[jason-t-71]

Is a 4x4 absolutely necessary for driving in Cyprus or can you get away with an average bog standard car? Is there much off road driving? Any input would be appreciated!

[joannec]

Originally Posted by jason-t-71

Is a 4x4 absolutely necessary for driving in Cyprus or can you get away with an average bog standard car? Is there much off road driving? Any input would be appreciated!

Hi Jason

Driving in Cyprus is really easy because they drive on the left and there is not much traffic and the roads are good.

Re 4x4: for most driving it is not necessary...really depends where you want to go. We had a tiny little car, forget what it was but it nearly conked out on the day we went up into the mountains. It didn't like like the low oxygen levels at the high altitude. (but there were 5 of us in it which was probably pushing it.)

Joanne

[jason-t-71]

Thanks Joanne. Theres only two of going and to be honest I cant really see us doing much rallying off road!!! Its just I've read loads of reports saying people have hired 4x4's and I was wondering are we really going to miss much if we had a normal car? My guess is not really, but having never been before I cant say for certain.

[dan pointon]

Nah, should be fine with a normal car. If you're intending to go to such areas as the south end of the Akrotiri Satl Lake or round the back of the Askepremos Dam a 4x4 would be useful; though not essential.

D

[jason-t-71]

Thanks Dan.

[kibrisbirds]

Originally Posted by jason-t-71

Is a 4x4 absolutely necessary for driving in Cyprus or can you get away with an average bog standard car? Is there much off road driving? Any input would be appreciated!

As regular visitors to Northern Cyprus we always have a 4WD though I agree not always necessary especially in the dry months - when are you going Jason? When it rains the mud in Cyprus has a clingy quality, it sticks to virtually everything (though Cyprus has had very little rainfall this winter and everything is bone dry at the moment). The extra ground clearance is useful for those out of the way tracks - might save the exhaust! I guess it depends on how adventurous you are going to be.

If you go for a 4WD remember the soft tops offer no security whatsoever meaning you'll want to take those expensive optics with you if you leave the car.

Have a great time!

[jason-t-71]

Hi Colin, thanks for the reply. We are going in 2 weeks time (Wed 7th May) so it might still be dry over there. Also, seeing as you're a regular over there is there any kind of Birdline we could ring to find out if anything good is on the island? Or any other way of keeping tabs on things?

[kibrisbirds]

Originally Posted by jason-t-71

Hi Colin, thanks for the reply. We are going in 2 weeks time (Wed 7th May) so it might still be dry over there. Also, seeing as you're a regular over there is there any kind of Birdline we could ring to find out if anything good is on the island? Or any other way of keeping tabs on things?

Certainly no birdline type service in the North (in fact hardly any birdwatchers!), I don't know about the South. Assuming you're going to the South have you looked at http://www.birdlifecyprus.org/homepageE.htm There are some contact details there. They have field meetings on 10th & 17th May, visitors welcome.

There should still be plenty of passage migrants about, you should see some good birds - I've seen some great birds in Cyprus in early May. Be sure to post a report when you get back!

[jason-t-71]

Yeah, we're staying in Paphos. I had a feeling we'd miss the main bulk of passage birds but hopefully catch a few stragglers. But if I'm perfectly honest I've never done any european birding before so the vast majority of birds could be lifers!

[sylvia staffs]

There used to be a board with bird news in Paphos at the photography shop in the Harbour. There is a bird line in Cyprus, but i cant remember the number as it has been 7 years since i was there though!!!!!!!!

I found the Gosney Guide very useful when i was there, for maps & sites etc.

I went in May twice and had a fantastic time. If you get the chance take extra funds and do the cruise to Egypt for the day (two nights at sea) well worth it.

Give us a shout if you need any further info.

Phill.

[kibrisbirds]

Originally Posted by sylvia staffs

There used to be a board with bird news in Paphos at the photography shop in the Harbour. There is a bird line in Cyprus, but i cant remember the number as it has been 7 years since i was there though!!!!!!!!

I found the Gosney Guide very useful when i was there, for maps & sites etc.

I went in May twice and had a fantastic time. If you get the chance take extra funds and do the cruise to Egypt for the day (two nights at sea) well worth it.

Give us a shout if you need any further info.

Phill.

From the birdlife Cyprus website
"The BirdLife Cyprus Birdline - No BirdLine will be operating for the foreseeable future, as sadly, Brian Willis who has been operating the service for the last year, passed away on the 5th August".

[jason-t-71]

Hi Phill. Unfortunately our budget is stretched a bit, but Egypt sounds amazing. Is it particularly expensive? Funnily enough I have a friend who will be in Israel at the same time I'm in Cyprus and he says its just a ferry ride away! Its so tempting.

