... I stayed with my family about 2km outside Girne (Kyrenia).
The Journey -
The journey to TRNC was a rather tortuous one. Our flight left at 7.30am from Stansted which is about a 3 hour drive from our home. There is a wait at Turkey Antalya airport of an hour and then on to Ercan.
We ... Read review
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Fingers Mountains rising immediately behindWe have 44 en suite rooms for two which all have a sea view private balconies The rooms are standard with double or twin beds en suite bathroom air conditioning direct dial telephone and satellite TVThe GUZELYALI is a family run hotel and we will suite guest's who are looking for a quite and silence placeThe GUZELYALI means beautiful sea side Hotel is located 15 miles west of Kyrenia Girne It is situated next to a wide sandy beach turquoise crystal clear sea and private bay 445 yards long sea shore 145 donums wide private land mountains and sea meet together in an unspoilt enviroment with kingfisher birds bees wild flowers sea turtles nests Chelonia Mydas and Caretta Caretta bougainvillea and rosesThe hotel is situated in the best place in NORTH CYPRUS that always has a breeze in hot summer The outdoor swimming pool and deck area to relax with impressive mountains behind and sheltered by the wings of the hotel makes the hotel secluded place The pool bar and the beach bar is at your service all day long If you want to listen the sound of the waves and beats of your heart come to CLUB GUZELYALI HOTEL We are ready to serve you with great pleasure
Lapta and away from hustle and bustle of Girne The Manolya is found where the green Besparmak mountains and the blue Mediterranean come together at the beach All the rooms have sea and mountain views You can due to the Mediterranean climate swim in the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean or in the hotel's swimming pool for most of the year There is also table tennis for children at the Manolya Hotel The hotel has indoor and outdoor restaurants where you can sample excellent Cypriot and international cuisine as well as vegetarian foods You can also pop into the Hotel American Bar on the terrace where you will find a full selection of well known drinks and liqueurs Manolya Hotel Capacity and Facilities Manolya Hotel has 45 standard and 16 family rooms All rooms are fitted with: satellite TV; mini bar; air conditioning and heating; direct phone lines; a hair dryer; en suite bath shower and continuously available hot and cold running water Family rooms each have a lounge area and mini kitchen An on call 24hrs doctor is available if required Tea and coffee facilities can be obtain on request free of charge FOC Baby sitting and laundry services are also available on request Hotel also has a lift and its own independent power source The Sea around the hotel is ideal for snorkelling and fishing equipment can be hired Location Information Just a short distance from the Manolya Hotel you will find many selected restaurants and markets There is also continuous access to Girne Kyrenia by bus taxi and hire car service A safe free of charge is available at the reception where you can also exchange money There are also sea sports fishing diving yacht tours daily tours of the island and nearby mountain walks If you are hoping to spend a comfortable relaxing and fun holiday in excellent accommodation and surroundings then why not give the Manolya a try
A review by venusbabe2004 on Kyrenia (Girne) August 6th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Value for Money
Good
Sightseeing
Excellent
Shopping
Good
Nightlife
Average
Ease of getting around
Good
Advantages:
Very pretty harbour, cooler to walk round and explore at night, amazing castle
Disadvantages:
Girne town centre is VERY HOT to walk around in the day, inadequate infrastructure to cope witht he amount of litter generated by tourists
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Our Holiday -
I have just come back from two sunny weeks in Norther Cyprus (The Turkish Repulic of Northern Cyprus). I stayed with my family about 2km outside Girne (Kyrenia).
The Journey -
The journey to TRNC was a rather tortuous one. Our flight left at 7.30am from Stansted which is about a 3 hour drive from our home. There is a wait at Turkey Antalya airport of an hour and then on to Ercan.
We arrived at Ercan at about 3.30pm local time. Our flight was with Turkish Cypriot Airlines and in terms of puncuality and food etc they could not be faulted. Perhaps the only gripe would be that I couldn't understand some of the things said in English as the Turkish accent was quite strong and they spoke quite fast. The holiday rep was there to greet us and we headed off to our accomodation in a mini bus.
