A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip joins the walled old city of Nicosia with the harbour town of Kyrenia and the castles of the Kyrenia range in a single day. Anyone planning more days on the island can browse the tours in Greece collection for other ideas.
The sections below cover what the day is, what it includes, the route, the sights, how the day runs, who it suits and the questions visitors raise.
What is a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip?
A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip is a full day in the northern part of Cyprus. It joins the walled old city of Nicosia with the harbour town of Kyrenia. Operators add the castles of the Kyrenia range and Bellapais Abbey to the day.
Cyprus lies in the far east of the Mediterranean Sea. Wikipedia says Cyprus ranks third among Mediterranean islands for both size and population. A United Nations buffer zone divides the island, and Nicosia, the capital, lies inland on the Mesaoria plain. Wikipedia adds that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.
Nicosia, called Lefkosia in Greek and Lefkosa in Turkish, has been the capital since the tenth century. Wikipedia calls it the one divided capital left in Europe. The Venetians built the old city walls in fifteen sixty-seven, shaped as a star with eleven bastions. A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip spends its Nicosia time north of the Green Line.
Kyrenia, which Turkish speakers call Girne, lies on the island’s northern coast. Wikipedia names its historic harbour and castle. Cafes, bars and restaurants line the harbour. Outside the town, the Kyrenia mountain range holds Saint Hilarion Castle. This mountaintop castle stands over Kyrenia and shows along the coast.
Wikipedia calls Cyprus a major tourist destination, with a heritage that holds Greek and Turkish elements. Pages give one reason to join a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip: two cities fit into one day. One travel blog covers a day in the north that takes in Kyrenia, Saint Hilarion Castle and Bellapais Abbey.
One listing frames a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip as a tour with a Polish-speaking tour leader. Another listing calls its day a full-day tour of Kyrenia and its surroundings, with time in Nicosia. One private-tour page says the two cities are visited together on the same day.
What does a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip include?
Operators list a tour leader, transport and entrance tickets as the core of a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip. Lunch is paid separately on the two listings that state it. The remaining items change with the operator.
One private-tour page lists a licensed local tour leader and private transport. It adds entrance tickets to the historical sites, parking tickets and a small bottle of water. A listing for a seven-hour day names entrance to the historical sites, transport and the tour leader’s service. Entrance tickets are the one item both pages list.
Lunch is not part of either list. The private-tour page names it as paid separately, together with personal purchases. The seven-hour listing leaves out lunch and drinks. That itinerary gives time at Kyrenia harbour to walk around and eat. On such a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip, lunch is a harbour stop paid separately.
A third page lists transport by private vehicle and a hotel drop-off at selected hotels only. It also says an independent provider operates that tour. The listing is a half-day tour, so operators differ on length too.
The other two pages describe a full day as a private tour. The private-tour page also mentions small group tours in general. The seven-hour day ends where it began, in Nicosia.
Operators differ on language as well. The seven-hour listing gives English. Another listing names a Polish-speaking tour leader in its title. A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip can therefore run in more than one language.
Where does a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip go?
A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip joins the walled old city of North Nicosia with the north coast. Operators list Kyrenia harbour, the abbey at Bellapais and the castle of Saint Hilarion as stops. Each operator sets its own order.
On one private-tour page, a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip begins with Arasta in Nicosia. The group walks the old city and enters at the Kyrenia Gate. Next comes the drive up the Kyrenia range to Saint Hilarion Castle. Kyrenia Castle follows, with time at the harbour for lunch. Bellapais Abbey ends the day.
Another operator lists a round trip for a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip that starts and ends in Nicosia. Its stops are the Great Inn, the Covered Market and the Green Line. After those come the castle of Saint Hilarion and the abbey at Bellapais. Kyrenia Castle and the harbour come last.
Not every Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip starts with the capital. One half-day tour lists Bellapais Abbey before Saint Hilarion Castle and meets at the Ledra Palace crossing point in Nicosia. A private tour lists a pick-up in Kyrenia and puts the Great Inn last.
