Coral Bay, the big beach on the Paphos west coast

Coral Bay is where I would head from Paphos for a proper stretch of sand. Akamas Municipality bills its beaches as the most popular in the district, and that’s no surprise, with a frequent bus from town and everything you need around it. I’ll cover the beach, the bus and the sights next door. For the village itself, see Peyia.

Where it is and what it’s like

The bay lies within Pegeia, as the census spells it, which has been part of Akamas municipality since 2024. The council puts it 12 km north of Kato Paphos and describes clean water and golden sand. It sits on the road towards the Akamas peninsula, and several of the district’s big hotels surround it.

What is there to see next to Coral Bay?

What interests me most is right beside the sand. Maa-Palaiokastro, on a small headland next to the bay, is the fortified settlement founded by Achaean colonists, the island’s first Greeks, after the fall of the Mycenaean kingdoms around 1200 BC. Akamas Municipality points to its wall of massive blocks, which archaeologists call cyclopean, and the museum of Mycenaean colonisation, an underground gallery beneath a bronze dome. The Pafos tourism board adds that the museum opened in 1996, funded by the A. G. Leventis Foundation and designed by the Italian architect Andrea Bruno, and that its displays are being redesigned. The settlement was abandoned around 1150 BC.

For divers, the council lists two spots by Coral Bay, the Amphitheatre, with three shore-entry areas, and Pistol Bay, with swim-throughs and caves. Carry on north along the coast road and you reach the sea caves at Peyia, with the stranded ship Edro III.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Coral Bay before prices climb.

Getting there

Pafos Buses route 615 leaves the Tombs of the Kings station in Paphos and runs to Coral Bay along the coast road through Chlorakas and Kissonerga, every 10 to 15 minutes by day. From April to November there are night buses every 20 minutes from 18:00 to 23:40, plus two after midnight. From Coral Bay the 616 climbs to Peyia square and on to Agios Georgios, and the 616b goes via the sea caves, 17 times a day. A single is €2.

Where to stay

Coral Bay has several of Peyia’s big hotels, such as the five-star Leptos Coral Beach and Louis Cali, and I go through them using the official list in Coral Bay hotels. For something simpler, Akamas Municipality says Coral Bay campsite, 11 km from Paphos, opens all year and has 47 pitches for tents or caravans, with electricity, hot showers and a restaurant.

To compare with the town’s own coastline, Paphos beaches covers Kato Paphos and Geroskipou, closer to the centre. For a tent or caravan, there’s a campsite by the bay, as I explain in camping in Cyprus.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Coral Bay and choose by the reviews.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Paphos on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Coral Bay before prices climb.