Ayia Napa - which literally means "forest saint" - takes its name from a hidden icon found in nearby woods, but you're probably more likely to have heard it called the "new Ibiza". Ever since that Balearic island became known the world over as a clubbers' paradise, the race has been on to find another hedonistic sunspot for dance lovers. It seems Ayia Napa has won hands down.

 

Over the last couple of years, it has been difficult to avoid hearing about the clubbing opportunities provided by this once quiet fishing village. Indeed, one could almost excuse the Cyprus Tourist Organisation for including advice on how to avoid the teams from satellite television stations, making cheap documentaries, in their helpful welcoming literature. The town sits at the eastern end of Cyprus, a British colony until just a few decades ago, and a country with a troubled history, as continuing Turkish occupation in the north demonstrates.

 

However, it is likely that all that thrill-seeking dance fans will see of this is contained on a lonely sign on the main road from Larnaca International Airport which asks, almost politely, for the Turks to leave the island.

 

The new styles of garage and two-step beats, which increasingly dominate the UK charts, certainly have plenty of homes in Ayia Napa. The Pzazz Club has played host to promoters Sun City and Garage Nation, with DJs including Karl "Tuff Enuff" Brown and former world champion boxer Nigel Benn. Last year it was voted the best dance venue in town, and its "Oi! Oi!" tour returns here for 2000.

 

The Spot Club is smaller, and perhaps noisier for it. However, with garage and two-step yet to really take off north of the Border, you might find the Kool Club a better bet. House legend Joey Negro kicks off this year's season, in a club boasting the best lighting, two separate music rooms, a coffee lounge and even a souvenir shop.

 

Of course, it may be that this all sounds just a little too intense and self-consciously cool. If your ideal clubbing experience involves partying more and posing less, head for the crowded but hugely enjoyable Car Wash . Entry prices vary from GBP 5 to around GBP 30, so be sure that you are where you want to be before making the investment.

 

One thing you will not be short of, though, is time, with clubs open until 6am and bars not closing until 8am, by which time you will probably just have two choices left - bed or beach. If you find yourself deafened and more than a little the worse for wear after a few nights of all this, you might want to savour and enjoy the rest of this eastern Mediterranean island. Hire a car and the large town of Limassol is just over an hour's drive away (helpfully, Cypriots drive on the left). The Folk Art Museum shows a variety of national costumes, tapestry and embroidery, displayed in a beautifully restored old house which is worth the entry fee alone.

 

Limassol Municipal Art Gallery houses a fine collection of contemporary Cypriot artists. The town also hosts what is widely recognised as the finest accommodation in Cyprus - Le Meridien. This five-star luxury spa, conference and resort hotel overlooks Akrotiri Bay and sits in 90,000 square metres of grounds. With nine bars, restaurants, a nightclub, a scuba diving and watersports section, two tennis courts, a gym and massage room, supervised children's areas, and pools, it might be hard to find a reason to leave it.

 

But a 30-minute drive north from Limassol will take you to Trimiklini, where you can walk to "the biggest waterfall in Cyprus". At just 14 metres high, it seems unlikely that any hydro-electric power plants are in the offing. But the adjacent Green Valley restaurant offers excellent food in beautiful surroundings, not to mention welcome shade.

 

Back in Limassol, the nightlife is varied and it is in the pubs of the town that most holidaymakers seem to while away the nights. But Ayia Napa is making all the running , attracting over a third of all tourists to the island. Whether that level of traffic can be maintained depends on how long the town can maintain its clubbing reputation.

 

Even now, plans are doubtless afoot in another sleepy fishing village somewhere . The "new Ayia Napa", anyone?