Exploring Vegan Travel in Cyprus | Farah Shammas

Link for the Shownotes

Today we have a truly exciting guest joining us. We’ll be speaking with Farah Shammas, the Managing Director of St. Raphael Resort and Marina in Limassol, Cyprus. Farah is a passionate advocate for sustainability and plant-based living in the hospitality industry, and she has been leading incredible initiatives to make vegan-friendly travel more accessible.

In this episode, we’ll explore how Cyprus, a stunning Mediterranean destination rich in history and culture, is evolving into a must-visit spot for vegan travelers. Farah will share her journey of integrating sustainability into a large resort, including the groundbreaking launch of Cyprus’s first fully vegan hotel restaurant. She’ll also give us insights into the island’s natural beauty, from breathtaking seaview accommodations to outdoor adventures, as well as its fascinating historical and cultural treasures.

So, whether you’re a seasoned vegan traveler or simply curious about how luxury resorts can embrace sustainability, this episode is for you. Let’s dive in!

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Transcript

Brighde: Hello Farah and welcome to the World Vegan Travel podcast. Thank you for joining me. 



Farah: Hello, hello. Thank you so much for having me on.



Brighde: I am thrilled to have you on because when I learned about what it is that you're doing, I knew that I had to have you on the podcast. Because you're going to be sharing about a destination that we have never had on the podcast before which is Cyprus, thing Cyprus, vegan travel Cyprus, veganism in Cyprus, all of these things. So before we get into the topic of the podcast, Farah, would you mind telling us what it is that you do in the vegan travel space and then maybe tell us what brought you to that point. 



Farah: Okay, two interesting questions. So, hi everyone. Thank you so much for tuning in to hear all about our lovely little island and what we can offer to vegans. I'm based in Cyprus, which is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. It is very east in the Mediterranean. It's the furthest east, and we have a population of around one and a half million people. 



Brighde: Oh. 



Yeah. So we're definitely, you know, like a town somewhere else, but we're quite big and we have four Mediterranean islands. And we have, of course, the amazing weather. We're quite far south in the Med. So we get beautiful seasons, but it is warm. Like, even now, we're recording this in January, and it's about 20, 22 degrees in the day. Yeah, really beautiful. Summer, okay, it gets very hot, 35, 40 degrees plus. We're a green island when it's not scorching hot. I run a hotel here. So my family actually own a hotel, a five star luxury resort in the south of the island on the South Coast in Limassol, which is, in my opinion, the best town in Cyprus. It's very cosmopolitan. We're close to everything. Thirty minutes from one airport and 40 minutes from the other airport. And our resort is a large one. It's 272 rooms and it has a 238-berth marina. Oh, wow. 



Farah: Yes, so it's really an eight restaurant spa. It's a large resort. I say that because for a lot of people, when they think of vegan travel, they think of sustainable travel, which often comes hand in hand with veganism. They close their eyes and they think of these idyllic, beautiful, small, cozy, 20 bedroom village or mountain resorts or natural little luxury huts on the beach. There are only 10, whereas we're this huge model that has come out of the travel industry, this tourism industry. We opened in 1987. My grandfather built it, my dad was running it, and now I've been running it. I've been working there for all of my working life. It was my mission to make this hotel a showpiece to showcase how large resorts could be sustainable. And people at first were like, yeah, well, that's not really possible. This big linear model that we have in this hospitality industry. And I was like, no, it is, and it's our duty. And it's actually even more so because we do have such a big carbon footprint. And I wanted to really prove that, not just in Cyprus, but in Europe, and then in further afield, how large resorts can become sustainable. And I'm very proud because we have won many awards now in this field. We were the only hotel ever to have been certified as carbon-neutral on the island. Of course, full disclosure, I bought carbon credit to do that, but I couldn't do that fully. I had to really work on whether it was through latest tech, like putting photovoltaics, or whether it's through smaller things like going plastic free. And being more sustainable than the typical, we'll wash your towels only when you want, like these gimmicks. One of the big things we did was, in one of our eight restaurants, to go completely vegan. So we're the only hotel on the island with a completely vegan restaurant. And in all our restaurants, all eight of them, we have a golden rule of at least 30 percent of the menu, whether it's buffet or set menu a la carte, has to be plant-based.