Not quite love at first sight -
The first sight if TRNC was a bit off putting to say the very least. Before going I read about teh Northen part of Cyprus being an unspoilt land of culture and history (which it is in parts). However the main route from the airport to Girne was fairly much covered in litter. The litter problem is probably the worst thing about the place and something I will come back to.
We dropped off some people at the Dome hotel in Girne before heading Westwards to our hotel, The Prince Inn which is situated on the rather busy Girne to Lapta main Rd (To be reviewed seprately).
Getting around and about -
After the first night we decided to hire a car for a week. Towards the end of that week we extended the car hire. As there is so much to see and do in TRNC I certainly recommend car hire to anyone staying there.
It isn't too expensive. We hired a Suzuki Jimini for 25 pounds a day from Sun Rentals. It was a brand new car and pleasant to drive. It only had four seats though which was a bit squashed for us. I would recommending hiring a car through your holiday tour operator before leaving England as they are in demand in high season.
Best beaches -
The best beaches seem to be to the East of Girne although Escape beach to the West is mean to be good although we didn't go there. We did go to Camelot beach to the West of Grine and had to pay to get in but found ourselves snorkelling with carrier bags etc floating past so we didn't bother with the beaches to the West after that.
Our favourite nearest beach was at the Acapulco Hotel to the east of Girne. Very clean, with soft sand and great snorkling for beginners. Not cheap to get in 10 new Turkish Lira for an adult 5 for a child under 12. There is an aqua park there too and the food is very nice. We went ther on three seperate days and felt that it was a place where we may go and stay at one day.
Algadi Beach - Turtle Beach - lovely long beach, very shallow but absolutely filthy - bottles left by the side of bins, excremement on the beach, people hanging their clothes out to dry on the cages put up to protect the turtle nests. The amount of litter could put many people visiting the place and should be sorted out as a top priority.
The Turltle project is based near this beach (signposted as you travel East from Girne towards the Acapulco). We visited the project and saw some freshly hatched Logger head Turtles. They take tourists down when they release the babies on the beach if they have enough turtles to take down (about 30).
The best day of our trip was to the Karpas Penisular. This was a rather epic journey worth chronicalling seperately as it was the highlight of our visit.
Best eating out -
TRNC is a meat and fish lovers paradise. Not too bad for vegetarians either as three of us in our party were. Whilst there are good holiday deals to be had which give free Half Board eating out at night was certainly one of the highlights for us, particularly in pretty Ozankoy village and in the Harbour at Girne.
We all loved the Meze's we had and tried to eat out every night. The highlights were - Rose Garden at Ozankoy for very friendly hospitality, Erols at Ozankoy for fabulous Meze. Niazi's (opposite the Dome Hotel) serves excellent Meze followed by a kebab of your choice - or grilled haloumi for Vege's. They also do a fabulous aubergine dish which my Husband had.
There are numerous restuarants along the harbour and we eat out in the habour three times. The first was not very nice - I had an appalling spagetti dish with a sauce which was vile. But the other two times we ate at the Corner Restaurant on the habour which was fine.
Two other places worth a visit are St Kathleens near Algadi (Turtle Beach) Beach. We stopped there for a late lunch and it is a wonderful place, with good food, eaten whilst sitting on a huge veranda and so peaceful. The other is the resturant directly opposite St Nicholas Cathedral in Gamagusa (next to a bank). It was very cheap -5 New Turkish Lira for a huge plate of gorgeous spagetti with creamy sauce with roated aubergines and other vegetables. It is a lovely setting in a Square type place.
Best cultural bits -
Girne -
St Hilarion Castle. Absolutely amazing and we were full of wonder at how such an edifice could have been built on the side of a mountain. A bit of a killer in the heat (as it is visiting any where which isn't a beach or pool). Good cafe with a wooden verana looking out over Girne.
Kyrenia Castle -
Situated in Girne Harbour. The most complete and well preserved place we visited. Great view of the harbour below. Definately worth a visit.
