We had several informational meetings before going on this trip. It was emphasized that Larnaca is a pretty user-friendly place to navigate, which I as a novice traveler totally agree with. There are some random things I have learned about Cyprus that I think could be useful for anyone who might want to come here to know about.

1. Water: In Cyprus, and if I am not mistaken in Europe in general, when you go out to restaurants you do not automatically get free water with dinner. If you want water, you have to order it, and it comes in a bottle. To be fair though, water here is very cheap at a restaurant, usually around two euros for a big water, and at mini markets it is usually around one. So, buying water is not a big deal. If you bring a water bottle (which after not bringing one I would recommend), you can get a giant jug of it at the supermarket and fill it up at a Mr. Penguin for like 60 cents. That is a way to be both cost effective and sustainable. If you are adventurous (like my roommate) you can drink the tap water. She started off with small amounts of the tap water at the beginning of the trip and has had no issues, so that is also a route you can go.
2. Bathrooms: This is a weird topic, but there are two important things to know about bathrooms. The first is that you should not flush anything, including toilet paper, down the toilet. There are signs everywhere telling you to put it in the trash can. I know this probably sounds terrible and gross, but the plumbing cannot handle it and that is what everyone here does. The other thing you should know is, if you go out to dinner and need to use the bathroom, you pretty much always have to go up a set of stairs. They are often spiral or steep, so just keep that in mind. Bathrooms are also labeled with WC, so if you are looking for a bathroom look for WC. I know this is not vital to know, but I figured a heads up to anyone traveling here would be helpful.
3. Food Spoilage: Here in Cyprus the food spoils extremely fast. Every time I have bought fruit it spoiled before the fruit was ripe enough to eat, often in two to three days. The same goes for bread and pita, although pita seems to spoil the fastest, often in three days or less. So, if you are planning on buying bread or produce, I would suggest buying only what you need for a couple of days and planning meals and lunches around it as it spoils so quickly.
4. Beaching: Finikoudes Beach is very, very close to the apartments we are staying at. It is about a three minute walk to the beach. The beach is beautiful, although it is covered in cigarette butts. There are a bunch of chairs on the beach for you to sit on. If you do, people in blue shirts will come to collect 2.50 euro for each chair and 2.50 euro if you are using an umbrella. If you do not want to pay for it, you can also just put your stuff on the sand. The other really cool thing is that if you leave your stuff on the beach either on the chairs or on a towel on the sand it is safe. No one will go through your stuff or try to take anything. I have left money, snacks, my phone, and random stuff on the beach while I have been in the water, and it has never been a problem. Finally, the water is incredible, so I would 100% recommend taking a dip in the Med, especially after a long day of digging.
5. Smoking: There is a big smoking culture here. If you remember, I think almost two decades ago you used to be able to smoke in bars and restaurants in the States. That is how it is here. Almost every restaurant has ashtrays and it is perfectly acceptable to smoke or vape in bars and restaurants. This is very different from the U.S., where the rules are much stricter. So, if you come to Cyprus, be prepared to be around people constantly vaping and smoking.

There are so many little things I have learned about Cyprus but these are the main ones I can think of that are not a huge deal but different from the U.S. I hope whoever is reading this finds it helpful as a small heads up about what to expect in Cyprus.

Madi Barber