Pick-up towns differ too. A Paphos operator lists a hotel pick-up in Paphos and a scenic drive with a short refreshment stop. It crosses at the Ayios Dometios checkpoint in Nicosia. Its next stops are the castle of Saint Hilarion, the village and abbey of Bellapais, and Kyrenia harbour. Then it returns to Paphos.
Wikipedia says the Kyrenia range runs about 160 kilometres along the north coast. Its highest peak, Mount Selvili, stands at 1,024 metres. Pentadaktylos, meaning five-fingered, is its Greek name. Saint Hilarion, Buffavento and Kantara stand on its peaks from west to east, and Buffavento is 960 metres high.
What can visitors see on a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip?
A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip shows Gothic and Ottoman buildings, castles, an abbey and a harbour. Tour pages name the Selimiye Mosque and the Great Inn in Nicosia. In the north they name Kyrenia Castle, Bellapais Abbey and Saint Hilarion Castle.
The Selimiye Mosque was built as the Cathedral of Saint Sophia. Wikipedia says no Gothic church still standing in Cyprus is bigger or older. It adds that Lusignan kings were crowned there. In the sixteenth century, after the Ottoman takeover, the building was turned into a mosque with two minarets added.
Two more Nicosia stops appear on a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip, the Bedesten and the Great Inn. One operator says the Bedesten began as a church and later served as a market for cloth and food. Wikipedia calls the Great Inn the largest caravanserai on the island, built by the Ottomans in the sixteenth century.
One operator describes Bandabuliya as mainly a vegetable market in the old days. Wikipedia calls Arasta a pedestrian area of old shopping streets. The Venetian walls run about five kilometres round the old city. They have eleven bastions and three gates, and the Kyrenia Gate is one of them.
Saint Hilarion Castle is the mountain stop that operators put on a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip. Wikipedia describes three wards: the lower and middle wards served daily work, and the upper ward housed the royal family. One operator allows eighty minutes there because of the three sections. The western wall overlooks the north coast.
Wikipedia says Bellapais Abbey stands in a village about five kilometres from Kyrenia. It has views toward the town and the sea. Its Gothic cloister has eighteen arches, and the refectory has a rose window. Concerts and lectures take place in the refectory today.
On a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip, the Shipwreck Museum inside Kyrenia Castle holds the Kyrenia ship. Wikipedia calls it a Greek merchant ship from the fourth century BC, found by a sponge diver in nineteen sixty-five. It carried 381 amphoras and 29 millstones. At the harbour, operators list time to walk, eat lunch or take photos.
How does a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip work?
A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip is one long day by road in the northern part of Cyprus. Operators list seven to nine hours. The day joins the old city of Nicosia with the north coast, and it ends where it began.
The length of a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip differs by operator. One gives a seven-hour round trip. Another gives nine hours, which add up the travel, the visits and time at leisure. The nine-hour day picks up between 20 past 7 and 15 to 9 in the morning, depending on the town. Exact times come by email.
That second operator also lists the order of the day. A walk along Ledra Street leads to the crossing, and the old city of North Nicosia comes next. Next the coach drives to Kyrenia. Lunch is eaten at the harbour, in the visitors’ own time. Kyrenia Castle is optional, Bellapais Abbey follows, and the coach returns to the pick-up point.
On that operator’s day, travellers walk to the crossing at Ledra Street. Wikivoyage lists it as a crossing for pedestrians only. It says an ID check is made on the southern side. A checkpoint for immigration and customs stands on the northern side. Wikipedia defines a border checkpoint as a place where travellers or goods are inspected.
Operators name different documents for a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip. One asks for a passport, and another lists passports or EU identity cards. Wikivoyage says a national identity card is enough for citizens of the EU, Turkey and other Schengen countries. Wikipedia defines a passport as a government travel document that confirms the holder’s identity and nationality.
Wikivoyage names the Turkish lira as the currency in the north. Operators list lunch as paid separately, so a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip needs money for the harbour. Two operators say a visitor who cancels at least twenty-four hours ahead gets a full refund. For sights inland, Wikivoyage points to April to June.
