Getting in and visas for Cyprus

As Cyprus is a member state of the European Union most travellers from European and North American countries won't need a visa for entry. European Union citizens can enter with a valid identity card, too.

By plane

Cyprus' main airport is Larnaca International Airport (LCA) and is located on the outskirts of Larnaka. The previous main international airport located SW of Nicosia is now located on the Green Line separating the Greek and Turkish parts of Cyprus - it has been out of use since 1974. Cyprus is serviced by a variety of different carriers, the main one being the Cypriot Cyprus Airways. There are flight connections with most major European towns, e.g. London, Birmingham, Manchester, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan) and many Eastern European countries. Unfortunately almost all non-Cyprus Airways scheduled flights arrive and depart in the middle of the night (2/3 o'clock). There are also connections to almost all Middle Eastern capitals. There are no flights to Turkey from the south. There are also charter flights to the western airport of Paphos.

By boat

Occasional ferries connect Cyprus to Greece. Services to Israel and Egypt have been terminated for time being, however there are 2 and 3 day cruises running in the summer months from about April to October. See CruiseCyprus.These mini cruises also run to Syria, Lebanon, Rhodes, the Greek Islands, The black Sea and The Adriatic. The ferry service from Greece runs from Piraeus, Rhodes and Ayios Nikolaos in Crete to Limassol. See the itinerary here. You may also catch a freighter from Italy, Portugal, Southampton and various other European ports. See Grimaldi Freighter Cruisesproviding you with the opportunity to bring a vehicle to Cyprus throughout the year. 81.4.161.150 09:53, 24 June 2007 (EDT)MaybeBoo There is a regular ferry service from Turkey, connecting Taşucu to Girne (north of Nicosia) [2]. See Northern Cyprus page for details.

Travelling to and from the north

Prior to Cyprus's accession to European Union, evidence of entry to Northern Cyprus resulted in denial of entry to the Greek part of Cyprus at the very least. After the accession and according to EU legislation that considers Cyprus to have been admitted in full an entry to the Turkish part is formally an entry to whole Cyprus and must therefore not result in any disadvantage to travellers from the EU. Travellers from non-EU member states (as, for instance, Turkish citizens) must enter the island via one of the legal entry points (i.e. entry points in the Southern part of the island) in order to visit the Southern part. The Cyprus embassy in Washington on the phone (June 2006) when asked if the border is open to U.S. citizens, didn't give a 'No', but said that they recommend entering from the "legal" points in the Greek side. Different entities and web pages claim different things. In June 2006, 4 U.S. passport holders (the writers herein) took a boat from Turkey to Northern Cyprus. On the boat there were other casual travelers planning to cross the border to take a flight back home. We were needing to get to Limassol to catch another boat. The local who gave us a ride to Ledra Palace thought we wouldn't be able to cross. The person at the gate told him that it is ok. We passed with no problems, noticing the sand bags and bullet holes on the deserted buildings. The Greek side let us in without stamping our passports and no questioning. In Limassol the woman in the passport control made a little fuss about entering from the north, but after a few minutes we got our passports back and boarded. I am not sure what this means... it is possible that Greek side won't let us in in the future. You don't have problem entering from the check points from south to north and vice versa.The only problem is that the Turkish side in the north wants to stamp the passports , as it is like you are entering a different country. The only country that is recognised by the UN is the Republic of Cyprus. The "Turkish Republic of Cyprus" is only recognised by Turkey , which actually controls the northern territory of Cyprus. Update: As of October 2007, We (two Canadian passport holders) travelled from Tasucu Turkey to Larnaca Cyprus in the North. The plan was to travel to Israel which necessitated our cross from the North to South in Cyprus. While our internet research suggested that we could catch a bus, we were advised by taxi drivers at Larnaca that this was not possible. In the end, we took a taxi from Larnaca to Limassol. This took approximately 1 1/2 hours and cost 90 Cyprus pounds. Our taxi driver advised us that it could have cost up to 120 Cyprus pounds. Our real concern was whether we would be allowed to board to boat from Limassol to Haifa, Israel. It is possible to take a boat on Louis Cruise lines which offers a 3 day cruise to "the Holy Land" that lands in Haifa. It is also possible to take this cruise one way for 178 Cyprus pounds for two people. At Limassol, the woman at passport control was a bit confused and went into the back office but we were allowed to board the boat with no trouble and little fanfair. This is, of course, subject to change. There is no need to have the stamp in Northern Cyprus on a separate piece of paper instead of your passport as you will need to advise passport control in the south how you got into the country. The main crossings between the south and north are:

• Astromerits/Zodhia (by car only)
• Agios Dometios/Kermia/Metehan
• Ledra Palace (by foot only) - the oldest crossing, just outside the walls of old Nicosia to the west of the city
• Pergamos/Beyarmudu
• Strovilia near Agios Nikolaos - located at the eastern part of the island