Esentepe, North Cyprus: Golf, Turtle Beaches and Village Life

Esentepe sits about 30 minutes east of Kyrenia, on the strip of coast between the Besparmak mountains and the sea. It is where our family is based and where most of our holiday villas are, so this is a guide written from the inside rather than from a brochure.

What Esentepe actually is

A working Cypriot village that has grown a holiday-home belt around its edges. The centre has a handful of shops, a bakery, a pharmacy, a couple of restaurants and a village square where the same men have been arguing over backgammon for years. The villas sit above and below it, most of them with a sea view because of the way the hillside falls.

What it is not: a resort. There is no nightlife strip, no big supermarket, and the nearest cinema is in Kyrenia. That is precisely the appeal for the people who love it.

Korineum Golf Club

An 18-hole championship course laid out along the foothills, with the mountains on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. It is the main reason a lot of guests choose Esentepe over Kyrenia, and green fees are noticeably lower than comparable courses in Spain or Portugal. Non-golfers use the clubhouse restaurant for the view.

The turtle beaches

Alagadi is fifteen minutes west and is the best-known nesting beach on the island, but the whole stretch of coast here is used by loggerheads and green turtles. In nesting season (roughly May to October) sections are roped off at night. Watching a hatchling run for the sea is the sort of thing children remember for the rest of their lives.

For everyday swimming, Lara Beach is a few minutes away, and the beach clubs at Bahceli sit between Esentepe and Kyrenia.

Eating in and around the village

There are several good village restaurants doing proper Cypriot meze and kleftiko, plus beach clubs down on the coast road. Prices are lower than in Kyrenia harbour and the portions are not. For anything else — a big supermarket shop, a wider choice of restaurants — Kyrenia is a half-hour drive.

Practical facts

• Ercan airport: 45-55 minutes; our transfer is included.
• Kyrenia: 25-35 minutes along the coast road.
• Nearest beach: 5-10 minutes by car from most villas.
• Shops: village mini-markets for daily needs, larger supermarkets in Catalkoy and Kyrenia.
• Medical: pharmacy in the village, hospitals in Kyrenia and Nicosia.
• Internet: fibre in most of the village.

Who Esentepe suits

• Families who want a pool, space and a beach without a resort atmosphere.
• Golfers, obviously.
• Long-stay and winter guests — it is a real village that stays open out of season, not a place that shuts in November.
• Anyone who wants quiet and does not mind driving for the busier evenings.

Who it does not suit

If you want to walk out of your front door to bars, restaurants and shops, stay in Kyrenia instead. We would rather tell you that now than have you spend a week in the car.

Staying here

Most of our properties are within a few minutes of the village, from one-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom villas with private pools. You can see them all, with live availability and prices, on the holiday homes page, or read more about the area on our Esentepe guide.