Summer Camps in Cyprus 2027: Day Camps, Summer Schools and Costs

Public primary schools in Cyprus are closed from mid-June to early September 2027, about twelve weeks. For working parents it is the longest stretch of the year to cover, and the state options fill up months before school ends.

This guide covers the Ministry of Education's summer camp, the free state summer schools, municipal clubs and private day camps: who can go, what they cost, the rules that protect children and when to apply.

Most 2027 details are not announced yet, so the dates and prices here are from 2026 unless we say otherwise. Check each one when the 2027 information appears.

Our editors researched this guide from official sources; we do not run or recommend any camp. Moving to Cyprus over the summer? See our guide to moving to Cyprus with children.

Public primary schools and kindergartens are off from mid-June to early September 2027, about twelve weeks. The exact first and last days are in our school holidays guide, which takes them from the Ministry of Education's calendar.

Public secondary pupils finish earlier: in 2026-27, Gymnasium and Lyceum lessons end in May, followed by exams and resits into June (Ministry circular on the 2026-27 school year). Pupils with no exams left are free from late May or early June.

Private schools set their own calendars, and most finish between mid and late June. Check your school's dates, and see our guide to the private school year.

Most summer programmes run from late June to late July or early August, so August and early September are the hardest weeks to cover.

Most families combine several of these. Who can use each one depends on your child's age and school, and sometimes on where you live and your income.

The state options cost the least, but places are limited and go first to families in need. Private day camps cost more, but you book them directly, by the week.

The Ministry of Education runs its own camp (in Greek, Kataskinoseis Ypourgeiou Paideias) at Prodromos, a village in the Troodos mountains. In summer it holds seven-day overnight camps, Sunday to Sunday, for Grade 5 primary pupils only (Ministry camp circular, 19 January 2026).

In summer 2026 the fee was €70 per child, paid online through JCC Smart. Each school gets only a few places, and priority goes to low-income families whose children have no other chance of a camp.

How children are chosen

You do not apply to the Ministry: you tell your child's school that you are interested, and a school committee ranks the children. In 2026 the criteria were:

• A Guaranteed Minimum Income certificate
• Low family income
• Both parents unemployed
• A large or single-parent family
• A displaced family
• A parent with a permanent disability over 50%
• Other criteria set by the school

Children who meet more criteria rank higher, and each school lists at most 20. There is no ballot: the Ministry gives out places from the schools' lists, balancing gender and district. In 2026 schools sent their lists by 18 March, and on 26 March the camp service said that, with so many applications, not every place requested could be granted (camp allocation circular, 26 March 2026).

In summer 2026 there were seven one-week series between 5 July and 23 August, assigned by district, with all of a school's children in the same week (summer camp dates, 2 June 2026). Families who got a place returned a health form, a consent form and proof of payment.

A day at the camp

Children wake at 07:30, spend the day on activities, trips and visits with a quiet rest after lunch, and have evening entertainment before lights out at 22:15. The staff are teachers, helped by university students as group leaders.

Private schools and summer 2027

The Ministry's circular is also sent to private primary schools, so if your child is in Grade 5 at a private school, ask the school whether it takes part.

No circular for summer 2027 has been published yet. In 2024, 2025 and 2026 it came out in January, with school deadlines in March. If the rules stay the same, the 2027 camp is for children in Grade 5 in 2026-27; our year group calculator shows your child's grade.

The state summer schools (in Greek, Therina Dimosia Scholeia) are free day programmes held in public primary schools and kindergartens (Ministry announcement, 4 May 2026).

In summer 2026 there were 64 of them (39 primary schools and 25 kindergartens) across all five districts, up from 58 in 2025. They ran for 25 working days, from 22 June to 24 July 2026, and to 31 July in the seven special schools.

Hours, lunch and activities

The day runs from 07:45 to 13:05, or to 16:00 for families who choose the afternoon part. Attendance is free, but children who stay to 16:00 must take the school's lunch, which parents prepay at a cost each summer school sets. Lunch from home is not allowed.

Activities include art, music, theatre, dance, sport, computers, games and visits, with Greek lessons for children with a migrant background. Enrolment is optional, but enrolled children must attend every day. Phones are not allowed, and the timetable may change on very hot days.

Who can apply

In 2026 only children who attended public primary schools in Grades 1 to 5, or public kindergartens, in 2025-26 could apply (Ministry announcement to parents, 17 April 2026). Children at private schools are not eligible. Parents can choose any summer school, even outside their district, and places go in this priority order:

1. Children under Social Welfare protection, families on the Guaranteed Minimum Income, and family income up to €20,000
2. Children in a special unit or with serious disabilities, and family income of €20,001 to €30,000
3. Orphans, single-parent families, families with four or more children and five-member families
4. Family income of €30,001 to €45,000
5. All other children

In 2026 the form went to the child's own school by 30 April, with supporting documents. Late forms were refused, and families had an answer by 25 May.

Summer 2027

The 2027 summer schools are not announced yet. If the pattern holds, they will open the week after primary schools close and end on the second-to-last Friday of July, with applications due at the end of April 2027.

Some municipalities run children's clubs that stay open in the school holidays. They are day centres for school-age children (in Greek, Kentra Prostasias kai Apascholisis Paidion), registered with Social Welfare Services.

Strovolos, for example, runs 13 clubs for its residents' children only, with places going first to returning children and their siblings, then by need. In the holidays they open from 07:00 to 18:00 with a hot lunch and an afternoon snack, for a monthly fee. They close for four weeks in August, apart from one club that opens in the last week (Strovolos Municipality's club rules).

We did not check every municipality, and rules differ, so ask your own early in the year.

In 2026 Limassol's Municipal Arts Centre at the Papadakis Stores, with the Limassol Carnival Museum, also ran a six-week creative summer school, and the mayor said it may continue (mayor's speech, 31 July 2026). Ages and fees were not published there.

