Iskele & Long Beach guidevsKyrenia
Comparing lifestyle, investment, and vibe to help you decide where to stay or buy.
Iskele & Long Beach guide
Long Beach is the reason most travellers end up in Iskele: roughly 25 kilometres of golden sand along North Cyprus's east coast, backed by a landscaped promenade rather than an old harbour town. The rhythm here is different from the rest of the island — slow mornings, long flat walks, shallow family swimming, cafes on the sand — with Famagusta's walled city about twenty minutes south and the empty Karpaz roads beginning just north. This guide covers the beach, the town behind it, and how to use both.
Top Highlights
- ✦Roughly 25 km of sand with a promenade and cycling path.
- ✦Gently shelving, family-friendly swimming from May to October.
- ✦About 50 km — 45 to 50 minutes — from Ercan airport.
- ✦Ask MERVE to match a Long Beach stay to your dates and budget.
Kyrenia
Kyrenia — Girne in Turkish — is North Cyprus's main resort town and the base most visitors choose. It sits on the north coast with the Beşparmak (Five Finger) mountains rising directly behind it, which is what gives the town its character: a horseshoe harbour and Crusader castle at sea level, mountain castles and abbey villages ten minutes uphill, and a run of beach clubs along the coast in both directions. Almost everything worth seeing in North Cyprus is within an hour's drive, which is why Kyrenia works as a first base even if you plan to explore the whole island.
Top Highlights
- ✦The horseshoe harbour and Kyrenia Castle sit at the heart of the old town (Kaleiçi).
- ✦Beach clubs run along the coast west and east — Escape, Hilltown, Sunas, and more.
- ✦St Hilarion Castle and Bellapais Abbey are both a short drive up into the mountains.
- ✦The island's widest choice of restaurants, spas, and nightlife.
Detailed Comparison
The Iskele & Long Beach guide Experience
What Long Beach actually is
Long Beach is not a resort town centre — it is a long, straight stretch of sand below Iskele town (the old village of Trikomo), with new apartment blocks on the land side and a landscaped promenade with walking and cycling paths along the sea. The section nearest the resort developments is the serviced part, with sunbeds, umbrellas, showers, and beach cafes; keep walking and the coastline turns emptier and wilder. The beach itself is municipal and free to enter — you pay only if you take a sunbed.
Swimming and the family beach day
The sea shelves gently here, with a soft sandy bottom and no sudden depth changes close to shore, which is why Long Beach is the default family recommendation on this coast. The comfortable swimming season runs May to October: the water passes 25°C in June, peaks near 29°C in mid-August, and locals stretch swims into the calm 'velvet season' weeks of October.
The Kyrenia Experience
Where Kyrenia is and how to get there
Kyrenia lies on the northern coast of Cyprus, roughly 25 km north of Nicosia (Lefkoşa) over the mountain pass. Ercan, the island's main airport, is about a 45-minute drive; Famagusta is about an hour east along the coast, and the Karpaz peninsula about two hours further. The town itself is compact and walkable around the harbour, but the beaches, castles, and villages are spread along the coast road and up into the hills, so a car or regular transfers make a real difference.
The harbour and old town (Kaleiçi)
The horseshoe harbour is Kyrenia's postcard: fishing boats and restaurant terraces wrapped around the water, with the bulk of Kyrenia Castle closing off the eastern end. Inside the castle you'll find the Shipwreck Museum, home to one of the oldest recovered trading vessels in the world. Behind the harbour, the narrow lanes of Kaleiçi — the old town — hold meze houses, grills, and cafés. It's the best part of town for a first evening.