Kyrenia: the harbour, the castles and the north coast

By Talk Cyprus. Published 19 October 2026.

Last verified 19 October 2026

North of the Green Line. Greek: Keryneia. Turkish: Girne.

Kyrenia (Keryneia in Greek, Girne in Turkish) is the north’s holiday town: a small horseshoe harbour under a Byzantine and Venetian castle, with the Kyrenia mountains rising steeply behind it and a coast of coves and beaches running away on both sides. It is the base most visitors to the north choose, and it stays pleasant for wandering through the winter, when the resorts further along the coast go quiet.

In town

The old harbour. The heart of Kyrenia, a horseshoe of old stone warehouses, now cafés, wrapped round a harbour full of fishing boats and day trip schooners. Free to wander, best in the early evening.

Kyrenia Castle and the Shipwreck Museum. The castle at the eastern end of the harbour may have Byzantine origins, was taken by Richard the Lionheart in 1191, and was rebuilt by the Lusignans and again by the Venetians in the 16th century. Inside is the Kyrenia Ship, a Greek merchant ship that sank off the coast in the early 3rd century BC with a cargo of wine jars, millstones and almonds. Found by a local diver in 1965 and raised in the late 1960s, it is one of the oldest ships ever recovered from the sea. Open daily, with a small fee payable in Turkish lira.

Up in the mountains

Bellapais Abbey. A Gothic abbey in the village of Bellapais (Beylerbeyi in Turkish), five kilometres above Kyrenia. Founded at the turn of the 13th century, with most of what stands today built under the Lusignan kings in the 13th and 14th centuries. The cloister and the great refectory, with its view down to the sea, are the reasons to come. The village was also home to the writer Lawrence Durrell in the 1950s, which he wrote about in Bitter Lemons.

St Hilarion Castle. A Byzantine and Lusignan castle draped over a rocky peak at 732 metres, the most dramatic of the three castles on the Kyrenia range. The climb to the top is steep, with plenty of steps, and the views over the coast are worth every one. Local legend says it inspired a Disney castle, a claim nobody has been able to prove. You drive up from the Kyrenia to Nicosia road. The access road crosses a military area, so do not stop or take photographs along it.

Buffavento Castle. The highest of the castles at 940 metres, and the most ruined. Reached by a narrow road off the Beşparmak pass (Pentadaktylos in Greek) and then a steep twenty minute walk. Go for the solitude and the view, which on a clear day takes in both coasts.

Walking. The Kyrenia Mountain Trail runs the length of the range, around 260 kilometres from Cape Kormakitis in the west to the tip of the Karpas, split into stages. Spring and autumn are the seasons for it.

Along the coast

West of Kyrenia. Lapta (Lapithos) and Alsancak (Karavas) are old villages on the slopes above the coast road, known for spring water, lemon groves and the remains of ancient Lambousa near the shore. Escape Beach at Alsancak is a popular organised beach about ten kilometres from town.

East of Kyrenia. The coast quietens beyond Çatalköy (Agios Epiktitos). Esentepe (Agios Amvrosios) has the north’s best known golf course.

Alagadi turtle beach. About 19 kilometres east of Kyrenia, two undeveloped sandy bays where loggerhead and green turtles nest. The Society for the Protection of Turtles runs a conservation project there. From May to October the beach is closed at night, from 8pm to 8am. Do not dig near marked nests, use torches or flash on the beach, or drive on the sand. Hatching runs from mid July to the end of September, and the volunteers sometimes let visitors watch a release.

Getting there

Kyrenia is about 30 to 40 minutes from North Nicosia and the Nicosia crossing points, and about the same from Ercan airport. If you fly into the south and want to stay in the north, our guide to flying into Ercan and our north Cyprus car hire guide cover the options both ways.

Entrance fees at the north’s historical sites are small and charged in Turkish lira, and they change often with the exchange rate, so we do not quote them. Take some cash in lira as well as a card.

All areas, north and south