North Cyprus Helpful Information

Cyprus Time

Cyprus time is two hours ahead of UK time

CURRENT TIME IN CYPRUS IS

Getting there
Currently it is not possible to fly directly to Northern Cyprus – there are two other options though –

To Ercan (pronounced Ershan) in Northern Cyprus via Turkey, there are several operators who offer this route from most of the major London and some larger regional airports. From the UK to mainland Turkey (destination airports vary) flight time approx 3.5 hours, you do not disembark but stay on the plane for about 45 minutes before a 1 hour flight direct to Ercan. From Ercan the main resort towns Girne (Kyrenia) or Gazimagusa (Famagusta) are little more than a half hour away with Tatlisu Marina being a similar drive.
Alternatively it is possible and usually cheaper (even allowing for taxi fares) to fly directly to Larnaca in the south (about a 4 hour flight) and take a taxi to your resort.

Place names
Road signs only give towns by their Turkish names though maps often give both. Main towns given below -Turkish names on the left and Greek names on the right in brackets.

LEFKOSA (NICOSIA)
GIRNE (KYRENIA)
GAZIMAGUSA (FAMAGUSTA)
GUZELYURT (MORFOU)
ISKELE (TRIKOMO)
LEFKE (LEFKA)
DIPKARPAZ (RIZO KARPASSO)
GECITKALE (LEFKONIKO)

Currency
The Turkish Lira (YTL), approx exchange rate £1 (GBP) buys 2.7 YTL Credit cards, cash machines and travellers cheques can be used be aware of commission charges.

Weather
The sun shines for approximately 340 days of the year. Cyprus is one of the hottest parts of the Mediterranean with July and August maximum coastal temperatures averaging 33c (92f). Spring and autumn visits are rewarded with warm and more tolerable temperatures.
See link at bottom of page for BBC weather for Cyprus

Driving and Car hire
Driving is on the left as the UK, most cars are right hand drive.The main routes offer good roads and there is currently ongoing improvement on many roads.
Once you get off the beaten track rural roads are often narrow and uneven but perfectly passable.

Language
The official language is Turkish. English is widely spoken.