Guides ·Day trips

How the crossing works

Kyrenia, known locally as Girne, sits on the north coast below the Kyrenia mountain range. To reach it from the south you cross at one of the designated points. On foot, use Ledra Street in Nicosia, open 24 hours; you show a passport or EU national ID, there is no fee, and the check takes two or three minutes. By car, use the Agios Dometios / Metehan crossing on the western edge of Nicosia, which handles vehicles and has the insurance booth on the northern side.

If you drive, you must buy separate third-party motor insurance at the crossing, typically around €25 to €35 for three days and payable in cash. Check your rental agreement first, because a minority of companies still prohibit taking their cars across, and your own comprehensive cover almost certainly stops at the line. Walking across and taking a taxi or a dolmuş minibus to Kyrenia is simpler: expect roughly €40 to €55 each way by taxi, or a fraction of that on the shared minibus that runs from the northern bus station.

The harbour and Kyrenia Castle

Kyrenia's old harbour is a near-perfect horseshoe, ringed with restored carob warehouses now holding restaurants, with the castle closing the eastern arm. It is small, and you can walk the whole quay in ten minutes, but it is the prettiest working harbour on the island. Boats moored along the quay sell half-day coastal trips with swim stops, typically €25 to €35 a head including lunch, leaving around 10:30 and returning at 16:00. Harbour-side lunch runs €18 to €30 a head; euros are widely accepted here.

Kyrenia Castle, in its present form largely Venetian on Byzantine and Lusignan foundations, guards the harbour mouth. Entry is roughly €10 and it opens from 09:00, closing around 17:00 in winter and 18:00 or later in summer. Inside is the Shipwreck Museum, which displays a merchant vessel that sank around 300 BC and was raised in the late 1960s; it is one of the oldest recovered trading ships in the world, with its cargo of amphorae and almonds. Allow 90 minutes for castle and museum together.

Bellapais Abbey above the town

Bellapais village sits 220 m above Kyrenia, a five-kilometre climb of about 15 minutes by car. Its Augustinian abbey, built between 1198 and 1267 under Lusignan patronage, is a Gothic ruin of extraordinary quality: an intact refectory with a rose window over the sea, a cloister half-fallen, and a terrace that looks straight down over the coastal plain. Entry is around €10 and it opens 09:00 to 17:00, later in summer. Concerts are held here in May and June.

The village below the abbey is where Lawrence Durrell lived in the 1950s while writing Bitter Lemons; the house is marked with a plaque on the lane. Cafés on the abbey square serve Turkish coffee for about €2 and full lunches for €15 to €22, and the Tree of Idleness, an old mulberry mentioned in the book, still shades the terrace. If you only have time for one thing beyond the harbour, make it Bellapais rather than a beach: the view across the mountains and sea is the best in the north.

St Hilarion Castle and the mountain road

St Hilarion sits at 732 m on a crag above the Kyrenia pass, about 20 minutes from town on the road towards Nicosia. It is the best preserved of the three Crusader mountain castles, with a lower ward, a Byzantine chapel, royal apartments and a Prince John tower reached by a steep final scramble. Entry is around €10, open 09:00 to 16:30 in winter and to 17:30 in summer. The climb from the car park to the top is roughly 30 to 40 minutes and involves several hundred uneven steps.

Wear real shoes, take water, and be aware that the approach road passes through a military zone where photography is prohibited and signs make that clear. On a clear day you can see the Turkish coast 100 km north. Further east along the range, Buffavento Castle sits even higher at 950 m with a rougher hour-long climb, and Kantara Castle guards the entrance to the Karpas peninsula. For a single day trip, St Hilarion alone is enough.

Beaches and the coast either side

The north coast beaches are quieter and clearer than the south's city strips. Alagadi, also called Turtle Beach, is 20 minutes east of Kyrenia and is a protected loggerhead and green turtle nesting site; between May and October access is restricted at night and volunteers run guided nest watches. Escape Beach and Camelot Beach lie ten minutes west towards Alsancak, both with sunbeds at around €5 to €10 and beach bars. Karaoğlanoğlu has small pebble coves that stay empty even in August.

Set your expectations for the day carefully. Kyrenia is 40 minutes from Nicosia's crossings, and Nicosia is 50 minutes from Limassol or 35 from Larnaca, so a day trip from the south coast is a genuinely long day: leave at 08:00, be back by 20:00. Doing harbour, castle, Bellapais and a swim in one visit is realistic; adding St Hilarion makes it tight. If Kyrenia appeals, an overnight in the town or at Bellapais makes the whole thing far more civilised.

Money, food and practicalities

Prices in the north run 20 to 40 percent below the south for meals and hotels. Harbour restaurants and larger hotels quote and accept euros, and cards work in most of them; small cafés, minibuses and market stalls prefer cash, so carry €50 to €80 in small notes. Exchange kiosks in Kyrenia are plentiful and give better rates than hotels. Fuel in the north is also cheaper, which is a small consolation for the insurance you had to buy at the crossing.

Eat kebabs and meze rather than fish: a full mixed grill with breads and mezes is €15 to €22 a head, against €30 plus for grilled fish on the harbour. Try hellim, the local halloumi, grilled and served with watermelon in summer. Bring your passport, keep the crossing receipt, and note that the border checks apply again on your return south. Duty-free allowances apply when crossing back, so do not load up on cheap spirits and cigarettes beyond the personal limits.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

Rooms worth pairing with this guide.

Kyrenia Hotel Pia Bella

4.2/5 €216/ night

Kyrenia Kaya Palazzo Resort & Casino

4.6/5 €432/ night

Kyrenia Dome Hotel

4.1/5 €227/ night

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