Brighde: You mean there's choice? 



Farah: There is choice. So you can come to the hotel and eat at any one of our bars or restaurants, and you're not just going to have a beyond  pâté thrown at you or, you know, the token sorbet or fruit platter. There is going to be tomato pasta.



Yeah, I mean, we've all been there. We've got a chicken caesar salad. I'll just take out the chicken. No. There is a proper full vegan. And I say that 30 percent, some days it will be 40, 50, sometimes. So, we literally have so much repeat business now from vegans and vegetarians who are coming to our resort and saying, 'Wow. This is the first holiday I have ever had where I haven't been worried about food, where I've eaten and I've enjoyed it.' To be honest, where people have said I haven't put on weight because I've been able to eat what I normally eat, and not eat a load of, you know. 



Brighde: Refined carbs. 



Farah: Yeah. Fine pieces of white bread and, you know, and lunch there was nothing else. All our staff are trained around this. We're the only hotel on the island that's part of Vegan Welcome.



I'm sure everybody knows Vegan Welcome here. I love, I love what they're doing. Thomas and his whole team there, collecting all these, you know, four and five star hotels that cater for vegans. So we've done a lot in that direction. And then just to quickly move to the second part of your question. So what led us there, or me there, is, obviously, you know, I'm vegan. I have had difficulty when I travel all the time. I think what a lot of establishments don't realize, and please, if you have a restaurant or hotel and you're listening to this or any business, remember these words, the minority leads the majority.



Brighde: Oh. Can you explain that in this context? 



Farah: In our case, we're a hotel and we have restaurants. The majority of people are not vegan, so who cares? Like even if the vegans don't come, I don't care because I want bums in bed. I want to sell my food, and I want to make money. Bottom line, is that I've got to take that back to a board and a shareholder. Yeah, fair enough. I get that. But if there's a family of four or five or ten or a group of friends traveling or even just a couple and the one person has an intolerance, a dietary requirement. You can be guaranteed that the other 10 people or two people or five people, whatever, are not going. 



They're going to go where the minority can eat or where the minority is comfortable. So if you cater for that one person, whether it's a couple or a group, it's going to bring more people. And especially in our case, like people are coming and they're so happy that they're leaving and saying, 'You know what? I've already booked for next year and I'm going to bring five other families with me. And I'm going to tell all my friends about it.'I need to have a product to be able to cater for the vegans. So I can't lose money or not sell something viable. But at least I offer this, and in doing so, even non-vegans are like wow, that was delicious or I never thought about that. When I go home, I'm going to have a day a week where I'm going to be plant-based. And that's how change slowly happens, step by step.



Brighde: I absolutely love that. I'm just so excited about this and the fact that you're obviously, you know, a very savvy, a business person. You've been in this industry for so long. May I ask when did you become vegan? I 



Farah: became vegan, I think it's eight years now. Maybe eight and a half, yeah.



Brighde: You already running the hotel at this point? So did you like,' Oh my goodness, okay, I've got a lot of work that I want to do.'



