All About Living and Holidaying in North Cyprus
So, you’ve finally relocated to Northern Cyprus and you want to get around and need some independence – i.e., you want to look around for that ideal form of transport, the car!
Buying a car here is actually really quite easy, and there are heaps of car dealerships for both brand new and second hand vehicles. We will offer some tips and advice on how to get the best deal, what to expect within the cost of buying a car, and what you need to do to keep it legally on the road!
You can find taxis anywhere and everywhere in North Cyprus! They are often to be found dropping off their previous fare, waiting at taxi ranks, at Ercan airport, hotels or casinos, and you can also hail them on the road.
In recent years legislation has required the metering of taxis in the major towns, so you should always feel comfortable that you are being charged the going rate. Some of the smaller towns and villages don’t have meters though, so you should always agree a price before departing. Taxi drivers also need to hold a valid license to carry passengers, and they often belong to a private taxi company.
There is only one airport in use in North Cyprus and this is Ercan Airport, located on the outskirts of Lefkoşa. There is one other airport called Geçitkale which is located near to Ercan, but this has not been in use for passenger flights since 2004. In 2008 there were rumours that Geçitkale was due to become a potential operation centre involved in the exporting of North Cyprus products, but this has idea has since stalled.
Ercan serves North Cyprus with flights to most major European destinations, but due to embargoes and restrictions, flights to and from Ercan can only legally fly via Turkey. Flights are frequent and at the time of writing the main carriers only appear to be, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines. AtlasJet and Onur Air will apparently be starting flights in 2012, but on researching they are not quite there yet. Cyprus Turkish Airlines, the state airline stopped flying in recent years and despite numerous attempts to reinstate the airline, nothing has come to fruition yet, which is real shame indeed.
Driving can be quite an emotive subject here in North Cyprus, as it seems that driving standards have not improved in tandem with the upgrade of the road system, and have indeed got worse now that people can afford to purchase faster and more modern cars. However, for now we will just give you a heads up on the general driving situation.
In North Cyprus cars drive on the left hand side of the road (most of the time!), which for Brits is of course the norm anyway. Most main roads are in good condition, but you need to be aware that some back roads, and even some fairly major town roads can be in quite bad condition.
Many find the word ‘dolmuş’ (pronounced ‘dolmoush’) to be a little strange, but it basically means a shared taxi, and the word is used to refer to the many mini buses and stretch taxis that you see driving around the main roads in Cyprus!
The dolmuş is great way to travel from town to town, it’s relatively cheap, and you can pretty much flag them down anywhere, even though there are also official bus or dolmuş stops these days! Each bus route is leased from the North Cyprus government, with vehicles being owned privately and with each driver holding a license for transporting passengers. You can spot a dolmuş by the fact that most of them are white Ford transit minibus type vehicles, and they usually have their final destination shown in the front windscreen. One other sign is that you may be walking along minding your own business and you get beeped at, meaning the driver is asking you if you want to get on – they aren’t being rude, they are being courteous!
A great mode of transport, if you fancy popping over to Turkey for a quick break at any time of year, is the ferry boat.
North Cyprus has its own ferry terminal located at the New Harbour area to the east of Kyrenia town, and you can travel to Turkey from there every day of the week! You can travel just as a foot passenger, or you can take your car if you’re feeling really adventurous!
If you suffer from a physical disability and are living in or visiting North Cyprus you may notice that there is a distinct lack of facilities for you, and that your trips to town may be more than problematic. Things are changing, albeit extremely slowly, but some property developers are taking note of this when designing communal developments for example.
Some of the larger more established hotels have some facilities for disabled visitors, but most only stretch as far as having wheelchair access and lifts to higher floors. Many pavements and roads in North Cyprus are in need of a facelift to allow for the easy use of wheelchairs, or for those who find walking difficult. Money is being invested heavily to make the island more accessible to all, but at the moment it can be difficult for the less physically able visitor.
North Cyprus does have a fairly adequate transport system – it has shipping facilities and plenty of inland transport facilities for example – but in terms of getting around the island, some forms of public transport are fairly basic but at the same time perfectly acceptable!
North Cyprus’s road network is improving with time, and most routes in-between the major cities and towns are modern with regard to road surfacing and lighting. However, you may find that within towns themselves, the roads need regular maintenance work, and with the upgrading of other utilities such as telephone, electric and water going on at the same time, it can sometimes lead to the uprooting of roads!