Bellaix Abbey -
Near Girne in the hills. Very peaceful old abbey. They hold music festivals here - there was a Mozart festival held when we were visiting but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to go. Although when we visited there was an orchestra practising in the Hall and we sat and listened as the breeze wafted in to the room from huge windows. Even my tetchy adolescents enjoyed that.
Gamaguza -
(Also known as Famagusta) Three of us visited Gamagusa for the day. The former St Nicholas Cathedral was very nice (Now a mosque but you can go in for a look for a small fee). We visited Othello Tower which my husband enjoyed but I found it had a quite disturbing atmosphere (although he said I was wierd so that may be the case).
There are lots of nice little shops in Gamagusa although we visited on 1st August which is a bank holiday so it was quite quiet - but there were some places open and it was very nice.
Value for money -
I had heard that it was very cheap here. I think that prices have risen quite alot in recent years due to the property boom. Our bill for drinks and food at our hotel was 450 pounds which was a lot considering we were hardly there.
Negative points -
Not as cheap as we thought it would be. The hotels don't allow you to take in food/drink from outside and it ends up being very expensive unless you sneak things in. The litter which is truly appalling. The place is pretty much a huge building site at the moment. The developement has yet to hit the beautiful Karpas but I understand that even this beautiful place will be developed in the future which would be a total tragedy.
All in all then, although it wasn't love at first site, the place is definately a grower and despite the litter and concrete rush which is underway we were all really sad to have to come home again.
Advantages: Very few tourists, relatively unspoilt, mountains and sea Disadvantages: More difficult to get to than South Cyprus
Kyrenia (Greek) or Girne (Turkish) was a very charming little town - now a medium-sized town with charming bits - in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). To get there: 1. You can take a day-trip from southern Cyprus. 2. You can fly to the TRNC (Ercan airport), via Istanbul, from the UK and Germany, I'm not sure about other countries.
Brief history:
The site of amazing civilisations from thousands of years ago - there are still ruined ... ...cost.
Cyprus is a divided island - Greek-speaking in the south, Turkish-speaking in the north. There was a bloody confict in (and leading up to) 1974 which saw the island split in two when Turkish troops invaded to stop a reported genocide of Turkish Cypriots. No other nation except Turkey recognises the TRNC. Re-unification talks between the two parts of the island keep happening and collapsing. Nature:
The scenery is breathtaking - a craggy mountain ...
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Advantages: Unspoilt, scenic, historic Disadvantages: In the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus
...a party of four, visited Kyrenia on a day trip on our last holiday to Cyprus, which was in September 2003, and it was well worth seeing. We had heard various reports, mostly from the Greek Cypriots, about how hard it was to get there, how long a wait it was, how much hassle you got from the border guards etc, but we still decided to give it a go. There are, as far as I know, two border gates open for day trips. We used the one on the outskirts of ... ...does), and the road to Kyrenia was straight and well looked after. Kyrenia is "Girne" in Turkish, so look out for the signs. There was a large car park near the harbour, with good toilet facilities, and the usual free splash of lemon cologne from the attendant! The harbour area itself is very pretty, old Ottoman style houses cling to the cliff and round the waters edge bars and cafes abound with gaily coloured tablecloths flapping in the breeze, ...
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Advantages: Sightseeing, relaxing atmosphere, very pretty scenery Disadvantages: Can get very hot in high season
You can visit Kyrenia via southern Cyprus now. If you are staying in Paphos it would be a bit of a trek (around 2 plus hours by car), from Limassol, Protaras and Ayia Napa about 1 hour 15, Nicosia 15 minutes. Its well worth the visit as there is plenty to see.
The Turkish Cypriots keen to make money will accept UK sterling, US dollars, Euros!
Dont miss the following places when you visit:
The Venetian harbour - where you can take a relaxing stroll, ... ...back into south Cyprus.
Kyrenia Castle - tyou can explore the towers and dungeons here as the shipwreck museum....this houses what is believed to be one of the oldest shipwrecks in the world. Believed to have been a cargo ship transporting wine from Rhodes and Kos to Cyprus when it encountered stormy seas. You will not only see the ship in the museum but food such as nuts which have been amazingly preserved all these years, its a really interesting ...
