The Blue Lagoon at Akamas, the turquoise cove of the north coast

The Blue Lagoon is the photo everyone wants from north-west Cyprus, turquoise water over a pale seabed with an islet in front. It isn’t a beach you can drive to, which helps keep it that way. Here’s where it is, how to get there and what you pass on the way. To get your bearings, start with the Akamas peninsula.

Where it is

The lagoon is a cove on the north coast of the Akamas peninsula. OpenStreetMap places it within Neo Chorio, about 4.5 km as the crow flies from the Baths of Aphrodite and about 9 km from Latchi harbour. Less than 1 km away is Fontana Amorosa, the spring that Akamas Municipality describes in a small rocky bay hard to reach over land, with a name dating from the 16th century and a past as a pirate hideout.

The whole coastline lies within the Natura 2000 network, and the council notes that Mediterranean monk seals are occasionally seen along it.

How do you get to the Blue Lagoon?

A boat from Latchi is the simplest way, and it’s what I’d do. Several operators work the harbour. One of them, Cyprus Mini Cruises, a family firm founded in 1982, sails three times a day, at 10:15 and 13:00 on two-and-a-half-hour trips, and at 16:00 with a sunset barbecue. There’s also a traditional four-hour trip, 10:30 to 14:30, with souvla and salad.

The route the operator describes is a tour of the Akamas coast in itself. It passes the Baths of Aphrodite, St George’s island, the sea caves at Manolis bay, Blaji bay and Fontana Amorosa, then anchors in the Blue Lagoon for a swim and some snorkelling. Prices aren’t on that page, so compare them at the harbour.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Latchi before prices climb.

And over land?

Over land there are only dirt tracks. Akamas Municipality’s cycling route climbs from Latchi to Neo Chorio and continues on tracks to Fontana Amorosa, while Pafos Buses route 622 runs from Polis to the Baths of Aphrodite. The council talks of exploring the peninsula’s interior on foot, by mountain bike or by 4x4, and calls its cycling route to Fontana Amorosa a hard one, with nowhere to get water or food.

I have no official source on the state of the tracks or which vehicles are allowed, so if you’re thinking of taking a hire car, check first what the insurance covers off tarmac. More in car hire in Cyprus.

When to go and where to stay

I’d take the morning sailing, leaving the afternoon free for the trail at the Baths of Aphrodite. To stay near the harbour, see Latchi and Latchi hotels. If you’d rather arrive overland, by 4x4 on the Akamas tracks, I explain it in jeep safari in Cyprus. The island’s other boat outings are in boat trips in Cyprus, and the sunset sailing is one of my ideas for romantic Cyprus.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Blue Lagoon, Akamas and choose by the reviews.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Latchi on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Latchi before prices climb.