Feel the quiet thrill of standing where empires rose and fell. Imagine a ruined theater above the sea, painted chapels in cool mountain valleys and silent streets behind barbed wire. A local archaeologist takes you through it all, with never more than 12 guests on tour. Then we relax over long village meals, harbor sunsets and hotels with real character.
Join our expert-led Cyprus archaeology tour as we circle the island and visit all three of its UNESCO World Heritage sites: Neolithic Choirokoitia, the city of Paphos and the painted churches of the Troodos Mountains. In the Turkish-controlled north, we visit ancient Salamis, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Bellapais Abbey, St. Hilarion Castle and North Nicosia. In the Republic of Cyprus, you will see remains of Egyptian, Greek, Templar and Byzantine influence. Our Cyprus archaeological tour runs right up to 1974, with the Green Line, the UN Buffer Zone and the ghost town of Varosha, abandoned in terror that year when Turkish tanks began the occupation of Northern Cyprus.
Should you have any questions about this tour, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.
Cyprus has a long, warm season, so we make time for the water and the pool, village walks, and mountain and coastal trails. We plan our days to avoid the crowds and give you time to linger. With no more than 12 guests, we are a happy little company of explorers who enjoy each day’s discoveries and the wine and food that follow. At night, we come home to boutique hotels that show off the very best of Cyprus. Ancient ways continue in Cyprus today, and you will taste them in the regional dishes and local wines.
Our Cyprus trip begins in Larnaca, the island’s main international gateway. We meet at our centrally located boutique hotel and walk Old Larnaca with our tour leader, visiting the church that holds the remains of Saint Lazarus who, according to tradition, came to Cyprus after returning from the dead. Dinner is a wonderful Cypriot feast with local wines.
Meals: D
Overnight: Larnaca
We cross the UN Buffer Zone into Northern Cyprus to Famagusta, which grew from the Hellenistic town of Arsinoe and took in the people of Salamis after earthquakes and Arab raids ruined the older city. Its massive Venetian walls enclose medieval churches, mosques and a Gothic cathedral that became a mosque, and we explore them on foot. Next, it’s on to 1974 and Varosha, the coastal resort abandoned in terror of the advancing Turkish tanks and troops. With our archaeologist, we take a private tour of Salamis, the ancient Greek city-state on the east coast, first occupied in the 11th century BC and rich in Roman remains. We then return to the Republic of Cyprus and its capital, Nicosia, for a farm-to-table dinner of time-honored local recipes.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Nicosia
We tour the Cyprus Museum, home to the island’s most important collection of antiquities, and the UN Buffer Zone, the Green Line that marks the northern part of the city as under the occupation of Turkey. We cross into North Nicosia for lunch in an old and very atmospheric family-run bookstore and a private guided tour of the Old Town, where Gothic, Venetian and Ottoman buildings stand side by side, then return across the Green Line to our luxury boutique hotel just outside the walls of Old Nicosia. Dinner tonight puts an elegant twist on traditional Cypriot and Greek dishes.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Nicosia
We cross the Green Line to St. Hilarion Castle, high in the Kyrenia range. Fortified by the Byzantines in the 11th century, it is the best preserved of the three castles that defended the island against Arab raids. Its third level is for the very active (and mountain goats!). We come down to Kyrenia Harbor for lunch at a lovely harborside taverna and a tour of the 16th-century Venetian castle, built over a Crusader fortification. Its Shipwreck Museum holds a Greek merchant ship from the 4th century BC. Our last stop in Northern Cyprus is Bellapais, where Lawrence Durrell wrote “Bitter Lemons.” Bellapais Abbey, a 13th-century monastery, was home to the canons who had been custodians of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre before the fall of Jerusalem. Back in Nicosia, dinner tonight is at your leisure.
Meals: B, L
Overnight: Nicosia
We bid farewell to Nicosia and head south with our archaeologist guide to two of the world’s most exciting Neolithic sites: Kalavasos-Tenta and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Choirokoitia, inhabited from the 7th to the 4th millennium BC. After lunch at a village taverna, we continue west along the old Roman coast road to the ancient city of Curium (Kourion), with its theater above the sea, and the beach where, according to myth, Aphrodite emerged from the sea. If time permits, we also stop at Palaipafos, the ancient sanctuary of Aphrodite. In Paphos, we check into our harborside hotel and sit down to a welcome feast.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Paphos
Our tour guide walks us through old Paphos and its harbor, with its ancient churches, the catacomb of Agio Solomoni and a medieval fort. After a leisurely lunch, our archaeologist guide takes us on a private tour of Nea Paphos, the capital of Roman Cyprus and a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its mosaics. This evening is free for you to choose a traditional taverna or a contemporary restaurant and try Paphos specialties and regional wines.
Meals: B, L
Overnight: Paphos
Our archaeologist guide takes us through the Tombs of the Kings, a vast rock-cut necropolis that forms part of the Paphos UNESCO World Heritage site. We then head up to the Paphos Plateau and the charming village of Kathikas to explore, visit a winery and eat in an old Cypriot taverna. Back in Paphos, the rest of the day is yours.
Meals: B, L
Overnight: Paphos
We leave the south coast for the village of Kalopanayiotis, high in the Troodos Mountains, and check into our Small Luxury Hotels of the World mountain lodge. We tour the village and visit Agios Ioannis Lampadistis Monastery, part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Painted Churches of the Troodos Mountains. Dinner tonight overlooks the Marathasa Valley.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Kalopanayiotis
We rejoin our archaeologist guide and go hunting for the UNESCO-listed painted Byzantine churches and monasteries of the Troodos Mountains, built between the 11th and 16th centuries, whose modest exteriors hide richly painted interiors, with a stop at a winery for another Cypriot feast. On our last evening together, we gather for a farewell dinner with spectacular views.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Kalopanayiotis
After our last breakfast together, our lovely driver takes us on the two-hour trip to Larnaca airport, arriving by midday. If you’d like to stay on in Cyprus, we’ll be happy to help you with reservations, until we see you on tour with us again. If you are continuing on our September Malta tour, we fly out the next day.
