Kyrenia area:
Very unspoiled area, with dramatic views both from the mountains and towards the mountains.For 10months of the year it is pretty much rain free. .Some superb coastal drives and you will never be far from a friendly bar or restaurant.if you should take the mountain ridge drive you will find Hilarian castle with breathtaking views i believe it dates back to the 12th century!! the actual harbour of kyenia with its fortress dates back to the 16th century.Its very unique, unspoiled,a myriad of international restaurants,mosques,turkish baths cobbled street,they say the jewel of the med. Some splendid locals haunts can be found where amazing deals can be experienced like 'Cenap' in old Alsanjack village ,24 courses for £8 !!...fantastic local wines in supermarkets for £2.50 local brandy 75cl £2.80. At the moment turkish cyprus also called trnc. is without doubt the Mediterranean best kept secret ...
Lapta / Lapta Oceanside area:
Just 20mins drive away from kyrenia 14th century harbour is Lapta oceanside,it is actually a tourist destination, it boasts several 5 star hotels, several casinos..all with restaurants,bars, and typical turkish folk nights. [a really good deal at about £12 per person including drinks!!] myself I favour several little oceans edge cafe's one being cafe sara..honest to goodness home made pizza including the base...and a fabulous new hotel restaurant called haci ali ...wow! you should see the pool right over the ocean and this year a jetty out to the sea with bar should be complete. Choose to swim in either.Also a pretty good italian just opened up called 'veni vici'close by. Come back sit around the pool and watch the sunset! a popular sunset watching spot is silver rocks [formerly shirley valentines] next day go into Old Lapta village and get a really good hair cut and shave for £4.00 [men only]!!...Dont laugh but you really should try a Real Turkish Kebab there..the lamb is fab.
HOW TO GET THERE:
There are 3 ways of getting to northern cyprus. 1. fly directly into ercan [pronouced erchan] via Stantead airport. Choose either Pegasus airlines or Cyprus/Turkish airlines. I believe there is an airline that flies direct from Gatwick known as atlas jet.?,a cab to lapta will be £20-£25. 2. fly into Larnaca in the south with BA or several other scheduled airlines or check all the tour operaters[about 8] for varying prices eg. monarch, thomsons, thomas cook, 1stchoice and many others. A cab to ferry you across the greek/tukish border will charge about £35-£44. great fun! we can arrange this for you. 3. for the slightly more adventurous , get an easy jet flight into istanbul [about £65.00] and maybe stay a couple of nights in taxsim? A daily connection from the same airport [sabana gochen], with pegasus airline .will fly you directly into Ercan. About $35,! well worth the extra time spent. And not much more money to try this method.
Golf:
ACTIVITIES:Horse-Riding - 5 mins. Tennis - 5mins. Water Park - 5 mins. Go-Karts - 5 mins. Golf - 15 mins. Sailing - 15 mins. Sea Fishing - 15 mins. Scuba - 30 mins. Parascending - 30 mins. Wind-surfing - 30 mins. Water-Ski - 30 mins. Kyrenia District: North Cyprus is beautiful (I was going to leave it at that), but a few more details:- Kyrenia, the major town of the area is highlighted by the beauty of it's horse-shoe shaped harbour said to be one of the best in the med, a great place to sit with good company, have a meal, chill and watch the world go by (fantastic). A walk around the town with it's maze of backstreets is like going back in time, I half expect Peter Sellers (pink panther) to come bumbling around the corner, or find Humphrey Bogard (casablanca) in one of the many courtyard cafe's, it really has that sort of atmosphere-come and see ! There is something for everyone, Historic sites, culture, good nightlife, the food is great and the people are so welcoming and hospitable.
