Cyprus
Larnaca
Cyprus's front door, with a saint's tomb in the middle of town, flamingos by the runway and a world-class wreck in the bay.
Most visitors to Cyprus land at Larnaca and drive straight out, which is their loss. The town is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on the island, built over ancient Kition, and its heart is the Church of Saint Lazarus, raised over the tomb of the man said to have been brought back from the dead. A palm-lined seafront runs along a sandy town beach, flamingos winter on the salt lake by the airport, and out in the bay lies the Zenobia, a sunken ferry that divers rank among the best wreck dives anywhere.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Greek, Turkish
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+3
Why you'll love Larnaca
Saint Lazarus a stone church in the middle of town keeps the tomb of the man Christ raised, with a gilded carved screen above the crypt
The Zenobia a whole ro-ro ferry lies on its side in the bay with its cargo of lorries still aboard, a short boat ride from the marina
Salt lake in winter flamingos wade the shallow lake beside the airport, with a mosque among the palms on its far shore
Easy living a walkable seafront town with a sandy beach, fish meze at the old fishing shelter and the whole east of the island within an hour
Best time to visit
all year
17-33° days
34.924° N, 33.624° E
UTC+3 · Asia/Nicosia
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Weather & when to go to Larnaca
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best all year
Diving prime Jun-Oct
Activity seasons none fair good prime
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Larnaca
No bad season here. July and August are hot and sticky on this flat coast and the town beach fills up, while winter is mild but the sea turns cool for swimming and some seafront places keep shorter hours. The flamingos are a winter sight only: by high summer the salt lake dries out to a white crust.
Top things to do in Larnaca
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Church of Saint Lazarus - the saint's tomb and crypt
history culture arts 👍 PopularTradition says Lazarus came to Kition after being raised from the dead and served as its bishop for thirty more years. The Byzantine church built over his tomb has a heavily carved and gilded wooden iconostasis, and below it a crypt where the empty sarcophagi lie in the half-dark.
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Zenobia wreck - dive the sunken ferry
adventure ⭐ Highly recommendedA Swedish ro-ro ferry that capsized and sank in the bay on her maiden voyage in 1980, lorries still chained to her decks. She lies on her side close to shore, so the upper hull suits qualified divers with a guide while the deep side and interior are for experienced wreck divers.
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Larnaca Salt Lake and Hala Sultan Tekke - flamingos and the lakeside mosque
nature wildlife history 👍 PopularFlamingos and other waterbirds winter on the shallow lake on the airport side of town. On its western shore, among palms and cypresses, Hala Sultan Tekke marks the grave of Umm Haram, a relative of the Prophet who died here during a seventh-century Arab raid, and is one of the most revered Muslim sites in the region.
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Finikoudes - the palm promenade and town beach
scenic 👍 PopularThe seafront is named after its row of palms, with a wide promenade of cafes facing a sandy beach in the middle of town. It is where Larnaca swims in the morning and walks in the evening, from the marina at one end to the fort at the other.
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Larnaca Fort - the seafront castle
historyA squat stone fort at the southern end of Finikoudes, rebuilt by the Ottomans on medieval foundations and later used by the British as a prison. There is a small museum inside and a view along the shore from the ramparts, with the old mosque and the Skala lanes right behind it.
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Kition and the Pierides Museum - the ancient city under the town
history culture artsExcavated pockets of ancient Kition sit among the modern streets, with Bronze Age walls and the foundations of a Phoenician temple to Astarte at the Kathari site. The Pierides Museum, a family collection in a colonial house on the main street, fills in the island's story from prehistoric idols to medieval glazed pottery.
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Kamares aqueduct - the Ottoman arches
history scenicAn eighteenth-century aqueduct built to carry water into the town, its long run of stone arches now standing at the edge of the western suburbs. It is lit up at night and makes an easy stop on the road out towards Limassol.