Farah: My journey into veganism has been a slow and steady one. I was brought up in; I have a mixed background. I'm British Lebanese, growing up in Cyprus and England. We really did eat a lot of meat growing up. Lebanese cuisine has, even though it has a lot of vegan things, it also has a lot of meat. And that for me was normal, and that's just how it was and what we're supposed to be doing. Even though I'm a lady, to say it, in the macho frame of mind, I would kill an animal and we have to do this. I actually started getting more and more into health. I had IBS issues, and psoriasis, and I started reading into health and nutrition. I have three children now, but when I had my first child, and I went to the pediatrician, and they advised I give my eight month old ham. I was like, wait a minute, like something's wrong here. But before that, before I'd had Yasmina, I'd already been pescatarian for 10 years. Initially, it was obviously red meat, white meats, and then I stayed with fish, which at the time I thought was better because it didn't inflame my IBS.And then I got more and more into nutrition. Having the children really pushed me into that, had some flare ups with my psoriasis. And then I was like, you know what, I'm going to go plant-based. And I say that because it was plant-based initially. I had a kind of a year of that. I ended up doing, I have two plant-based nutrition certificates now.One from the Colin T. Campbell and eCornell Institute, and the other from the Food Revolution Network, and I'm a certified plant-based nutrition coach as well. So that's been really fun. I'm vegan for the animals. And it took a while to convince my team that this was the way to go, and I think, you don't even realize there's an issue or a problem until you've faced that personally. That's been quite fun as well, like interesting to try and convince, you know, old school Cypriots who love their meat. The team has done amazingly well. Everyone's on board. My general manager is fantastic at this. The chef is amazing. Our current chef and our previous chef, they've done, and are doing great, great jobs. And everyone has just been amazing. So it just takes perseverance, but it is worth it.



Brighde: I often say that, when people say that they're reluctant to advocate for their needs, whether it's dietary or whatever it is, they feel awkward or embarrassed about it when traveling or in hospitality. But I think, what a lot of the time people forget, is that, people are in hospitality because they want to be hospitable. And part of that is making sure that people are comfortable, making sure that people have a good experience, like they care about that stuff. Obviously, you have a very long family history in the hospitality industry, and I'm sure you hire people that align with those values. So it doesn't surprise me that it's not going to be a super easy transition, but that people were prepared to do the work to make it happen. That's so cool. 



Farah: Thank you. Thank you.



Brighde: So I'd love to talk about Cyprus as a destination, but I'd really love to know more about the hotel. I'd love it if you could just sort of tell me, like, what the rooms like. I think we all have in our mind what a Mediterranean resort would be like, but maybe there are some people listening that have never been to a resort like this? So maybe you can talk a little bit about what the rooms are like, what the landscaping is, what the vibe is, what is your clientele? That would help listeners decide if coming to Cyprus and staying at your hotel would be a good fit for them. 



Farah: Absolutely. Well, I mean, horses for courses. There's so many different forms of accommodation now out there, and it's just so nice. And people, you know, they don't have to fall into one category. One time they might want to go and stay in one type of establishment, another time, another. As I said, we're a large hotel, but we do take hospitality very seriously, so we're really welcoming to people. We're five star, but we're not snooty, if that makes sense. So, it is very, it is luxury. It's, you know, beautiful marble, lobby, classic style, classic modern, I'd say. A lot of our areas have a kind of art deco feel. I'm sure anyone can go on the website and look at some of the pictures, but it's got a homely feel. It's got like a heart and a soul. I had really nice comments from many guests, actually, but one I remember last year, was someone saying that they'd been to Cyprus something like 18 times, and each time they'd stayed at different hotels, and they just loved the island. They loved exploring and they've been to different towns and different villages but always four or five star hotels, and they were like; ours is the only hotel that they've been booking to come back again. They said, next year we're going to come for four weeks. And we found our place now. We, after 18 years we're no longer, 18 times, we're no longer going to stay anywhere else. And I was like, oh, so what made the difference? And they told me, your place has a soul. It has a soul. Like, we're so happy here. So we have beautiful, beautiful gardens. We have, you know, tens of thousands of square meters of green, luscious gardens. We've got an olive tree in our gardens that we're very proud of, that has been there for a thousand years. It's a thousand year old tree. And we've got the largest blue flag beach in Limassol. 



Brighde: I'm surprised you have a beach if it's also a marina. That was a question I had for you. 



