Cyprus in October -- we had a good time. It seems to be quite dry & dusty there this time of year. DH says it would be more lush in Feb/Mar and that's the orchid season too. The weather was actually starting to cool off a bit, so I didn't get much poolside or beach time, unfortunately. The Med is gorgeous though! (I'd never been before.) It rained two days before we left (the day we had specifically planned for the beach) & was cooler the following day. No problems whatsoever with mosquitos.
It's amazing how many Roman/Greek ruins there are just lying about everywhere -- a column here, a mosaic there. They have been excavating & preserving some, but you get the idea that there's just so much to be done & maybe not enough resources. Goodness knows what hasn't been excavated yet!
We did a lot of walks up in the mountainous areas -- one to a really pretty waterfall. Also, the in-laws showing us their favorite haunts, villages, places to eat authentic Cypriot (Greek/Turkish) food. We saw a few really eerie abandoned stone villages, crumbling into ruins, that used to be occupied by Turkish families before the country split and the Turks were forced up to their side of things in Northern Cyprus. Now virtually no sign of life in these old villages -- just crumbling stone ruins and goats. Very sad.
The place was a lot more rugged in spots than I anticipated for a European country. Of course, the coastline is being rapidly overdeveloped just like the Costas in Spain, and any other resorty place over in this part of the world. But there are still quite a few wild areas too -- including the beach we 'attempted' (on the rainy day), which is a natural (and still undeveloped) beach, which is still (fingers crossed) being treated as a conservation area for endangered species turtles to lay their eggs. A good bit of that wilderness though is owned by the Greek Orthodox Church -- which has turned down offers to purchase the land from conservation groups, seemingly in favour of holding out for more money from land developers.
I would recommend going while there is still something of 'natural' Cyprus left to see. It's definitely hot there in the summer, but I'm thinking Feb-May, and Sept-Oct might be ideal. Perhaps the winter months too if you're not counting on really warm beach weather.
Coming home is good too. DH was joking when he got into the Manchester airport...he said he tossed a big wad of toilet paper into the loo (here in England)
just because he could.