Discover North Cyprus - Kyrenia and Famagusta

If you're looking for North Cyprus Holidays, there are two great places to check out: Kyrenia and Famagusta. Both are exceptional holiday locations and offer a lot for the single traveller, couples or the entire family. If you're uncertain which location to visit, you can even divide your holiday between the two since there's not a large amount of travel time between them. Both offer incredible sights, great activities, and the chance to get in a little rest and relaxation before heading back to the real world.

In Kyrenia, you'll find Kyrenia Harbour, an old fashioned harbour that overlooks one of the most tranquil and gorgeous oceans. The sea front of Kyrenia Harbour is a great place for relaxing. The whitewashed buildings and the brightly coloured boats offer up a nice sight to enjoy while having lunch or just relaxing with a nice cup of tea. The town is fairly quiet during the day, but during the evening, you'll find that Kyrenia comes alive as the taverns open and the restaurants bring out live musicians.

Above the sleepy harbour is Byzantine castle, a massive old structure that many love to spend time exploring. If you're a history buff, you'll find a lot to do up at the castle, and even if you aren't, you should still spend a few hours exploring this interesting site. You may also want to take a walk through Old Town, another historical section of Kyrenia that features the ruins of the Lusignan walls. However, if you're looking for something a bit more modern, you'll find plenty of shopping locations in the city. Plus, it's not far to drive to Nicosia - the world's only remaining divided capital!

Over in Famagusta, you'll find a different type of setting. While Kyrenia captures the British quality of life, Famagusta is more Levantine. This difference in atmosphere makes the two locations quite unique and provides travellers with a contrasting view of life. Famagusta is an old city, and it offers visitors a look into the ancient past of Cyprus. You'll find many different historical sites here, plus many of the townspeople still practice the traditional crafts of jewellery making and pottery. You'll also find quiet beaches for resting and relaxing. In fact, all of the lush sights of the Karpas Peninsula are at your fingertips, and you can easily travel to just about anywhere in the region from Famagusta.

North of Famagusta are the ruins of Salamis, one of the ancient Roman cities that once served as the capital of Cyprus. It's one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, so it's certainly worth seeing. Also nearby are Othello's Tower and the tomb of St. Barnabas. Both are interesting historical sites for travellers.

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Travel Tips to European Countries: Cyprus

About the Country

Cyprus is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea. It is inhabited with mountains on the north and south and the south coast is covered with plains. The temperatures are really hot indicating Mediterranean climate. Winters are cooler. Nicosia is the capital city of Cyprus. The currency used here is Cypriot Pound.

Culture

Greek, English and Turkish are the languages spoken here. There is a mixed culture of Greek and Middle East. The locals are very friendly and welcome outsiders with an open heart and make them feel at home by offering them with something to drink. To greet someone a handshake will do. It is customary to offer the guest a small gift when invited for dinner. One can dress casually, but the swimsuits must be confined to the beaches only. Social functions call for formal dressing.

Site Seeing

The country is full of vineyards, 12th century buildings, orchards and monasteries. Be careful when photographing outside. It is forbidden in military areas and special permission must be taken for taking pictures in places like museums and art galleries. Most of them do not allow flash photography. Taxis can be hired to move around the big towns in Cyprus, which charge according the government regulated meters. Tipping the drivers is customary.

Electricity

240 V, 50 Hz

Getting There

Port of Famagusta at Ammochostos and Port of Kyrenia, and airport of Ercan, have been declared as illegal ‘ports of entry’, so check it out while planning to get there.

The national airline is Cyprus Airways. It connects most of the major cities of Europe. Other forty airlines, too, serve at the airport of Larnaca, which are 5 km away from Larnaka and 50km away from Nicosia. Taxis can be hired to reach any destination from there as there is lack of buses and trains services at the airport. The other services that are offered at this airport is duty-free shops, bank, tourism and hotels information, restaurants, car hire, post office and reservation office. The other airport, Pafos, is 15km away from the city and it takes about 35 minutes to reach the city from the airport. It provides the same facilities like the Larnaca airport.

The major ports of Cyprus are the Limassol port and Larnaca port which connect other ports of Middle East and Greek. Not only ferry services are provided here, even cruise services are provided here.

Cyprus Island is not connected by roads to other countries, but roads run across Cyprus connecting all the cities and villages. Buses run on roads except on Sunday but they run late in the mid-night during summers. Tourists can get on to rural buses to surf through the remote villages, but they are very slow. If planning to hire car, advanced booking is recommended, especially in summer as the booking is full most of the times. Do remember to carry a National driving license or International driving permit.

Duty Free Items

1. 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco
2. 1l of spirits (over 22 per cent volume) or 2l of fortified wine or sparkling wine
3. 2l of still wine; 50g of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette
4. 800 cigarettes or 200 cigars or 1kg of tobacco
5. 10l of spirits, 20l of fortified wine, 90l wine, 110l beer

Most of the food items and items relating to agriculture are prohibited. Explosives and fire arms are a strict no-no.