Just realised I made a mistake in my last post. The Pia Bella is most definitely open and I actually meant The Palmera. Apologies for any confusion, must be post holiday blues!

Cengis from the Palmera is now the manager of the Esentepe villa hotel,just returned from there 10 mins ago and a whopping fish & chip.

Shirley valentines has also reopened under a new name.

Tattie,

We stayed in Alsancak about 3 years ago at the Riverside.

Hi westayed at almond holiday village for two weeks in July this year.It is in Alsancak.It is a lovely place and I posted a review on this site.It is five minutes walk thru the field at the back to Alsancak and about 5 eating places.The food at the almond is excellent anyway.It is five minute walk to main road and dolmus to Kyrenia.If there are 4 of you its worth getting a taxi in.Its 15 minutes walk to the Camelot beach club which has everything you could want in a beach.The pool at the Almond is very good also.The Denizkizi Royal hotel is a couple of miles nearer kyrenia and has a private beach.We stayed there a couple of years ago and it was an excellent beach.We flew to larnaca and transferred up...transfer arranged by almond,it cost us £100 and took about 1 and quarter hours each way.It is more expensive than Turkey and they were down on numbers of tourists.We felt they are overpricing themselves.I think a lot of it may be with the number of Brits buying places,so forcing the price of housing up for the Turkish cypriots as well and everyone jumping on the bandwagon.but still well worth a visit and much cheaper than the south.

going to the pia bella kyrenia in a couple of weeks, anyone knoe if the plugs are 3 pin like ours or do i need an adaptor. also how are mozzies at this time of the year will i need a plug in thing?

Hi Ruth,

No you won't need an adaptor in Cyprus - they use the same plugs as we do. As far as mosquitos' go, I never noticed hardly any when I was there in July, but if you're prone to being bitten then it's best you take your usual protection just in case.

Jujuju,

I'm surprised you found Northern Cyprus dearer than Turkey! I found the exact opposite, and not just by a little bit either!:shock:

Strawberry

thank you thats one thing less for the suitcase then!

Having dropped in on the Riverside Holiday Village a couple of years ago, I have been receiving regular e-mail updates on deals available there. The latest concerns airport transfers to the complex, which are now free for guests travelling during March, April and May.
Self-catering tariff during that period is available from £10 pppn. Can't believe six long months have passed since the last TRNC post on this forum!

I agree tonyadams78 .....6 months is a long time!

So just for the hell of it and something to write............

I am visiting my family in Northern Cyprus (Magosa/Famagusta) this year, I (and 3 other girlies) will be travelling 02nd August'08 and cant wait! I have not been bac to see grandparents, cousins, etc for 4 years now so well over due.

For the first time I will be flying direct to the greek side into Larnaca and will then be picked up by family, I must tell you its going to feel odd getting into Cyprus in around 4 - 4.5 hours, then the usual stop off at Turkey and onwards which can take all day just to fly to Cyprus.

Anyhow so how else is visting North Cyprus this year? and Where are you staying ?

Sorry the above is meant to read 'who' and not how !! my excitment has over taken me !

Hi Dee....I'm hoping to go to TRNC around May 28th-June 9th.Will be flying into Larnaca.Hoping to rent a villa for 7 or 8 nights and spend the other few nights in a hotel.Need to suss out the best way to handle the car hire side.I'm assuming I can pick one up as soon as I cross the border.Do hire companies collect clients from Larnaca airport and take them back over the border?

P.S.I agree that its sad that six months elapsed between posts.

6 months... Where has everyone gone??
Hi Dee...we fly into Ercan the Saturday before you,and,like yourself,cant wait!! We are renting a villa in Catalkoy,east of Girne,as we have done for the last three years. I first visited North Cyprus 25 years ago and have returned many times! Have stayed at Deniz Kizi Hotel(before they built the Royal!);Riverside;Green Coast(now Mosquito Coast?!);Ambelia;Palm Beach Hotel in Magusa;and what is now Bellapais Monastery Village before it was the University Campus! Yes, we love going back,but prefer staying in villas now.

Does anyone know of a more active forum on Northern Cyprus?

Hi all ,
Following a nice week in paphos at the end of March - my wife and I are thinking about celebrating our 25th W/Anniversary in Norther Cyprus but have no idea where the best place would be to try and book - somewhere near the coast with nice bars and eateries.
We are looking at week begining 27th Ocober as our 25th is on the 29th - would anywhere still be open ? a few people have mentioned Kyrenia as a good choice - any thoughts ?.

Also - who are the best t/Agent to look at for this part of Cyprus ?.

All advice appreciated .

