Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus, Easter 2007

by Sarah Lee

Having lived, worked and dived in southern Cyprus for just over a year we thought it high time to go and visit the dives sites of northern Cyprus.

I read through previous travel reports on the BSAC website and decided on Amphora Diving based at Escape beach, about a 10 min drive west of Kyrenia harbour.

I contacted Asim the owner and it was straight forward really - yes we wanted to dive and yes we needed some where quiet to stay for 6 nights B&B close to the dive centre.

Asim booked us into Sanatoria Villas Website which is just a few minutes drive from the dive centre. In April we paid £24 sterling per night, B&B for both of us. The accommodation is bungalow type apartments, which were basic but clean and tidy. There was one bedroom with a double bed, separate bathroom with shower, and a small sitting area (with a rather uncomfortable sofa bed but we weren't in there very much), wardrobe, fridge and kettle. There was a small veranda so we were able to hang out towels, hoods, gloves etc to dry in the afternoons. The apartments sit around the central swimming pool.

April is very much early on in the diving season (and tourist season), the same as the south really. We were the only people staying at Santoria that week and although they were still getting set up for the summer we were made to feel very welcome. I think it would be a very good location for groups or families. I would also feel very comfortable staying there as a single female and would have no hesitation returning on my own. The owner was still overhauling the huge swimming pool while we were there which looked like it would be very appealing post diving and also ideal for non diving partners/families. If the pool doesn't appeal Escape beach is about a 10 min walk and is a small secluded, shallow bay. In April none of the cafes were open so we took water and snacks with us to the diver centre, or nipped back to the bungalow to have a sandwich during the surface interval.

Provisions can be obtained at the service station a couple of minutes walk from Santoria or from several small supermarkets along the road to and from Kyrenia. Although there were no cooking facilities in the room we got cold foods to snack on such as bread, cheese and ham and ate out in the evenings at various restaurants and tavernas.

As for the diving, I had said to Asim we would be looking to do around 8 - 10 dives depending on golf tee times, over the 5 days. On our first day we arrived around 09.00 to get our stuff sorted out, sign paperwork and have our log books checked. Start times for the rest of the week were 09.30 for a 10.00 departure. All our dives were from a RIB and around a 10 min transit to sites, the longest was to the ancient ship wreck site close to Kyrenia town which was around 30 mins. The water temperature was 17 degrees which was dry suit for me and 5 mm semi with a shortie over the top for Ken.

Dive briefs were given at the dive centre before each dive and were supported by a well drawn plan on a white board, and buddy pairs confirmed.

We retuned to the dive centre in between dives to change cylinders, sunbathe, rest , repair kit etc (our own, not the diver centres I hasten to add). We returned back from the second dive around 14.00 hrs each day.

Our dive kit was washed and left at the centre all week which was very convenient to avoid lugging it about. We managed 9 dives over 5 days, missing out only on one dive due to weather conditions not dissimilar to the UK (bit choppy !). Amphora were very accommodating and flexible with our dive plan. Even though we said we would do 2 dives a day we were always given the choice if we wanted to do a second dive after the first each day. Our dives were simply logged on a sheet and totted up and the end of the holiday.

The diving was predominantly reef diving with the exception of the ancient wreck site, which although is a longer transit I was pleased to have dived it to see an underwater archaeological site. It is recommended that you visit the museum in Kyrenia harbour to see the world's oldest ship wreck prior to diving the site but we weren't able to get to the museum before it shut it the evenings.

We were pleasantly surprised that the reefs allowed us to get quite a few deeper dives in over the week (30 - 40m) as opposed to the southern sites which are generally shallower (with exceptions of course like the Zenobia or St Georges Island in Polis). Diving was up and down shot lines rather than multi level profiles.

The cost per dive was around £13 sterling. Dives were quoted in £sterling and could be paid in a variety of currency (or by credit card). As an aside the HSBC cash points in the North give you a choice of currency - Sterling, Lire or Dollars (I presume they all do but we used the HSBC one as it was convenient).


I would recommend a car especially if diving from Escape beach as it is that little bit further out of town, but also to explore the environs. For those wanting to fit in a round of golf Ken (h/c 8) played twice at the very newly opened course at Esentepe, about a 40 mins drive north along the coast above Kyrenia (from Escape beach) depending on traffic. Cost in April was £55 per round and £13 for a buggy (sterling).

Diving up North was a pleasant change from the south. For us the plus points were the good variety and choice of sites very close to the dive centre, deep reefs and fish life (although not prolific but certainly more than we usually see in the south)

We had a mix of weather from hot and sunny 25 degrees, to overcast but still very warm, to one day which was quite windy (but still warm), but on the whole the weather was good. If you are going for sun and warmer water temperature then you would probably want to wait a month or so more but we liked it out of season as it's less crowded ! Visibility over the week ranged from 8 - 15m.

It was a most enjoyable week and we were made to feel extremely welcome by Amphora who were a pleasure to dive with. We certainly plan to go back.



Amphora Dive Center