Cyprus Tourism Organisation Baby Banking & Currency Dry Cleaning / Laundry Electric Current Florists Hairdressers / Beauty Salons Health Emergencies Medical Services Hospitals Language

Marriage & Honeymoon Postal Services Photography Police Pharmacies Public Holidays Press Broadcasting Television Time Units of Measurement Addresses

Cyprus Tourism Organisation
The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (C.T.0.) was established in 1969 by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus as a statutory body responsible for the promotion and marketing of tourism, the planning, regulations and development of the tourist product.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation provides assistance to professional bodies, companies and individuals related to Tourism in Cyprus. However as a semi-governmental and non-commercial organisation, it does not perform the functions of a Travel Agent.

Cyprus Tourism Organisation (Head Office)
(postal inquiries only)
Leoforos Lemesou 19
P.O.Box 24535
1390, Nicosia
Tel: 02-337715
Telefax: 02-331644, 334696
Telex: 2165 CYTOUR,

Tourist Information Offices in Cyprus
The tourist information offices where established to serve visitors on the island. Various kind of information material in various languages can be obtained free of charge and the personnel will do their best to answer any questions travellers might have.
The offices are open during regular shopping hours.

Cyprus Tourism Information Offices Abroad
For personal, telephone and postal inquiries: Addresslist

Baby

Food and Care
All Supermarkets and pharmacies sell all necessary baby food and care products. Beside the local products most major international brands are available.

Baby-Sitting
Baby-sitting services are available in almost all hotels on the island.

Banking & Currency
Banking hours for the public:
Monday - Friday 08:30-12:30
Monday 15:15-16:45
(July - August: Monday - Friday: 08:15-12:30)
Banks in resorts and coastal areas provide a "Tourist Afternoon Service"
Automatic Exchange Machines are installed in central places of all towns and tourist resorts Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaka, Pafos, Agia Napa

Credit cards are accepted for automatic cash withdrawal at the following banks:

VISA CARD: Bank of Cyprus Ltd., Cyprus Popular Bank Ltd., Hellenic Bank, Barclays Bank, Arab Bank, Lombard Natwest Bank and National Bank of Greece
DINERS CLUB, CARTE BLANCHE: Bank of Cyprus Ltd.
MASTERCARD: Bank of Cyprus Ltd., Cyprus Popular Bank Ltd., National Bank of Greece and Hellenic Bank
EUROCARD: Bank of Cyprus Ltd, Cyprus Popular Bank Ltd., National Bank of Greece and Hellenic Bank
AMERICAN EXPRESS: Cyprus Popular Bank Ltd.
J.C.B.- National Bank of Greece

Credit cards can be used for payment in over 8.500 shops and restaurants island-wide.

Euro and traveller cheques are accepted by all banks, shops and restaurants

For lost credit cards the JCC Payment Systems Ltd. can be contacted for further information and guidance.

1 pound (lira) is divided into 100 cents
Banknotes: 20, 10, 5, 1 CYP
Coins: 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 cent

Exchange Rates

Marriage & Honeymoon
A wedding in Cyprus. As there are only few minor formalities to be followed, it is easy for couples to get married during their holidays on the island.

Civil Marriage
The couple has to apply personally to the Marriage Officer at the Municipality of their choice for the necessary prior formalities.

A marriage can be celebrated either:

• by giving notice of marriage or,
• by applying for a special licence.

In case of notice, the parties to be married have to stay in Cyprus for at least 15 days.
Prescribed fee: C£50,00

In case of emergency however, a special licence can be obtained from the Marriage Officer:
Prescribed fee: C£ 110,00

Required documents:

• Legal identification documents and certificates,
• Evidence that they are free to marry.

Detailed information may be obtained either directly from the Municipality of one's choice or from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation.

Wedding Celebration
Many Hotels and Travelagents offer a wedding and honeymoon service where any wish of the bride and groom will be fulfilled. Anything is available, horse carriage or fancy limousine, seven-storeyed wedding-cake, wedding-dresses for hire, and, and, and….

Language
The official national languages are Greek and Turkish. English is widely understood and spoken.

Dry Cleaning / Laundry
Beside the usual hotel laundry service for hotel residents are various dry cleaning and laundry companies available in all major cities of the island. Most dry-cleaners have pick-up and home delivery services.

