Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Cyprus

Before you go

What happens when you get there

The six dog beaches

Kasianes near Spyros Beach south of Larnaca airport, sandy and the easiest of the six. Prolimnos west of Pissouri, good to look at but pebbly, rocky underfoot and deep with a swell, so a walk-and-paddle rather than a swim. The beach at the Ezousa estuary north-west of Paphos airport, small, safe and pebbly. Pitili at Neo Chorio near the Akamas, stony with difficult access and sea considered dangerous, so one to skip. Glyki Nero B at Paralimni, the only one inside a resort strip. Steratzia at Kato Pyrgos, unmarked, ask locally.

Beaches that are closed to dogs

Everything else, in practice. Fig Tree Bay, Nissi Beach, Makronissos, Konnos Bay, Coral Bay, the Kato Paphos municipal beaches, Dasoudi and the whole Amathus strip in Limassol, and Finikoudes and Mackenzie in Larnaca. The fine for swimming a dog off a public beach that isn't designated is EUR 85. Assume no dog on any Blue Flag beach in Cyprus unless the municipality has said otherwise in writing.

Hotel beach frontages

This is the grey area and it's worth asking every hotel directly. The shore itself is public in Cyprus, which is exactly why hotels stay quiet about their own frontage. Golden Bay's published policy keeps dogs out of the food and drink outlets, the spa and the pool areas and says nothing at all about its sandy frontage, which is the first thing a Larnaca guest wants to know. Ask, and get the answer in writing.

Entry rules and breed bans

Cyprus is an EU member state, so the usual intra-EU rules apply: microchip, rabies vaccination given at twelve weeks or older with at least 21 days before travel, and a European pet passport. There's no tapeworm requirement for Cyprus itself, but travelling home to Ireland, Malta, Finland, Norway or Northern Ireland needs the treatment on the return leg, 24 to 120 hours before arrival. The bigger thing is breed. Cyprus prohibits the importation or transit of the Pit Bull Terrier and American Pit Bull, the Japanese Tosa or Tosa Inu, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro, and their crossbreeds. If there's any chance your dog reads as one of those types, sort it before you book a flight.

Getting there

Larnaca and Paphos are the two airports, both run by Hermes, whose travelling with pets page covers hold carriage at Larnaca and otherwise sends you to the airline. Cyprus Airways has the clearest published policy: cabin dogs up to 8 kg, or 10 kg including the carrier, in a case no bigger than 45 x 35 x 20 cm, at EUR 70 to Athens, Heraklion, Rhodes and similar, EUR 100 to Paris, Milan, Venice and Barcelona, EUR 150 on transfers, booked at least 24 hours ahead on +357 24 000 053. Dogs flying to the UK can only travel as cargo, and Larnaca to Dubai is cargo only.

Weight caps and fees

EUR 15 a night at Thalassa and Golden Bay, both with a bed and bowls included. EUR 25 a night at Almyra and Annabelle. EUR 30 a day across the Leonardo houses. EUR 40 at Pendeli Resort. EUR 50 a night at Columbia with a EUR 100 minimum. Flat rates of EUR 175 to EUR 300 per stay at Cap St Georges and EUR 200 per stay at Anassa. Caps run 8 kg at the GrandResort and NYX, 10 kg at Thalassa, Golden Bay and most Leonardo properties, 12 kg at Annabelle, Anassa, Cap St Georges and Capo Bay, and 15 kg at Almyra, Columbia and Pendeli.

Getting around

No national published rule was found for dogs on Cyprus buses. The intercity network and the district operators set out no pet policy and the Cyprus by Bus terms say nothing about animals, so treat it as unknown. Cyprus is a driving country anyway, rental cars are cheap and the bus network is thin outside the towns. Taxi drivers are private operators who decide for themselves, so book by phone and say you have a dog rather than assuming an app will take one.

Vets

One 24-hour clinic could be verified from a published source: D and N Veterinary Clinic, Mesogi Avenue 124, Mesogi, Paphos, on +357 26 819 942 and +357 26 819 943 or mobile +357 99 371 508, which states in-house staff round the clock every day of the year. The other Paphos practices, Paphos Vets Animal Hospital at Kissonerga, CYVETS and Peyia Veterinary Clinic, keep daytime hours and close on Sunday. No 24-hour clinic in Limassol or Larnaca could be confirmed, so check locally on arrival.

Best walks

The Kato Paphos seafront path is the flattest and shadiest town walk on the island, starting at the door of Almyra and Annabelle and running past Paphos Harbour and the castle towards the Archaeological Park. Up the coast, Coral Bay's sandy crescent and the clifftop paths towards the Akamas start minutes from Thalassa, and at the far end the Baths of Aphrodite trailhead and the Akamas coastal path sit at Anassa's gate. Cap St Georges has its own natural seaside path of more than two kilometres along the shore, which makes an early start easy. In Limassol the Molos promenade gives a long flat paved walk with shade and water points, and in Larnaca the Salt Lake trail is the best cool-season loop in the city. For real forest, the Caledonia Waterfall trail near Pano Platres climbs through pine and plane beside a stream, and the riverside path below Kalopanayiotis runs along the lake to the Agios Ioannis Lampadistis monastery.

When to go

October to May on the coast. Cyprus is the hottest country in the EU and inland Limassol and Nicosia sit in the high thirties from late June to early September, with the coast not much kinder once you factor in the humidity. Sand and paving reach temperatures that burn pads well before they feel hot to a human hand, so this is a welfare question rather than a comfort one. If you have to come in high summer, go up instead of along: Pano Platres sits at about 1,100 metres in the Troodos and runs roughly ten degrees cooler than Limassol, which is why Cypriots go there in August themselves. Walk before seven in the morning and after eight at night, carry water everywhere, and plan nothing at midday. Flat-faced breeds shouldn't be brought to Cyprus in summer at all. Several Paphos, Ayia Napa and Protaras hotels close for part of the winter, so confirm dates before booking out of season.