North Cyprus travel tips

We have gathered some of useful North Cyprus travel tips below.

North Cyprus is served by its own airport at Ercan, just east of Nicosia. Many hotel and car hire companies offer a free pick up service to their clients. This is especially valuable for independent travellers. Many fly into the southern airport of Larnaca and it is wise to have a taxi sent to bring you north. Again your hotel or car hire firm will organise this for you at a cost.

On entering the country there is a small visa slip to fill in with nothing more than your name, passport number and nationality. This will be stamped instead of your passport and is valid for 90 days. There is no charge. Keep the slip with your passport and it will be stamped again on exit. These slips are available at the passport control desk and, if coming from the south, the taxi usually has a supply.

Car hire in the North is not unduly expensive and they drive on the left, same side of the road as the UK. It is not advisable to take a hire car to the south. There will be extra insurance to pay at the border and nobody to assist in a breakdown or accident.

Electrical sockets are UK style 3 pin and the voltage 220/240 AC and adapters are freely available for two pin plugs. English is spoken widely throughout the tourist regions.

The region is well supplied with modern well-stocked supermarkets selling familiar brands of toiletries, soaps and shampoos. Plenty of fresh fruit is on offer but very often fruit in season. For self-caterers there is an excellent range of freshly made salad dishes and hot meals. Whatever is selected, it is sold in plastic containers by weight,

Chemist shops are open 6 days a week with a duty chemist opened on Sunday. The duty chemists are advertised in the local English language newspapers. Many of the medications you expect to find in the UK are on sale here. In addition many prescription medicines are available over the counter.

There is an excellent mini bus (dolmus) service which runs mainly to the many towns and villages west of Kyrenia and a lesser service to the east.