Guest post by thadeus_d3
Map tips: each color represents a different day. Click a marker to learn more about the spot, and click the star in the map header to save the entire map under Your Places in Google Maps.
My wife and I spent 3 nights in Northern Cyprus. The first 2 nights were spent in Famagusta. The last night was spent in the Karpas Peninsula region. If you travel to Cyprus, be sure to read up on the borders. When we visited, it was not possible to travel from Northern Cyprus (Turkish side) to Southern Cyprus (Greek side) via rental car. However, you could drive from Southern Cyprus to Northern Cyprus.
Day 1
- Othello’s Castle
- Agios Georgios Exorinos/”Nestorian” Church
- Lala Mustafa Paşa Camii
- Palazzo del Provveditore
- St. Francis Church
- Glapsides Beach
We spent most of the day walking around Famagusta. The city is surrounded by 15th and 16th century Venetian walls. The old town is full of ruins and gorgeous churches. We felt like we had the place to ourselves. We ended the day at Glapsides Beach. Glaspsides is one of the nicer beaches near Famagusta. The water was calm and shallow.
Day 2
- Buffavento Castle
- Bellapais
- Kyrenia Castle
- Kyrenia Harbour
We woke up early to get to Buffavento Castle. The drive was pretty treacherous. There was a long, winding road up the side of the mountain that lacked guard rails. It was single lane, but we didn’t have to pass anyone on the way up. We were the only folks there and the hike up took around 45 minutes. The views are incredible at the summit.
We continued to Bellapais monastery. Again, more hilly, single lane roads up a mountain. The monastery was gorgeous and worth the drive.
The town of Kyrenia is absolutely packed with tourists. It’s beautiful near the harbor, but prices are exponentially higher than the rest of Northern Cyprus. It’s worth a day trip, but I was relieved that we chose to stay in Famagusta.
Day 3: Golden Beach
My wife and I decided to have a relaxing day at the beach before we headed to Istanbul.
We woke up early to begin the drive to the Karpaz Peninsula. After checking into our Airbnb, we continued to Golden Beach. This is one of the top beaches in Northern Cyprus. The water was clear, calm and shallow. We were surrounded by gorgeous mountains and sand dunes.
May 2019
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