Over July 4th weekend, Jeremy, my mom, and I headed up to Agia Napa, a small resort town at the far eastern end of southeastern Cyprus. This area of the island is widely said to have some of the most gorgeous beaches in all of Europe (and that’s saying A LOT.)

Well, that statement turned out to be pretty accurate. Ayia Napa has 14 pristine beaches, and each was more beautiful than the next.

Crystal clear turquoise water (perfect for practicing handstands and swimming strokes) was around every corner.

While I’m a firm believer that beauty can be found anywhere, and I love cities just as much as coastal spots, Ayia Napa does its very best to rival everywhere else.

In addition to having stellar beaches, the little town of Agia Napa had pretty much anything you’d want (including a Wagamama, a seriously delicious British chain restaurant). We also stopped and had our feet “cleaned” by little fish. They’re supposed to eat off all the dead skin and increase circulation. Not sure if that actually happened, but I’d have to recommend it for the weird tickling feeling alone.

All that being said, the true crown jewel of Cyprus is Cape Greco. Hands down the most otherworldly spot on the island, we all walked around with our jaws on the floor. It’s a National Park with one small, winding road. You’ll see small signs to pull off onto little dirt roads, which inevitably lead to somewhere gorgeous.

Have you ever seen a sight so beautiful? And pictures DO NOT even do it justice!

Water so vibrant and clear, I’d swear it was photoshopped. We swam until I could barely move.

The ultimate Cape Greco stop is the Sea Caves. We’d heard there was a place to go cliff jumping, and were pretty determined to find it, and make the jump ourselves. We arrived and peered down about 40 feet to the water below.

Butterflies filled my stomach, and we all debated whether or not we were going in. We were there for about an hour, chatting with other groups and watching a few brave souls actually make the leap. Finally, we admitted defeat and left for lunch. Almost as soon as we’d pulled away, we all admitted that we should have just faced our fears and gone for it.

So, we went back the next day. I knew if we were going to jump, we needed to just get out of the car, walk to the edge, and do it, no standing around or we’d talk ourselves out of it.

Well, HOLY SHIT. That jump was insane. If you somehow found the courage to actually go for it, you still had to enter the water in as straight of a line as possible to avoid injury, then swim through the sea caves and over to the rocks to climb out. Honestly, the climb out of the water and back up the rocks was more difficult than the jump!

My mom and I both had to be helped up by a wonderful group of Swedish guys, who were filming a music video. So, if I happen to become a D-List celeb in Scandinavia, you’ll know why.

Overall, I’d say Cape Greco was my absolute favorite part of Cyprus, and would make any trip to the island 110% WORTH. IT.