Europe - Need advice for Kyrenia, north Cyprus (and Larnaca)

I may be taking a short trip to Kyrenia, but landing in Larnaca.

Would be glad to know -

- Is there an easy way to get from Larnaca to Kyrenia by public transport ?
(seems tedious - bus, taxi, border crossing, taxi again...)
- I have seen direct airport transfers form LAranaca to Kyrenia for about GBP 100-130 return - is that about right ?
- Is it possible to rent a car in Larnaca and drive it across the border ? It seems that the insurance can be a problem ?

Thanks

D.

I may be taking a short trip to Kyrenia, but landing in Larnaca.

Would be glad to know -

- Is there an easy way to get from Larnaca to Kyrenia by public transport ?
(seems tedious - bus, taxi, border crossing, taxi again...)
- I have seen direct airport transfers form LAranaca to Kyrenia for about GBP 100-130 return - is that about right ?
- Is it possible to rent a car in Larnaca and drive it across the border ? It seems that the insurance can be a problem ?

Thanks

D.

There’s a bus that runs from Larnaca directly to Nicosia (a number of times a day). In Nicosia, you’ll walk down Lidra Street across the UN border to the Turkish side of the island (bring your passport). If you continue to walk straight down Lidra Street, eventually you will reach a park where the Turkish dolmus’s park.

Just ask, and you’ll find one that goes to Kyrenia (The Turks will call it Girne). It’s about a 15 minute dolmus ride, and will drop you by the old castle, and maybe 100 meters from the Venetian harbor.

My guess is the total cost from Larnaca to Kyrenia harbor is about 15-20 euros round trip. Time: about 1 ½ hours each way.

Kyrenia is definitely worth the trip….it’s a beautiful old harbor, and the old castle is lots of fun to visit.

I may be taking a short trip to Kyrenia, but landing in Larnaca.

Would be glad to know -

- Is there an easy way to get from Larnaca to Kyrenia by public transport ?
(seems tedious - bus, taxi, border crossing, taxi again...)
- I have seen direct airport transfers form LAranaca to Kyrenia for about GBP 100-130 return - is that about right ?
- Is it possible to rent a car in Larnaca and drive it across the border ? It seems that the insurance can be a problem ?

Thanks

D.

It is possible to rent a car in Larnaca and drive it into the Turkish-occupied north, but you have to make sure that there is proper insurance on the car for you to take it into the North. Not all car rental agencies allow this.

The price you stated for direct airport transfers from Larnaca to Kyrenia seems about right. It costs about 41 Euros to go from Larnaca to Ayia Napa (one way) if you book in advance.

Is it possible for you to fly into Ercan instead of Larnaca? It would make things a lot easier if you are going to spend all your time in the Turkish-occupied area.

BTW, technically you are not crossing a border, you are crossing the green line. The only country that recognizes the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus is Turkey. Your passport will not be stamped when going into or out of the Turkish-occupied area from the RoC; you will fill out a piece of paper with the relevant info and that will be stamped.

BTW, technically you are not crossing a border, you are crossing the green line. The only country that recognizes the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus is Turkey. Your passport will not be stamped when going into or out of the Turkish-occupied area from the RoC; you will fill out a piece of paper with the relevant info and that will be stamped.

My passport was stamped when I crossed into Northern Cyprus a little over a year ago. You MUST keep the slip of paper that you are given at the checkpoint, this will be collected from you when you leave Northern Cyprus.

Did the RT driving from LCA to TRNC in early 2007. There's an insurance agent at the TRNC border post (road crossing west of Lefkosia/Nicosia) who will find you when you cross. Insurance isn't very expensive (a few CYP a day back in 2007 though I can't vouch for his credit rating). The rental agencies will tell you that can drive the car into TRNC but it won't be insured.

Just note that the official tourism maps of the south side didn't really tell you where the border crossing was, and I don't recall any signs to them (I do seem to recall signs to them from the north side). You just have to surmise where they are.

A taxi from Lefkoşa to Girne (Kyrenia) may cost 70-90 Turkish Lira, but a dolmus costs only 5-10 TL.
You can also hire a car at a reasonable cost and hiring a car will enable you to visit most of Northern Cyprus in one day.