Yes, and it has 



Farah: a blue flag. So it's European standard cleanliness. Yeah, we're very, very strict on that. And our, yeah, marine rules. So the marina is more, don't think of it like a port or anything, like oily or no, no, no. It's got beautiful sailing yachts and it's really idyllic. So you have these stunning views from the hotel just looking out on this diamond shaped marina. 



 Yes, it's lovely. It's really lovely. Lot of big, big beach and the nice thing, the beach doesn't have any rocks. Especially for families with small children or for the elderly or people that aren't so, you know, secure at swimming. You can really walk in for 



Brighde: a 
  



Farah: for a very long way and feel relaxed, and not worried at all. We have lovely restaurants. We've got an amazing Thai restaurant and as we all know, Thai has amazing vegan options. So it's the only fine-dining Thai restaurant in Limassol. And we have a separate restaurant, Italian restaurant, buffet restaurants, beautiful bar with amazing bar food. And of course our vegan restaurant, Seashells Healthy Living, that has everything from scrumptious salads to, you know, the meat tasting burgers. Yeah, really, really, oh, so good. Oreo muffins and so much more. Our rooms are, you know, 95 percent of them are Seaview. They're all spacious. Our smallest room is 27 square meters. But they go up, obviously, to 75 square meters and more if you book a three bedroom suite. We have a penthouse that's available for rent, that is 480 square meters, imagine, four bedrooms.



Brighde: That is enormous.



Farah: So we have, yeah, a luxury residential tower. So yeah, I mean.



Brighde: What do you mean a luxury resident tower? 



Farah: So we have our hotel and next to it we have this high-rise tower. It's 14 levels, let's say, 12 floors of apartments, and we have people who live there. It's like a condo, a condo hotel, and we have also some that are available to rent, short and long term. And obviously with room service, there's full security. We have a spa. Our spa uses only vegan products. And, really, really lovely, amazing facials and signature body treatments and massages. Then, not to go on too much about the hotel, we're situated in Limassol, which is the largest seaside town on the island. 



Brighde: On the south, it's facing south, right? I've got my little map here.



Farah: Exactly. So, we're bang in the middle. So, if you want to explore the mountains, let's say this time of year, you can go up to the mountains. You'll be there within 45 minutes and you'll see snow. And on the same day, you can come down and put your feet in the seawater and even swim. For some people, it's amazing. And there's lots of beautiful villages in Cyprus. Amazing nature trails. We have over 50 nature trails. And a lot are suitable for families with small children. Others are longer. We have linear, we have circular. So really lovely. We have Christmas villages in wintertime. Christmas villages.



Brighde: What does that mean in this context, in Cyprus? 



In 



Farah: Cyprus, a lot of people just think of Cyprus as a summer sun destination and it is. It's amazing. You can come here, you know, from April, May until November, and just lounge on a beach and have absolutely stunning scenery and enjoy great food. Perfect. But you can also explore the villages. You can do hikes. We've got amazing 12, 000 years worth of history. Archaeological sites that are just breathtaking. The mountains are stunning with pine forests. Amazing UNESCO buildings, and churches, and monasteries. We're very well known for cycling, and people come here to do training and sports training. We have a casino now on the island. I mean, there's just something for everyone. We've got shopping, great water sports any time of year, and we also have Christmas villages. This was something that the Deputy Minister of Tourism initiated a few years ago. So we have several villages in Cyprus that have official Christmas villages. So, from the beginning of December, all the way until, usually, 7th or even 15th of January, you can go to this village. It's just transformed into a Christmas market. There's food and we have an amazing Vegan Fam Fest. We have a vegan festival here every September that happens in an ancient olive grove. But the people who do that, they're very good at vegan food and they have the Cyprus Vegan Guide as well. They have a stand in one of the Christmas villages, so you can go and eat lots of vegan food and you'll always find something that is in traditional Cypriot food that is vegan. the Mediterranean diet has a lot of legumes and pulses, fresh salads, anything from wild mushrooms, beautiful olives, nice bread, different rice dishes. There's so many things that you can enjoy. Even in a taverna that traditionally caters for fish or meat, you can always eat,yeah, some yummy food. And we have quite a few vegan restaurants that are popping up as well. So yeah, yeah, we're good. You can be a satisfied vegan coming to Cyprus, that's for sure.



