Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AROUND KYRENIA & THE RANGES
Kyrenia is perfectly placed for excursions to other parts of the North, which offer beaches,
trekking, mountains and natural wilderness. There are also some incredible medieval
castles and ancient sites. The whole area is quite condensed, with short driving distances.
Nearly all roads are easily accessible by regular-drive cars.
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Beaches
Northern Cyprus has separated many of its beaches into paid and public beaches, called
halk plajları
. The paid beaches are designed to be tourist friendly and entry usually costs
around 6TL to 10TL.
Five Mile Beach
BEACH
(Yavuz Çıkarma Plajı; Alsancak; admission 10TL)
Five Mile (also known as Yavuz Çıkarma) is one of Kyrenia's best swimming beaches. Run
by Escape Beach Club, it's hugely popular and during summer you should get here early to
find space. Hire a sun lounger and umbrella to counter the lack of shade. Swimmers should
be mindful of the strong wind that can come in off the open water, which also makes it
great for water sports. Five Mile is about 10km west of Kyrenia.
The sandy cove actually has three names: Altınkaya, after the rock next to it; Beşinci
Mil, meaning five mile; and Yavuz Çıkarma, meaning the resolute outbreak. This was one
of the beaches used by the Turkish Army to launch the 1974 invasion. On the road over-
looking the beach you'll notice a phallic-looking monument (known locally as 'the Turkish
erection') which commemorates the event.
Çatalköy Beach
BEACH
(Çatalköy)
F
Çatalköy, 7km east of Kyrenia, is a quiet beach with a less-developed feel than others in the
region. The beach here is narrow with soft sand, in a protected and attractive little bay. You
can rent sunbeds here and dive from the pontoon. The beach is 1.5km to the right, off the
main road.
Vrysi (Acapulco) Beach
BEACH
(Çatalköy; admission 25TL)
Now commonly called Acapulco Beach, thanks to the mega resort of Acapulco Holiday
Village which manages it, Vrysi caters mainly to package tourists. Day visitors are wel-
come as well though and the (rather expensive) admission fee includes access to all the
