Originally Posted by fti
I know that it is very easy to walk across to Turkish Cyprus. But I am not sure about boats to Turkey. You would first need to get from the Turkish side of Nicosia to the coast (I think about an hour drive or less). I know that you are allowed to go from Greek to Turkish Cyprus for the day.
I believe that once you go to Turkey then back to Cyprus, the Greeks will not let you to the Greek side. At least it was this way last year (Greek Cyprus by way of Turkey and Turkish Cyprus was not allowed). But having started in Greek Cyprus your case might be different. Probably not a good idea, but I am sure the Cyprus consulate could answer this question direct from the horse's mouth so to speak.
I'm not sure if the procedure is always uniform, but I can speak from my experience last week. I wasn't checked at all on the Greek side, but only on the Turkish side. I believe in the past (according to my LP book) you had to "register" on the Greek side before you walked across (at the Ledra Palace crossing in Nicosia), but the Greeks didn't ask me anything when I inquired, but only said "you can cross." When I got to the Turkish side, they looked at my passport, entered my name and information into a computer, and stamped a photocopied slip that said "Visa." I asked them to stamp my passport as a souvenier, and they did, although it has been suggested that this might not be a great idea. They certainly wouldn't have stamped the passport had I not asked.
Walking around the Turkish side, I noticed travel agencies with ads for flights to IST. This was on the road between the main Ataturk Square and the Famagusta Gate I believe. I don't know price, but probably fairly affordable. They had pictures of an airline I had never heard of, so maybe a charter or a Turkish LCC. In any event, they use Turkish lire on the Turkish side, but also readily accepted Cyprus Pounds. Obviously, the flights to IST would leave from an airport in the North.
Had I had more time, I would have been tempted to try and fly to IST from Northern Cyprus. When I returned later in the day to S. Nicosia, the Greeks never looked at my passport, but just told me I was free to go. Thus, if you fly to IST and back to N. Cyprus, you could always claim that they never recorded your name when you left and that you were just in N. Cyprus for the day or overnight, and they'll probably re-admit you, especially if you have the entry stamp from LCA to prove you originally entered the island there.
When I left N. Cyprus, they stamped an exit stamp on my photocopied "visa" (and again in my passport only at my request), which was really kind of pointless considering they didn't retain the "visa" but let me keep it. Later, on exit from LCA, the passport guy stamped right next to the N. Cyprus stamp, and didn't say a word.
Once again, these are my own observations of the entire process for what they're worth.