Brighde: It really does sound like that. So I would love to dig into some of the other destinations and attractions that are around Cyprus because I don't know about you. So I would love to maybe know a little bit more about, like, the cultural and historical attractions because you've got a lot of old ruins and ancient civilizations that were there. Some medieval history. Would you mind talking to some of those things for the history buffs amongst us? 



Farah: I love history. So, the main thing that we're very famous for, is that the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love, she was called Venus in the Roman empire. She was born in Cyprus. She was born just outside of Paphos but the Limassol side. There's Aphrodite's Rock. It's very beautiful and legend has it that if you swim around that rock three times you will have eternal youth and beauty. So for anybody watching this, I did that 300 years ago. I'm actually 340. I'm joking. So, yeah, but it's, that's something definitely, it's a picture moment. You go and see that. We're also very well known for other historical moments. For example, we are the oldest place in the world that was, well, discovered to be the oldest, that had a domesticated cat. So we had domesticated cats here, and we were also the first place in the world to bottle smells and hence make perfume. And that village is the village where Saint Raphael is technically under. So just five minutes from our hotel you can go and see where they first bottled perfumes. Another myth, we have a kingdom, again, in the region where St. Raphael is. So it takes a very short walk, or just two minutes in the car. And you're at this kingdom called Amethyst, which is this ruins, but very, I mean, just beautiful and within the hills, and by the sea. You can even see the sunken marina on a clear day. And that's thousands of years old. But the myth of Pygmalion actually sprang out of that village because the king fell in love with a statue and would marry the statue, and then have mere mortals be the human form of that statue. I mean it was quite a kinky way of, you know, having several women in his lifetime. Pygmalion which then was, you know, of course, became the movie, My Fair Lady, came out of that. We have also a lot to do with Richard the Lionheart. So the King Richard, from England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, son of Plantagenet. And hewas on the Crusades to save the Holy Land, and he stopped in Cyprus, and he built a beautiful castle called Kolossi Castle, and he also built the Limassol Castle where people can even get married. It's where he got married to Berengaria of Navarre. So we have that history as well. I mean, it goes on and on. We have amphitheaters. We have temples built to Apollo. And then, in more recent times, with Greek Orthodox religion, we have many beautiful monasteries, many beautiful churches. Some of them are UNESCO with amazing icons and iconostasis. That's where you hang all the icons at the front of the church. So the list goes on. I mean, we have beach walks. We have beautiful restaurants. Limassol is so well known for gastronomy. And it's all achievable while you're here because the distances are so easy.



Brighde: I wanted to talk about that becauseI'm guessing, that a lot of people that do come to Cyprus, they often would fly in for their two week holiday. They might not have access to a car. What is the public transportation like to get around the island?



Farah: So, really easy. We drive on the left, same as the UK. All signs are in Greek and English, so that's all easy. Everybody speaks English here, which is great. You can always stop and ask for directions, and obviously there's Google Maps now as well. We have a great taxi services. So the taxis are quite easy to get. We also now have Bolt and other taxis. And then our roads are very good. Really, we've got a very good infrastructure. So that part is easy. It's easy to rent a car. Then we have buses. And the buses are also very good. They run regularly in the towns themselves. We havebuses that connect each town with each other. Obviously buses take longer than, you know, if you're doing a car transfer, like anywhere else in the world, but it's all very easy. We've got a beautiful beach walk that takes you through the whole 14 kilometers of the town. You can walk a lot of it as well. So, yeah, it's really good. There's lots of options.



