Protaras

The holiday resort of Protaras on the southeast coast of Cyprus has all the trappings of the larger and more frenetic Ayia Napa, itself a few minutes' drive away. But it's far more family friendly and boasts the best beach on the island: Fig Tree Bay.Protaras is actually a town built on a piece of flat, scrubby land expressly for the purpose of catering for British holidaymakers. Just adjacent to the village of Paralimni, Protaras consists mainly of a grid of restaurants, nightclubs, and shops surrounded by numerous hotels and holiday apartment blocks. The hodgepodge of architecture and concrete can get blistering hot in the summer sun.While Protaras lacks a genuine Cypriot atmosphere, it has the magnificent golden Blue Flag beach, which stretches for 10 miles (16km) or so shelving gently into the crystal clear Mediterranean, and further up and down the coast a choice of secluded coves and inlets for those wanting more privacy.