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Advantages: PEACEFUL, RELAXING, HISTORIC Disadvantages: BORDER CONTROL, IN A NON RECOGNISED STATE
...ME MAKE IT CLEAR THAT KYRENIA (GIRNE) IS ON THE NORTH COAST OF CYPRUS IN THE 'OCCUPIED AREAS' OF THE TRNC (TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS) A REPUBLIC WHICH IS NOT RECOGNISED BY ANY OTHER NATION IN THE WORLD ... FOR MORE INFORMATION TYPE 'THE CYPRUS PROBLEM' INTO YOUR BROWSER.
ANYWAY, JUST BECAUSE IT'S IN THE NORTH DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CAN'T VISIT. YOU CAN FLY INTO ERCAN AIRPORT IN THE NORTH (AND STAY ONLY IN THE NORTH) OR EITHER OF THE TWO ... ...IN THE COASTAL TOWN OF KYRENIA AND FIND A BEAUTIFUL, UNSPOILT LITTLE HARBOUT TOWN/ FISHING VILLAGE DOMINATED BY A LARGE FORT ... THIS IS DEFINITELY WORTH A LOOK AS IT IS LITERALLY DRIPPING WITH HISTORY FROM THE BYZANTINE ERA, RICHARD THE LION HEARTS TIME AND SO MANY BYGONE ERAS.
I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU TOO MUCH, JUST GO AND TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELVES ... IT'S WORTH IT.
BY THE WAY, ON THE NORTH OF CYPRUS ANY CURRENCY IS WELCOMED THOUGH TURKISH ...
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Advantages: Uncommercialised Disadvantages: Lots of roadworks
My husband and I visited Kyrenia last September. We were looking for an uncommercialised location and found it. This was not our first trip to Cyprus but we lived in the south before and had not spent much time in Northern Cyprus (it was already split by the time we first went there). The north has been given a grant from the EEC to update their roads and drainage system, with a view to meeting European standards for when they join the EEC (whenever ... ...The main harbour in Kyrenia didn't seem to be affected, its very pretty.
I would recommend this location to anyone looking for a quiet holiday. Car hire is cheap and they drive on the left so no excuse for not getting about and seeing even more than Kyrenia. ...
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Advantages: Ruins (and scenery, and wild flowers in Spring) Disadvantages: Ruined (or on the way to becoming so)
.... It's mainly a modern port, but if all you want to do is lie on a beach with a hotel bar to hand, the stretch of shoreline north of Gazimagusa is sandy and as good, or as bad, a place as any other. Old Gazimagusa must be seen for its massive mediaeval walls and turrets, equal to those of the capital. Behind them, 5000 Venetian defenders for ten months withstood a besieging Ottoman army numbering over 100,000. Nowadays, inside, the old city is rather run down, its network of lanes interspersed with empty spaces and abandoned churches, but has atmosphere. South of the city, the formerly Greek resort/suburb of Varosha, once the smartest place to live on the island, is now a ghost town, full of overgrown, crumbling villas cordoned off behind barbed wire.
~ Girne (aka Kyrenia). The place from which to see Girne to best advantage is...
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Advantages: Very well preserved ruins, impressive scenery Disadvantages: Lack of information material and sign-posting on the site
...A poster of the ruins of the ancient town of Salamis, Northern Cyprus, seen on a tourism fair in 1998, first brought my attention to the part of the world as a possible holiday destination.
I booked a 1 week holiday in the neighbourhood of Salamis, was smitten by the country, met my - now - husband and moved there within less than a year.
We lived in the small town Yeni Bogazici, right opposite of Salamis, and for the next 1 1/2 years (we moved to another town later on) the ruins were literally "down our street" and our favourite spot for walks.
How to reach Salamis ?
If you are staying either in Magosa (Famagusta), the Greek part of Cyprus or in Girne (Kyrenia) you will approach Salamis from the south. It is situated about 8 km to the north of Magosa, right opposite to the entrance of the village Yeni...
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05.04.2007
