This text
in this case provides useful practical information on certain aspects of
shopping in Cyprus and covers topics such as payment methods, services and
opening hours for shops, banks and post offices, in order to make your stay in
Cyprus as pleasant as possible.
Republished from European Consumer Centre (ECC) of Cyprus’s leaflet.
Consumers
Protection
Many consumers have
come to realize that every advice comes in handy when filing a claim for a
defective product or service with the seller. Consumer must know their rights
and should exercise them when it is appropriate to do so by all means
necessary.
The ECC Cyprus is
hosted and operates at the premises of the Competition and Consumers
Protections Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism.
It focuses on
informing consumers on domestic market opportunities and offers advice on what
they should do in case of problems when shopping across borders. It also offers
support in
pursuing cross-borders complaints.
Should you need free
assistance concerning your purchase in Cyprus, you can contact the European
Consumer Centre of Cyprus on tel.: 00357 22867100.
Written
complaint can be submitted to the following address: 6, A. Araouzos street,
1421, Nicosia Cyprus or on email: ecccyprus@mcit.gov.cy
Currency
Currently, the Cyprus
currency is
the Euro.
Pricing
and Methods of Payment
·
Prices must be
displayed on items on sale, clearly indicating the cost per item / unit (litre,
Kg, e.t.c.)
·
VAT, if
applicable, must be included in the price.
·
The merchant is obliged
to issue a receipt to the consumer
·
The most common
methods of
payment in
Cyprus are
cash, debit, check and
credit cards
Tax
In Cyprus, 17% Value
Added Tax (VAT) is mostly charged on goods and services
Opening
Hours
Day
|
Winter Season 01/11 – 31/03
|
Summer season 01/04 – 31/10
|
Monday
|
09:00 – 19:00
|
09:00
– 20:30
|
Tuesday
|
09:00 – 19:00
|
09:00
– 20:30
|
Wednesday
|
09:00 – 14:00
|
09:00
– 14:00
|
Thursday
|
09:00
– 19:00
|
09:00
– 20:30
|
Friday
|
09:00
– 20:00
|
09:00
– 21:30
|
Saturday
|
09:00
– 15:00
|
09:00
– 17:00
|
Sunday
|
Closed
|
Closed
|
In tourist areas shops may remain open longer. Opening hours vary depending
on the season and may they change by Minister Order.
Post Offices
Main Post Office
in Nicosia: Constantinos Paleologos Str. (near
to Eleftheria and Solomos Squares),
tel.: 00357 22303123
September – June
Monday -
Friday
|
07:30 – 13:30
|
15:00 – 18:00
(except Wed)
|
Saturday
|
08:30 – 10:30
|
July - August
Monday -
Friday
|
07:30 – 13:30
|
16:00 – 19:00
(except Wed)
|
Saturday
|
08:30 – 10:30
|
Banks
September - May
Monday
|
08:30 – 13:00
|
15:15 – 16:45
|
Tuesday -
Friday
|
08:30 – 13:00
|
June - August
Monday -
Friday
|
08:15 – 13:00
|
Sales
There are two
sale periods:
1.
From the first Monday
until the fourth Saturday of February and
2.
From the first Monday
until the fourth Saturday of August
Sale periods last
up to 45 working days but usually start earlier with a Ministerial Order
Hotels
Hotels and other
tourist establishments are officially registered and classified by the Cyprus
Tourism Organisation (CTO) in accordance with the provisions of the Hotels and
Tourist Establishments Law and Regulations
Rates are quoted
in Euros and are per room / apartment on a daily basis
Rates include: Overnight
stay, breakfast in the case of hotels, service charge (10%), taxes to local and
other authorities, Value Added Tax (17%) and CTO (3%) on accommodation and meal
rates.
Any complaints should
be addressed to:
·
The manager of the
hotel / tourist establishment or
·
The Cyprus Tourism
Organisation on tel.: 00357 22691100 or
·
The District Inspectors
Office of the CTO on tel.: 00357 25760460 / 00357 26938388 / 00357 24658777 /
00357 23721100 or
·
Any other CTO
information office
in Cyprus
Timesharing
Timesharing involves
the purchasing of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis.
Consumers are advised to demand a copy of the contractual proposal and read it
carefully before they sign it.
The timesharing
contract must:
·
Be in writing
and include
the duration
· Be accompanied
by the form of communication or withdrawal from the contract and an information
sheet detailing the obligations of the buyer and of the owner according to the
provisions of the relevant law
·
Be signed by both
the owner and the buyer
·
Not include any
abusive clauses
· Visitors in Cyprus
can drive using a valid international driving license, or their national driving
license, provided it’s valid for the class of vehicle they wish to drive.
·
In Cyprus driving
site is on the left and not on the right.
· For their own
safety and
others’, drivers must adhere
strictly to
the national speed limits. The maximum speed
permissible on
the island’s major
highways is
100 Kmph – the
minimum is
65 Kmph. Unless otherwise
posted, the maximum speed limit on ordinary inter-urban and rural roads is 80
Kmph. In residential areas, the maximum limit is 50 Kmph, although local limits
are often set lower. These are
signposted accordingly.
· It’s prohibited to
drive if alcohol’s level in the blood or breath is above the admissible limit.
The admissible limit in the blood is 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100
millilitres of blood (BAC 0.5 mg/ml), while the admissible alcohol limit in
breath is up to 22 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of exhaled air.
· The use of
hand-held mobile phones while driving is also prohibited. Drivers wishing to use
their mobile phone while driving must use a hands-free device or park till they
finish from using their mobile phone.
· Seatbelt use is
mandatory both in the front and rear seats of motor vehicles. Children under 12
years old and less than 1.5 m in height must wear a suitable safety belt or be
otherwise suitably restrained.
