Location: heading on the highway towards Larnaca airport take 50 exit and in the roundabout turn to Kiti (road B4). Turn left at the end of the road (at the traffic lights) and then to the right at another road-end (follow the signs to Kiti). Few kilometers ahead take Agias Marinas street towards Pervolia (it will be on your left at the triangular shaped crossroad). At the end of the road turn left and continue straight until you reach the beach – you will see the sings showing in which part of the beach dogs are allowed as well.
We were very pleased with the decision of Central Commission of Beaches to designate more beaches for dogs especially since the one in Ayia Thekla is somehow “valid” only until the end of 31 December 2014. So, as soon as the decision was made official and published in the Gazette, we headed to the closest “new” beach to us in Larnaca district.
Unlike the day we visited Ayia Thekla dog beach for the first time, this time we prepared ourselves not to expect for too much and go there only for the sense of discovery and to enjoy not feeling like criminals for letting our dog in the sea.
This new beach is actually a little better. It is not separated from the common beach (other than with the signs), and even though most of it is narrow, there is some space with the sand (“black” sand typical to Larnaca) for you to enjoy the beach too. For us, living in Protaras area, the beach did not look appealing at all. Also, the “sandy” part of the dog beach borders with the quite popular common beach, where there are other people with kids, picnics and foods, cars etc. so you would still might choose to keep your distance. So, instead of enjoying the beach you can admire a close-up look of planes landing at Larnaca airport, which is right next to the area.
The biggest positive move – in this beach you can actually get into the sea (and your tiny pooch can follow you too). But you will, first, have to make your way through tons of sea weed, “muddy” sand and swim surrounded by all kind of rubbish. The seabed at some points is sandy and at some times – rocky, so be careful when you step.
Dogs of course don’t care much about all that and instead would just enjoy shallow sea water. This is really smart for the dog beach, since instead of going back to the shore to rest, they can either climb on the small rocky islands in the sea or just rest in the water (standing on the back legs when you hold the front ones).
It looks like the word about the new dog beach spread around quite quickly as we have met around 10-15 other dogs at the beach when we went there on Sunday afternoon. Therefore, it could also make a great place to get your dog to socialize.
There is no fresh water supply around, but you can find some amenities in the kiosk that is further down close to common beach. There is also enough space to park your car at the off-road and the road itself is not busy, so you should not be too worried if your dog runs away a little.
As the beach has just been designated, the bins for dog waste are still missing. But what surprised us most was the amount of rubbish – all kind of plastic bottles, plates, cans etc., with some of them just floating in the sea. The dog owners too managed to leave some of their dog’s treasures in this short period of time, which, of course, doesn’t help to build our case against local authorities refusing to give more or better beaches for the dogs and dog owners.