Dialysis in Cyprus

Cyprus is the eastern Mediterranean's sunshine island: long hot summers, mild winters, clear sea and towns where you can walk from a Roman mosaic to a harbour café in an afternoon. It is one of Europe's popular sun destinations, and visitors who need regular dialysis can plan a stay here too. Whether you want a week by the sea in Paphos, a city break in Limassol or a few days exploring Nicosia, you can keep your treatment schedule and still feel the benefit of the trip.

Reni coordinates your dialysis while you travel. We list the dialysis centres we can find across Cyprus. Tell us where and when, and we contact the centres for you, follow up until one confirms your sessions, and help you plan the rest of the trip. The centre provides your treatment, and you book your travel directly with each provider. Finding a centre and arranging your sessions with it is free, and we share your details with a centre only with your consent.

Getting your sessions sorted comes down to five steps:

1. Find a centre. The centres in our directory appear below, so pick the one closest to where you will stay.
2. Send your inquiry. Include your current dialysis schedule, prescription details and travel dates. We contact the centre for you and follow up until it answers, only with your consent.
3. Confirm dates, times and what to bring. The centre replies with available slots. Get your sessions confirmed in writing before you do anything else.
4. Gather your paperwork. Ask your nephrologist or dialysis nurse for everything the centre needs. Leave time; home units can be busy.
5. Travel. With your slots confirmed and your documents in order, you can enjoy the island with your schedule sorted.

Cyprus has both a public health system (GESY) and private hospitals and clinics. Many holiday visitors arrange their sessions with a private or visitor-friendly unit. An EHIC or GHIC may cover medically necessary treatment in the public system, but it does not cover private care and it is not valid in the north of the island, so ask the centre how your sessions will be handled before you travel.

When we last reviewed this guide, our directory listed centres in the places below. The list further down this page comes straight from the directory, so check it for the current centres.

• Paphos: centres in the west coast resort town, close to Paphos airport, including a hospital unit dedicated to holiday dialysis.
• Limassol: centres in the island's second city, on the south coast between the two airports.
• Nicosia: centres in the capital, inland and closest to Larnaca airport.

What one centre told us. The Royal Artemis Private Hospital in Paphos runs a dedicated holiday dialysis unit, and it shared a few of its own policies with us. It asks for bookings at least one month ahead. It can arrange a taxi from your hotel if you need one, and breakfast is served during your session. It also asks you to tell the unit if you cannot come: unannounced cancellations are the biggest problem it faces. These are that centre's policies; other centres set their own, so ask the one you choose.

A typical routine is three sessions a week of around four hours each, but your schedule is a matter for you and the centre. We don't give medical advice; our job is to help you find the centre and make contact.

Centres typically ask visiting patients for the same core set of documents. Gathering these before you leave is one of the most important things you can do:

• A recent letter or summary from your home unit, including your dialysis prescription and current schedule.
• Recent blood test results.
• Virology and serology results (hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV), routinely required.
• A full list of your medications, including doses and timing.
• Your passport, plus EHIC or GHIC if you have one and it's valid.

How recent your blood and virology results must be is set by the centre that will treat you, and it differs from one centre to another. Ask that centre what it needs, then ask your nephrologist or home unit to arrange the tests to match.

Requirements vary by centre, so confirm the exact list when you make contact, and allow time to gather paperwork from your home unit before you travel.

Two international airports serve Cyprus, both with direct flights from the UK and across Europe:

• Paphos (PFO): in the west, about 20 to 25 minutes by car from central Paphos and around 45 to 60 minutes from Limassol.
• Larnaca (LCA): the island's largest airport, on the south-east coast, around 40 to 50 minutes by car from Nicosia and 50 to 70 minutes from Limassol.

Choose the airport by where you will have treatment: Paphos for a Paphos stay, Larnaca for Nicosia, and either for Limassol, which sits between the two. Direct flights from London take about four and a half hours. Taxis and car hire are available at both airports, and shuttle buses link Larnaca with Nicosia and Limassol.

Cyprus draws visitors all year, but July and August are the hottest and busiest months, and school holidays fill quickly. Late spring and early autumn are popular for their warm but gentler weather, and winters are mild, though wetter.

The golden rule: get your sessions confirmed in writing before you book flights. One centre in Paphos asks for at least a month's notice, so treat a month as the minimum and allow more for summer.

Treat your dialysis arrangement with the same urgency as your flights: inquire early, keep a backup centre in mind, and if your plans change, tell the centre as soon as you can so the slot can go to someone else.

Availability, what to bring, languages spoken and any costs can all change, and they differ from centre to centre. Always confirm the details directly with the centre before you book flights or treatment. We list centres and keep their contact details as current as we can, but we are not affiliated with them and cannot confirm availability on their behalf.