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Last spring my fiancé and I went to the Northern Cyprus (aka Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) for a 2-night getaway from the-fast-the-furious life in Istanbul (Okay, I exaggerated… we just had a lot of steam to blow off and we thought of Cyprus as our first option to try)

I never wanted to write about our trip because we wanted to keep our trip a little secret so all my photos are very candid (and most of them were deleted due to having no space in my phone, and I had to dig through my whatsapp messages to get some of these pics) but since we both are public about our relationship right now, decided it’s okay to share some  memories with you guys…

This was unexpectedly a really good holiday, and I wish we stayed at least 3 nights because it was so relaxing.

Getting to Northern Cyprus:

We left from Ataturk Airport in Istanbul to Ercan International Airport in the Northern Cyprus that handles about 100 flights per week as far as I know, and it’s near North Nicosia (Note that this part belongs to Turkey, and the Southern Cyprus we all know belongs to Greece, which is the bigger part of this small island in the Mediterranean Sea) Most of the flights come from Turkey and I got my visa stamped on-arrival (please check online for more on visa information)

This airport has 2 restaurants, 2 duty free shops (a larger one at the departure lounge) but it’s not the best place to spend time like other airports… There’s literally nothing to do or buy there (except for like daily essentials) and then off we went to our all-inclusive hotel in Girne, about 1.5 hours ride from the airport.

Northern Cyprus is not your typical holiday destination… To me it felt more likely to sit back listening to music, swim, relax and enjoy doing literally nothing while being pampered with as many drinks and foods you wanted during your stay. There isn’t much sightseeing to do, and it’s better to go there through a travel agent as transportation is a little bit limited in this small part of the island.

The currency is Turkish Lira, and Turkish is their first language, but unlike in Turkey, English is considered a second language here. You do see many signs and posters in English, which I kind of missed during my stay in Istanbul.

Our hotel, Merit Park Hotel & Casino was one of the largest hotel chains in Northern Cyprus, and we LOVED it! The rooms were luxurious and the food was definitely one of the best I’ve tried.

We were always hanging out by the swimming pool as the weather was super nice between 22-24 celsius degrees during day time. Unlike tropical islands, there was very little humidity, so make sure you pack a lot of moisturiser in your luggage!

(Outfit details: Shorts, Sandals and Hat- H&M, Top- Guess)

The best time to go would be: In the end of spring as it won’t be too crowded or too hot in Cyprus.

The sea was very strong at that time to bathe, but my fiancé enjoyed a brief dip before settling into his hammock for a nice afternoon nap.

The hotel covers an enormous area of land, and by evening we walked around the jogging path, enjoying the breathtaking sunset and sipping our favourite cocktails.

In the nights there were guest artists who played live in the lobby and kept us entertained as we ordered more free cocktails till we couldn’t even stand up right to walk to our rooms! The service at the hotel was excellent, the staff were more polite than of hotels in Antalya, Turkey (a popular holiday destination in South of Turkey)

The hotel has its own casino in the basement, and a large spa with an indoor swimming pool offering 2 turkish baths and a variety of spa treatments.

It was one of the most relaxing stays I’ve had in years, and we enjoyed every bit of it!

Hope you enjoyed this little post…

See you soon!

Xx

Neth Mi

p.s. This is not a sponsored post. We paid for the entire trip including flights, transfers and accommodation.