"North Cyprus in late October" Top 5 Page for this destination Kyrenia District by MikeBird

Kyrenia District Travel Guide: 245 reviews and 578 photos

A week in Lapta near Girne

In October 2007, my family: wife and 3 teenage kids , spent an enjoyable and relaxing week in North Cyprus - or to give it's full title The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. We were very fortunate to have found, via the internet, an old house which is located about 10kms from Girne ( previously known as Kyrenia) in the small town of Lapta originally known as Lapithos.

The house, part of an Old Monastery, is about 5 minutes drive from the coast though the beaches are a little further and some of them are now snapped up by hotels or Beach Clubs.

The main photo is a view taken from the hills overlooking Lapta town to the north. An exciting feature of the house is that it was mentioned in Lawrence Durrell's famous book 'Bitter Lemons of Cyprus'.
We really enjoyed the mature garden with its jasmine flavoured smells as we sat of an evening listening to the sounds of the neighbourhood and watching the bats flit around the patio.

The way ahead?

There is a huge amount of development taking place around Girne. New properties are springing up along the coastal strip and we couldn't help feel that very soon this part of Northern Cyprus will become just another piece of real estate losing its original identity and character but appealing to second home owners looking for a comfortable, sunny and relatively cheap lifestyle.

You can see from the photo the scale of the new development. This photo was taken from St Hilarion Castle looking towards Girne.

Hills behind Lapta

Pros and Cons

Pros:Long sunny season, fascinating history and good food
Cons:Growing rapidly as a resort area so becoming busy
In a nutshell:Go soon before it's swamped in holiday housing

Last visit to Kyrenia District: Oct 2007
Intro Updated Jun 19, 2009
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Reviews (6)

The Abbey during the day - Kyrenia District

Visit Bellapais Things to Do (5)

At a distance of only about 5kms from Girne there is the tourist honeypot of Bellapais village and Abbey. Set up on the... more travel advice

Kyrenia Castle from the harbour - Kyrenia District

Stroll round Kyrenia harbour Things to Do (5)

On a warm balmy evening in October it was very pleasant to stroll around the harbour wall and take in the atmosphere of... more travel advice

Salamis - Roman town Things to Do (5)

North of Gazimagusa ( Famagusta) on the coast are the extensive Roman ruins of Salamis. The whole site covers a very... more travel advice

The castle is built into the hillside - Kyrenia District

St Hilarion - nearly a fairy tale castle Things to Do (5)

St Hilarion Castle at 732 metres offers brilliant views over Girne and right along the range of hills that run parallel... more travel advice

Restaurants (1)
A super small restaurant in Lapta

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Comments (5)

angiebabe Jul 17, 2009 at 11:37 AM Report Abuse

havent got to Cyprus yet but still hope to one day! your page is keeping the motivation up thanks!
venoquine Oct 18, 2008 at 1:05 PM Report Abuse

Very good restaurant indeed.Next time try also CENAP, in the village of Alsancak with more than 100 mezesThey serve you untill you say "stop" , then comes the main dish.
ranger49 Oct 17, 2008 at 2:23 PM Report Abuse

You have some great pics and useful Tips about a place I loved. Thanks for sharing.
easterntrekker Sep 22, 2008 at 3:44 PM Report Abuse

Thanks for visiting my Cape Breton pages!! I thought I'd visit you in return , I've never been to Cypress . Thanks for sharing!!
MM212 Sep 20, 2008 at 8:31 PM Report Abuse

Good tips on a place rarely visited. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!