Kyrenia, the harbour town on the north coast

Kyrenia is one of the most searched-for names in Cyprus. It sits on the north coast, in the part the government hasn’t controlled since 1974. Below is what citable official sources say, plus how to reach it from the south. The district background is in Kyrenia district.

Where it is

Kyrenia is the main town of the district of the same name, on the island’s north coast below the Pentadaktylos range. On OpenStreetMap’s coordinates, Nicosia is some 19 km away, Larnaca airport about 58 and Paphos airport about 103. By road, of course, it’s further.

It has several names. The official romanised Greek form is Keryneia, and in Turkish, as OpenStreetMap shows, it’s Girne. I use Kyrenia, the usual English name.

A little history

On its Union of Cyprus Municipalities page, Kyrenia appears with prehistoric roots and a founding as a town around 1300 BC. Beyond that the citable record is thin, and I won’t fill the gaps.

Kyrenia Castle closes off the old harbour and houses the Kyrenia ship, a Greek merchantman that went down around 295 BC. Above the town, about 5 km as the crow flies, stands St Hilarion Castle, and a similar distance away on the slope is the village of Bellapais with Bellapais Abbey. I’m not giving opening times or prices for any of them, as no source I can cite publishes them.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Nicosia on Expedia and filter by area before price.

The town according to its municipality

The Union of Municipalities records the tradition that the town was founded around 1300 BC by fighters from the Trojan War, with Kepheus leading a group of Achaean settlers. It also says the municipality of Kyrenia has operated since 1974 on a temporary basis from a building provided by the Government next to the Ledra Palace crossing in Nicosia, and that it holds events every year to keep its displaced residents together. To the west, the same Union places Lapithos 14 km from the town.

On the map, Kyrenia is about 27 km from Ercan airport, which the Republic doesn’t accept as a point of entry, as I explain in Ercan airport.

Getting there from the south

There’s no Green Line crossing at Kyrenia. I’d go via Nicosia, walking through at Ledra Street or driving through Agios Dometios, where you can buy a policy for the north, and bear in mind those days count towards your Republic 90. All the steps are in crossing to northern Cyprus.

Over there you pay in lira, though euros are accepted almost everywhere, and card charges need watching. Consular help in the north is limited, gov.uk says.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Nicosia and pick one that fits your day.

To stay or not in Kyrenia

Plenty of people look for hotels in Kyrenia. Before booking, read the official warning about hotels built on Greek Cypriot property, which I explain in hotels in northern Cyprus. I’d stay in Nicosia and do Kyrenia in a day. With time to spare, carry on west to Lapithos, once an ancient kingdom.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Nicosia before you arrive rather than at the desk.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Nicosia on Booking.com and filter by area before price.