The Diving

The majority of diving is done on the Northern Coastline, where the Scuba Dive Shops are located. These waters are exceptionally beautiful to dive in because the waters are usually quite clear, warm and full of life and ancient history. In fact there are dive sites offering you the opportunity to dive relics that date back thousands of years. The waters enjoy a wide variety of undersea life, including corals, octopus, tuna, grouper and octopus and rays. Occasionally you will even spot Mediterranean Monk Seals. Other opportunities include diving amphora, which are pottery artifacts, as well as the remaining artifacts at the site of the world’s oldest trading shipwreck. You can also enjoy some good cave diving, reefs and such, so be sure to have your camera at the ready for an exciting adventure.

Clear sea conditions make for good snorkeling and diving. Credit

Because there isn’t any tide to speak of off the coast of Cyprus, the diving is acceptable for all levels of divers, providing you are certified for the depth and difficulty of the dive. There’s no real worry of being “swept away”.

Probably the “Key Attraction” of the waters off the coast of Kyrenia, as well as one of the worlds best wreck dives, is the Zenobia Ferry that sank back in 1980. This 200 meter in length Swedish vessel regrettably for those aboard, but great for us divers, went down on her maiden voyage, in 43m of water. You’ll find her lying on her side about a mile off the coast of Kyrenia, with new inhabitants including conger eels, barracuda, large tuna, grouper and amberjack. The impressive amount of undersea wildlife attracted to the site is because it is now a protected as being an artificial reef.

The Zenobia Wreck is considered by many to be in the top ten wreck dives in the world. It’s a great dive for divers without many dives under their belt, if the dive just the starboard side of the ship at around 17 meters.  For the more advanced diver, it’s a dream within the vessel itself, where you can experience the upper and lower level car decks, and staterooms. Keep in mind that diving inside this vessel is for experienced qualified divers only, with experience wreck diving.

Diving Kyrenia, Credit

If you are an underwater photography enthusiast you should be in heaven with this dive, because there’s lots of possibilities. Vehicle remains, anchors, lifeboats, deck gear and so much more down there.

Like we said earlier, the oldest known wreck site is also a great dive site, and is so named “The Wreck Site”. Although the vast majority of remnant artifacts from the vessel have been removed and are on display in the Castle Museum in town, it’s still a fun site to dive.

Another excellent dive that offers multiple options depending on which reef you jump off in, the Chicken Farm offers between 10m and 40m dives, There are an abundance of wildlife for viewing, from eels, soldier fish to octopus and more.

As with many other dive sites in the world, this one is also a favourite, called appropriately, The Wall. A good dive for the experienced divers, you jump in over a reef with your dive depth between 18m and 28 m. There’s large rock formations for investigating and possibly getting shots of local residents, as well as a very old anchor and its massive steel chain still attached.

How to Get there

To get to the island of Cyprus, you can fly into one of three airports, Paphos and Larnaca Airports in the south, and Ercan Airport in the north, which is much closer to Kyrenia and your diving adventure.

Kyrenia air display by the Turkish Red Stars 2014, Credit

Where to Eat & Drink

If you’re looking for not only great local food, but also a restaurant overlooking the sea, and some fun entertainment, then it’s All Pasha Tavern for you. A multi level restaurant overlooking the ocean, offering English, Turkish and Cyprus cuisines. If you are there on Sunday or Wednesday evenings, they run specials on all you can drink for a sweet price, as well as having belly dancers to entertain.

Kyrenia - houses on the hillside, Credit

In the center of the village a great pub for both lunch and dinner is The Crows Nest, offering a relaxed atmosphere, with wood beams and arches, games and books, a fireplace and the open-kitchen so you get to watch. The menu consists of continental, Cyprus and Turkish fare.

If you’re in the mood for fine French cuisine, then it’s off to Le Jardin where you dine in their gardens.         

For some of the best food and drinks on the island, where you get to mingle with locals, it’s Niazi’s Restaurant & Bistro, for kebabs cooked in the center grill by the chef under a massive copper canopy. Good for dinner, or appetizers and cocktails.

Other Activities

One of the main reasons visitors come to this island is to relax, which is so easy to do here. Stroll the streets, markets and shops along cobbled alleys, visiting the promenade and sea wall during the evening hours. During the evenings, the bistro’s and cafés overlooking the sea invite you to sit for hours as you drink and dine with locals.

There are a variety of ancient sites to explore in Kyrenia, Credit

A visit to The Shipwreck Museum located within the Kyrenia Castle is almost mandatory for divers, as well as other visitors to the island. On display is the artifacts of that ancient cargo ship that sank over 2300 years ago, the oldest discovered in fact, carbon dated to 389BC. Local sponge divers discovered it in 1965.

Another fun outing is to visit St Hilarion Castle, one of three castles, and most complete of them. This is the castle that rumour has it, inspired Walt Disney for his castle in the hit movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Today you can walk about the remaining parts including the Gatehouse, Byzantine Church, archways and the Queens Window. The most popular viewing is the elegant gallery with beautiful gothic windows still intact. If you are in good shape and want the best photo view on the island, climb the uneven but solid stone steps up to the south peak.

There’s another fantastic castle to visit, but beware, if you are visiting during the summer, it’s hot and a half hour climb! It’s the Buffavento Castle, and offers spectacular views, and a pretty romantic site if you have your sweetheart with you. Wear good climbing shoes and take lots of water.

If traveling with others who aren’t divers, you might look into taking a boat tour around the island. It’s a thing of beauty, and really expressed from off shore. Also great for photo’s.

Family Friendly

There are multiple PADI Dive Shops and instructors, offering scuba discovery courses for youngsters, and the waters here are really some of the safest in the world for learning.

Tips

If you are planning to just fly in, taxi to your hotel and dive, you won’t need a vehicle. That being said, if you also plan to investigate the rest of the island while there, plans to rent a vehicle, because public transportation isn’t great.