Living in Ayia Napa, Protaras and Paralimni: the free Famagusta district

The free Famagusta district: what it covers#

Famagusta district takes its name from the walled city of Famagusta, which, with most of the district, has been outside the control of the Republic of Cyprus since the Turkish invasion. The part under the Republic's control is a small corner in the south-east of the island: Ayia Napa, Protaras and Paralimni on the coast, and a group of farming villages inland. This page covers only that area and gives no guidance on property in the north.

The area is bounded by the sea to the south and east, by the United Nations buffer zone to the north, and by the British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia to the west, through which the main road from Larnaca passes. Deryneia, on the buffer-zone line, looks across to the fenced-off district of Varosha.

Life here is shaped by tourism. Ayia Napa and Protaras are holiday resorts with a large seasonal population, while Paralimni and the inland villages are year-round communities. Greek is the language of administration and state schooling; English is widely used in the resorts.

Ayia Napa#

Ayia Napa grew from a fishing village around a Venetian-era monastery into one of the island's best-known resorts. The centre has the monastery, a dense core of bars, restaurants and hotels, and the harbour. Around it are apartment blocks, holiday homes and villas spread across low hills, with sandy beaches along the coast to the west, such as Nissi, and rockier coves to the east.

Cape Greco, between Ayia Napa and Protaras, is a national forest park with sea caves and cliffs, and building there is restricted. To the west, the fishing harbour at Potamos Liopetriou and the coast towards Ayia Thekla are quieter.

The resort's character changes sharply with the season. Some streets in the centre are lively at night in summer and largely closed in winter, so the location of a home within Ayia Napa matters as much as the town.

Protaras and Kapparis#

Protaras is the coastal resort strip on the east coast, part of the municipality of Paralimni, running from Cape Greco north through Pernera to Kapparis. It is lower-key than Ayia Napa, with hotels, apartments and family holiday homes along a series of bays such as Fig Tree Bay.

Kapparis, at the northern end, is mainly residential, with houses and apartments on the low ground towards the buffer zone. Pernera sits between Protaras and Kapparis and mixes holiday and permanent homes.

Many properties in Protaras and Kapparis are holiday homes, so some streets are quiet outside summer. Year-round residents tend to rely on shops and services in Paralimni.

Paralimni, Deryneia and the villages#

Paralimni is the largest town in the free part of the district and its administrative and commercial centre, with the municipal offices, schools, banks and supermarkets. Its streets of family houses spread around a seasonal lake that gives the town its name.

Deryneia and Sotira lie west of Paralimni. Further west, Liopetri, Frenaros and Avgorou belong to the Kokkinochoria, the "red villages", named after their red soil, where potatoes and other vegetables are grown. These villages have older houses in their cores, newer family housing at their edges and a slower, agricultural rhythm.

Living inland means lower holiday traffic and more year-round neighbours, but longer drives to the coast and to Larnaca.

Seasonality: winter and summer life#

The resorts have two lives. In summer, roads, beaches and restaurants are busy, and holiday lets fill. In winter, a share of hotels, restaurants and shops in Ayia Napa and Protaras close, and some blocks of holiday apartments stand largely empty.

For a permanent home, it is worth visiting in both seasons and checking which services stay open all year near a given street. In blocks with many holiday owners, ask how common expenses are paid and how the building is managed out of season.

Getting around, schools and healthcare#

There is no railway in Cyprus, and driving is on the left. A motorway runs from Larnaca to Ayia Napa and on towards Paralimni, and Larnaca International Airport is the nearest airport. Buses link the resorts with Paralimni and Larnaca, with fewer services in winter; timetables are on the government transport portal.

State schools in Paralimni and the villages teach in Greek under the national curriculum of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. The choice of private schools is narrower than in the cities; some families use schools in Larnaca. The ministry keeps the register of private schools.

Healthcare runs mainly through the General Healthcare System (GESY), which beneficiaries join by registering with a personal doctor. Famagusta General Hospital, the district's public hospital, is in Paralimni, and private clinics operate in the resorts.

Property data for the Famagusta district#

The official figures for the free Famagusta district are published on the network's market data site. The Central Bank of Cyprus publishes a Residential Property Price Index for each district, including Famagusta, built from bank valuation data.¹ The Department of Lands and Surveys publishes the number of contracts of sale deposited at each District Lands Office every month, Famagusta included.²

The district index is on Cyprus Residential Property Price Index, and the monthly sales by district on Cyprus contracts of sale.

The costs of a purchase are set out in costs of buying property in Cyprus. If you are buying from outside the European Union, see can foreigners buy property in Cyprus.