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Two of us took a bit of a chance travelling in late November to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but we were pleasantly surprised at the temperatures in the low 20s, and we were able to swim in the sea and one of the hotel pools (much colder!). We stayed in Girne (the Turkish name for Kyrenia), a very charming port and dramatic castle, at the Pia Bella Hotel which was three buildings around two pools and a lovely garden with a bar where we gathered in the evening. Our leader Gizer was splendid – he started each day sorting out our picnic lunches, told us all about the history as our very able driver took us to the start of walks, and led us along mountainsides and up to precipitous castles. Each evening he briefed us in detail about plans for the next day, and then on three evenings took us to outstanding restaurants, with a wide range of mezze and delicious main courses. He recommended restaurants we tried on other nights, all really good and reasonable price. Most of us joined the trips to Famagusta and the ghost town Varosha, and to Nicosia on the way to the airport on the last day – seeing these places was very moving and helped us to begin to understand the issues. A fantastic trip which we really enjoyed – a lovely group, comfortable hotel and well organised.
Seeing the view from St Hilarion castle along the mountain range and the coastline. Jumping the waves in the sea at Kaplica.
Gizer is an excellent leader - well organised, thoughtful and friendly.
It would have been useful to know in advance that euros and sterling are so widely accepted in the north.
The walking was excellent, and our guide Gizer was brilliant and very professional. The hotel was a bit shabby and the food was mediocre. The staff were OK, however and the room was good. Two of our party were fed up that the lunches (included in the cost) were not proper sit-down affairs in a taverna with hot food. Their moaning was rather annoying, as were not unhappy, but perhaps Exodus could make the type of lunches plainer in the trip notes.
hiking up to Buffavento castle
excellent
always carry your raincoat in spite of what the forecast is. The mountains make their own weather.
This was our first trip with Exodus. The group was very welcoming and we were met by the guide at the airport. The initial briefing was comprehensive and there was a daily brief which helped us know what was happening each day. The weather was superb – 30C most days. The scenery is pretty dry by late September so perhaps not as lush as at other times in the year. The accommodation was spacious. The hotel has a very pleasant outdoor bar area where we could gather in the evening and the hotel staff were pleasant and attentive. The evening meals were excellent and great value and portions (very) generous. The local restaurants were of a high standard. The guide was excellent – knowledgeable, attentive and endlessly patient. The itinerary was a good mixture of historical sights and walking on trails and we learned about local history and culture. There plenty of stunning photo opportunities. Overall an excellent trip.
Excellent
Everything about it – the good contrast about walks/history/flora and fauna
I think I have done a review already?
I dont have one The variety of Famagousta Town, with all the typoes of castle, some sea, the food. The hotle was great.
First class
Make sure you understand about walking. If you are not part of the group due to knees or anything, then you have to find your own excursions.
I love the wasy exodus takes care of the gluten free Coeliac :-)
Scenic walks (apart from the introductory one on Sunday which was a bit of a walk to nowhere) with great views from the top of the hills. It was a bit hot but all the walkers coped with the permanent sunshine.
Gizer, the leader, is a very good organiser, with perfect timing and good knowledge of the history of the places we visited – Girne, Bellapais Abbey, Saint Hilarion, Kantara and Buffavento Castle (the walk up to it recompense the walker with breath-taking views).
He also organised the optional but very informative excursions to Famagusta and Nicosia which offered us the chance to find out a lot of facts about places we knew only from the news.
I would also like to commend Omar, the driver, very efficient as well, helpful and funny; he helped me learn more Turkish language than I knew before 😉.
The food was good, and the best dinners we had were at Niazi’s and Eminem (no connection with the rapper 😉). The best lunch was at the Caravan Serai in Nicosia – thank you Gizer!
Pia Bella Hotel was clean with good sized rooms, very professional, polite, and friendly service, good range of food items at the breakfast.
Al in all, a very rewarding holiday – Thanks to Exodus, Gizer, and everybody else who made it happen.
A very enjoyable walking holiday, mixing walks with interesting visits to a cave, ruined castles, an abbey and an Armenian monastery. The walks themselves are varied – pine forests, mountains, beach, some tracks and just a little on the almost-deserted roads.
An excellent trip to Famagusta was offered on the Day Off and this not only took us to interesting sites (St Barnabas monastery, roman Salamis, Varosha ghost town & the old walled city, but also gave us th chance to learn more about the history if the island.