Toffeemen

Hi Toffeeman,

Many of the hotels in Northern Cyprus remain open all year round - although some hotels do close for the winter. I have stayed there in November and the weather was still very warm.

Kyrenia harbour is lovely. It's particularly magical at night too - very romantic and picturesque. The restaurants around the harbour are OK, but you'll find far better places to eat just outside the harbour, so we tended to just have a couple of drinks by the harbour before going elsewhere to eat.. The nicest restaurant we ate in was Niazi's - the food is truly spectacular, the decor is lovely, and it's very inexpensive too! Make sure you book to go there - it's a must.

I've stayed in a few hotels in N.Cyprus and can highly recommend the Deniz Kizi; it has its own pretty sandy beach set in a cove and has a wonderful huge swimming pool with some beautiful gardens leading down to it. On the minus side we found the evening meals there quite boring. The Ship Inn Hotel is also excellant; a much smaller hotel but is fantastic value for money - the food is excellant, the staff are really friendly, it's lovely and clean, very nicely furnished and a real find (has no beach though). Both hotels are equally nice in different ways. The Acapulco is also very good, and has the largest beach of all - but it's a little further out from Kyrenia and I found the other two hotels much more friendly.

Bellapais is also a must-see. It's situated high up the mountain and has fabulous views of the town and harbour. The restaurant in the grounds of the monastery is another lovely place to eat - at lunchtime the views below are fantastic, and again, the food is excellant.

Car hire is very reasonable and I'd really advise anyone to hire one for the week. Although there's plenty of taxis' around, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of buses.

We didn't use a travel agent - we just booked our flights and hotel independantly, but there are a few agents around if you'd rather do it that way.

Hope you have a great time wherever you choose.

Strawberry

Hi Strawberry ,
Thanks for the great reply - I think Kyrenia sounds great and just what we are looking for to celebrate our 25th.

Did you book a taxi from Ercan , hire a car or get the hotel to pick you up ?.

Toffeemen

Hi Toffeeman,

When we stayed at the Ship Inn (that was in the November) they collected us from the airport. The Deniz Kizi will also collect you and drop you back.

We did on one occasion take a Taxi from the airport, but that was because we weren't sure where we were staying (we'd flown last minute from Turkey) - so the choice is yours really. But it would be better to ask the hotel to collect you I would think.

By the way, when you fly to Ercan the plane has to land in Turkey (Dalaman usually) which will put an extra hour or so on your journey time. It's no problem for many people but if you'd rather fly direct you can fly to the south (Larnaca) and have a car collect you from the north; either a hire car, taxi or car from the hotel you're staying at. You'll probably find better flight deals flying into Larnaca rather than Ercan (costs/times etc).

Also, if you decide to stay in the Ship Inn - although all the rooms and bungalows are really nice, the ones with the mountain view are even nicer in my opinion. The other rooms overlook the pool - which is still very nice.

If you book the Deniz Kizi ask for a room in the main hotel. We stayed in the room directly over the main reception (not noist at all! I can ask my partner for the room number later - he has an elephant memory - it's absolutely huge and has the best view of the sea and trees. The balcony doors are so wide you feel like you're on a ship with the sea ahead of you, and there's a fabulous Frangipani tree just below which smells beautiful.

Oh, and if you go to Niazi's (which you must do) I found eating inside the restaurant actually nicer as the decor is so nice.

There's another lovely restaurant called Missina - they are next to the sea and specialise in fish. Both those restaurants are the best ones in N.Cyprus.

Kyrenia harbour is also a lovely spot to go to on a Sunday morning to read the papers with a coffee or cold drink. They also do sunset cruises from there (and day ones too of course) which would be very fitting for a 25th.

Hope that helps.

Have a fab time.

Strawberry

Strawberry, must agree with everything you have said. We have only been going to TRNC since 2001 but have not had a bad holiday yet. Have now stayed at the Ship twice and enjoyed it very much. I emailed them and asked for the same room which was not a problem, so every morning we sat on the balcony looking at the mountains and waving at people going to work!
We also did a two centre holiday staying at the Palm Beach in Famagusta (lovely food) for the first week and then the Ship.
We have stayed at the Pia Bella, before it was renovated, Sammy's a very friendly hotel and Riverside. My brother and s-i-l like the Jasmine Court, bit more expensive.
Again, as strawberry said, harbour front restaurants are pricey, if you wander up the side streets you will find some nice places to eat.
My brother liked it so much he has had a house built and moves out in July!!!

Strawberry, would you know if it is possible for a Turkish person to fly into Southern Cyprus and then cross over to the Northern part, or would we have to fly via Turkey? My husband is Turkish and has a Turkish passport so I'm not sure what the rules are regarding this...

Kedi