Guest Seeing as most of us have jobs and studies to keep our holidays short and sweet, a four and a half hour plane journey – rather than a leisurely cruise – is the easiest way to arrive at the beach town, which is 30 miles and roughly a 45 minute drive away from the international airport of Larnaca.

The airlines EasyJet, Monarch, British Airways and Cyprus Airways all make the trip to Larnaca from most international UK airports. Here is the run down on each service:

British Airways

Ah, good old classy BA with their snappy navy uniforms and controversially-timed strikes – God bless 'em. These guys fly from London to Larnaca every day of the week, and, if you book them early enough, they offer fair prices and a reliable service. Generally, they fly out at a rather civilised 9am, and return flights to London leave at 5pm.

Cyprus Airways

BA's slightly more exotic sister, the national airline has the advantage of using the slightly wider-bodied, more comfortable Airbus A330 planes and flies daily from London, Birmingham and Manchester to Larnaca. She's not as cheap as the budget airlines but her service can't be faulted...

EasyJet

Although it may be stuck with the cheap and cheerful tag, there is no denying that EasyJet has itself firmly welded to the top of many a price comparison table.

The budget airline previously didn't offer flights to Cyprus (the four and a half hour flight time didn't fit its low cost business model) however, EasyJet bowed to pressure last year and now offers a route from London Gatwick to Larnaca for as little as £39.99 one way. Flights to and from Cyprus are scheduled four days a week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, but customers should be aware of the extra costs EasyJet sneak in for baggage (£6 for 20kg per person, with excess baggage ringing in at £6 per kilo) and speedy boarding, which costs an extra £7.50.

Monarch

Another good value airline to choose for your Cyprus trip, especially if you're flying out of Manchester, Monarch has low cost flights every day of the week bar Saturday. However, flight times could leave you at something of a disadvantage, as the majority take off from the UK in the late afternoon and arrive late at night, which means wasting a day in hotel costs. Also, return flights tend to leave just before midnight, getting you back home in the small hours, which may not be convenient for everyone.