The importance of healthy living and exercise and the positive relationship with mental health and clear thought was supported since Ancient Greece. Cyprus boasts advanced health clubs designed to offer unique body-and-mind experience.
Maintain mental and physical fitness by participating in the unlimited options including yoga, pilates, kinisis, aerobics, gymnastics, boxing, and body fitness. Health clubs and fitness gyms have qualified, certified and experienced instructors that will ensure a fun and exciting atmosphere to give you a real boost.
One of the nicest things about the Mediterranean climate of Cyprus is that it allows you to spend lots of time outdoors enjoying sports and recreational activities. Have a look at the different sports that people enjoy across the island. Naturally, during the hot summer months, water sports are the most popular options!
The weather, the landscape and the coast of Cyprus lend themselves to all kinds of air sports such as flying, gliding, parachuting and windsurfing.
In recent years, a few Cypriot athletes have put Cyprus on the map of the World Athletics Championship. These include high-jumper Kyriakos Ioannou who won medals at the IAAF World Athletics Championships, Commonwealth Games and the Mediterranean Games, and Sprinter Eleni Artymata, who won multiple medals at the Mediterranean Games, including gold medals in the 200 meters in 2009 and 2013.
Basketball is also quite popular in Cyprus, and the Cypriot league is semi-professional. The greatest European achievement among local clubs was EKA AEL’s third place in the FIBA EuroCup.
Basketball
In addition to a few professional cycling competitions, as a hobby, cycling is becoming increasingly popular, especially as different municipalities develop dedicated cycling paths and promote sustainable mobility programs. Although it is a year-round activity, cycling conditions are best in spring and autumn. Mountain and road bikes can be rented in all main towns and holiday areas.
Fishing, both in the sea and in the freshwater dams (license required) is quite popular in Cyprus. The main source of information regarding fishing locations is the government’s Department of Fisheries and Marine Research.
Football is the most popular spectator and participation sport on the island. The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) was formed in 1934 and became a FIFA member in 1948 and an UEFA member in 1962. The Cypriot national team has not yet qualified for any major events, but one of the island’s biggest clubs – APOEL F.C. – made history in 2012 when it became the first Cypriot team to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The district of Paphos is home to the island’s main golf clubs with world-class golf courses and club facilities. More clubs are in the pipeline in other districts. Golfing in Cyprus is popular especially in the cooler months when European courses are extremely wet or covered with snow.
Hikers enjoy an extensive network of dozens of nature trails that criss-cross the Troodos mountains, as well as a number of other coastal routes that are ideal for long and easy strolls during the winter months. A section of the European Long Distance Path E4 travels for 539km the length of the island.
For rock climbing/bouldering a few sites can be found in the Paphos District and at Cape Greko near Agia Napa. Lists and catalogues of all the trails and climbing locations are published in print and online by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and the Cyprus Forestry Department.
There are numerous horse-riding stables in Cyprus, and many offer holiday packages. The most popular clubs are ‘Ride in Cyprus’, based just outside Paphos, and Drapia Farm in the village of Kalavasos.
Cyprus has sent athletes to every summer and winter Olympic Games held since 1980. Pavlos Kontides, competing in the men’s Laser class sailing event, won the country’s first-ever Olympic medal in 2012.
This is a relatively new sport in Cyprus. The Cyprus Paragliding Club is actively working to improve the quality of flights and identify new sites where paragliding could be possible. The most well-known sites are at Curium, as well as at Stavrovouni, where you can glide above the Stavrovouni Monastery.
The Cyprus Rally is a rallying competition held every year in Cyprus since 1970. The event is organized by the Cyprus Automobile Association. It is run on the winding gravel roads of the nearby Troodos mountains. It was part of the FIA World Rally Championship from 2000 to 2006. In 2007 and 2008 the event was part of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship, but rejoined the World Rally Championship in 2009.
The first Cypriot Rugby Football Club, the Paphos Tigers, was formed in 2003 and was predominately made up of South African Cypriots. The first international game of the Cyprus Rugby National Team took place in Paphos on March 24, 2007 against Greece. Cyprus now play in the 2B level, after winning promotion from the 2008-2010 edition onwards.
The Cyprus Ski Club was formed in 1947 and the first lift owned by the CSC was built in 1968. The first Cypriot participation in the World Championships was in 1978 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and the first Winter Olympic participation of Cyprus took place in the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid. Today many hundreds of Cypriots and foreigners enjoy the beautiful slopes of Mt Olympus.
There are hundreds of tennis courts across Cyprus run by the municipalities, private academies, and hotels. Most have all-weather surfaces and floodlights for evening play. Many amateur tennis and beach tennis tournaments are scheduled, including the Cyprus Masters Cup and Aldiana Seniors Open tournament during the winter. Cyprus also plays in the Davis Cup. The sport really took off in 2006 when the Cypriot tennis idol Marcos Baghdatis reached the final of the Australian Open and the semi-finals of Wimbledon, achieving his highest ATP singles rank of World No. 8 in August 2006.
All the coastal resorts offer a multitude of the latest water sports, either through independent centres on the beach, or through the main resort hotels. Several diving schools also provide accredited courses conducted by qualified instructors. Wreck dives are particularly popular and include the wrecks of the ‘Vera K’ and the ‘Achilleas’ off Paphos, and most famously the ‘Zenobia’ off Larnaca. For scuba diving, contact the Cyprus Federation of Underwater Activities.
Sailing is also widely popular, both among yacht owners as well as visitors who enjoy chartered yachts or organized cruises that are promoted at various marinas, fishing ports and shelters along the coast.