Overnight camps run by organisations

Most overnight camps are run by organisations for their members or communities, such as trade unions, federations, municipalities and church bodies, so ask any group you belong to.

The Cyprus Scouts Association runs summer camps in the Troodos for its members. Children join a local group, which meets on Saturday afternoons: Cubs from age 7 (Grade 2) and Scouts from age 11 (Grade 6). We found no Scout camp open to non-members.

Most summer camps in Cyprus are day camps. Many private schools run a summer school on their own site (in Greek, therino scholeio), and sports clubs, sailing clubs and cultural bodies run camps too. We do not name camps; the patterns below come from programmes published for summer 2026.

Dates and hours

Most run from late June to late July or early August and are booked by the week. Days are usually mornings only, from 07:30 or 08:00 until between 13:00 and 14:30, so if you work full days, plan the afternoons separately.

What it costs

For a morning day camp in summer 2026, expect about €70 to €150 a week per child. Many add a registration fee (€10 to €25 in 2026) and offer sibling discounts, and some charge less per week if you prepay several weeks. We saw no early-booking discounts. Six weeks at €100 a week comes to €600 per child, before registration and lunch.

Lunch, transport and trips

Lunch is often extra (one school charged €25 a week in 2026) or only a snack is served. Transport is often not offered, and trips are sometimes included.

Ages and activities

Groups usually run by age, from about age 3 up to 12 or 16, and at some schools the youngest have their own indoor programme. In the heat, one sailing club's 2026 camp kept sea lessons between 08:00 and 10:15.

When to book

Camps published their 2026 information in March and April, so shortlist in February or March and book by April. Start with your child's own school: ask whether it runs a summer school, whether children from other schools can join, and when booking opens. You can compare schools by city in our private schools directory.

Day programmes should be registered

Under Law 2(I)/1996, premises that provide care and activities for more than two children under 18 during the day count as a day centre, which must be registered with the Director of Social Welfare Services and display its certificate. State-run centres, such as the state summer schools, are exempt (Law 2(I)/1996).

Whether a given camp falls under the law depends on how it runs, but a day programme for school-age children should be registered, or run by a school or the state. Ask to see the certificate.

Since April 2026, registered centres must be inspected at least once a year. If a registration is suspended or cancelled, the owner must tell parents at once, and the decision is published on the Social Welfare Services website (Law 49(I)/2026).

Staff at a registered centre must provide health certificates, a clean criminal record certificate and the police certificate described below (government guide to registering a day centre).

Private schools' summer schools

A private school may run a summer school on its own premises without a new approval if its curriculum and teachers stay the same, and must tell parents the operating rules before enrolment (Private Schools Law, article 38). Since April 2026, every private school's summer school must be inspected at least once a year (Law 57(I)/2026).

Overnight camps

We found no licensing system for overnight children's camps. In 2022 the Commissioner for Children's Rights said that no body was responsible for monitoring them, and the 2026 laws do not cover them. Ask a residential camp who runs it, how many adults supervise each group, including at night, and whether all of them have the police certificate.

Police certificate for staff

Anyone who takes on a person, paid or as a volunteer, for activities with regular contact with children must first see a police certificate showing that the person is not on the register of people convicted of sexual offences against children. Breaking this rule can mean up to 3 years in prison, a fine of up to €170,000, or both (Law 91(I)/2014, article 22).

Pools and the sea

Pools at schools, clubs and camps count as public pools under the Swimming Pools Law of 2025 and need an operating licence (Swimming Pools Law 137(I)/2025). A certified lifeguard whose only job is to watch the pool must be on duty whenever it is open: at least one for a pool of up to 350 square metres, and two for a pool of up to 1,000 square metres (Swimming Pools Regulations 2025).

Beaches are different. In July 2026 the Minister of the Interior told Parliament that, because of staff shortages, the beach lifeguard plan cannot always be fully applied (Minister of the Interior's reply, 9 July 2026). Ask whether children swim only where a lifeguard is on duty.

Heat

The Ministry of Health's heat guidance for schools asks staff to check weather warnings every day, keep children in the shade with plenty of water, sunscreen and a hat, and cancel outdoor physical education between 11:00 and 13:30 during a heatwave (heat guidance for schools, June 2024). Ask the camp what changes on very hot days.

Questions to ask before you book

• Registration: is the camp registered with Social Welfare Services, or run by a school or the state?
• Staff: do all staff and volunteers have the police certificate, and how many adults are there per group?
• Hours: when are drop-off and pick-up, and is there care before or after?
• Food: is lunch included, and can my child bring their own?
• Water: does the pool have a licence and a lifeguard on duty, and do sea swims happen only where a lifeguard is on duty?
• Heat: what changes on very hot days?
• Health: how do you handle allergies, medicines and first aid?
• Costs: what is the full price, including registration, lunch and trips, and what if we cancel?

The state summer schools are free apart from afternoon lunch, and the Ministry camp cost €70 in 2026. Both give priority to families in need.

We found no state subsidy for summer camp fees for school-age children. Fee subsidies for nurseries and kindergartens are a separate scheme, explained in our guide to nursery and kindergarten fee subsidies.

There is no income tax deduction for spending on camps, summer schools or childcare. From tax year 2026, parents can claim a general deduction for each dependent child within income limits, whatever they spend (Law 244(I)/2025).

When you compare private camps, add up the whole summer for each child, and ask for the total in writing before you pay.

The 2027 dates are not announced yet. This timeline follows what happened in 2024, 2025 and 2026, so check each step when the 2027 announcements appear.

Programmes, prices and rules change every year, so confirm details with the organiser or the public body concerned. This guide is general information, not legal advice.