Who is a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip for?
A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip suits travellers who enjoy history, castles and a long day on the road. Operators list private days and coach days, so couples, families and groups of friends can pick a format. Every traveller needs a passport or an identity card.
One operator lists a private tour in which the party has the vehicle to itself. Another operator lists a coach day with pick-ups in Ayia Napa, Protaras and Larnaca. Either format of a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip covers old Nicosia and the north coast. That suits a history lover.
Visitors cover the old city of Nicosia on foot, and one operator asks for comfortable shoes for the castle steps. A second listing wants travellers to have at least moderate fitness. Wikipedia gives dry, sunny summers as the mark of a Mediterranean climate. One packing list names a hat and sun cream, which Wikipedia says helps protect against sunburn.
Access for wheelchairs and for children differs between operators. One private tour lists wheelchair access, while another operator says its vehicle is not wheelchair accessible. One listing says infants can ride in a pram and children travel with an adult. A Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip is a long day, and another operator says children are welcome.
The day crosses the Green Line. Wikipedia calls it a UN-administered demilitarised zone. The zone runs through Nicosia, so the city has a southern part and a northern part. A United Nations force, UNFICYP, patrols it. Travellers who prefer the southern side of Nicosia and Lefkara village can try a Nicosia, Larnaka and Lefkara tour.
What else do visitors ask about a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip?
Which rulers shaped Nicosia and Kyrenia over the centuries?
Wikipedia calls the House of Lusignan a royal house of French origin that ruled Cyprus in the Middle Ages. Venice took over the island in fourteen eighty-nine and saw it mainly as a military base. The Venetians fortified Nicosia and Kyrenia, the two towns joined by a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip.
The Ottomans took the island in fifteen seventy-one, and Wikipedia says the fall of Famagusta ended Venetian rule. British administration began in eighteen seventy-eight under the Cyprus Convention, and Cyprus became an independent republic in nineteen sixty.
How did Richard I and the Knights Templar shape the island behind a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip?
Wikipedia lists Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart, as Lord of Cyprus among his titles. The Lusignan page says Guy of Lusignan went to Limassol, met Richard and joined his conquest of the island.
It adds that Richard sold Cyprus to the Knights Templar, who in turn sold it to Guy. The Templar page says they owned the whole island at one point and moved their headquarters to Limassol. Guy died in eleven ninety-four, and his older brother Aimery received Cyprus and became its first king.
Where do Famagusta, Lapta, Karmi and Alsancak lie compared with a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip?
Famagusta, which Turkish speakers call Gazimagusa, lies east of Nicosia on the island’s eastern shore. Wikipedia adds that it has the island’s deepest harbour and was the main port city in the Middle Ages.
Lapithos (Lapta in Turkish) is about 14 kilometres west of Kyrenia, where a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip stops. Karavas (Alsancak in Turkish) lies just east of Lapithos, among the north-coast towns of the Kyrenia District. Karmi (Karaman in Turkish) is a village in the Kyrenia District, located west of Kyrenia.
Which Cypriot dishes and drinks go with a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip?
According to Wikipedia, Cypriot food draws on its Turkish and Greek neighbours and also on the wider Mediterranean. Halloumi, a staple, is a Cypriot dairy product with a high melting point, so it can be fried or grilled.
Meze, the cuisine page says, is a large selection of small helpings, served as a sequence of tastes. Wikipedia also describes Turkish coffee as finely ground coffee made in a pot named a cezve. One operator lists time at the harbour to walk around and have lunch on a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip.
Which languages are spoken, and what sea lies around a Kyrenia and Nicosia day trip?
Wikipedia says Greek and Turkish remain the main languages of the two communities, while English is the island’s bridge language. The same page says Cyprus welcomes around four million tourists on average each year. It adds that much of the island relies on sun, sea and sand to attract visitors.
Wikipedia says land almost completely encloses the Mediterranean Sea, and three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa, surround it. It names Cyprus and Malta as island countries in that sea, whose area is about 2,500,000 square kilometres.