·
Motorcycle or moped
drivers must
have the
following in
mind:
o
The law states
that both
the driver
and passenger must wear safety
helmets
o Rental agencies should supply helmet(s) at the time of
rental upon request
o
A passenger can be
carried on appropriate motorcycles / mopeds provided that he / she is over 12
years old and sits astride the seat.
·
Third party
insurance coverage is required
·
Pedestrians must remember that traffic moves on the left side of the road
·
Therefore you must always:
o
Walk on the pavement. In case there is no pavement walk on the right side of
the road (i.e. towards the oncoming traffic)
o
Look both to your right and left before crossing any road
·
Rush hours in cities are 07:00 – 08:00, 13:00 – 14:00 and in late afternoon 17:00 – 18:00
in
winter
or
18:00 – 19:00 in
summer
·
In case of an accident, call 199 or 112 immediately
Car
rentals – Hire Cars
Major self-drive car rental firms have offices in all towns, as well as
at the Larnaca International Airport. A list of car rental companies can be found
in the CTO’s annual guide to hotels, travel agencies and other tourist
services, available on CTO’s website. Rented cars are also known as “Z” cars because
their registration number, which is shown on red plates, starts or not,
sometimes, (by a revisioned law, a few months ago) with Z letter.
Drivers under 25 years old, holding a driving licence for less than 3
years at the time of rental, must inform the car rental company so as an
under-age insurance cover-note can be provided. Customers should read all the
information on the rental car agreement and demand that all of their car rental
rights be met.
Winter rates are in effect from November 1st –
March
31st.
Companies offer reduced
rates during the winter period.
Public Transport
The main means of public transportation in Cyprus are public and private
buses’ companies and taxis which cover an extensive network. You can find urban
and rural buses in every town and district by public district companies, which
they connect with all of people needs: malls, hospitals, commercial streets,
airports, ports, hotels, tourist establishments, e.t.c., intercity buses by a
specialized public company from / to all main district bus terminals and from /
to some district meeting points and airport routes from / to Nicosia and Larnaca by Kapnos
Airport Shuttle company or you can rental a bus before you come in Cyprus by
one of several private companies, i.e. A. Panayi Buses (tel.: 00357 22439473 or
00357 99415178) from Nicosia if you are an organized tourist group to transport
you from airport to hotel / tourist establishment and back, including all your
holiday transportations from your hotel / tourist establishment to any place
you organized or you would like to go, without have to worry about (small
anyway) distances.
You can have all similar telephone numbers by CYTA YELLOW PAGES, on
website, easily.
On other site, if you are not a group but just a big family or many
friends, you can have your taxi(s)! Taxis in Cyprus are working in two ways:
Some of them are going to their working district meeting points and they are
waiting there for a customer who wants to leave the place or to call them for a
transport to airport, port, hotel / tourist establishment, mall, e.t.c. The
other way of taxis working is by calling. You can call for a taxi by hotel’s / tourist
establishment’s reception and in few minutes it will wait for you on hotel’s /
tourist establishment’s entrance to transport you in every place that you
organized or want to go.
Important note is that on public and Kapnos’ buses the ticket price is fixed,
but on tourist groups’ bus rental and on taxis, prices are going differently.
On rented buses, you have to talk about the price with the bus owner and you are
adviced to have an officially written and signed by the group leader or organizer
(if they are different) and the bus owner, fully explaining and in well
understanding language all informations and details.
In taxis, thinks are going totally different! At
first
you
have
to
avoid
taxis
without
taximeter!
As you can understand,
this taxis will maybe charge you as much as they like and maybe they will be a big
– big surprise and a huge disappointment on your relaxing days! So, at first you
can get inform for all the taxi rates on CTO’s website and get, on second step,
a taxi with taximeter. A detail that gives a step to taxis and rented buses, is
that they are working on 24/7, instead of public and airport buses.
So, after this information, the choice between all public transportation
types, is yours!
Useful Information
Climate
Cyprus is characterized by rather mild winters and hot summers. Average minimum
and maximum temperatures:
August: 21oC – 40oC
February: 6oC – 16oC
Public holidays
01/01
New Year’s Eve
06/01
Epiphany Day
M/D* Green
Monday
25/03
Greek National Day
01/04
Cypriot National Day
M/D Good
Friday (Orthodox)
M/D Easter
Sunday (Orthodox)
M/D Easter
Monday
01/05 Labour Day
M/D Holy Spirit
Day (Cataclysm’s Eve)
15/08 Assumption
01/10 Cyprus
Independence Day
28/10 Greek
National Day
25/12 Christmas
Day
26/12 Boxing Day
*M/D: Moveable
Day
Useful Telephone Numbers
Police / Fire Brigade
/ First Aid / Ambulance
|
112 / 199
|
Police
|
22802020
|
Forest Fire
Reports
|
1407
|
Nicosia
General Hospital
|
22603000
|
Limassol
General Hospital
|
25801100
|
Larnaca General Hospital
|
24800500
|
Paphos General Hospital
|
26803100
|
Paralimni (Famagusta) General Hospital
|
23232000
|
Archbishop Macarius Hospital
(Nicosia)
|
2240500
|
Advisory Bureau on
AIDS
|
22305155
|
Support Against Drugs
Abuse
|
1410
|
Overnight
Pharmacies
|
90901412
|
Doctors On Call
|
90901432
|
Electricity Faults
|
90901420
|
National Directory Enquiries
|
11892
|
International Directory
Enquiries (Country codes, trunk codes, rates)
|
11894
|
International Calls
|
80000198
|
Exact Time in
English
|
1893
|
Exact Time in
Greek
|
1895
|
Cyprus’ Calling-from-abroad
Code
|
00357
|
