Top 5 Kyrenia Tours: Find Your Perfect Adventure (2025)

Planning a trip to Kyrenia, North Cyprus? That’s fantastic! It’s almost like stepping into a postcard with that beautiful harbor and all the history oozing from the castle walls. Finding the very best way to see the sights can be a bit much, and I feel like I’m doing all the research. So, I put this guide together detailing the top 5 Kyrenia tours, with everything from exploring ancient ruins to gliding across the clear blue water.

1. Kyrenia Castle & Old Town Exploration

Let’s kick things off with a proper historical dive! The Kyrenia Castle and Old Town Exploration gives a chance to soak up the essence of Kyrenia. Usually, these kinds of tours begin right at the iconic Kyrenia Castle, which dominates the harbor view. This massive fortress has seen a thing or two, dating all the way back to Byzantine times, and the views from the top are, basically, awesome. Often a tour guide, who is a proper expert, will share stories of sieges and battles, bringing the old stones to life. You could see the castle grounds where there’s a shipwreck museum that has an ancient Greek trading ship that was rescued from the depths, in some respects, too. That alone is just worth the entry fee. Then you have a chance to slowly wander into the narrow streets of the Old Town. This section has cute shops and restaurants, with that old Turkish architecture hanging around.

What really makes this tour pop is the combination of history and getting into the feel of everyday Kyrenia. Picture yourself sipping a Turkish coffee in a local café after wandering among the ancient ruins, as I was saying! So cool! Remember to wear comfortable shoes. You’re going to be walking a lot, and the castle steps, while offering the perfect viewpoint, aren’t exactly built for stilettos!

2. Bellapais Monastery & St. Hilarion Castle Trip

This particular combo tour usually hits two major landmarks outside of Kyrenia city itself. We will visit Bellapais Monastery and St. Hilarion Castle. That Bellapais Monastery sits a bit up on a mountain village that gives really brilliant views of the Kyrenia coastline. This abbey, with its peaceful gardens and gothic architecture, very is just beautiful to photograph, a bit. Most tours give the chance to explore the monastery’s church and the main cloisters where you almost see Lawrence Durrell sit to find motivation for his inspiration. Anyway, that trip continues to St. Hilarion Castle.

This castle, as you might guess, is built right on top of a rocky peak. It’s thought that it’s inspired fairy tale castles like Walt Disney’s. A fun climb reveals, that’s right, even better coastal views. These landmarks have a really strategic place that makes you see the battles from before that shaped the Northern Cyprus past. Think that this tour takes, usually, about half a day. It is, really, just best done in cooler months.

3. Boat Cruise Along the Kyrenia Coast

Time for something a bit more relaxing! Boat cruises along the Kyrenia Coast offer a relaxing getaway from all the sightseeing. Often these cruises leave from Kyrenia Harbour and gently weave all along the coastline. Here, it’s all pure bliss. You find swimming stops in crystal-clear waters where it’s easy to just jump off the boat and get into a swim. It is almost like many tours provide a delicious lunch onboard. Some of them grill fresh fish. If there are vegetarians, I’d hope they had some salads. It will really vary from company to company though. A bit! Most often, the tour lets everyone drink cocktails and beers as the sun sets behind the hills, too it’s almost like magic!

These trips usually happen from mid-morning until late afternoon, offering a full day of sunshine and relaxation. They’re great to spend time as families. Remember to bring sun protection and a camera; you’re going to want those pictures. If the weather is really looking crazy, be ready for the operator to maybe cancel the tour as that does happen. That’s boats for you.

4. Day Trip to Famagusta & Salamis

Want to see a little more of Cyprus? Look to see about tours that get you into Famagusta and Salamis! These tours take you eastward from Kyrenia to explore a city steeped in history, like Famagusta. Highlights often include seeing the old city walls, the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque (previously St. Nicholas Cathedral), so that minaret on this Gothic-era place looks incredible! Also, just outside Famagusta you are able to get the chance to get into Varosha, it’s a ‘ghost town’, as they describe it.

Further on, near Famagusta is the ancient city of Salamis that goes back to 1100 BC, maybe. Get to wander by this site that uncovers ruins of Roman baths and theaters. That feeling, well, that gives the feeling about the historical presence. Usually, the journey happens for a whole day, providing tons of photo options to capture all these places, actually. Because this tour involves a decent amount of driving, consider bringing a water bottle.

5. North Cyprus West Coast Tour (Guzelyurt & Soli)

If the very usual tourist trails aren’t doing much for you, here is one that explores that other part of the island near Guzelyurt and Soli. These tours get away into the less explored west coast of North Cyprus. It seems that Guzelyurt is famous, actually, for its citrus groves. When you drive you are able to see lots of these spots to breathe and smell that air from Cyprus! You are able to usually get to the Archeology and Natural History Museum that gives local stuff.

Just around the corner is Soli. So, here you are able to see these places. Places like, it seems to be, an antique Greek amphitheater with ruins of early Christian basilicas. Now that would give you something to put on Instagram! A small detail like, be certain to look around because lots of this place has broken mosaic floors that have animals on them. That gives you that “old feel”. From Kyrenia, this is very often just a long day journey away. If you see this, take a little jumper so you won’t catch cold. Those small towns can have breezes off the water!