Brighde: And something I'm curious about is the cost of living, traveling, in Cyprus as well. Like in North America, that part has become extremely expensive and whenever I go to Europe I do feel that it's pretty reasonably priced with the exception of a few places like; talking to you Switzerland; but I'm just curious about how expensive is it. You know, to have a glass of wine or to go and have a little meal in a taverna. 



Farah: So, again, horses for courses, and we have both. So we have bus tickets that; and don't quote me on this; but I think it's around 2 euros, 



Brighde: 250. 



Wow, that's very 



Farah: super cheap.



Our taxis are obviously more. But if you're, you know, imagining that you're two people in the car with luggage and everything, yes, compared to Switzerland or anything like that. It's more comparable with the UK prices, I'd say. And petrol's gone up. It didn't used to be that much, but now to hire a car is very reasonable. Depending on the time of year, it might be 20 Euros a day, and depending on the car you want. It might be 35 a day, it might be 45 a day. Depends when you're coming, who you're booking with, and food. You can eat a lovely meal in a simple restaurant or cafe or taverna, and a glass of wine or something, and pay 15 or 20 euros. Or you can go and pay 150 per person in the luxury gourmet restaurants, especially some of the chain ones when you're really eating well. So it just depends what you're looking for and what you want. But we have something for everyone, that's for sure.



Brighde: I've noticed when I look on a map of Cyprus that you do seem to have a lot of space. How might people experience the natural beauty of the place? We talked a little bit about the beach and spending time in the water, but what about in the mountains? Is getting out into the countryside easily accessible? Hiking, any tips for that or any favorites you care to share? 



Farah: Yeah. So there's sites that have all of the nature trails on them, and they're all very well marked and just beautiful. Very easy to get to. 



We use euros as well. So yeah, it's very easy to get to there, especially if you rent a car, you can go. I would say that's probably the best way to go to where the nature is and the trails, but there are also organized tours with guides. And speaking just different languages so you can also do all of that. So it is very easy. We also have things like diving. We're quite well known and we have a 



Brighde: few shipwrecks people 



Really? Fun! 



Farah: And there's even an underwater sculpture museum. 



Brighde: Shut the front door. That's very 



cool. 



Farah: Yeah, so that's also really nice. And then in Ayia Napa, which is on the east of the island, there's a beautiful huge parkwith sculptures, outdoor sculpture park, really beautiful. So, yeah, there's just something for everyone. The whole island is just so different. You can literally go like half an hour and you're just looking at one place. A turquoise beach with this gold sand. Another place with silver sand with deep blue seas. Another place with white rocks and very dramatic. And it's just, you know, absolutely stunning.



It really is stunning.



Brighde: Wow. I'm looking at, like you've got the sea caves. There's Akama National Forest Park. Paphos 
  



 Forest. There's, honestly, there's so 



much! It's 



crazy! 



Farah: There's a lot. There's a lot. There's a lot in Nicosia. Yeah, like in terms of museums and that's the capital. There's just a lot to see. So that's why people come back over and over again. And it's really beautiful to welcome people, to see all of the different parts of the island that we have to offer.



Brighde: Could you share with me, please, like the different seasons of time to go? You've already talked a little bit about the climate. When are the peak seasons to go and why? When are the shoulder seasons to go and why? And when is the low season? Is your hotel, the St. Raphael Hotel, is that open in the winter as well? 



Farah: So it is. We're actually closed at the moment. I mean, we're recording this January 2025. We'll reopen the 12th of March 2025, but we're not a seasonal hotel. We're just closed now for two months because we're redoing all our balconies, which is very exciting, and all our kitchens. We'll have lots of amazingly vegan dishes that we're going to be offering for our new kitchens. We've got some things we're tweaking. And the balconies, which had a stone facade, now they're just going to be glass. So we're really enhancing that. 



Brighde: Oh, lovely, 



nice. 