Meals: B
David Pearlman is an archaeologist with nearly five decades of field experience across Cyprus and the wider Mediterranean, and he has always loved exploring landscapes on foot. He holds a B.A. in Classics from the University of Cincinnati (1980) and an M.A. in Archaeology and Soil Science from the University of Minnesota (1984), and has been at the heart of some of Cyprus’s most important excavation and survey projects since the late 1970s.
David’s fieldwork began in 1976 on the multinational excavation of the prehistoric settlement at Kastellatio in Sicily’s Belice Valley, followed in 1977 by Brock University’s excavation of the Late Bronze Age temple site at Larnaca‑Kition in Cyprus. For nearly a decade (1978–87) he served as supervisor of the Vasilikos Valley Project, excavating Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement and cemetery sites at Kalavasos and contributing to the publication of this key aceramic Neolithic and Bronze Age landscape.
From 1980–84 he held leadership positions with the Canadian Palaipaphos Survey Project, serving as crew leader and ethnographic consultant as the team systematically mapped four western river valleys and identified more than a hundred new sites. His expertise was also sought at major archaeological sites across Cyprus, including Kissonerga‑Mosphilia, Peyia‑Maa‑Paliokastro, Pyla‑Kokkinokremmos, and Hellenistic/Roman tomb rescue excavations at Kato Paphos ahead of modern development.
After many years “in the trench,” David began applying his archaeological eye to cultural tourism. In the late 1980s, he founded EXALT (EXcursion ALTernatives), an off‑the‑beaten‑track 4×4 and trekking company based first in Paphos and then island‑wide, designing nature and heritage excursions into remote valleys, mountain villages, and coastal landscapes that mainstream tourism rarely reached.
Since 2004, he has worked as a freelance guide and excursion architect all over Cyprus, and today leads small‑group archaeological and historical journeys. A veteran of hundreds of overland excursions and trekking expeditions, and the author of several articles and documentary scripts on Cypriot archaeology, landscapes, and tourism, he describes himself as a “hunter‑gatherer of off‑the‑beaten‑track exploration experiences,” always looking for new ways to open “the right doors for sophisticated travellers to walk through.
On tour, David weaves together archaeology, geology, environment, and everyday Cypriot life, moving easily from Bronze Age tombs and Neolithic round houses to modern farming, village coffee‑house politics, and the practical realities of living on a divided island. He guides primarily in English and also speaks German and Greek, which helps him connect with both local communities and international travelers.
Overall, the trip was excellent. We really had a great time with everybody. The archaeologist was definitely an added bonus because I’d never had an archaeologist on a trip before, anywhere, in 50 years!
We had a fabulous tour with David. He was an excellent guide with extensive knowledge of the island, archaeology and local sites. Really feels like you are getting an insiders view of this amazing island. Highly recommended.
David is very professional not only about archeology that is his main profession but also about geology as well as for the flora of the island.
David was our guide. A charming and knowledgable Archeologist / Local Guru who has spent many years in charge of digs around Cyprus. We saw Venetian bridges, Deserted villages, hatching turtles, free-roaming donkeys and horses, cat sanctuaries, Ancient churches built into the side of mountains, rare birds, and more. We loved it!
Eleni Ellinas, an experienced Cypriot tour guide, was born in Famagusta in what is now Northern Cyprus and has led private walks of the island’s border zone for several years. Here’s Eleni’s perspective on the authenticity she brings to Take Me To Europe Tours:
“My purpose is simple yet profound: to provide you with an insider’s perspective of Cyprus. Together, we’ll embark on a journey that allows you to perceive our island in a way few get to experience. Like many avid travellers, I yearn to uncover the hidden paths, to immerse myself in the essence of the places I visit. My passion extends to engaging with locals, exploring their cuisine, traditions, culture, and history – all integral components of a truly authentic experience.”
Eleni’s community involvement includes her work with Home for Cooperation (H4C), a community center situated in the UN buffer zone, which is the dividing line between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.
If you’re lucky, Eleni will show you the apartment on Palm Beach in Varosha that her family fled during the Turkish occupation in 1974. We feel extremely lucky to have such a warm, intelligent, and genuine human being as Eleni as our primary Cypriot tour leader.
Both Monique and Eleni were excellent tour guides and we really enjoyed the trip. This was my dream for the last 10 years. So I’m very happy.
Eleni is an incredible storyteller and one of the kindest and most thoughtful guides I’ve ever had. If you want to better understand the history of Cyprus this is the tour for you. Eleni is absolutely wonderful. What a gem!
Eleni was a fantastic host. She was informative and personalised our trip. She gave a great insight into Cypriot culture and history through the ages. She had great conversation and the tour was explorative showing hidden gems of the city and buffer zone.
A MUST!… there’s no way one can miss Eleni’s tour. She is super friendly, thoughtful and knowledgeable about history, culture and of course the city. She tailored the tour to what we wanted to see and know more about which was great… I think she convinced us to come again to Cyprus to explore more of this beautiful island. Thanks, Eleni!
Our tours are physically active! Clambering around archaeological sites, castles, acropolises, and fortresses is an essential part of the Take Me To Europe tour experience, and stairs are everywhere in Europe! On our Cyprus tour, you will need to be able to
Free 16-page guide
Written by archaeologists. Submerged Roman villas, underground cities and abandoned Greek quarries –, with maps, access details and what to see at each.
One email a week. Unsubscribe anytime.