Self-service automatic washing facilities are also available.
Addresslist

Electric Current - Voltage
The electricity supply in Cyprus is 240 volts, a.c. 5OHz.
Sockets are usually 13 amp, square - pin in most buildings. Adapters for the use of european plugs and distributors for the use of more than one low current rating appliance are available in all supermarkets, grocery shops and hardware shops at approximately CYP 1,50. Many hotels provide adapters upon request.

Florists
Numerous florists and garden markets all over Cyprus offer a wide variety of fresh and dry flower bouquets, arrangements, plants etc. Some florists provide also night services.

Representatives of Interflora and Teleflora in Cyprus provide facilities for those who wish to send flowers to friends abroad. Assistance for sending flowers abroad through lnterflora and Teleflora is also given by nearly all other florists on the island. Addresslist

Hair-Dressing and Beauty Care Salons
The opening hours are from 08:00-17:30 (19:00 in summer) except Thursdays and Sundays.

lt is advisable to book for an appointment, even though this is not always necessary.

Approximate Prices for:

• shampoo and set: CYP 5,00
• hair cut and set: CYP 10,00
• perm: CYP l8,00

Most leading hotels have hair-dressing and beauty care salons on their premises, with English-speaking personnel. A small tip is always appreciated.

Health

Health Food
Health Food Stores with a wide range of high quality health food and health-care products and cosmetics are to be found in all major cities. Furthermore various health food items and health-care products are available in pharmacies and also in large supermarkets, all over the island,

Health Regulations
In Cyprus, the safety of local food and water supply is monitored by the Health Inspectors of the Medical and Public Health Services and the Local Authorities through frequent inspections of food establishments and water supplies and sampling of food and water for microbiological and chemical analysis. Water which is intended for human consumption is chlorinated and distributed through a piped system. Tap-water in hotels, restaurants, public premises, etc., is safe to drink.

Therefore, Cyprus is free from the epidemic diseases, and even the common infectious diseases are rare.

Vaccination
No vaccination is required for international travellers.

Emergencies
Island-wide emergency telephone numbers:

Medical Services
Medical care needs in Cyprus are met through:

• Government General Hospitals
• Private Clinics

General Hospitals and private clinics are mostly concentrated in urban areas, while health centres, subcentres, and dispensaries function in the rural areas, providing a network to meet the medical needs of the whole population.

All General Hospitals as well as some private clinics have casualty departments for emergency cases. (See also title "Emergencies").

Medical treatment and assistance is offered to international tourists in case of health emergencies at the Ambulatory and Emergency Department of Government Hospitals/Institutions free of charge. Holiday-makers can also make use of their social insurance which covers medical expenses, provided that this insurance covers the length of their stay on the island.

Almost all brands of manufactured medicines are available in Cyprus. Local newspapers list pharmacies which are open during the night and on weekends/holidays.

Most hotels make arrangements for Medical services for their guests upon request.

The majority of doctors are English speaking.

Private doctors' visiting hours (on weekdays) : 09:00-13:00 and 16:00-19:00 hrs.

Hospitals

Chemists, Pharmacies, Drug Stores
Chemists, Pharmacies and Drug Stores follow the usual shopping hours except in resorts or coastal areas.
Information Night Pharmacies: 192
Automatic Announcements: Nicosia: 1412, Limassol: 1415, Larnaka 1414, Pafos: 1416, Famagusta: 1413.

Police
The policemen are generally in good command of the English language.
In case of emergency: Telephone 199 (islandwide).

Photography
Cyprus, an island of widely varied landscape offers excellent and countless opportunities to photographers. Breathtaking panoramas, picturesque villages, bustling towns, unique opportunities for flower and wildlife photography - Cyprus has it all.

Photography is forbidden:

• near military camps or other military installations.
• in museums where a special licence is required by the appropriate authorities.
• in churches with mural paintings and icons, if 'flashlight" is required.

Developing of Films and Slides

• development and processing of photos between 30 minutes and one day.
• slide-processing between 5 hours and 2 days

The standard of film and slide developing and processing in Cyprus is very high.
All international film brands are available in Cyprus at all supermarkets, photo studios, duty-free shops, etc.

