General Information
- Electricity
- 240 volts; sockets 13 amp square pin.
- Banks
- These provide all banking services and accept all major cards and ATMs are widely available in the main towns
Opening hours are: Sept-June, Mon-Fri 08.30-12.30; July-Sept, Mon-Fri 08.15-12.30.
In tourist areas special branches provide afternoon service. - Currency
- Cyprus adopted the Euro from 1 January
2008.
Currency exchange is available at Banks and some shops. You will generally get a better rate locally than in the UK. To check the current exchange rates Click Here. - Shopping
- Shop opening hours are generally 8am - 6pm but with half days on Wednesday & Saturday.
Most shops are closed on Sunday. However, there are also many small kiosks (or nepintepo) that sell all the essentials and never seem to close.
Local shops include supermarkets, chemists, clothes shops (including Debenhams and Next) etc. - Medical facilities
- Medical facilities are provided through the national Health run
general hospitals in all resort towns. Emergencies for tourists are free. In
addition there are private clinics which cater for all medical needs, at a
charge.
Make sure that you carry your insurance policy with you. Some chemists remain open all night on a rota basis. - Communication
- The Cyprus telephone and postal system are highly efficient. Local English language newspapers as well as those from Britain and other European countries are widely available.
- Public Holidays
- Public holidays for 2012 and 2013 are shown below.
2012 2013 New Year's Day 1 January 1 January Epiphany 6 January 6 January Green Monday (Monday of Lent) 27 February 18 March Greek Independence Day 25 March 25 March Greek Cypriot National Day 1 April 1 April Good Friday 13 April 3 May Easter Sunday* 15 April* 5 May* Easter Monday 16 April 6 May May Day / Labour Day 1 May 1 May Whit Monday / Pentecost / Kataklysmos 4 June 24 June Assumption Day 15 August 15 August Cyprus' Independence Day 1 October 1 October Greek National Day (Ochi Day) 28 October 28 October Christmas Eve 24 December 24 December Christmas Day 25 December 25 December Boxing Day 26 December 26 December * Western (Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant) Easter as normally celebrated in the UK, is on 8 April 2012, and 31 March 2013.