest day trip from Paphos with a hire car?

Polis and Latchi, Omodos, and Kouklia are all under an hour from Paphos and have well-paved access roads. These are the best choices for first-day drivers or those who want a straightforward route.

Can I reach these places in a standard compact hire car?

Yes, for all the main sites. Lara Beach and Avakas Gorge have rough approach roads, but both are manageable in a compact in dry conditions. Confirm with your operator before attempting any rough track.

Is a hire car worth it for a short trip to Paphos?

Yes, even for 3 to 4 days. Without a car, you are confined to Kato Paphos and the hotel strip. With one, destinations like Omodos, Polis, and the Akamas are achievable in a day each.

What fuel should I carry for these drives?

Fill up at Paphos before leaving for any mountain or remote destination. Petrol stations are limited in the Troodos and absent in the Akamas. A full tank at the start of any day trip removes all fuel anxiety.

Book the hire car that gets you to all these places →

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Planning Your Routes: Practical Tips

For any destination that takes you away from the main Paphos road network, three preparations make the trip smoother.

Fuel before departure. Fill up in Paphos before heading to the Akamas, Troodos, or Cedar Valley. Rural petrol stations are limited and not always open. A full tank at the start of any remote destination drive removes all fuel anxiety.

Offline maps. Download the Cyprus offline map in Google Maps or Apple Maps before you fly. Signal is intermittent in the Akamas, absent in parts of Cedar Valley, and patchy on some Troodos routes. An offline map navigates all of these routes without data.

Start early. For Lara Beach, Omodos, and the Akamas, arriving before 10am avoids the peak visitor period. These destinations are genuinely different experiences at 9am versus 11:30am. With a hire car, you control the timing entirely. Tour operators do not.

For planning the combination of destinations across a week-long stay, the scenic drives guide from Paphos covers the six best routes and how to combine them efficiently across several days.