Kyrenia

Kyrenia (Κερύνεια, also Girne in Turkish) [1] is in Northern Cyprus.

Culture and History

A picturesque port with a population of just 22,000, Kyrenia is the most popular tourist destination in Northern Cyprus.

Travel to Kyrenia - Visa Requirements

By air

Atlas air, Cyprus Turkish airlines fly to North Cyprus Ercan airport. Also if you fly to Larnaca airport you can cross the borders to stay free in North Cyprus Kyrenia.

By boat

Frequent ferry services operated by Fergün Shipping [2] connect Kyrenia to Alanya (3½ hours, costing 78 TL/person one-way) and Taşucu (costing 60-68 TL/person one-way according to the fastness of the ferry) in Turkey.

By car

Tours and Getting around Kyrenia

• Pacific Car Hire, 23 Ecevit Caddesi Girne, ☎ 03928152508, [3]. 7:00 am - 19:00. North Cyprus Car Hire firm located in Kyrenia, offer island wide service 

Kyrenia tourist attractions and sightseeing

• Kyrenia Castle. Next to the harbor. An ancient castle of uncertain origin, but probably built by the Byzantines in the 7th century. Richard the Lionheart conquered it (and the rest of Cyprus) in 1191 on his way to Jerusalem, only to lose it to the Lusignans, the Venetian, the Ottomans and eventually the British, who used it as a prison.

• Shipwreck Museum. Within Kyrenia Castle. This small museum houses the preserved wreck of a wooden merchant ship dated 306 BC, found in 1967 off the coast of Kyrenia. The cargo of 400 amphorae (clay jugs) filled with olives and almonds was still (relatively speaking) intact.

Kyrenia city tours

• Golfing
• Scuba Diving
• Turtle bay dive Centre
• walking,
• Kyrenia Range Walks
• Orchids Walk
• Paragliding
• Turtle Watching.  

Kyrenia souvenirs and shopping

The official currency of North Cyprus is New Turkish Lira, YTL. All major currencies are easily exchangle and most shops do accept Euro, £ English Puond and $ US Dollar.

Kyrenia Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

There are many somewhat touristy restaurants by the harbor.

Kyrenia nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

There is lots of bars available around the Kyrenia.

• Sempati Bar (Sky sports)
• Runch Bar
• Roxanne
• Riverside Ranch Bar with Sky Tv on big screen and happy hours, drinks half price.

Kyrenia cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

• Hotel Sempati, Kyrenia, [4]. Family run luxury hotel.
• Bare Hill Holiday Village, Karaoglanoglu Avenue Near Escape Beach, Alsancak-Kyrenia, (0090-392)-821 26 09, barehillholidays@hotmail.com, [5]. Family run hotel.
• Acapulco Beach Club & Resort Hotel, Catalkoy-Kyrenia, [6]. 5 star hotel with sandy beach.
• Manolya Hotel, Kyrenia, [7]. Family run luxury hotel just next to the beach.
• Club Simena Hotel, Kyrenia, [8]. 3 star hotel with a gorgeous view of the 5 Finger Mountains
• The Dome Hotel, Kyrenia, [9]. 4 star hotel within a few minutes walking distance to Kyrenia harbour and castle.
• Riverside Holiday Village, Kyrenia, [10] A 4* star family run holiday resort located in the village of Alsancak, within walking distance to elegant or traditional restaurants. Riverside is also providing free bus service to beaches.

Get out

• The magnificent St. Hilarion Castle overlooks Kyrenia and is easily visited on a day trip.

This page was last edited by Wikitravel user Vidimian. Based on work by Jani Patokallio, Colin Jensen, ali and David, Wikitravel user(s) Northern-cyprus and Zotoman, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license