Haifa is a port city and there are a couple of cruise lines that offer Mediterranean cruises to Italy,Greece, Spain,France and Turkey ...We scored a great last minute deal to Cyprus.

With it's beautiful beaches and many historical and archaeological sites I was really excited : )

Not knowing much about Cyprus ,I turned the weekend cruise into the geography lesson for the boys (in fact, they are now doing a big project on the Mediterranean Sea and the countries that surround it ) Together we learned Cyprus is the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite and was the Apostle Paul’s first destination as a missionary. Cyprus is still a very divided country with a U.N. buffer zone and part of the Island is being occupied by Turkey. We were on the Greek side of the Island.

With limited time and tons to see ,we were looking forward to the 3rd century Roman Mosaics of Paphos , an archaeological Site which has UNESCO status . We had two full days on the island but not realizing May 1st is a holiday in Europe everything was closed : ( As disappointing as this was, settling for A day in Aya Napa was really nothing to complain about ! Nissi Beach in Aya Napa is truly one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen ! Full of young vacationers from the U.K. and Europe, Eric and I knew instantly we had just stumbled upon paradise . We spent the day swimming in turquoise water and the boys went parasailing -So much for learning (except, the lesson that bikini tops are optional in Europe! Hello)

We were able to see some sites in Larnaca where the ship docked. There was a Medieval Castle and a 9th century Christian Church where the tomb of Lazarus was found. The cruise was fun ,we had lots of family time, and played countless hands of Uno! It turned out to be a great value with the food and entertainment (I am not sure that any one needs 4 buffets a day though) I would love to come back to Cyprus by plane

Aya Napa