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Panagia Angeloktisti at Kiti - the angel-built church
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedA small domed church in Kiti village, a short drive south-west, whose name means built by angels. Its apse keeps a rare sixth-century mosaic of the Virgin and Child flanked by archangels, one of the few early Christian mosaics to survive Byzantine iconoclasm.
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Fish meze - a long lunch by the fishing shelter
foodCypriot meze arrives as a parade of small plates, and the fish version along the fishing shelter and Mackenzie strip runs from taramosalata and grilled octopus to whole sea bream. Ordinary meze means halloumi, sheftalia and slow-baked kleftiko, and it is a meal you clear the afternoon for.
Best areas to stay in Larnaca
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Finikoudes and the town centre
First-time visitors $$Palm promenade, town beach, everything walkable
Explore hotels in Finikoudes and the town centre →
Mackenzie Beach
Beach & short stays $$Beach bars under the flight path
Explore hotels in Mackenzie Beach →
Skala
Old-town character $Old quarter, potters and the fort
Explore hotels in Skala →
Dhekelia Road
Families & resorts $$$Resort hotels along the eastern bay
Explore hotels in Dhekelia Road →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Larnaca
Getting to & around Larnaca
Getting there
Fly into Larnaca (LCA), the island's main airport, a short taxi or bus ride from the seafront
Flight
Larnaca International Airport (LCA)
The airport sits beside the salt lake just south of town. Local buses and taxis reach Finikoudes in about fifteen minutes, and airport shuttles run straight on to Nicosia, Limassol and the eastern resorts.
Coach
Finikoudes bus terminus
Cyprus has no railway, so intercity buses do the work: regular services to Nicosia, Limassol and Ayia Napa leave from the seafront
Drive
Motorways link Larnaca with Nicosia, Limassol and Ayia Napa, each under an hour away; Cyprus drives on the left
Getting around
Walking
The centre is small and flat: Finikoudes, Saint Lazarus, the fort, Skala and the marina are all within a short walk
Free
Local buses
Town and district buses run from the seafront to the airport, Mackenzie, Dhekelia Road and nearby villages, though evening services thin out
TBC
Taxi
Taxis wait at the airport and along the seafront, and are the easy way to Mackenzie or the salt lake
TBC
Car hire
Worth it for the villages, monasteries and Cape Greco; driving is on the left and parking near the seafront fills up in summer
TBC
Day trips from Larnaca
Lefkara
Half dayLace and silver village
A stone village in the foothills famous for its embroidered lace and silverwork, with lace-makers working in doorways along steep lanes. Local legend says Leonardo da Vinci bought a lace altar cloth here for Milan Cathedral.
Getting there
car | tour
40 min by car into the hills
Choirokoitia
Half dayNeolithic settlement
One of the best-preserved Neolithic villages in the eastern Mediterranean, a hillside of stone round-house foundations with several houses rebuilt at the foot of the site. It pairs easily with Lefkara on the same morning.
Getting there
car | tour
30 min by car on the Limassol motorway
Stavrovouni Monastery
Half dayMountaintop monastery
Perched on a lone peak inland, the monastery traces its founding to Saint Helena and a fragment of the True Cross. The views over the plain to the sea are the reward for everyone; only men may enter the monastery itself, and modest dress is expected.
Getting there
car
40 min by car, the last stretch a winding climb
Cape Greco and Ayia Napa
Full daySea caves and beaches
The island's south-eastern tip is a low limestone headland of sea caves, arches and cliff-jumping coves, with Konnos Bay tucked below. Ayia Napa's white-sand beaches and its Venetian-era monastery are just round the corner.
Getting there
car | bus | tour
45 min by car or intercity bus east along the coast
Nicosia
Full dayDivided capital
The capital sits inside a ring of Venetian walls, with museums, churches and covered lanes in the old town and the Ledra Street crossing to the north side. The Cyprus Museum holds the island's finest archaeology.
