A non-divers guide.

You want a diving holiday; you also want a family holiday. I will explain - as a non-diver, but with divers input - how Northern Cyprus could be the answer to keeping everyone happy.

Your partner doesn’t dive, the kids are *not old enough / *can’t be bothered / *think it’s not ‘cool’ / *still pooping in their pampers, *delete whichever applies. If lack of time, and/or, money are a problem something’s got to give, or does it? 

Northern Cyprus is safe, comfortable and very easy to relax and ‘settle-in’ to. Just the type of place you would feel comfortable leaving your family for a couple of hours while you explore the caves, walls and wrecks of this historic and varied coastline.

Driving will give you the freedom you and your family desire. You do need a car, as public transport amounts to the ubiquitous ‘Dolmus’, - generally a Transit minibus. Peak season car hire is around £24 per day, all cars have air con. and are well-maintained, but the real benefit is, we drive on the right - or should I say - correct side of the road, which is the left, if you see what I mean.

The Northern coastline is dotted with decent hotels, most of which now have dive centres. New kit and expertise has been flowing in recently, as the popularity of diving, for residents and tourists alike, increases. With less than ten minutes in the rib to most dive sites and a maximum of two hours away from shore, this makes for ideal family arrangements.

So apart from chilling-out in your own villa or on the beach, or soaking up the Cyprus sun round the resort pool, what can your partner and children do, while the divers are splashing around with the fishes. Everyone is well taken care of. In a two hour slot you could;

Have a steam, swim and Thai massage, or Hamam, at the new five star Mercure Hotel in Kervansary.
The more active amongst you could take an half-day pass at Lifezone gym. Just down from the Mercure, they have excellent CV equipment and free weights.
Across the road from Lifezone is Kervansary beach, a lovely sandy beach that sits in a shallow bay. Above it is the Pizza Garden restaurant, which serves great Calzone, and as it faces west, it is a great place to watch the sun go down with a cold beer.
Take a walk round Kyrenia Harbour, one of the most historical, and visually stunning, harbours in the med.
Take the kids go-carting, horse-riding, quad-biking, to one of the aqua parks, or to the beach.

If the divers are occupied for a morning or afternoon, a half day trip out for the family could include a visit to the fantastic Byzantine, Kyrenia castle, which protects and dominates the harbour. It houses the oldest trading ship-wreck in the world, which sailed around the time of Alexander the Great; its original 2300 year old cargo is also displayed. Absolutely fascinating, everyone will want to go.

On the crusader castle theme, Hilarion Castle is an amazing edifice perched atop the Kyrenia mountains. It is one of 3 crusader defence castles built by the Byzantines in the 11th century to watch-out for nasty Arab pirates. Apart from the sheer scale and magnificence of the castle, the jaw-dropping, panoramic view of the island and Turkey beyond, is worth the visit alone.

Now to the dive talk. My husband learnt to dive as soon as we arrived here, and took to it like the proverbial duck to water. I haven’t seen much of him since, he’s been ‘kidnapped’ by his well-experienced dive buddy, Chris – over 1300 dives worldwide under his weight-belt - and the guys at Amphora Dive Centre at Escape beach – one of the most respected and experienced teams around.

Mantas have been seen for the first time this year and trigger fish sightings are becoming more frequent. Regulars in these crystal clear waters include coffee-table sized caretta turtles, grouper, parrot fish, amberjacks, morays, sand fish and octopus. There are around 20 different dive sites off the Kyrenia coast; everything from shallow reef dives & grouper feeds in the harbour – ‘Fred’, the big dopy grouper is infamous, and fat – to ‘paradise’, the 30m ‘wall’ dive.

For more information try the following

Diving. http://www.amphoradiving.com/ http://www.dolphin-cyprus.com/  

Accomodation http://www.villa-club.com/ http://www.pinebayclub.com/ 

www.holidaylets.net/northern-cyprus-properties/17/364 http://www.denizkizi.com/ ww.cyprusholiday.net

Note.
As there are no longer any restrictions crossing from the Southern, Greek Cypriot side, many families find flights into Larnaca a cheaper option than flying direct into Ercan airport. You will have a longer transfer time, but flights into the south are certainly worth looking into; that said, the national carrier, Cyprus Turkish Airlines have recently dropped their prices, so you have far more choice, and they have more competition to deal with. Another option is to contact the hotels/holiday villages/resorts direct, with flights, transfers and accommodation included you should get a much better deal.

By web author.