10 Best Ways to Save Money on a Cyprus Villa Holiday

Choose the right villa
Find the right home from home and you will be content lazing by the pool. Get it wrong and you will want to go out every day, which is an expensive business. So think very carefully about what you want from your villa. For example, “close to beach and restaurants” also means close to lots of people. Which is fine if you like that, but a nightmare if you really wanted peace and seclusion to chill out.

Rent a car off-airport
We have all seen the row of car hire desks at airports, with smartly-dressed people behind the counter. Well those companies pay a lot for those desks, and their prices reflect that. If you are happy to be met with a person with a sign, then driven to a rental site close to the airport, you can save a lot on the price of your car.

Shop smart
At home there will be fairly small differences in price between supermarkets. In Cyprus those differences can be huge. The biggest factors are competition, and whether there is a big local market. Coral Bay until recently had two very expensive small supermarkets. Then a new large one opened on the main road, swiftly followed by another. That has probably halved the weekly grocery bill for people staying there.

Take a cool-bag
Cyprus is hot and on days out you will want to drink a lot. If you pack a soft insulated bag you can take food and drink out with you and save all those expensive convenience buys. Best tip is to buy a pack of small bottles of water on your first shop for about 2 euro, as well as the big ones. Empty a little water out of each and put them in the freezer compartment (ice expands!). Put them in the cool bag in the morning which keeps it cool all day, then top up the bottles and re-freeze when you get home

Time your holiday
July and August are always the most expensive months, but May, June, September and October are reliably hot and sunny (even last November was around 25 degrees almost every day). so do you really need to pay for peak season?

Look at lots of flights
There are flights to Cyprus with charter airlines, low-cost airlines and national carriers British Airways and Cyprus Airways. And from around 20 airports in the UK. Villa rentals are flexible for start day and duration, so look at lots of flights. Sometimes staying for 9 days, for example, can work out cheaper because the savings on the flights is greater than the cost of the villa for 2 more nights.

Do you need a rental car?
This is especially important for larger parties because once you get past 5-seaters the cost of cars goes up a lot. It may be a big saving to get an aiport transfer (paid by the vehicle, not per person) to a villa where you can walk to everything you need. And it is always possible to rent a car for a day if you want to go off exploring.

Off the beaten track
If you do have a rental car, why not stay where there are far fewer tourists? A villa in a village can be a lot cheaper, both to stay and eat out, and you are never far away from livelier places if you feel the need for more company.

Ask a local
You don’t need to speak Greek! There are lots of English-speaking residents enjoying the warmth of Cyprus in retirement. If you see someone with an all-year tan, or walking their dog, ask if they can recommend any good value places to eat. They are normally delighted to share their favourites, which are usually the ones you would walk straight past if you didn’t know. The outstanding Peyia Tavern is a case in point - don’t miss it!

Choose the right villa!
I know we already said that, but it is so fundamental that it needs repeating. It’s your holiday, and you want a place that lets you recharge the batteries and wish you could stay forever. Don’t book the place with nice pictures - think long and hard and ask questions. A good agency can help with suggestions of where to stay that will make you wish you had longer.