This is my first blog post, so please bear with me on this one. I hope after a couple of trips; this will go smoother and easier. Let’s talk about the first flight from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow. The first ticket was just under $500.00 for a round-trip ticket from Washington D.C. to Larnaca, Cyprus. That is $250 each way. I don’t think you can go anywhere in the US roundtrip for that other than Southwest.
I upgraded a month or so after the first purchase to economy plus which gives you two bags of 51lbs. So, for under $200.00 to upgrade to economy plus, you get a bag which would cost $75.00 each total of two would be $150.00. The extra $50.00, I am paying for a nicer seat which you get to pick and some things like a pre-flight drink, menu for dinner and pre landing meal (breakfast). The seat I chose was in the front row as the emergency exit was not available in premium economy. The front row offers more leg room. So get it.
The plane is a new airbus 350, which was much quieter than other planes I have flown. The plane is also faster than older planes. I don’t know if this is a faster or a more efficient route, which is good and bad. The flight was normal, and we arrived above London in a little over six hours, which is not bad. The bad news is that flying into Heathrow early, you will almost always end up circling above the airport, while they sort out a time and a place for the plane to park. As usual the first class and business class passengers exit first. I recommend staying on the left side of the aircraft if you are facing the front of the plane as that tends to empty out sooner unless you have a lot of people in front of you that cannot get to their overhead luggage in a timely manner because they had to put their overhead bags further back than over their heads. Not being able to put your bags directly overhead is caused by people trying to avoid checked bags and carry as much as possible with them. Nothing against it, if you are trying to save money, but just a heads up when you need to get your bag above your head and there is no space.
The walk from the plane to good old Terminal 5 takes about five minutes. Then security, which has improved as unless you wear shoes above the ankle, you don’t need to remove your shoes anymore. The liquids rule is still in place. So don’t take any water or any liquid medicine as it will be taken from you and thrown away. Once you have cleared security (I don’t know why you go through security at Dulles, get off a plane six hours later, and go through the same security screening again) So Terminal 5 in Heathrow is big and has a lot of gates. The gates are posted on monitors everywhere, BUT they will only post a gate an hour prior to departure. Don’t ask me why. Dulles, I guess parks their planes in the same place, as I know just by flying around the world at least 100 times, where my airline and where my gate is. Make sure you keep track of the time change and that your phone is up to date and current. This goes for your watch as well.
The flight from Heathrow to Larnaca usually leaves from a different terminal, so stay close to the middle of terminal 5. It has an escalator and elevator which you will need to get to the terminal which your flight will leave. Take the tram to the other terminal as soon as the gate posts on the screen. There are a lot of people that will be moving along with you, and you don’t want to be late. Unfortunately, the other terminals are sparse with only a small coffee shop like Starbucks and small convenance store like a 7 eleven so shop in Terminal 5 for expensive gifts like Tiffany’s, Rolex, or eat at Gordon Ramsey’s or the Sushi place Itsu. There are many pharmacies, gift shops, and duty-free liquor, and perfume/cologne shops to kill time if you have it.
The plane from Heathrow to Larnaca is an airbus 320 neo. This is a budget plane which does not have different classes other than first and economy. So be prepared to go from a nicer seat in economy plus to a literal pain in the ass seat on regular economy. Also, if you are getting hungry, please grab something or eat something from Terminal 5. This is a four hour, pay for everything cash flight. The food is horrible, prepackaged sandwiches or chips, expensive alcohol. So just suck it up. You are almost there. At this point you have been traveling for at least 9 hours anyway. So don’t drink as it won’t help your sleep anyway. Try and get an emergency row if you can. You get a little more leg room. I’m five foot, six inches and I have no leg room, so I know you taller folks need it.
If you cannot help others evacuate the plane in case of an emergency, then do not ask for the exit row. The flight is about four hours to Larnaca, and you should be tired, so rest your head against the bulkhead if you can and crash out for a while.
You will fly across Turkey and land in Larnaca, which is on the Greek side of Cyprus which is the only internationally recognized side of the island. You can of course fly to the north side Ercan airport in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, but only through Turkey. There is a flight which leaves Dulles daily for Istanbul, Turkey around 2200hrs. But I have found this flight three times more expensive and twice as long in transit, just to land in an airport which is to me just as far away from Kyrenia as Larnaca. Maybe after I more well known, Turkish Air will throw me a bone and give me a free first-class ticket? Thanks, Turkish Air!
Customs in Larnaca, is basically two lines. One line for European Union, and one line for all others which means Americans, and Russians basically. There are not many flights and customs do not take very long. The longer wait is waiting for your checked luggage to come out in baggage claim. This might take ten to twenty minutes. Once you have your bags (worth the money, not to lug that yourself, right?) make your way out through the “I don’t have anything to declare” checkpoint. Why, would you bring something you need to declare anyway? The answer is that you don’t ever need to carry something you need to declare. So, don’t. You now exit through the doors, with your bags and look for your driver, who usually has your name written on a piece of paper. So, look through all the people with pieces of paper with names that are not yours until you do find your name. Follow that guy and let him help with your bags to the van or car which is parked our front of the airport.
The company I use will usually take me one way for $80.00 to my hotel. This isn’t a bad price to drive to the opposite side of the island. Ping me if you need his WhatsApp info. He is easy to get along with. He just needs a date, a time and a flight number.
The drive is quiet, which is the way I like it, cause I’m tired and need sleep at this point. You have been traveling for about fifteen hours depending on how much sleep you got on the plane. Next stop is the border between North and South Cyprus. It sounds scary, but it’s a pretty easy process. Once you get close to the border, the driver will ask for your passport. Give him your passport. He will stop at the border check point and hand your passport to the Greek Immigration officer (same type of immigration officer you saw when you landed at Larnaca and went through customs). They will stamp an exit stamp, and you drive about 30 seconds to the North Cyprus Turkish Immigration Officer who will review your passport and stamp it. You will get a 90-day tourist visa to North Cyprus usually for a US citizen. They may ask to look at your bags, but usually they will just ask to see your face and match it with the photo in the passport. After that, you are on your way to Kyrenia. You will first be driving through Nicosia which is half on the Greek side and half on the Turkish side, split by the demilitarized zone. You have already driven through that, so it does not look that scary now, does it?
Greeks and Turks get along for the most part. The casinos and the nightclubs are in the north side. On the weekends, the cars that line up to cross the border make long waits sitting in your car, like crossing the Mexico/US boarder on any given day. A lot of the plane from Heathrow to Larnaca will be filled with Turks trying to get to Cyprus on a cheaper airfare than Turkish air. I don’t really feel that there is any animosity towards the Greeks and Turks. If they are both prosperous, I don’t think they mind politics.
So, the drive from Nicosia to Kyrenia is up and over a mountain. It will take about thirty to forty-five minutes car ride. During the day, if you drive to the top of the mountain and look down on Kyrenia, the Mediterranean Sea looks huge compared to the town. It is an impressive view during the day. So, have a picnic if you have the opportunity. Drive down the mountain and drive through Kyrenia which should take five to ten minutes.
I recommend the Dome Hotel. I really like the fact that it is not modern and has a huge casino attached to it. I like that I don’t drive, so I like being in walking distance to the Harbor, the Castle, and the shops. If I need to go somewhere, there is a taxi stand right next to the hotel and between the taxi driver, my bad Turkish, and google maps and translate, we can figure out just about anything.
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