The bottom line always ends in your back pocket and no, Cyprus is not cheap!.. But its cheaper than southern France or Italy and, personally speaking, it worked out for me cheaper than Croatia.

Currency

In January 2008 Cyprus adopts the Euro as its currency.

The Euro is perceived, by many, as a bad thing to occur to already expensive Cyprus. This is because in 2007 the currency (the Cypriot Pound - a currency with units even bigger than the British pound!) was at an exchange rate of 1.70 Euro. And the pre-drawn conclusion is that prices will be rounded up using the easy-math equation: 1 Pound = 2 Euro. A simple little earner for any shop keeper!

In the north the Turkish Lira could also be used in 2007 and this will continue because Turkey will not be joining the European Union in the near future.

In general, and perhaps as you would expect, the north is cheaper than the south because the people there are poorer on the whole. But, in either currency, you shouldn’t expect to save a fortune by spending more time north than south, the expectancy for tourists to pay higher prices seems to be a universal ideal.

Accommodation

As ever, accommodation is the main expense and you can certainly pay more in the south for that if you choose to. There you will find many hotels in the 170 Euro -per-night category… lowering to minimum price of 25 Euro for a shabby apartment. You should expect to pay 50-80 Euro if you want to be in a nice place and in a nice area.

In the north the prices are moving quickly upwards but the total range is more like 20-120 Euro not including a couple of super-luxury resorts that can be found there.

Food

Again it is not cheap to eat out in the south. Depending on where you are you will find that many of the restaurants are foreign owned (you can literally find any national dish) and the price reflects the expectancy of that nationality. For example, the are a lot of British pubs (read: British prices), Chinese (read: cheap), Japanese (read: expensive), Greek (read: is the owner from Greece?... or where they born in London, England as many Greek Cypriots were?).

Some dishes seem to get a standard price. This can be illustrated with the ever popular Greek specialty ‘Mousaka’ at 10 Euro, which I would call expensive when you have to eat it every night! So there you are, strolling down the high street, checking out the price of everybody’s Mousaka dish in the hope of finding good economy. But, if you actually compare these prices to eating out in Western Europe, then this is an acceptable price.

And, if you’re in for a penny you might as well be in for a Cypriot Pound and eat the fish.. which definitely works out cheaper here than in land-locked Central Europe. Think 17-22 Euro for a big size freshly caught fish.

As with many Mediterranean destinations, it is often cheaper to eat the largest meal of the day at lunch time, due to the special offers and the fact that the local habit is to have a larger, longer luncheon so you can easier choose that spot that is good for the locals and that is probably worth you trying. It is also very pleasant to take a break from the beach in the hottest part of the day and refresh yourself.

Maybe you’d like to save by self-catering for some of your holiday?.. As a guide line on the basic food stuffs: Half a liter of milk costs about 1.7 Euro, a bottle of water 70 Cents and a 800 gram loaf of bread about 1.30 Euro.

Generally speaking, it is easier to eat for less in the north but you might have to find the taste for the local cuisine instead of opting for steak and chips or sushi. Turkish cuisine itself, is very much the same as Greek, just that everything has been given a different name (maybe a question you might ask on your own local high street – Kebab or Gyros tonight, my dear?!). See the page Food for some tasty insights.

Entertainment

The price of entertainment, even more than food and accommodation, depends on what it is that you are looking for. You can certainly spend a fortune if you want to because there is plenty to do and even more to buy!

If you are going to drink in a nightclub all night (Beer Pint/560 ml = 3.50 Euro; Spirit shots 5 Euro) and hire jet-skis all day (Approx. 80 Euro per hour).. you will run up a huge bill.. but I expect you could figure that out for yourself.

Below is a list of some touristy things you can always pay extra for:

• Water Parks – Adults = 25 Euro, Kids = 13 Euro.
• Car Hire - Hatchback = 35 Euro/day, Sedan = 50 Euro/day
• Taxi – 1.50 Euro/km
• Sun bed hire - 7 Euro/day + 5 Euro for Parasol

These prices are based on an average and so vary depending on location.