Cyprus is a popular country for many people when it comes to seeking out a foreign holiday. If you choose Cyprus as your destination this year, you will use the euro as the local currency while you are there.
What coins and notes are available for this currency?
There are quite a few coins available that you will use when you are in Cyprus. There is the one euro coin and the two euro coin, and following this the rest of the coins are in cents. You will no doubt see the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins while you are on your travels.
Aside from this you will also see a number of banknotes. These are the €5, €10, €20 and €50 euro notes. There are three others too, and these are the €100, €200 and €500 notes. However these don’t tend to be used as often as the rest because they are much higher in value and therefore not as practical or as easy to change up. They are also far more prone to being forged so people tend not to like them for that reason.
From past to present – the history of the euro
The euro has been in the making for some years, but it finally turned from the dream of some into a reality back in 1999. This was when it was introduced as purely an accounting currency. There were no banknotes or coins at this point; they were only brought in three years later in 2002.
Cyprus was not among the original countries to join the single currency. Instead it only adopted it in 2008, the same year Malta took it up.
How to get hold of the Cypriot euro
This as you might imagine is rather easy. You might be wondering if you can use any euros you currently have, even if you didn’t originally get them or use them in Cyprus. The answer is yes, because even though each country can release euro coins with a different design on one side to represent their country, they are still legal tender throughout all the countries that use the euro. Aside from this you can get the euro from any bureau de change you wish to use.
It is easy to get hold of more money when you get to Cyprus as well. You can do this at any bank, since they will exchange foreign cash for the euro quite happily. You can also use their cash machines to get more cash out if you need to. The one thing to be aware of is that you will very likely be charged to do this, so it might be worth checking the charges before you leave home. Typically speaking it can be more expensive to take out money on a credit card than it is with a debit card.
Some areas of northern Cyprus are more challenging to find money in, as cash machines here are not as prevalent as they can be in other parts of the country. One final point here – do make sure you only carry as much cash with you as you need to. If you have a safe you can use in your hotel, it is wise to keep excess cash there until you need it.
How to find out the latest exchange rate between your home currency and the Cypriot euro
All you have to do here is to find a currency converter to use on a computer, a tablet or your smart phone. Some are better than others: for example some will update literally every 60 seconds whereas others only update occasionally. Bear this in mind if you want the latest information. You should also remember that the rate of exchange you get for your cash will be slightly different to the basic one you get on a converter.
More information on Cyprus and going there on holiday is available from the High Commission for this particular island which is located in London, but you don’t have to leave your home to find out more. Their website is available at http://www.mfa.gov.cy.
Travelling safely with the Cypriot euro
Cyprus is the country of choice for around a million Brits every year. If you want to be among them it makes sense to know how to stay safe while you are there. For the most part basic common sense will apply here. You shouldn’t have any problems when it comes to crime as tourists are not generally hassled when in the country. Make good use of a hotel safe if you have one you can use. There is no need to carry your passport with you all the time, but make sure it is locked up safely when you leave it at your accommodation. There is some petty crime as you can imagine, but as long as you take reasonable precautions you shouldn’t have any trouble while you are there.
You should be aware of the north-south split in the country and be alert to whether you can easily travel between them. The split has been in place since 1974. Greek-Cypriots live in the southern part of the country while Turkish Cypriots live in the northern part. You can typically travel between them but this is easier in some places than in others, so plan your travels accordingly.
Where to spend your euros in Cyprus – and what to spend them on
Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean and it is formally known as the Republic of Cyprus. It is situated in the sea to the south of Turkey and to the west of Lebanon and Syria.
The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia and this is as good a place to start as any when it comes to exploring the opportunities the country offers for tourists. Ledra Street is a famous area of the city and there are lots of shops here you will no doubt want to browse round. The old part of the city is walled and you can still see three gates here that are left over from older times. If you have an interest in the history of the country you should make a beeline for the Cyprus Archaeological Museum as this provides an insight into the island over the years.
There are also many other places you can visit on the island as a whole. For example you might like to try Kuorion in the south of the island, an ancient set of ruins that is quite stunning today. The old city has a theatre that is Greco-Roman in nature and remarkably well preserved. This is not the only ruin that is still there to be seen though – there are many others that are rather impressive too.
