The sea caves near Ayia Napa framed by the roof of a cave: turquoise water and a long line of pale cliffs hollowed with caves, in warm late light

Getting married in Ayia Napa & Protaras

Pale limestone cliffs hollowed into sea caves, the natural arch of Cape Greco, and sheltered coves of fine sand at Nissi, Konnos and Fig Tree Bay — the south-eastern corner of Cyprus.

Photographers When to marry here

Ayia Napa and Protaras lie on either side of Cape Greco, the south-eastern tip of the island. The cape is a national forest park: low scrub on limestone, cliffs hollowed into sea caves, the natural bridge of Kamara tou Koraka and the small chapel of Agioi Anargyroi, built over a sea cave where the saints it is named after are believed to have lived as hermits. Ayia Napa grew up around a monastery built like a castle in about 1500, which still stands in the middle of town; to the west, Nissi beach runs out along a bar of sand to its islet. Protaras, part of Paralimni, faces east over Fig Tree Bay, below the chapel of Profitis Ilias on its rocky hill.

This is one of the island’s most popular corners for weddings, and for years many of the couples have come from Britain. Ayia Napa’s municipality holds civil ceremonies at its town hall or at licensed venues, some of them on the beach, on weekdays and on Saturdays until 2 pm; Paralimni’s has places of its own, from its town hall to the garden by Profitis Ilias and a traditional house. Afterwards come portraits on the cliffs of Cape Greco in the last light.

Sunset over the sea at Ayia Napa, the cliffs and sea caves in silhouette and hills faint on the horizon

The natural rock arch of Kamara tou Koraka at Cape Greco, with clear blue water showing through it and the open sea beyond

Konnos Bay from the air: a sandy cove of turquoise water with a sailing boat at anchor, below green, scrubby hills

Through the year

When to marry in Ayia Napa & Protaras

April, May and October are the easiest months, with highs of 24–30 °C and rain on about two days a month at most. June and September are hot, at around 32–33 °C, so ceremonies move to the late afternoon. July and August are the hottest months, close to 35 °C at midday, and the busiest. From December to February it rains on five to eight days a month and the days are short; lifeguards watch the main beaches only from April to October.

January: Quieter
February: Quieter
March: Good with planning
April: Best
May: Best
June: Good with planning
July: Quieter
August: Quieter
September: Good with planning
October: Best
November: Good with planning
December: Quieter

SpringThe last showers pass in March, and by May the afternoons are warm and the sun sets after half past seven. The light is clear, and the busy season of June to August has not yet begun.
SummerLong, hot, cloudless days, with hardly any rain from May to September. Hold the ceremony in the last two hours before sunset and keep the portraits by the water; during heatwaves the Ministry of Health advises staying out of the sun from 11 am to 5 pm.
Autumn and winterOctober stays warm, the first rain arrives, and by the middle of the month the sun sets around six. Winter days are mild, about 18–20 °C, with rain between sunny spells.

In numbers

Hottest month, average high: July and August · 34.8°C; Cyprus Department of Meteorology
Average high in the best months: Apr 24.2°C · May 28.8°C · Oct 29.6°C; Cyprus Department of Meteorology
Days with 1 mm of rain or more, best months: Apr 2.1 · May 0.6 · Oct 2.3; Cyprus Department of Meteorology
Sunset on 21 June: 20:01 (Ayia Napa); NOAA

Weather station: Paralimni (St. Frenaros), normals 2019–2025 · Checked 24 October 2026

Places

Where couples marry here

The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well.

Cape Greco
A national forest park and Natura 2000 area: a coastal path of about 4 km from the sea caves past the arch of Kamara tou Koraka to the chapel of Agioi Anargyroi. The rock is sharp and the drops are sheer, so keep well back from the edge, above all in wind.
Nissi and Konnos
Nissi’s 300-metre beach, sheltered from the wind, with a bar of sand out to its islet; and Konnos, a sandy cove below the cape between Ayia Napa and Protaras. Both are popular by day, so the early morning and the last hour of light are the quiet times.
Protaras and Fig Tree Bay
Fig Tree Bay, named after a lone fig tree that has stood there since the 17th century, and above the resort the chapel of Profitis Ilias, 153 steps up its rocky hill and lit at night, with the whole coast below it at sunset.
The monastery in town
The monastery of about 1500 in the middle of Ayia Napa, partly cut into the rock behind high walls, with a sycamore at its south gate believed to be more than 600 years old: a quiet, shaded corner in the centre of a lively resort.

Light

How the light falls

At midsummer the sun rises out of the sea off Protaras at about half past five and sets at about eight; at noon it stands almost overhead, nearly 80° high, so the soft light comes in the first and last hours of the day. At midwinter it rises at about ten to seven and sets at about twenty-five to five. Protaras faces east, to the sunrise; the cliffs and sea caves west of Cape Greco take the low evening light. Cyprus is two hours ahead of UTC in winter and three in summer.

Travel

Getting there

Larnaca airport is about 50 km away: around 45 minutes to Ayia Napa on the A3 motorway and about an hour to Protaras, with shared airport shuttles to both. A car makes the cape and the coves easy to reach. Drones follow the EU rules (operators register on drones.gov.cy); the tip of Cape Greco lies in a National Guard zone where flying needs the Guard’s approval and anti-drone systems may bring a drone down, so check the Department of Civil Aviation’s geo-zone map before any flight.

Photographers