Farah: But normally we are open. Cyprus, it's nice any time of year, and it really depends what people are looking for. If someone is traveling and they're chasing the sun and the beach or a swimming pool and they've got kids, then obviously they've narrowed it down to July and August, which is the peak season. And it's the most expensive time to come here. But if you're not tied down with that, or if you do have children but don't need that boiling sun, then I would really recommend to come at the Easter holidays or when they've got half term because you're going to get a much better price, much better value for money. Yes, it's not going to be as hot, but you don't need 40 degrees. You know, what's wrong with 28 or 30 or 32. So, yeah, it is nice. Okay, the April holidays, you know, then it might be, yeah, cooler. It might be 25, 28 degrees. It really depends. But it's just such a nice time to come. And the nice thing about March and April is that it's just so green. The island is so green. So it's just absolutely lush to look at and just beautiful. But the sea is a little bit cold then. Whereas if you come in October, the weather, the temperature's around the same. The island's not as green. But the sea is like a bath because it's had all summer. 



Brighde: Right. 



Farah: So it depends what you're looking for. November, we're still swimming in the sea. It's not at all winter or shoulder season. It's beautiful. And it's first of November, the rates drop. So, you know, planes will be more affordable to get here. December's a very, especially beginning of December, is quite a quiet month. So again, December and January in particular. February, you're looking at the best prices for hotels, like crazy prices, and yet it is such a good time to come. And yes, you might have a little bit of rain here and there when you come, but if you don't mind, and you want to come and really explore the island and do nature trails, have some great food, relax with beautiful views, and you are open to anything. So you might come here, and every day it might be 22 to 25 degrees or it might drop and it might be, you know, 17 degrees or it might rain. But if you're open to that and you know you're not desperate for guaranteed sun, I mean, I say that is guaranteed sun, but you never know. It only rains about a week a year. It might rain that week that you come, but it's beautiful. So I love, I love the winter here and I'm a summer person, but I just think it's so beautiful. It's just green and lovely and I love enjoying the nature. There's just a lot. Anytime you come, there'll be something to see. And also in February, 50 days before the beginning of our Easter. So before our Easter.



So we have something called Green Monday, that's when our fasting period starts.



Brighde: Is this an orthodox thing? 



Farah: Yes.Greek Orthodox. But before that happens, we have ten days of Carnival. So, literally, the whole of Limassol, Carnivals in Limassol, the whole of Limassol is dressing up every day. Every night, wigs, you go to any restaurants, people are dressed up, there's street parties. It is so much fun. And we are second, as reported by CNN, only to Rio. 



Brighde: Wow. And this is in February. So people could really time their visit, get good prices but still enjoy just joy because sometimes when we go to some resort towns in the winter time, most restaurants are closed. It feels a little bit sad. 



Farah: No. Limassol. You definitely don't get that. Maybe in some other places on the island, you might feel that a tiny bit, but in  Limassol, no way. We're vibrant, vibrant, cosmopolitan, place that, yeah, we're open all year.



Brighde: Amazing. I am so excited about the possibility of coming to Cyprus. You really have sold it to me, at least. I'd love to ask you a few rapid fire questions, if you don't mind.So what is your favorite dish at St. Raphael's resort that guests must try? 



My favourite dish is, oh there's so many. So on the buffet, I really love, we make this artichoke stew that has like this lemon, almost creamy texture. It's completely vegan, and it's so good. It's so good on rice. We also make an amazing pasticcio, which is a traditional baked pasta dish. So traditionally it's with mincemeat, bechamel sauce, even a bit of cheese on top, and we make it completely vegan. And the funniest is, is that people take it without realizing it's vegan. And they're like, oh this is so good, like non-vegans. And we're like, yes, you know, we did it. And in seashells, I think my favorite is the truffle gyros. Wow.



Farah: Oh, it's so good. And also, oh, I love seashells, our vegan restaurant, everything. I love everything. And we also do, it's simple, but we really do the best falafel. I dare anyone to find a better falafel. 