[sylvia staffs]

Originally Posted by jason-t-71

Hi Phill. Unfortunately our budget is stretched a bit, but Egypt sounds amazing. Is it particularly expensive? Funnily enough I have a friend who will be in Israel at the same time I'm in Cyprus and he says its just a ferry ride away! Its so tempting.

It all depends on your cabin size etc.

It cost us over £300 for the 2 of us but we had a large cabin as it was our honeymoon!!!!!!!

Shop around whilst over there, the trips are adversised everywhere. Yiucan also combine it with a trip to Isreal as well but they were all booked up when we were over there.

Phil.

[Pariah]

Jason,

We hired a suzuki swift 1.3L. It was 4x4....but small and weak on the hills.
None the less we didnt really miss out on anything because of the car!

On the other hand...i reckon I will need a proper 4x4 for Morocco?
Anyone know for sure?

Regards

Pariah

[Darrell Clegg]

Hi Jason,

I got back from Cyprus a couple of days ago, and though we had a 4x4 it wasn't really neccessary. The drought is bad over there so everything is baked hard and consequently getting around is fairly easy if you take it slow along the lanes where heavy lorries have churned up the ground. I spent quite a lot of time with Colin Richardson the recorder for Cyprus and he gets around in a small hatchback.

Darrell

[russkie]

Hi
I just got back from Paphos and managed to get a cheap 4x4 from Georges Hire cars - just near the harbour. I told him i couldnt afford the price that Avis etc were charging and he did me a deal with a car he owns - nudge nudge no questions asked, 3rd party insurance but no worries about little scrapes - paid him cash but he had a receipt of sorts. If you are willing to take that risk it did me fine - Diahatsu 4x4 - 150euros for 5 days.
depends how you feel about living on the edge a little i spose.
the isalnd is bone dry- Aspro pool is drying by the day - fish dying but at the moment 3 species of crake can be seen daily with good views if you are patient. also go to the sewage works at Paphos- PM me for directions - although the sewage works are not in operation there is a field further on with good selection of waders 10ft from the car.

cheers
Nigel

[jason-t-71]

Hi Darrell and Nigel. Thanks for the response it is all appreciated and very helpfull. I cant believe its only a week to go! I've definately decided not to go for a 4x4. I think we'll see just as much without one.

[CJW]

Originally Posted by russkie

the isalnd is bone dry- Aspro pool is drying by the day - fish dying but at the moment 3 species of crake can be seen daily with good views if you are patient. also go to the sewage works at Paphos- PM me for directions - although the sewage works are not in operation there is a field further on with good selection of waders 10ft from the car.

Both sites are now completely dry Nigel.
The sewerage works fields did produce a fine Great Snipe before all the water evaporated though.
Jason, don't worry about a 4x4 - you won't need it.
The only thing I would be concerned about is bumping into any Brit birders - what a miserable bunch of whingeing gits they are.
I am well and truly sick and tired of hearing "it's not as good as it used to be" or variations on that theme.
Another one is "I've been coming here for decades".
Talk about a lack of imagination - if it's not as good as it used to be go somewhere else and stop whining to me, I don't care!!
Little wonder there was nowt being found - all the decent birders have been scared away by these useless tossers.

[Phil Abbott]

Ive recently returned from Cyprus i stayed at Paphos i didnt hire a car at all, i ended up with 71 species just walking around,Theres a little headland 1 mile east of paphos harbour called Moulia which had common migrants there every day,with some quality aswell the best being Barred warbler,sub alp,Masked shrike,Tawny pipit,several Black eared wheatears,olivaceous warbler,also Spur winged plover and Black winged stilt,Theres a dry river bed about 2 miles east of the Harbour which is worth a look,if you walk up the wadi you will get Cyprus warbler.

[russkie]

yeah Chris know what you mean

a right tosspot kept visiting Aspro - ex pat - complained that we parked next to the "viewing area" then he- dressed in a red t shirt- no bins - flushed everything around and declared that when it dried up they were going to cut most of the reeds away using a digger.

god help us

[Pariah]

Know the feeling all too well.
The other aspect is that its pointless to ask "Anything around?" most of the time.
We dropped into phassouri one day, and there was a good crowd gawking around the place. Asked if there was anything interesting seen, to which the response was "Nah not much"
Next thing i heard a bee-eater call and picked up this bright emerald gem flying around over the main pool. 2 blue cheeked bee-eaters feeding around and giving cracking views.
A tick for the 3 of us in the car and the best bird of the trip for me personally.
They just shrugged their shoulders and said "theyve (the bee-eaters) been here for the past 2 hours."

We learned to not ask the question, as whenever we looked around ourselves we found more than these types had found. Had we listened to them we may have just moved on to the next site.

Pariah