The beaches in North Cyprus I must admit are pretty impressive. I call them impressive as they are not packed like US beaches full of tourists. They are diverse in what they have to offer. Let me just get this subject out of the way first. I have seen nudism on some beaches, but they are not known as nude beaches. I am assuming that people just take their clothes off and sun bath. I personally do not sunbathe in the nude but there are some folks that are braver than I am. I can also assure you that the folks that are sunbathing with no clothes on are not super models. At least when I was there, there were not any.
The first kind of beach is Karpas beach. This golden beach is named after the golden sand. At the time that I am writing this blog, there is nothing there but the beach. No rental companies are there to get a sun umbrella, or food or drink to buy. So, if you plan to go out there, bring a picnic basket, a towel, and an umbrella if needed. Now if you have not been to Cyprus before, beware the sun. For some reason, to me its stronger there. I live on the Eastern Shore of the United States, in Virgina. I live about five minutes’ drive from a few beaches. But the sun is not as strong here as it is there. I always burn at least once when I am in Cyprus. After my initial burn, I have a layer of tan that will usually protect me for the rest of the summer. But if you want sunscreen or block, hit the many pharmacies and they usually carry some or the tourist shops might have it.
Diana beach is close to Kyrenia but at the time of this blog. I would not recommend it. Very touristy and not clean. Need to do a better job of cleaning the bathrooms and improving the quality of food and drink there. It reminds me of some of the restaurants in the harbor. While some offer authentic food. Some offer microwaved fast food. Blah! You can get some good takeaway food and have a picnic. Hint to management to clean it up or sell it to someone responsible for the environment and the services it provides…
Now we move on to Alagadi Beach or Turtle beach is the one I like to go to. It a little far away from Kyrenia, so make sure you have the phone number of a taxi driver that can come to get you when you are done. Keep a phone charger with you as well. There is a small restaurant and shower there. But keeping a battery with you to charge your phone is an essential part of my traveling toolkit. Keep it charged and on you. A dead smartphone does not help anyone. But the beach there is clean, and its where my friend Cengiz does his training. I got certified in a pool. But training in a current in shallow water is better in my mind as you will never be scuba diving in a pool. I was a trainer at a university training divers and it was boring sitting at the bottom of the deep end of a pool. The food at the restaurant is rather good and having a cold beer and a cigarette under some shade while watching my wife go through her open water training was nice. Its just a nice clean basic beach. You can also see many sea turtles during the turtle hatching season if you are lucky.
The final beach that I am going to talk about is Acapulco beach. This beach has been around forever. Ok, I am fifty-five and I have been going to Acapulco beach since I was five years old. This beach is closer to Kyrenia than Alagadi beach. It is also in a gated community. So, entering if you are not staying at the Acapulco hotel will cost you a little bit to get in. But if you want a more pampered beach. This one is for you. It has a pool, it has beach furniture, umbrellas, and a restaurant with a view of the beach. It has a place to change and shower. It has a casino if you want to gamble while you are there. I like the fact that you can eat, hit the beach, take a dip in the pool, all in one place sometimes. But again, I am in favor of less people and would go to Alagadi Beach with less people but some options. Just me and my preference.
Non-Beach Dome Hotel is a hotel on the water. It has access to the Mediterranean Sea, but it is surrounded by rocks. There are a few ladders that you can go down to the water from the back of the hotel. There is a pool there as well. So if you want to just stay at the hotel and not worry about sand getting everywhere you can sunbath on some beach furniture there, have an umbrella and have the sea to swim in if you like if you want a lazy day and don’t want to spend all day at the beach.
Again, this is a blog to help you traverse around North Cyprus, explore and write me with your experiences as well. I want to hear from you as well because I am not there all the time. At the time I was in Cyprus on 3 March, the Anchor restaurant had some damage from the weather and needed to be repaired. So, the restaurant at the back of the Dome was being repaired and not accessible. I heard it should reopen around the end of May. So, if you hear or see the Anchor, please let me know.
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