With the Mediterranean sun shining over Pafos almost all year round, the region offers the perfect outdoor environment for enjoying a wide variety of land sports and water activities. Many beaches across the area provide opportunities for water sports, while several large hotels and resorts offer modern equipment and outdoor facilities for both guests and day visitors.
The island’s favourable climate is ideal for activities such as windsurfing, diving, offshore sailing and coastal cruising. Professional marine operators are also available to support specialised programmes, including diving, surfing and sailing courses. With its rich marine life, crystal-clear waters and natural rock formations, Cyprus offers an exceptional setting for scuba diving and sea-based adventures.
Water Sports – Aqua Activities
Few places can offer such diversity in water sports. Pafos provides a wide range of activities throughout the year, with water sports facilities available at many of the region’s hotels, resorts and coastal areas. Visitors can enjoy water-skiing, windsurfing, sailing, canoeing, pedal boating, parasailing, yachting, jet skiing and many other sea-based activities.
Diving
Pafos is renowned for its crystal-clear, clean waters, with sea temperatures ranging from 16°C to 27°C. The region offers a wealth of breathtaking locations suitable for both amateur and professional divers. From underwater cliffs and valleys to coral formations, sea anemones, sponges, brightly coloured fish, seashells and ancient shipwrecks, an exciting world awaits beneath the Mediterranean.
There are no dangerous underwater currents in the recommended diving areas, making Pafos an inviting destination for underwater exploration. For those wishing to try the sport, a number of diving schools with qualified instructors are available to guide visitors every step of the way.
Amphitheatre Diving Site
Open Water (OW) qualification required. Access is from the shore, past the headland at Coral Bay, and a short walk along the rocks. This is a particularly popular dive, ranging from four metres to approximately twelve metres in depth. It derives its name from the natural formation resembling an amphitheatre that the sea currents have cut out of the rock.
Amphorae Caves Diving Site
Open Water (OW) qualification required. There are several caves to explore, including one with an amphorae encrusted roof, and gullies at depths ranging from five to twelve metres.
Devil’s Head Diving Site
Open Water (OW) qualification required. Access is by boat. Located off the northwest coast of Pafos in the Akamas area, this dive combines caves and interconnecting tunnels at a depth of eleven metres. Divers have often spotted green or loggerhead turtles during the turtle season. The diving site offers plenty of marine life to admire.
The Vera K Wreck Diving Site
Open Water qualification (OW) required. Access is by boat, 25 minutes from the harbour of Pafos. The Vera K was a Lebanese freighter, which beached in shallow water in 1972. Originally, the wreck was used for target practice by the Cypriot military, after it was stated dangerous and blown up in 1974. The wreck now rests in a crater, 11 metres underwater.
Wreck of the White Star Diving Site
Open Water (OW) qualification required. This former Russian fishing vessel sank close to the Pafos Harbour in 2006, while being towed to Limassol. The wreck lies on the bottom of the seabed, submerged 14 to 18 metres underwater, and is a home to groupers, bream and other varieties of fish.
Wreck of the Laboe
The wreck of the Laboe lies next to Moulia rocks in Pafos. The area is now a protected site, part of the marine parks project where commercial fishing is no longer permissible. Built in Rendburg, Germany in 1940, the 21-metre vessel arrived in Cyprus in 2006 intended as a diving live aboard. In 2014, the vessel was sunk as part of the artificial reefs and marine parks project. Marine biologists regularly visit the Laboe, in order to monitor the 14 different species of coral found around the wreck. Sitting at a depth of 28 metres, the wreck is open throughout for easy penetration of the bridge, saloon and engine room.
Boat Trips
Enjoy a glorious day aboard a luxury boat, gliding gently across the waves as you relax and take in the beautiful surroundings. Stretch out, unwind and enjoy the warm waters of the Mediterranean, before indulging in a delicious leisurely lunch on board. For those seeking a romantic experience, a sunset cruise is an excellent choice, while adventure lovers can embark on an exciting deep-sea fishing excursion.
Amateur Fishing
Angling in Pafos is increasingly popular among both locals and visitors. For those who enjoy freshwater fishing, the dams of Cyprus offer a variety of fish, set within beautiful and tranquil natural surroundings. A fishing licence is required for freshwater fishing, available for a reasonable fee from the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research. Tel: +357 26 240 268.
No licence is required for saltwater rod fishing, and the coastline offers a variety of excellent fishing spots, many of which are popular with local anglers. A licence is also not required for spearfishing without an aqualung, sea angling, fishing with vertical lines or trolling.
Fishing licences are subject to specific conditions regulating the equipment used, the permitted fishing days and, in certain cases, catch limits. These apply to activities such as the use of spearguns with an aqualung and night fishing with the use of lights. Common fish species include sea bream, groupers, amberjacks and sea perch.
Cypriot law requires special sport fishing licences for anglers using boats and fishing nets, longlines and traps, spearguns with an aqualung, or nets without a boat.