Fletcher’s birthday was coming up and unfortunately Cyprus was still in some type of lockdown. The lockdown was that you couldn’t have more than 2 households in one home at one time. This really sucked when you have a soon to be 6 year old that loves birthday parties. So we decided to take him away for his birthday…. Which he ended up preferring.
We are huge fans of camping but decided that we would try something new. Some of our friends had been Glamping in Agios Theodoros. This was a village we knew nothing about so thought it would be a great idea to go Glamping, have family time and do some exploring.
Where is Agios Theodoros?
Agios Theodoros is a gorgeous village located in the Larnaka district. In fact we would say it is around halfway between Larnaka and Lemesos. Quite close to the beach and not that far away from well-known village of Lefkara.
When we went to book the Glamping cabin we found two options in Agios Theodoros. We decided on “Happy Glamping” which is located in the village with the most amazing view. The other Glamping option is closer to the beach.
Surprising the boys
We decided not to tell the boys where we were going or what we were doing, for a number of reasons. Reason 1: we love seeing the reaction of the boys when they see where we are staying and Reason 2: We get so so sick of them constantly asking “How many sleeps until we go?” one hour passes “How many sleeps did you say it was until we go?”
Day one:
Happy Glamping
Loukia at Happy Glamping was so friendly and amazing. She gave us directions to the accommodation which was spot on and also said that she would decorate the cabin with balloons etc. for Fletcher’s birthday, which we thought was such a lovely personal touch that we did not expect at all.
Honestly, when we turned up to the cabin and there were balloons, Happy Birthday signs, biscuits and a birthday card! Fletcher’s face was priceless…. He was so happy and couldn’t stop dancing around the cabin (just a quick heads up, whenever our Fletcher is happy he always bursts out into song and dance… it could be about a biscuit he is eating, or the fact that he made his bed! Fletcher is a walking talking musical and we would love to live in his world)
The Glamping Cabin had everything we needed as well as some extras. There were tomatoes, cucumbers and olives from their garden, and the kitchen had every type of appliance you could need (in fact was probably more equip then our own kitchen)
Loukia and her husband came to introduce herself and told us about the chicken coop that was behind the cabin. They also showed the boys where to go to collect the eggs in the morning. We spent a lot of time talking about the village and they gave us hints on where to go. We alway love talking to the locals especially when they are as passionate about their village as Loukia and her husband Christos are.
That afternoon we decided to relax at the cabin. Have fun on the bikes that were there and play cards on the balcony while watching the sun set. It was perfect.
Day two
We woke up early, not by choice…. We woke up because the boys were so excited and wanted to see how many eggs had been laid. Their excitement was very contagious and before we knew it, we were cooking eggs while watching the sunrise.
The night before we had done some research on the village and decided the route we were taking for that day. We packed our lunches and went on our way.
Chapel of Agioi Anargiroi
Our first stop was just down the road at a cute chapel called Chapel of Agioi Anargiroi. This was built in 1919 and always open.
“Vritzi” Nature Trail
We love trekking so was really looking forward to the Nature trail that was on the same road. We took our packed lunch and started on the walk.
The trail is around 15 minutes in and then 15 minutes out and quite an easy walk. We decided to do the trail around the hottest time of the day (great planning there on our behalf) so found the shade from the cave a perfect place to stop, chill, eat and recharge for the walk back
Saint Athanasios Pendaschinitis Chapel
The day was getting hotter and next on our list was Saint Athanasios Pendaschinitis Chapel. To be honest, we were close to not going in. It doesn’t look much from the outside and the air conditioning in the car was so welcoming. However, we decided to give it a go and so so glad we did. This was the highlight of the day. Saint Athanasios Pendaschinitis Chapel is the oldest dating back to the 7th century. Inside is the tomb of the saint and they are currently attempting to restore the temple. When they do, it is going to look amazing. The boys loved exploring the tomb and we found loads of bats sleeping inside which was so fab to see (and this did actually make the boys quiet which was also something that was fabulous).
Apparently the Chapel was damaged during a horrible earthquake and it wasn’t until 2004 that the tombs underneath the chapel were discovered.
Akakia Beach
We try to divide our days up a little, so that the boys don’t get too bored. As much as we love exploring churches… our boys usually get a bit bored of this after 2. So we decided to check out the Beach Kids Park at Akakia Beach. However, the boys pretty much ran straight through the park and into the sea. It was hot… really hot. So we don’t blame them and in fact… we joined this ourselves.
