Ferry Boat Travel, North Cyprus

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!

In the summer months you can travel to either Taşacu located to the east of Alanya, or directly to Alanya itself.  In the winter months ferries only travel to Tasacu.  You can also travel to Mersin on the south coast of Turkey from Famagusta, but travel times are much longer as you travel on the huge cargo boats.

In recent years the older ferries have been gradually replaced, and the shipping company Akgünler now has a very impressive fleet indeed!  Now with their faster catamarans, the journey time only takes around two and a half hours to Taşacu from North Cyprus.  The boats depart daily from Kyrenia at 09.30am, and there is a departure from Taşacu at 11.30am.  Additional services also run, but only on certain days of the week.

Car ferries depart slightly later and only run at certain times of the week, prices are higher and also depend on what type of vehicle you’re taking with you.

Apparently all of the vessels in the fleet conform to international requirements and are certified to ISM (International Safety Management) and ISPS (International Ship & Port Security) regulations and SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) requirements.

On arrival in Taşacu you will find a huge terminal with coaches departing for many destinations in and around Turkey, so it’s a great way to travel if you want to try another form of transport and also explore the Turkish mainland.

Akgünler now has a great little website, giving schedule, pricing and contact information, as well as the low down on their fleet, and you can find them online at http://www.akgunler.com.tr/english.htm, although they are not quite there yet with the option of booking tickets online.  However, you can visit their offices directly and most travel agents can also book tickets for you; some also do 3 day trip offers during the summer months.