Famagusta District
Cape Greco
The wild headland between Ayia Napa and Protaras: sea caves, the Love Bridge, Konnos Bay and a sunrise worth the 5am alarm — how to do Cape Greco on foot, by car or by boat without a guide.
In short
Cape Greco at a glance
Cape Greco (Cavo Greco) is the rocky national-forest-park headland that fills the gap between Ayia Napa and Protaras — about 10 minutes' drive from either, and the one bit of this coast that isn't beach resort. You come for the sea caves and the Love Bridge stone arch, the cliff-top viewpoint and lighthouse, the white Agioi Anargyroi chapel and the swim at Konnos Bay, all linked by signposted trails. It's a half-day, not a base: there's no town and no hotel inside the park, so day-trip in from a resort. Go early — for the sunrise, for a parking space, and to walk the cliffs before the midday heat.
Cape Greco — Cavo Greco on the signs — is the rocky headland that plugs the gap between Ayia Napa and Protaras, and it’s the antidote to both. Where the two resorts are sunloungers and strips, the cape is a national forest park: low juniper scrub, white limestone cliffs dropping into water so clear it looks fake, and a set of natural rock arches the sea has chewed out over millennia. It’s about ten minutes’ drive from either resort, which makes it the obvious half-day off the beach, and the rare bit of this coast that costs nothing to visit.
The honest framing is that Cape Greco is a day-trip, not a destination in itself. There’s no town, one hotel on its edge, and you’ll have seen the headline sights — the sea caves, the Love Bridge arch, the clifftop viewpoint by the little Agioi Anargyroi chapel, and a swim at Konnos Bay — in three or four unhurried hours. Drive in and you can do the lot in a morning; walk the signposted trails, which total around 16km and follow part of the E4 European path, and it stretches to a full, satisfying day. Either way, the inside of the park is best on foot.
Two practical things have changed and catch people out. Cliff-jumping, once the cape’s daredevil party trick, is now banned after a geological survey found the rock dangerously eroded — and the Love Bridge (Kamara tou Koraka) is fenced off from above for the same reason, so you photograph it from the side rather than standing on it. Take the warnings at face value: this is unguarded, exposed coast with no shade. Come at sunrise for the light and the empty car park, or in the April–June and September–October shoulder seasons to actually enjoy the walking; midsummer midday on these cliffs is no joke.
The route
Cape Greco is a comfortable half-day if you drive, a full day if you walk the coast path end to end. This is the order that wastes the least time and keeps the swims and the shade where you want them. Everything below is inside the free national forest park; the only thing you pay for is a boat trip or a sunlounger.
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Stop 1
Konnos Bay (start with the swim)
The one proper beach in the park, a sheltered horseshoe of pale sand between the cape and Protaras. Park at the top and walk down, or it's the Konnos Bay stop on the 101/102 bus. Get the swim in early while the bay's quiet; sunloungers are about €2.50 each if you want one.
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Stop 2
Cyclops Cave & the coastal path
From Konnos the signed trail east to the Cyclops Cave is about 2.4km and 45 minutes one way, low effort but exposed — take water and a hat. The cave sits 15m above the sea with two mouths; the path is part of the E4 European route, so it's well marked.
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Stop 3
The viewpoint, lighthouse & chapel
Drive (or walk) up to the clifftop viewpoint by the white-and-blue Agioi Anargyroi chapel and the lighthouse — the highest, most photographed spot on the cape and the place to be for sunrise or sunset. Free, and the sunset drops into the sea in under five minutes, so arrive with time to spare.
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Stop 4
The sea caves & the Love Bridge
Back towards Ayia Napa, the sea caves are a cluster of low arches and inlets you can scramble around and snorkel from (calm sea only). Nearby, the Love Bridge / Kamara tou Koraka stone arch is the cape's signature shot — now fenced off from above after erosion, so photograph it from the side, don't stand on it.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Protaras (Pernera / Fig Tree Bay)
££ mid-rangeThe quieter, family-leaning resort on the north side of the cape, 10 minutes' drive away. Fig Tree Bay is the best beach within reach and the strip is calmer than Ayia Napa — the better base if Cape Greco's nature, not nightlife, is why you came.
Best for: Families and couples using the cape as a daily walk
Ayia Napa (harbour / town)
££ mid-rangeThe south-side resort and the one with the harbour the boat trips leave from, so it's the easiest base if you want to reach the caves and the Blue Lagoon by sea. Livelier and louder than Protaras — great for the nightlife, less so for an early start.
Best for: Boat trips, nightlife and being near the harbour
Grecian Park Hotel (cape edge)
£££ premiumThe only sizeable hotel right on the edge of the national park, on the headland between the two resorts. You're walking distance from the cliffs and the chapel rather than driving in — a premium, set-apart option if proximity to the cape itself is the point.
Best for: Walk-from-your-door access to the cape
Getting around Cape Greco
A hire car is the simplest way to do Cape Greco — it's 10 minutes from either Ayia Napa or Protaras, and there's free parking by the natural bridge, the viewpoint and the top of Konnos Bay. If you'd rather not drive, the local 101 and 102 buses loop between Ayia Napa, Protaras and the cape and stop at Konnos Bay, so you can walk the coast path from there. The third option is a boat: trips from Ayia Napa harbour run the coastline past the sea caves, the lighthouse and on to the Blue Lagoon from about €20, and they reach inlets you simply can't get to on foot. Whichever you pick, the inside of the park is best on your own two feet — the signposted trails total around 16km and link every viewpoint.
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Cape Greco FAQs
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