Postal Services
Post offices are situated in all cities and major villages.
Opening hours:
Monday - Friday 07:30 - 13:30
Thursday 15:00 - 18:00

Services offered:

• Air Mail (Letter, post items and parcels) with all countries.
• Money orders with most European Countries.
• EMS/DATAPOST - courier service with more than 108 countries.
• INTELPOST (FAX) service with all countries.
• SAL (surface air lifted service) for letter, post items and parcels.

Postage Rates for Airmail
Destination	Postcards	Letters up to 20 gr.
Greece	0,16	0,16
Europe, Middle East	0,26	0,31
USA, Africa, Far East	0,31	0,36
Australia, New Zealand	0,36	0,41

L.P.G. Gas
L.P.G. Gas in Cyprus is available in 10 kg portable cylinders, which can be purchased from petrol stations, grocery shops and supermarkets. Mini gas cylinders of 250 gr. are also available.
One 10 kg L.P.G. gas cylinder costs: CYP 4,10 (CYP 2,00 deposit plus CYP 2,10 for the gas).

• There are no special stations for refilling gas cylinders.
• The use of L.P.G. gas in motor vehicles is strictly forbidden.

Press
There are 10 daily and 5 weekly newspapers published on the island. One of the dailies and two of the weeklies are in English and together with periodicals of weekly or monthly issue, they cover a wide variety of subjects.

Most UK, and some other European as well as Arabic Newspapers, are on sale in Cyprus usually one day after the day of issue.

Broadcasting
The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CYBC) - Radio Programmes transmit on 3 programmes on both AM and FM but only "Programme Two" broadcasts programmes in English, Turkish and Armenian.

PROGRAMME TWO - FM 91.1 MHz

Programme Two is on the air from 06:00 in the morning to midnight. The English programme starts at 10:00 with bulletins, followed by weather forecasts, currency rates and cultural events. The English programme resumes at 13:30 and ends at 15:00. lt includes a radio magazine, the news at 14:00, interviews, short talks on Cyprus and music. And then from 20:00 until midnight programmes are again in English, starting with the news.

In summer, the programme "Welcome to Cyprus" is transmitted in English, French, German and Russian between 19:00 and 20:00 hrs.

There are numerous other private Radio stations which transmit their own programmes, including an English station called "RADIO ONE".

BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service). Radio BFBS is on air 
24 hours a day with programmes in English, designed for British Bases personnel. They include news bulletins, music, competitions, local events, etc.

Television
The following television stations transmit every day:

CYBC Channel 1 and Channel 2
NET - Greek Channel
MEGA - Greek private channel
ANT 1 - Greek private channel television
SIGMA - Cypriot private channel
LTV - Lumiere T.V. - Pay TV channel
SSVC - British Forces TV

Most hotels have installed satellite transmission and receive other channels i.e.: CNN, BBC, SKY, NBC, SUPER CHANNEL, etc..

CYBC
CYBC television transmission is based on the system 
CCIR B/G PAL for Channel 1 and CCIRG PAL for Channel 2. 
CYBC broadcasts programmes every day for a duration of approximately 20 hours, commencing at 7:00 hrs. 

NEWS 
CYBC 1 has news bulletins in Greek at 18:00, 20:00 and 23:00.
CYBC 2 shows the news in Greek at 19:00 and 22:15
and at 20:00 in English.

EURONEWS
Channel 2 links up with Euronews, transmitting from 07:00 to 11:30
on weekdays. At the weekends Euronews can be seen on Channel 1
between 07:00 and 12:30.

 CYBC television is also linked to Eurovision for the live transmission of major athletic and other events.

All programmes are broadcast in colour and the television service provides some of the best T.V. entertainment (mainly in English) from British, American and other sources, in addition to Greek and locally-produced programmes.

Units of Measurement
In 1987, Cyprus converted from the imperial system of weights and measures to the metric system.

Time
GMT +2 hours
The clocks are adjusted 1 hour forward during the daylight saving period from 30.03. until 25.10.

Public Holidays
Public services, private enterprises, banks and shops are closed on public holidays. In resorts and coastal areas, however shops and certain services remain open.
Banks are closed on Easter Tuesday but not on Christmas Eve and NewYear's Eve.

Addresses
click here to see the complete address database