Getting there
car | bus
45 min by car or intercity bus inland
Famagusta and Salamis
Full dayWalled city and ruins
Across the Green Line, Famagusta's Venetian walls enclose a Gothic cathedral turned mosque, and the ruins of Salamis spread along the shore to the north. Carry your passport, and check whether your car-hire insurance covers the north before you drive.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr by car or tour, via a Green Line crossing
A little history of Larnaca
Larnaca stands on Kition, one of the ancient city-kingdoms of Cyprus, settled in the Bronze Age and rebuilt by Phoenician traders into their main foothold on the island. Its most famous son was Zeno, who left for Athens and founded Stoicism. Christian tradition gives the town its saint: Lazarus, raised from the dead, is said to have lived out his second life here as bishop, and a church has stood over his tomb since the ninth century.
Under the Ottomans the harbour became the island's window on Europe, and foreign consuls and merchants lived along the shore, which is why the town still feels more cosmopolitan than its size. When the island was divided in 1974 and Nicosia's airport closed, Larnaca's became Cyprus's main gateway, and the town grew around it.
Kition is walled as a Late Bronze Age town on the bay
Zeno, founder of Stoic philosophy, is born in Kition
Umm Haram dies by the salt lake during an Arab raid; Hala Sultan Tekke later rises over her grave
A tomb attributed to Lazarus is found and a church is built over it
The Ottomans take Cyprus; Larnaca grows into the island's consular and trading port
The Kamares aqueduct is built to bring water into the town
British administration begins, with the first troops landing at Larnaca
Turkish troops land in the north; the island is divided along the Green Line and Larnaca's airport becomes the main gateway
The ferry Zenobia capsizes and sinks in the bay on her maiden voyage
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type G
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+357
FAQs about Larnaca
▸ When is the best time to visit Larnaca?
Any month works. Late spring and autumn are the easy middle ground, with a warm sea and room on the beach. High summer is hot and sticky and the busiest for swimming; winter is mild and quiet, the sea is cool, and it is the season for flamingos on the salt lake.
▸ Is Larnaca worth more than an airport stop?
Yes, for a couple of days. Saint Lazarus, the seafront, the salt lake and the Zenobia are all in or beside town, and it is a central base for the east of the island, with Nicosia, Ayia Napa and the inland villages each within an hour.
▸ How many days do you need in Larnaca?
One full day covers the church, the fort, the seafront and the salt lake. Two to four days lets you add a dive or two on the Zenobia and day trips to Lefkara, Stavrovouni, Cape Greco or Nicosia.
▸ Do I need experience to dive the Zenobia?
You need a dive certification. The wreck lies on her side, so the shallower upper hull suits qualified open-water divers with a guide, while the deeper side and the interior are for advanced and wreck-trained divers. Local dive centres run boats out from the marina.
▸ Can you cross to the north of Cyprus from Larnaca?
Yes. There are several crossing points along the Green Line, including Ledra Street in Nicosia and crossings on the way to Famagusta. Carry your passport, check whether your car-hire insurance covers the north, and check your own government's current advice before you go.
▸ Is Larnaca expensive?
It is generally easier on the wallet than Limassol or Paphos, though seafront hotels and the Finikoudes cafes charge for the view in summer. Eating a street or two back from the promenade, and buying meze rather than a la carte, keeps costs down.
▸ Do you need a car in Larnaca?
Not for the town itself, which is walkable, or for Nicosia and Ayia Napa, which are on intercity bus routes. A car makes sense for Lefkara, Stavrovouni, Choirokoitia and Cape Greco. Cyprus drives on the left.
More in Cyprus
Limassol
Cyprus's liveliest seafront city, with a Greco-Roman theatre on a cliff down the road and the wine villages of the Troodos an hour behind it.
✓ best all yearNicosia
Europe's last divided capital, where a short walk through a checkpoint takes you from a Venetian bastion to a Gothic cathedral turned mosque.
✓ best Oct-MayPaphos
A small harbour town sitting on a Roman capital, with world-class mosaics underfoot and Aphrodite's rock down the road.
✓ best all year