Once we had cooled off we went back up to the park and while the boys played, we sat at Akakia beach café/bar and enjoyed a nice cold drink.
Steffani Lookout
We decided to pop back to the cabin to have lunch and chill out during the hottest part of the day. After 4 we all got ready and took off in the direction of Steffani Lookout. Now this has a few signposts at the start… and you will feel that you may have gotten lost…. But keep going and you will then drive up this dirt track and see like an electricity shed thingee (I am sure there is a more official name for this but for now… it is an electricity shed thingee). From here, you will need to park and go the rest of the way on foot. The trail isn’t very obvious but if you just aim to walk uphill then you will get to the lookout and it really is worth it. We also loved that there was a table and benches for us to sit at to enjoy the view and also take loads of photos. We would recommend doing this in the late afternoon as this spot is perfect for watching the sunset.
Limni Restaurant
That evening we decided to try out one of the fish restaurants and the food was so lovely. The décor for this restaurant is very simple and typical for a fish restaurant in Cyprus. However, the restaurant is literally by the sea, so you have the lovely view and also the sound of the sea crashing on the rocks which is such a divine sound to hear. It did get a little chilly when the sun was setting so we would suggest bringing a light cardigan, or summer jacket to put on. There is also a playground at the side of the restaurant, that the boys loved playing in once their dinner was eaten, and it also meant that we could chill and enjoy our wines.
Day three
We had pretty much ticked most of what we wanted to see in Agios Theodoros off on the first day, so we decided to explore neighboring villages and see what sort of adventures we could have. Day 1 was quite a full on day, so we were aiming for a more chilled day (little did we know that Day 2 was going to be the chilled day in comparison to Day 3)
Sayious Adventure Park
We decided to check out Asgata and while driving along the road we saw a sign saying “Sayious Adventure Park” – We both looked at one another trying to communicate silently whether we were or weren’t going to go for it. After a few eyebrow raises and mouthing of “should we??” – the decision was made and we followed the signs to the Adventure Park.
It is a popular place and you need to book, however, we were fortunate…. We decided to visit during a pandemic and as soon as the owner found out it was our son’s birthday he was so accommodating and made Fletcher feel so special.
Sayious Adventure Park is a family run business, Andreas and Elena have 3 sons and all three of them have grown up on the adventure park and are now fully qualified to take you on adventures.
We were so happy with Sayious Adventure Park and ended up spending quite a lot of the day there. In fact we enjoyed it so much that we want to dedicate a full blog to them as there was so much we did and experienced that it would make this an epic novel if we included this as well in this blog.
Kalavassos Mines
After our adventure we decided to drive a bit further and do some exploring around the Kalavassos Mines. These copper mines offered a lot of work to residence in the nearby villages and were closed in 1978. We did a lot of driving, and stopping, and reversing. To be honest…. They aren’t that easy to find.
In total, there are 5 mines and we found 2. We found Lantaria Mines and Platies Mines which were exciting when we stumbled across them. We didn’t go into the mines as we were not sure how secure they were. However, with torches we were able to see in quite well and the boys found it fascinating.
Kalavassos Damn
This was a very quick stop and to tell you the truth, the main reason we stopped here was because we saw a lot of steps and when we see a lot of steps…. We want to climb them.
So off we went…. Walking towards the steps, climbing the steps, regretting this decision half way but still carrying on, and then we got to the top. The damn itself is really beautiful and we found some trees and sat under them to have our packed lunch.
There was no one there, it was so quiet and we felt like we had our own private damn.
Kalavassos Village
This village is so cute, we would recommend you park and have a walk around. We were going to just pass through to get back to Agios Theodoros. However, going through the village was so exciting and scary at the same time we had to turn back and spend some time there. So many times we weren’t sure if we were actually driving on a road or a footpath and it wasn’t until we either saw a car park or a car coming towards us, did we realise that in fact, we were driving on the road and it is really that cute and quaint!
Our final evening was spent chilling in our cabin, watching the sun setting and playing board games. This was the perfect ending to our jam packed weekend in Agios Theodoros
QUICK SUMMARY AND INFORMATION
Happy Glamping – click here
Agios Theodoros – click here
Chapel of Agioi Anargiroi – click here
“Vritzi” Nature Trail – click here
Saint Athanasios Pendaschinitis Chapel – click here
Akakia Beach – click here
Steffani Lookout – click here
Limni Restaurant – click here
Sayious Adventure Park – click here
Kalavassos Mines – click here
Kalavassos Dam – click here
Kalavassos Village –click here
