The Logistics of a Holiday in North Cyprus, The Unrecognized Country

Cyprus is a tiny island with a big problem.

Since 1974, it’s been split in two.

The British controlled the island until 1956 (and still maintain some military bases there), but independence was not smooth. The island’s Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots clashed after a coup d’etait, culminating in the 1974 Cyprus War. The Turks took control of the northern third of the island, while the Greeks held on to the rest. The country remains divided today by a UN-maintained green line; Turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes North Cyprus as a legitimate country.

When a friend recommended I visit Cyprus, I forgot about all of this history. It wasn’t until I looked up Ercan Airpot that I realized I would be booking a ticket to an “unreal” country.

North Cyprus, despite its ambiguous status, is a popular vacation destination… for Turks and for British package tours. There wasn’t a lot of available information for a solo traveler with an American passport. But it’s a beautiful place, and it is possible to easily travel around the top of this island!

Logistics

In order to travel to North Cyprus, your plane must touch down in Turkey first and then head on to the island. This is because Ercan Airport is not recognized as an international airport, since North Cyprus is not recognized as a country. It’s necessary to touch down in a recognized international airport, so your flight will land in Turkey, then take off again and land in North Cyprus.

It is also possible these days to go to the southern part of Cyprus first and cross the checkpoint into North Cyprus, usually through the checkpoint in the capital city, Nicosia. If you are not an EU citizen, and you’d like to see both sides of the island, this is your only option. Ercan Airport in North Cyprus is not recognized as a valid point of entry in the south, so if you enter Greek Cyprus from the North, you won’t have a valid entry stamp and could be deported. I hear that it’s possible to get away with it, but I wouldn’t take the chance.

If you are an EU citizen, you can enter from either side—Cyprus is an EU member state, which grants passport-free travel to EU citizens. The EU does not recognize the Turkish occupation of the North, so EU citizens are able to cross back and forth without issue. (Interesting fact– Cyprus is the only EU member state that is divided like this.)

As an American in Turkey, I was only able to fly to North Cyprus, and I was unable to cross to the south. I chose to focus on North Cyprus out of necessity, though it would have been nice to do a comparison. Luckily, North Cyprus is beautiful and full of history, so it wasn’t a bad situation to be in.

Upon arriving in North Cyprus, you can ask for passport control to stamp a separate piece of paper instead of your passport. This will prevent problems if you’d like to go to Greece later– you could be denied entry with North Cyprus stamps in your passport. Luckily, the people at passport control are very understanding AND speak excellent English. I had absolutely no problem with this.

Accommodation

North Cyprus is full of hotels but very few hostels.  I stayed at a hostel in Kyrenia called Cyprus Dorms which was comfortable and centrally located. Because I was traveling off-season, it was easy to make last-minute reservations. During the peak warm months, it’s best to book ahead. In Famagusta, I stayed in a hotel called Altin Tabya, which was comfortable though definitely a bit worn down (it seemed like it was fresh out of the ’70’s or ’80’s) and had no Wi-Fi at all. However, they serve free breakfast and the owner, Erol, is a gem.

Getting Around

All the research I did before arriving recommended renting a car to travel around North Cyprus, but I hate driving so I knew I’d be depending on buses. It turned out that it was rather easy to get between the major cities using buses or dolmus (shared cabs). There was a bus from the airport to Kyrenia called Kibhas that cost 11.50 tl, or $5.75. The bus went to most of the other major cities in North Cyprus: Nicosia, Famagusta, and Morphou. (The cities have different names in Turkish, and it’s good to familiarize yourself with them, but usually the city names are written both ways. See the “Miscellaneous” section of this post for the Turkish names.) Traveling between Kyrenia and Nicosia by dolmus cost me 5 tl ($2.50) each way; Kyrenia to Famagusta was 10 tl ($5). The buses and the dolmus all departed frequently.

Food

Most of the food in North Cyprus is Turkish, with helim (halloumi) cheese on the menu more frequently than in Istanbul. It’s also possible to get British food, including English breakfast, though it tends to be expensive.

In Kyrenia, I ate at a terrific restaurant called Ozgulen that had nothing in the way of atmosphere– think florescent lights and a big TV playing Turkish pop videos– but more than made up for it with its delicious food and cheap prices. I ordered a lentil soup (mercimek corba), lahmacun (a thin crisp dough with minced meat), and ayran (a salty Turkish yogurt drink). I didn’t realize that my food came with warm fluffy bread, a giant bowl of oily olives, and a free post-dinner tea. I was stuffed and content and the whole meal only cost 9 tl, or $4.50.

In Famagusta, I stumbled upon a beautiful cafe by the sea, just beyond the walls of the Old City, called Palm House Cafe. The atmosphere, food, and service were excellent, and the waiter kept bringing me free drinks– homemade mint lemonade and Turkish coffee– because (I think) he felt bad that I was sitting alone. I could have lingered in this cafe for hours.

Miscellaneous

North Cyprus is known for its casinos– and there are a lot of them. Casinos are not legal in Turkey, so many Turks vacation in North Cyprus for the gambling. I didn’t go to the casinos– it’s not my jam– but you can.

The currency in North Cyprus is Turkish Lira (tl).

North Cyprus is known for its universities, so it’s likely you’ll bump into students at some point.

Nicosia is also known as Lefkosa, Kyrenia is also known as Girne, Famagusta is also Gazimagusa, Morphou is also Guzelyurt. Most North Cypriots will use the Turkish names, but everyone knows both—you shouldn’t have a problem if you refer to cities by the Greek names.

It’s a strange and delightful thing to visit a country that the world does not recognize. North Cyprus is beautiful and full of history, and fully worth a visit—don’t let its ambiguous status deter you.