Location: Dog Beach is the last beach before the occupied area in Kapparis. If you follow usual route to Protaras through highway (not through Ayia Napa – Protaras seaside road), you will see big colorful signs directing you to Dog Beach starting from the traffic lights to Protaras. If you miss it – head straight on the road from Protaras towards Kapparis, pass Zorbas on your right, pass Amore Hotel on your left and head straight until next bigger crossroad. Head straight and in few meters you should see a sign on the street light on your right directing you to turn towards the sea (street in between residential house and yellow apartment building). Follow the road until it becomes off-road. Continue straight until you reach the sea. Now with the new dirt road connecting all the beaches built in 2018, you can reach dog beach from MADD beach or Scouts beach - just continue straight to the left until you reach it.
Finally a proper actual beach that can be enjoyed by both dogs and their owners! Hands down, the best thing that happened in 2016 for dog owners for sure! And it seems that Paralimni municipality did it mainly as their own initiative without any laws and legislations from higher institutions.
Paralimni municipality informed about this beach in the middle of summer 2016 and since it immediately created frustration between dog owners and local holiday makers that used to go there from before, in just few weeks municipality put signs directing to the beach all over Kapparis and Protaras thus shutting down any further arguments. The bin for dog waste added in 2018 ends all the discussions altogether. It became ours officially!
Since the beach was declared as designated for dogs, the word spread very quickly amongst the locals and the beach was basically attacked by the dogs and their owners – you could see dog owners taking their pooches to the beach from early morning hours to late night with a never ending traffic. At the busiest times of the day, you would easily count more than 10 dogs enjoying the beach.
And no wonder, because - as small and tiny as it is – it’s actually a first actual Dog Beach in Cyprus! With sand and clear sea water typical for Famagusta area! No dirt or weird plants or inaccessible sea water like in other beaches designated for dogs. And in 2018 they also added sunbeds and umbrellas for dog owners to enjoy - and they don't charge for those!!! OK, they might not be the best quality, but that seems too good to be true anyway. The beach is right next to Scouts beach (also called Dherynia beach or New beach), separated by a small hill, so your dog cannot run away easily. This means that you can also get some snacks and refreshments during summer as well as use WC and have access to other amenities if needed.
The drawbacks are only very few - the sea ground is a bit rocky, so it’s better if you wear appropriate shoes if you are to enjoy the water as well. There is also no fresh water supply if your dog gets thirsty, so you have to bring water with you.
The biggest problem of all? Dog owners! As mentioned before, the traffic at the beach is really high while the beach itself is pretty small, so it took less than a month for the beach to become dirty from dog litter as well as other waste! The whole path towards the beach also started smelling from dog poo! Thankfully, the creation of informal Kapparis Doggy Beach group really helped to deal with this problem. Now they send each other friendly reminders to pick up the waste after themselves and preserve the beach like it is supposed to be. Having this group also helps for those that come to the beach for the first time and are not sure how to find it and whether their dog will enjoy the sea and company of other dogs. Owners of all nationalities can share their experience, be warned if some non-socialized or not accustomed dog is coming to the beach so to be more patient etc. The beautiful pictures and weekly photo competitions are just a cherry on the top to brigthen your day while scrolling through Facebook posts. We really recommend you follow this group.
The same group of people have organized the first Beach Party for Dogs in Cyprus on 10th of August, which was an amazing success! Probably more than 100 dogs and dog owners have showed up, all enjoyed special cocktails and snacks (hot dogs included, of course), music, sea and the beach! This is a unbelievable step forward for Cyprus in terms of dog friendliness and dog acceptance. We sure hope this beach party will become an annual event.
Kapparis Dog Beach was one of the best things that happened for dog owners in Cyprus for a very long time and it still is the best spot for dogs in the whole country, especially in summer. Residents of Famagusta area, who don't even have any public parks for dogs, got the biggest gift instead! We really hope that dog owners continue showing examplatory behavior and maintain this beach clean and tidy so that maybe one day all beaches in Cyprus start welcoming dogs too.