You may have noticed that when it comes to children, Cyprus has an abundance of activities and entertainment options. But as far as teenagers go, things get more complicated. It's true that in the summertime there are plenty of water sports activities to choose from. But what should you do if the sea has cooled down and it is too windy to spend time at the beach? We found a solution: it is Sayious Adventure Park!

The park is located just outside of Limassol. You can find a map with directions on their website. Plus there are a number of road signs showing the way.

There is a selection of activities to choose from: riding a buggy or an ATV (though you do need a driver's license to enjoy these), carting, paintball and archery. And if you are daring enough you can take a motorcycle riding class.

The website has a detailed description of all the available activities and their prices. You can also review the different packages available for couples and families.

I should say that I really enjoyed the website: www.sayiousadventurepark.com, which has a great FAQ section, a photo and video gallery and recommendations for visitors.

As you arrive at Sayious Adventure Park, you will immediately notice that commerce is not it’s main goal. So much heart and soul have been put into this place and everything was designed to make visitors as comfortable as possible. Whether you stopped by just for 10 minutes to test your archery skills or decided to spend an entire day going on different rides, walking around, practicing archery or making souvlaki (if you book more than 250 euros worth of activities, you'll be able to enjoy the barbecue area and prepare your own lunch).

Andreas — the founder of the place — told me that the adventure park recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. The idea of creating a place like this evolved from Andreas' love for motorcycle racing. As a father he used to spend time with his sons teaching them about motorcycles. When his children grew up, he realized that he wanted to create a place where parents and their teenage children could spend time doing something fun and new together.

Andreas gave us a tour of the park and we got to try some of the activities. We started out with a round of archery and a game of paintball. I have shot a bow and arrow before. It was a long time ago, but my hands seemed to remember it nevertheless. Unfortunately, I still missed the aim. But shooting from a gun was a totally different story — it worked out pretty well and I gunned down all of the mannequins!  

Then Andreas gave us suits and helmets so we could go karting. Navigating one of those karts along a dirt road turned out to be quite a big deal. But we decided that speeding and competing was a boy thing and girls should instead enjoy an easy ride just for pleasure.

There is a rock-climbing wall near the carting course, where you can test your climbing skills. Despite its appearance and the fact that it is supposed to be climbed horizontally, it was a very challenging endeavor for us and we failed to finish it. However, it is a good reason to come back and try it again.

After rock-climbing we met Andreas’ son, Kakos. He gave us a buggy tour of the area. The sun was beginning to set and the light was beautiful. Since we were taking turns driving the buggy, we were able to enjoy the surrounding views.

All in all, Sayious Adventure Park is definitely a great place if you want to get an adrenaline rush, try something new or simply have fun for a few hours.

Alexandra Malysheva’s blog: sparkling-photo.livejournal.com