One of the best drives I've done was from Paphos (west coast of Cyprus), over the mountains and up the north coast of Cyprus. The main road over the mountain is E709. The road out of Paphos starts relatively uninteresting, passing some touristy spots of growth and the turnoff for the beautiful Coral Bay. There are a couple turnoff that are signposted to Polis which go through different towns before actually connecting to the E709, or just keep driving until you reach the main turnoff. This is where the road becomes interesting. It winds up and over the first mountain past, providing great views back to Paphos and you can easily see the two large ships that have been shipwrecked on the coast from this vantage point. The landscape becomes very arid and dry as you go over the mountain pass. The scenery changes again as the north of the island gets closer. There are great views of the long mountain range and Mount Olympus as you descend to the other side. The scenery becomes noticeably greener and some of the scenery reminded me of Hawaii. There are so many great vistas to see. Thankfully there are plenty of turnoffs and areas to stop and take in the views. Once in Polis you can either go left to the Baths of Aphrodite which is only around 8km from Polis. While the road there is not especially scenic, it does go near the water at one point and the marina area is nice with good restaurants open year round. The area around the baths have some great hikes, even just walking down the road (if you do not have a 4wd vehicle) toward the Blue Lagoon which is a further 3km.
If you go right where E709 road ends at Polis, you head down E704 will go through the main part of Polis, then onto a great oceanside road that hugs the coastline. You can drive this around 20km more until you come to a checkpoint into Turkish Northern Cyprus. If you decide to cross over, you will need to have your passport and buy compulsory insurance for Northern Cyprus at the border regardless what coverage you have for Greek Cyprus. There are plenty of great sites before reaching the border so there is no reason to cross unless you are feeling adventurous. My favorite area was a protected marina just a few km before the border. There are lots of designated picnic areas near the water on E704 with picnic tables, chairs and rubbish bins along this road. You can either take the same route back or follow the signs for B7 for a longer drive through the mountains (further inland) to get back to Paphos. Either way enjoy!
We stayed in Paphos on the west coast of Cyprus for a couple weeks and did this drive a few times because it was so scenic... trying out various side roads and routes. This is the winter 'slow' season, but there were still plenty of restaurants and shops open in Polis and Paphos, which is in sharp contrast to the east coast area of Protaras/Agia Napa which basically shuts down during the wintertime.
If you go right where E709 road ends at Polis, you head down E704 will go through the main part of Polis, then onto a great oceanside road that hugs the coastline. You can drive this around 20km more until you come to a checkpoint into Turkish Northern Cyprus. If you decide to cross over, you will need to have your passport and buy compulsory insurance for Northern Cyprus at the border regardless what coverage you have for Greek Cyprus. There are plenty of great sites before reaching the border so there is no reason to cross unless you are feeling adventurous. My favorite area was a protected marina just a few km before the border. There are lots of designated picnic areas near the water on E704 with picnic tables, chairs and rubbish bins along this road. You can either take the same route back or follow the signs for B7 for a longer drive through the mountains (further inland) to get back to Paphos. Either way enjoy!
We stayed in Paphos on the west coast of Cyprus for a couple weeks and did this drive a few times because it was so scenic... trying out various side roads and routes. This is the winter 'slow' season, but there were still plenty of restaurants and shops open in Polis and Paphos, which is in sharp contrast to the east coast area of Protaras/Agia Napa which basically shuts down during the wintertime.
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