Iskele and Long Beach: The Warmest, Shallowest Sea in North Cyprus

Iskele sits on the east coast, about an hour from Kyrenia and forty minutes from Esentepe. It has grown faster than anywhere else in North Cyprus over the last decade, and the reason is the beach.

Long Beach

Several kilometres of pale sand with water that stays shallow and warm a long way out. If you have small children, this is the beach on the island to aim for: no sudden shelf, no rocks, no sea urchins to tiptoe around. It is also the warmest water in North Cyprus by a degree or two, because the shallows heat up.

The developed end has beach clubs with sunbeds, showers and food. Walk fifteen minutes in either direction and you are back to empty sand.

What Iskele is, and is not

It is a modern resort area: new apartment towers, beach clubs, a growing number of restaurants. It is not a Cypriot village, and it does not have the old-town character of Kyrenia or the quiet of Esentepe. If you want a beach holiday where the sea is the whole point, it delivers better than anywhere else on the island. If you want harbours, castles and village tavernas, base yourself on the north coast and come here for a day.

Bafra, further on

Past Iskele the hotels thin out and the sand keeps going towards Bafra. It is windier here, which is why kitesurfers use it, and emptier still. Worth the extra twenty minutes if you like a beach to yourself.

Getting there

• From Kyrenia: about an hour on good road.
• From Esentepe: about forty minutes.
• From Ercan airport: 55-65 minutes — our transfer covers it.

Combining it with the Karpaz

Iskele is the natural halfway stop on the way to the Karpaz peninsula. Coffee and a swim on the way out, or lunch on the way back, breaks up what is otherwise a long drive.

Practical notes

• Sunbeds at the beach clubs are cheap and often free with a food order.
• Shade is thin outside the clubs — bring an umbrella if you plan to stay all day.
• The shallow water warms up early in the season; Long Beach is swimmable weeks before the north coast.
• Bafra is windy in the afternoon. Mornings are calmer.

Where to stay

Our properties are on the north coast, in Esentepe and around Kyrenia, which puts Iskele within an easy day trip while keeping restaurants, castles and the harbour close for the rest of the week. See what is free for your dates.