Elsewhere on the island in Paphos you can explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is the Tombs of the Kings. This rather dramatic sounding name is well-deserved as it describes a series of tombs that go back as far as the 4th century. While in reality no kings were ever laid to rest here, many other important people were, and today it provides a sobering and dramatic sight that is well worth seeing.
If you think Cyprus is all about ancient sites and ruins and major cities you would be wrong however. There is more to it than this. For example you can head out into the countryside to see some of the natural sights available there. You can do no better than to visit the Troodos Mountains in this respect, and for several good reasons too. For starters they are central to the island itself and offer some respite away from the hustle and bustle you might feel in other parts of Cyprus. The mountains boast plenty of charming little villages and there are lots of resorts here too, so if you would rather enjoy a mountain-based holiday than a beach-based one, Cyprus really does offer it all. It definitely appeals to the more active tourist too, especially since there are many tourist trails and walks here that can be enjoyed.
One of the more familiar parts of Cyprus will undoubtedly be Limassol. If you decide to head to the southern part of the island you shouldn’t miss out on Limassol’s many delights. These include Limassol Castle, a majestic and imposing building that actually dates all the way back to medieval times.
Of course sometimes the best thing you can do is to simply enjoy your surroundings, and there is no better way to do this than to wander along the promenade in Limassol. This is a very popular area and you will soon see why. It’s quite casual and laid-back and you can pop into one of the many cafes there as well if you like.
Finally no visit to Limassol would be complete without a trip to the Fasouri Watermania Park. Complete with a lazy river, tube slides and the dreaded Kamikaze slide too, you will spend an entire day here and it still won’t be enough!
Conclusion
Cyprus is a great place to be and packs in plenty of great experiences for anyone who wants a holiday with virtually guaranteed good weather. Whether you opt for coastal beach holidays or something in the mountains inland, you are sure to love every moment you spend on the island. Where will your euros be spent when you arrive?
I have never been to Cyprus before but I know people who have and they reckoned it was a lovely country to visit. From reading this article it certainly seems as if it is a nice area to see while not being overly crowded and packed with tourists. This is what puts me off seeing a lot of resorts, because they are too packed out for my liking.
I prefer somewhere quieter where you can actually have a break without having kids screaming in your ears all the time. Certain areas of Cyprus sound as if they should be avoided, but it looks as though there are plenty of other places to benefit from visiting instead. I might just try it in future.
So Cyprus was yet another country to lose its currency to the Euro. I can’t honestly think of all the countries that had other currencies before this monster came along.
I have certainly been intrigued to hear about all the problems the Euro has been having recently though. Even those who have some kind of power in the Eurozone have said they wonder about its future. It makes me laugh – they were all so confident when times were good and the Euro wasn’t in any danger of being challenged in any way.
But now things have got hard and one country is in trouble, it is dragging the rest of the Eurozone down with it. I will be interested to see how this one plays itself out.
I may not have been to Cyprus but I do wonder how it will fare now that things in the Eurozone aren’t anywhere near as comfy as they used to be. I agree with what Allison said above – things don’t look so rosy once the fallout from the recession occurred. I can’t understand why people would want to be involved in the Eurozone at all, let alone giving up their currency to it.
Many people seem keen to think about going to Cyprus. I just wonder how cost effective it would be to go there at the moment with the state the Euro is in. And if the currency collapses – as many people think it will – what happens then? What currency would you use if you were over there on holiday and it collapsed? Would you be stuck or would they revert to using another one in an emergency?
Ian makes an interesting point. A lot of people head off to European countries on holiday and if the Euro does go under it would leave them in a troubling situation. I’d be nervous of going to Greece at the moment because of the problems they have there. I know all we see is Athens but I would still hesitate to go anywhere else because of the situation they are in.
We’ll see the death of the Euro sooner or later. I’m amazed it’s lasted this long. Wonder what all the people in Cyprus think about having it when all they see is bad news happening in other Euro countries? God help the people in Greece, but they’re not alone in their hardship. The worst thing is even if they all managed to get out of the currency now, it’d be years before anything resembling normal happy life came back to enjoy.