Visit:
Bellapais Village in Girne
St. Hilarion Castle in Fivefinger Mountains
Girne Harbour and Castle
Salamis Ruins in Magusa
Great Han (Büyük Han) in Lefkose
Karpaz peninsula

Karpas Golden Beach. Probably the best beach on the island, white sands, clear waters, completely unspoilt from development (apart from a few wooden bungalows). Turtle nesting place.

Do
Scuba diving.
Play golf at the Korineum course http://www.korineumgolf.com/

Eat
Turkish-Cypriot cuisine is a fine blend of Turkish, Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines featuring mouth watering seafood to kebabs, numerous mezes to delicious home made fruit preserves called macun (pronounced ma-joon).

Some of the key foods featured in the Turkish-Cypriot cuisine, and some of whom do not exist in mainland Turkish and Greek cuisines, include Molehiya, Enginar Dolması, Kolokas, Bullez, Çiçek Dolması, Magarina-Bulli, Pilav, Bulgur Köftesi, Mucendra, Hummus Çorbası, Hellimli and Pirohu, etc..

My passport was stamped when I crossed into Northern Cyprus a little over a year ago. You MUST keep the slip of paper that you are given at the checkpoint, this will be collected from you when you leave Northern Cyprus.

Well, that is unusual. I cross from the RoC to the Turkish-occupied area regularly and have never had my passport stamped. Only the paper that you fill out with your passport details - stamped going in and stamped coming out.

I hired my car in Kyrenia and took a transfer from Larnaca to Kyrenia.

Standard price seems to be GBP50 each way - Aone cars stand out, GBP25 each way - transfer was fine. Would not rent a car from them, though - classic bait and switch.

D.

Jaymar is dreaming if he thinks one can take public transport and get from LCA to Girne in an hour and a half. One problem is that busses from Larnaca to Nicosia run only about every ninety minutes or so, so if you just miss that bus, you just blew your whole allotted time. Plus, if you take that bus at a peak time, such as Saturday or Sunday afternoon, there is a scrum of people vying for the available seats, and you with your luggage will be at a disadvantage, and you surely will not get on board.

LCA to Larnaca on public bus
Larnaca to Nicosia on public bus
400 m walk down Ledras St to border crossing
Walk on Turkish side to dolmus stop
Ride from Lefkosa to Girne, arrive at destination. Total cost: about ten Euro.

I arrived at LCA last week and took the rental car company transfer to Girne, and they charged me GBP 30. (Baspinar)

Jaymar is dreaming if he thinks one can take public transport and get from LCA to Girne in an hour and a half. One problem is that busses from Larnaca to Nicosia run only about every ninety minutes or so, so if you just miss that bus, you just blew your whole allotted time. Plus, if you take that bus at a peak time, such as Saturday or Sunday afternoon, there is a scrum of people vying for the available seats, and you with your luggage will be at a disadvantage, and you surely will not get on board.

LCA to Larnaca on public bus
Larnaca to Nicosia on public bus
400 m walk down Ledras St to border crossing
Walk on Turkish side to dolmus stop
Ride from Lefkosa to Girne, arrive at destination. Total cost: about ten Euro.

I arrived at LCA last week and took the rental car company transfer to Girne, and they charged me GBP 30. (Baspinar)

I've done it. Now...not from LCA, but from the main Larnaca bus stop adjacent to the harbor, across from the Sandy Beach Hotel.

Granted, I followed a bus schedule, and did not need to wait an hour + for another bus. My experience (in June) was that the bus was fairly empty. I have no idea what it's like at rush hour or on summer weekends.

My dolmus from Lefkosa to Girne was full young beautiful Belarus students trying to get their USA work VISAs for summer hospitality industry jobs. In the interest of full and honest disclosure, I wasn't paying close attention to the time. :p

About four years ago I visited TRNC. Made three crossings into RoC and one into UK controlled area. Each time didn't bother with pieces of paper but asked TRNC people to stamp my (UK) passport instead. Never had any problem entering RoC or UK controlled area.