Sport and Leisure Activities

North Cyprus is considered to be a relaxing and peaceful Mediterranean destination where the world weary can hide away, seriously relax and unwind. While this may very well be the case, you do actually have a choice when you travel to Northern Cyprus and for the active visitors among you there are an abundance of sport and leisure activities to keep you occupied all day long.

You need never have an uneventful day unless you so choose or unless you can’t hack the unrelenting pace!

For sports enthusiasts there are extremes of land, sea and air activities, and for those seeking a little more leisurely pace the gentler pursuits of horse riding or sailing might appeal. In fact there are events to please everyone whether you’re young or old, active or laid back.

Your hotel, holiday village or rental villa in North Cyprus will doubtless have an array of brochures and magazines advertising the latest sport and leisure activities and if you visit any one of the Northern Cyprus tourist information offices in the main towns you’ll also find plenty of information about what’s going on.

Furthermore, during the peak holiday season the Cyprus Today newspaper, Essential Cyprus and North Cyprus magazines also have ‘what’s on’ listings and these incorporate the best in the way of sporting and leisure pursuits.

This article should just give you a taster of some of the things you can expect when you come to North Cyprus and the likely activities you and your family can enjoy.

Highline Tandem Paragliding

Taking off from 2500 ft high above the town of Karaoglanoglu and near to St. Hilarion Castle you and your pilot can either gently float or head for an adrenaline ride down towards the sea, your choice! You’ll have an incredible breath-taking bird’s eye view of beautiful North Cyprus before gently ending your flight in a controlled way on the Kyrenia coast. To book your flight experience speak to your hotel receptionist or visit Kyrenia Harbour and look out for the highline tandem paragliding agent or visit highline’s website.

Cinemas

There are 3 cinemas in and around Kyrenia and all show films in English with Turkish subtitles...though it’s better to check before paying your money that the film you’d like to see hasn’t actually been dubbed into Chinese accidentally...it can happen! In Karaoglanoglu there’s the Lemar Cineplex and in Kyrenia itself you can try Semel Cinema or the Galleria Cinema Club...though when on holiday who wants to stay indoors?

Horse Riding

There are currently two main riding schools in Northern Cyprus offering regular treks and hacks...for example you can ride up into the Kyrenia mountains or round to Bellapais Abbey. Both Dortnal Riding Stables and Tunac Riding Stables are based in Karaoglanoglu to the west of Kyrenia and arrange group or individual riding activities for the novice to the experienced rider making your horse riding experience in North Cyprus as perfectly tailored for you as possible.

Paint Balling

New to North Cyprus is Paint Balling and there’s a brand new centre opened up in Lapta west of Kyrenia for anyone with pent up aggression and excitement who needs to find a release for it all! Call +90 (0) 533 865 4959 for more details

Quad Bike Safaris

Also out Lapta way are the North Cyprus Quad Bike Safari team. For personalised safaris, day trips, half days and all tuition and for a guaranteed thrill call +90 (0) 533 847 3732 to book your place.

Scuba Diving

North Cyprus is one of the best places in the world for scuba diving, you benefit from clear visibility and lovely warm waters, you also benefit from the marine reefs which provide shelter for a myriad of different fish allowing you to get up close for a really good look! There are opportunities to glimpse rare turtles and octopus, you can see the beautiful coral, and of possibly the most unique interest is the fact that you can see ancient amphora and pottery remains on the ocean floor dating back thousands of years.

In Girne Castle in Kyrenia the oldest shipwreck in the world is now housed and it was found just off the shores of Northern Cyprus...it dates back to around 300 BC so you can only imagine how old the beautiful pottery remains are that you will have a chance to see when you come scuba diving in Northern Cyprus.

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve never dived before there are many schools offering to teach you. You can even do all your BASC and PADI dive courses here...Ocean Diver, Sports Diver and Dive Leader for BASC certification and Scuba Diver, Open Water & Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Dive Master and Medic First Aid for PADI certification.

Scuba Cyprus, Mephisto Diving and Blue Dolphin are just three of the schools offering scuba diving training and opportunities...come to North Cyprus and find everything a diver could want.

Dinghy Sailing

For those who would like to learn to sail Dolphin North Cyprus offer one to one or one to two training from fully qualified RYA instructors at a pace to suit you. They will also hire out vessels for experienced sailors who want to go it alone. Currently based at Diana Beach in Catalkoy or bookable online, trust Dolphin!

Water Sports

For wind surfing, water skiing, mono-skiing, banana riding, knee boarding, canoeing, wake boarding, power boating and jet-skiing the shores and beaches of Northern Cyprus are the place to be!

Your hotel of holiday village will doubtless have information about what takes place where or head to any of the main beaches from Diana Beach to Deniz Kizi to Acapulco for all your water sport requirements!

Boat Trips

Leaving from Kyrenia harbour daily are a variety of boat trips. You can sail out west to Escape beach and sunbathe, snorkel and swim in the calm shallow waters, you can sail out east to Alagadi beach and scuba dive or picnic alternatively you can take a sunset dinner cruise around the coast. Whatever type of sailing trip takes your fancy, head to Kyrenia harbour and chat to the boats’ captains and find out what’s on offer for the next day. Itineraries change and can be changed, and you can even hire boats for private sailing and boat trips to your own personal destination favourites.

Whatever your sport and leisure requirements hopefully this article has given you a taster of what you can expect when you come to beautiful North Cyprus.