Fig Tree Bay, Protaras – golden sand and an islet you can swim to

Fig Tree Bay is the main beach of Protaras, the resort on the east coast of Cyprus. A crescent of fine golden sand – about 500 metres of it, according to Wikipedia – runs down to clear, shallow water, and a small, low islet sits just offshore, close enough to reach by wading and a few strokes of swimming. The Deputy Ministry of Tourism traces the name to a single fig tree that has stood by the shore since the 17th century. Much has grown up around it since: the hotels along the bay, the rows of parasols, the jetties of the water-sports operators. The beach has kept its standing through all of it. It flies a Blue Flag for 2026, and in February TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards named it among Europe's 19 best beaches of the year – the only beach from Cyprus on the list, as the Cyprus Mail reported.

01The beach

The tourist board describes fine, golden sand and crystal-clear water. The uninhabited islet is covered in low local vegetation and shelters the rest of the beach; Wikipedia notes that it is easily reached by swimming through the shallow water. Toilets, changing rooms, sunbeds, umbrellas and water sports are on the beach itself, with restaurants, kiosks and hotels in the streets behind.

Lifeguards with lifesaving equipment and first aid are on duty from April to October. Fig Tree Bay is also one of the island's accessible beaches: a special wheelchair is kept at the lifeguard tower so that the lifeguards can help disabled bathers into the sea, and the tourist board's accessibility survey of the beach records ramps, a wooden boardwalk down to the sand and reserved parking bays.

02Sunbeds and water sports

The beach itself is free; sunbeds and umbrellas are hired. For 2026, Cyprus's central beach committee raised the national ceiling for a set of two sunbeds and one umbrella from €7.50 to €10, and municipalities are free to charge less, according to Cyprus Inform and the Cyprus Mail. Paralimni–Deryneia's own 2026 price is not published in an official source, so count on paying no more than the ceiling.

Insider tip

Lifeguards April–October; a wheelchair for assisted sea entry at the lifeguard tower.

Water-skiing, windsurfing and parasailing are among the activities run from the beach. Each operator sets its own prices and age limits, so ask on the day – and check the flags before you swim out to the islet.

The ceiling was set by the central beach committee for the 2026 season; local prices may be lower. Read on 29 October 2026.

03A little history

For a beach given over so completely to holidays, Fig Tree Bay has a surprising amount of past. Works to improve the beach in 2010 uncovered an ancient Greek tomb, and in 2018 the municipality pumped sand back onto the shoreline to hold back erosion, Wikipedia records. In 2011 TripAdvisor ranked it the third-best beach in Europe. It even has its own song: Peter Frampton's "Fig Tree Bay", from his 1972 album Wind of Change.

The municipality of Paralimni–Deryneia, quoted by the Cyprus Mail, credits this year's TripAdvisor listing to its work on cleanliness, safety, accessibility and organisation – the unglamorous things that decide whether a famous beach is still a pleasant one.

04Getting there

Fig Tree Bay is easy to reach on foot, by bicycle or by car, and there is parking close to the beach; Wikipedia mentions a municipal car park a short walk away. The tourist information office for Paralimni and Protaras is at Protara 14, open Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:00. From the bay, the coast road runs south past Konnos Bay to the cliffs and sea caves of Cape Greco National Forest Park, which makes an easy second half to a beach day.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.