Brighde: Really? Okay. That interests me. I recently just put an Instagram post out where I collated all of the things that vegans often get when they are travelling, like tomato pasta. And I did include falafel on that dish, although I definitely will definitely say that it depends on how it's cooked. 



 And I got ChatGPT to roast all of those dishes. So basically taking the mickey out of them. Like, you know, just giving them a bit of a hard time And it's quite funny. The response on Instagram was quite funny because we've all been in situations where we've just been served a tomato pasta or a flavorless falafel but the fact that you're saying that it's like one of the best things on the menu. I want to try it for sure. 



Farah: I know. And they put pickles and amazing fruits and veg. We are really well known in Cyprus for potatoes. So, yeah, we have amazing potatoes. They're exported all over the world. They are so good.



Brighde: Right. Cypriot potatoes. I remember my dad, who's a bit of a foodie, would talk about Cypriot potatoes. 



Farah: And my last question I would like to ask you is, you are in the hospitality space all of the time. Do you travel and where, if you do, where is your next trip to, if you have it planned yet? 



So, okay, unbiased, full disclosure, we also have hotels. My dad has hotels in the New Forest in England. So in the south of England, really beautiful hotels. Country hotels. So they are very different from St. Raphael. They are old manor houses that have been converted into country house hotels. They've all got a story. Like one of them was Darwin's best friend,Charles, Charles Lyell. And, yes, his personal home. So Darwin went a lot. We've got his letters on the wall. We have, one of them was King George VI hunting lodge, I think. 



Brighde: Oh. 



Farah: Yeah, just anyway, loads and loads of stories behind them all. And they are lovely. They've all got vegan food as well, and they're in the New Forest, it's a national park. So you're going around and you have, you know, New Forest ponies come and just come and 



Brighde: peep while 



you 



Farah: eating, you're like, Oh!



hello.



 So I love going there. We go there at least once a year, maybe twice with the kids. It's just really relaxing and to be in nature. But I also do love London. We've been to Paris and Disneyland Paris quite a few times. We went to Lisbon last year. My goodness, vegan heaven. Amazing options. But I love London for vegan food as well. And I love Greece. Greece is great. Athens, the Greek islands. We were lucky enough to go to Bermuda a couple of years ago. Just wow, that's just amazing. So yeah, we love traveling. We go to Switzerland quite a lot. We, my husband, loves Switzerland. So we go skiing and yeah, but that's quite an adventure sometimes finding vegan food there. 



Brighde: Especially if you like the skiing and the winter stuff in the mountains for sure. All right. Farah, it has just been an absolute joy to talk with you. Thank you so much for the work that you're doing to create this special place that vegans, I'm sure, would love to go to, and talking about Cyprus as a destination. Please do take a couple of minutes to let our listeners know the best way to book, and the URL for your website and all of the other sort of vegan services that you offer.



Farah: Well, thank you everyone for listening and I'd love, love, love to welcome you at St. Raphael Resorts and Marina in Limassol, Cyprus. So the best way to book is to go direct to our website. It's www. straphael. STRAPHAEL . Com. So really easy. And if you do want to get in touch with us directly, you can go on the website. Get in touch with the reservations team and simply say that you heard me, Farah, talk on World Vegan Travel Podcast, and we will make sure we give you a special discount to book and stay with us. Exclusively for you guys who listen to this into the end. And if you have already booked or you do book, no problem. Drop us an email, say the same. You're still going to get the best rates by booking direct on our website. But we will make sure we give you an extra special room and look after you while you're there. And of course you can book using tour operators, the booking engines, however you want. Just look us up and we can't wait to see you.



Brighde: I love it. Thank you Farah. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.



Farah: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and wishing you all the best. Health, happiness and kindness and a great year ahead. And keep on, all the vegans out there listening, keep on doing what you're doing. You're amazing.



Brighde: Thank you.