A boat trip out of Ayia Napa is a purchase where the price is almost always honest and almost never final. The same four hours come with a hot lunch in the ticket on one boat and with lunch as a €10 extra on the next. Drinks are bought on board, the transfer is counted separately, and a snorkelling mask wants a cash deposit. Here is what gets added, by whom, and how much.
- Where the boats leave from: the old harbour, and why the marina has nothing to do with it
- Who puts lunch in the ticket and who sells it as a €10 choice
- Drinks, mask deposits and the money that comes back to you
- Transfers: two figures on two pages of the same operator — and the official taxi tariff if there is no transfer
- Diving: where gear, nitrox and night dives are separate lines, and where they sit inside the price
Every extra below is tied to a named operator. There is no such thing as a Cypriot price: two boats at the same quay count money differently, and that difference is what this article is about.
Where the trips leave from: the harbour, not the marina
The excursion boats leave from the old Ayia Napa harbour by the town centre — the official portal files it among fishing shelters rather than passenger terminals, but the boats are tied to it. Black Pearl, Santa Napa, Ocean Queen and the Scubacat catamaran all sail from there. Ayia Napa Marina is a separate place on Ayia Thekla Avenue west of town, with 360 berths and seven metres of water; the excursion boats are not there.
Not everything leaves from the harbour, though, and that changes your journey to the start. Medusa Cruises sails from the Protaras side and names three different quays across its own pages, so pin the quay down when you book.
Lunch: in the ticket or a choice
Lunch is the biggest single line in this comparison, and operators handle it in two ways: they put it in the ticket, or sell it as a separate fare. Here is how each of them prints it.
| Trip | Lunch | What the operator prints |
|---|---|---|
| Black Pearl, the pirate day cruise | in the ticket | chicken, potatoes, rice, coleslaw, tzatziki and bread |
| Santa Napa Chill & Relax | in the ticket | chicken with traditional Cypriot potatoes, salad and tzatziki |
| Scubacat morning cruise | in the ticket | barbecue cooked on deck; halal chicken, halloumi, tzatziki, fruit, vegan plate on request |
| Ocean Queen Day Tour | in the ticket | a buffet, a guide, snorkelling gear and life jackets in the standard ticket |
| Medusa Chill-Out, four hours | a choice | €30 per adult without lunch, or €40 with lunch and a drink |
The €10 gap at Medusa is the whole lunch: the same four-hour trip, the same two swimming stops. A family of four planning to eat ashore keeps €40.
Drinks are almost always a separate line
Drinks are in the ticket almost nowhere, and they are this node's most frequent extra. There is a bar on board at Black Pearl, Santa Napa and Scubacat, while Ocean Queen keeps fully stocked bars that take cards. The only drink that is definitely paid for in advance is the one in the €40 lunch fare at Medusa.
Bringing your own is not allowed everywhere, and neighbouring boats have opposite rules. Ocean Queen asks you not to bring any food or drink on board, while Scubacat allows food but not alcohol. So «can we bring our own» is decided by the boat, not by the resort.
Transfers: who charges what, and who prints two figures
The transfer is the second biggest line after lunch, and it is where operators differ most: from «included free of charge» to «two different sums on two pages of the same website».
| Operator | Transfer | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Black Pearl | on request | €5 per person on one of its pages and €6 on another |
| Santa Napa | on request, on some sailings | the operator does not publish a price |
| Ocean View Diving, Ayia Napa | included | free within ten kilometres of the shop |
| Scubacat, Ocean Queen, Medusa | none | you make your own way to the quay |
If there is no transfer, the journey is at least predictable. The official urban taxi tariff: €3.80 to start plus €0.95 a kilometre between 06:01 and 20:30, €4.80 and €1.10 a kilometre at night, plus €1.40 for every piece of luggage; a meter is compulsory. The tariff will not name your total in advance — that depends on the actual route — but it does make the bill checkable.
Deposits: the money that comes back
Part of what you hand over is meant to return. Scubacat lends snorkelling masks free of charge against a refundable €20 deposit, but takes it in cash only — a card will not do on the quay. Worth remembering in a country where, in the words of the official portal, cards are taken by «hotels, large shops and restaurants», a list that does not include a beach station or a boat.
Diving: gear, nitrox and night dives, each on its own line
Undersea World in Ayia Napa keeps the gear out of the price: two dives in a day are €100, and hire sits in a block of its own — a full set without computer and torch at €30 a day, single items at €5–10. Nitrox up to 40 %, on the other hand, is printed as free. A night dive is a €25 supplement to the package, and the torch for it is another €10. A boat dive is €45 more, and a fifteen-litre tank €5.
Ocean View Diving in Ayia Napa builds two parallel tables around the gear: two dives with full equipment are €100, and the same two dives are €90 if the kit is yours and you only need tanks and weights. Its hotel pick-up within ten kilometres is free. At Poseidon in Protaras the gear is named inside the price line itself: one shore dive €65, two €105.
AquaNaut at Green Bay is the opposite case: the Open Water Diver course is €460, but the page does not spell out what that sum covers, while hire outside a course is published separately — a full set with one tank €40, a wetsuit €10, a computer €15. Materials, the certification fee and course gear are worth settling here before you pay, not after.
Where one operator's pages argue with each other
Three of these operators contradict themselves on their own websites. In each case both figures are printed, and both are worth having in front of you when you talk to the booking desk.
- Black Pearl: the transfer is €5 per person on the day cruise page and €6 on the ship page.
- Scubacat: the booking terms say there is no refund after payment, while elsewhere the site promises free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
- Ocean Queen: the VIP deck capacity is given as both twelve and twenty guests in one paragraph.
Two more prices are flagged as provisional by the operators themselves. Ocean Queen calls its €50 «the initial price based on one adult on the lowest fare», and publishes neither the VIP deck price nor the child ticket at all. Ocean View warns that its published figures may change without notice.
What to bring
The operators' lists mostly agree — swimwear, a towel, sun cream — and differ in the additions. It is the additions that cost money if you forget them.
Cash for a deposit: Scubacat lends a mask against €20 in cash and will not take a card. A seasickness tablet: Ocean Queen writes that selling medicines on board is prohibited by law, and asks you to take one an hour before departure, bought at a pharmacy ashore.
And about tips. The official source calls them a matter for the customer and sets no percentage — there is simply no «the usual is such and such» line in the Cypriot rules. If you want to thank the crew, that is your decision, not an item on the bill.
Questions that come up before booking
Is lunch included in the price?
It depends on the boat. At Black Pearl, Santa Napa, Ocean Queen and the Scubacat morning cruise lunch is in the ticket. At Medusa it is a choice: €30 per adult without lunch and €40 with lunch and a drink.
Are drinks included?
Almost nowhere. There are bars on board at Black Pearl, Santa Napa, Scubacat and Ocean Queen, and that is where you pay. The only drink paid for in advance is the one inside the €40 lunch fare at Medusa.
What does a transfer cost?
Black Pearl prints €5 and €6 per person on two of its own pages, so agree the sum when you book. Santa Napa offers one on request on some sailings but publishes no price. Ocean View Diving picks up free within ten kilometres of its shop, while Scubacat, Ocean Queen and Medusa run no transfer at all — you make your own way to the quay.
Where do the trips leave from?
From the old Ayia Napa harbour by the town centre. Ayia Napa Marina on Ayia Thekla Avenue is a different place, and the excursion boats are not there. Medusa sails from the Protaras side and names more than one quay on its own pages, so confirm yours at booking.
Is a deposit required?
Sometimes, and it is refundable. Scubacat lends snorkelling gear against a €20 deposit and takes it in cash only, so carry the notes to the quay.
