Vrysoudia Bay – Discovering Underwater East

Vrysoudia Bay – Discovering Underwater East
Vrysoudia Bay – a tiny bay north of Protaras on the eastern coast. A bay hiding an underwater secret. It was here that we discovered the incredible marine world of the east – and had one of our best snorkelling experiences on the island.

 

I’ll confess, I’ve never quite got the Protaras area. There aren’t the spectacular mountains of Troodos and Kyrenia or the impressive archaeological sites of Paphos, Limassol and Famagusta. I knew there were some great beach bars, pretty bays and beautiful clear sea but, on the whole, Protaras seemed over-developed and a bit, well, shallow.

 

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Protaras

 

How wrong I was!

 

I hadn’t looked deep enough. And by deep, I mean under the water.

 

Last week’s holiday to the east of the island was a revelation. Look past the massive hotels, the tacky tourist shops and the rows of blue beach umbrellas. The treasure to be found on the east coast is its spectacular underwater world.

 

You’ve only just discovered this??!! I hear you say.

 

Yes. It’s taken five years. And now the east coast is the only place I want to be.

 

snorkelling
The coastal area near the Cyclops Cave and Konnos Bay is supposed to be excellent for diving and snorkelling

 

It was the wind that blew us to Vrysoudia Bay. We had planned to explore the bays around Ayia Napa and near our hotel in Makronissos. But for most of our holiday it was really windy and rows of white-topped waves pounded the south-eastern coast. Too rough for Herc and far too rough for snorkelling.

 

Ayia Napa
Ayia Thekla beach

 

So we drove 20 minutes to Protaras and found that the sea on the east coast was much calmer. We looked on Google Earth for the most sheltered bay and found Vrysoudia.

 

east Cyprus

 

Vrysoudia Bay is north of Protaras, in the Pernera area. Sirena Bay with it’s wonderful boho beach bar is just next door. There is parking near the Aigialos restaurant which overlooks the bay. Alternatively you can drive a few hundred metres north and make a right turn just past Kouzalis Courts. This road takes you to a coastal track which provides great access to the bay. This is what we did and avoided the crowds.

 

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View from our parking spot

 

We walked along the track and had our first view of Vrysoudia Bay from its northern headland. It was better than we’d imagined. Small, pretty and, most importantly, the water in the bay was calm.

 

Cyprus

 

We enjoyed picnicking on the rocks of the northern headland, but if you prefer sand and sunbeds, there is a small beach in the bay with sunbeds you can use – though thankfully not a toe-curling amount of sunbeds.

 

East Cyprus

 

Overlooking the bay is Aigialos restaurant where you can buy lunch. Chilled-out beach tunes sang across the water.

 

I called the southern side of the bay the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The rocks there were covered with trailing plants and pink flowers that spilled over from the hotel above. It was really luscious and made the whole bay look prettier.

 

tranquil

 

Vrysoudia Bay was perfect for Herc to paddle in as it is shallow and sandy by the shore. The water in the shallows is warm and looks murky from all the sand churned up by everyone paddling in it. As you go deeper, the water clears.

 

Protaras
Shallow water

 

The marine life in Vrysoudia Bay is so abundant that you can see it without even having to get wet. Which meant that Herc got to see the fish too. In the rocky shallows on the northern headland, countless numbers of fish swam around his feet, leaping in and out of the water.

 

Vrysoudia Bay
Hundreds of fish next to where Herc was paddling

 

Vrysoudia Bay
Fish leaping out of the water

 

It turns out that this is a protected marine area with artificial reefs and possibly wrecks (that’s what the sign below suggests) further out to sea. What a lucky find!

 

Vrysoudia Bay

 

Goobie and I donned our snorkelling masks and fins and jumped in. We were immediately surrounded by fish.

 

Vrysoudia Bay

 

We swam through the mouth of the bay, keeping to the north side. A large area of reef stretched out into the sea. It was like swimming through a rocky underwater kingdom built on different levels, with hidden nooks and deep channels. From the surface, you’d never know what existed beneath.

 

sea life

 

Smaller fish lived in the upper levels, nearer the surface. Baby sea bream, wrasse. As we swam to the end of the reef, two garfish shot out of a shadowy nook, skimming the surface and darting us suspicious looks.

 

Vrysoudia Bay
Garfish checking us out

 

The edge of the reef plummeted into deep royal blue water. In the deeper water we saw bigger fish. Fully grown bream, cornetfish and goatfish. Where the reef ended, a shoal of reddy brown damselfish swam around us – they seemed genuinely curious.

 

Vrysoudia Bay Cyprus

 

We swam through deep water from the north side of the bay to the south side. On the south is a large flat shelf of reef, like a rocky plain. Around the edges are some of the largest sea urchins I’ve seen. There are mini gorges in the plain, home to who knows what? I had hopes of seeing an octopus, but you’re more likely to see one at night.

 

Cyprus
Rainbow wrasse

 

We swam along the southern reef to shallower water at the mouth of the bay. Beneath the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are loads of massive submerged boulders. From the surface they just look like a bunch of rocks. But underwater they become stone monuments, columns, arches and swim-throughs. An underwater kingdom filled with its own distinctive architecture.

 

Cyprus

 

Vrysoudia Bay

 

Cyprus

 

It also seemed to be one massive fish nursery. I looked through rocky windows and glimpsed thousands of tiny fish. Presumably they are safe here from larger predatory fish.

 

fish
Spot the gazillion tiny fish through the window

 

Massive shoals of micro-fish were perfectly camouflaged in the sunny water. I didn’t see them until they moved.

 

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See them?

 

Large groups of little fish gathered to eat tiny plants that grew on the rocks.

 

Cyprus holiday

 

I swear this looked like a mummy taking her babies out for a walk:

 

Cyprus

 

Without doubt, the rocks beneath the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was the highlight of my trip. I have never seen so many fish in such a relatively small area.

 

Goobie and I reluctantly swam back into the murky shallows of the bay, past shoals of fish.

 

Mediterranean sea
Goatfish in the foreground

 

While Goobie and I played with Herc, Matt went out for a snorkel. He came back proclaiming that he’d just had one of his best snorkelling experiences on the island. And I agreed.

 

Vrysoudia Bay

 

Vrysoudia Bay – surprising, beautiful, majestic and teeming with life. It was our first taste of the underwater world of the eastern coast.

 

And it made me wonder. If this one tiny bay held so much life, what else is out there?

 

I can’t wait to find out.

 

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Hi, I'm Julia

I love travelling and have been all over the world with my husband, Matt. Going home always sucked. I wanted more – I wanted to live abroad. When my son Goobie was born, I took a career break from publishing books in London. So, when Matt’s job gave us the opportunity to move to Cyprus, we grabbed it with both hands, ready to embrace everything Cyprus has to offer. Follow us as we explore this amazing island, from the beautiful to the baffling, the exciting to the downright embarrassing.
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