A bonus was the trip to Nicosia on our last day, whcih meant we didn’t have to hang around the hotel waiting for the transfer to the airport. This also gave us the opportunity to walk across the border into South Cyprus.
Day 6 - Buffavento Castle and the Five Finger Mountains. Although it is over 600 steps up and the same down, the castle is situated right on the ridge of the Five Finger Mountains, so you can see both sides of the island (and the coast of Turkey on a clear day). Because of the steps, it is quiet with no/few other tourists, so we had the castle to ourselves! The lunch stop is further along the ridge, so more spectacular views across both sides of the island.
Geser is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable, patient and very helpful. His english is amazing and he has a good sense of humour. He spent a lot of his time with us and nothing was too much trouble for him. He really made the holiday very special and I hope that Exodus will continue to use Geser as a guide for future trips.
Our flight was delayed, so we arrived very late but Exodus/the hotel had unexpectedly arranged for a snack of soup and a filled roll, which was very well received. It is a long flight and transfer, so would recommend taking a packed lunch to have on the plane. Make sure you have high factor sun screen as the sun is strong, even on cloudy days.
This trip was fantastic for me because of the combination of the walks and the culture. The walks were quite varied and the castles and monasteries added to the variety. It was a little warmer than I expected (mid 20s) but I know three weeks earlier there was snow so I think late March/early April is a great time to do this tour, it also being an ideal time for the wild flowers. The hotel is very nice and a well located base for the week’s activities. Our tour leader Gizer was excellent in terms of both his organisation of the trip and his knowledge on the history and the flora and fauna. He joined us for three evening meals, the other evenings were on our own but all Gizer’s suggested restaurants were very good. The optional trips to Famagusta and Nicosia (not currently on the itinerary but it seems usually an option on the final day) were both well worth doing. Our group got on with each other really well which added to a great trip.
I can't really pick out just one, for me the variety was what made the trip. The views on the walks, the castles, the Roman remains at Salamis, Kyrenia and its shipwreck were all fantastic.
Gizer is a brilliant guide. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he really went out of his way to deal with any requests that we had. He knew and explained the history of the island and the sights very well, and pointed out various things in the castles and in Salamis that added to the experience. He obviously knew the walks very well as he could always tell us how far there was to go, and he was also an expert on the wild flowers - my favourite was a large group of "naked man orchids"!
Don't buy Turkish lira in the UK. There are plenty of places to change GB pounds into lira and the rates at the exchange bureaus are very good - there is one less than 100 yards from the hotel. Credit cards were accepted everywhere and the rates seemed good as well. Do the Famagusta/Salamis optional excursion and if possible the undocumented excursion to Nicosia on the final day. The Covid paperwork and regulations are now minimal so this should not now be a concern.
The hotel staff are very friendly and accommodating, one of the managers visited us most days at breakfast and was able to move the two group members who had rooms overlooking the road to the quieter side of the hotel overlooking the pool and garden.
Firstly we did not expect snow on this holiday! Nonetheless we had a very enjoyable week and met some lovely people in our group of 16. Some parts of the itinerary had to be adapted and changed due to the weather conditions but this did not affect the overall enjoyment of the holiday. Walking on the first couple of days was a bit tricky due to the snow and ice, meaning walking poles were essential. In normal conditions none of the walks would have been especially challenging. Gizer was a great guide, very knowledgeable and mindful of the group. We appreciated the extra trips to Famagusta (on free day) and Nicosia (departure day). Hotel Pia Bella is a good base with friendly staff and the bonus of heating in the bedrooms. It has a lovely outside pool area (shame it was just too cold to enjoy). Worth noting that if you enjoy wine the house stuff is not good, instead ask the hotel for a bottle (affordable) and keep behind the bar. Organised restaurants were very good, especially the last evening one. The restaurant next to the hotel serves a nice pizza too. All in all a good holiday and so much history in Northern Cyprus
Visiting Salamis and Nicosia
Excellent, very knowledgeable on history, culture and flora and fauna
Take lots of warm layers. It does get cold. Also walking poles useful
Take Turkish Lira
This was our first group holiday since Covid and first walking group holiday – we’ve been more into cycling but are now converted!
The walking was very comfortable – nice distances and nothing too taxing although there was the odd boulder to scramble over or around on one walk. Everybody coped fine. The walks were generally high up in the mountains and the views were great. Each walk had something of interest linked to it, e.g. an abbey, a castle, a monastery. The sight-seeing day going to Famagusta was great. On every day there was plenty to interest keen photographers.
We had a nice group of 13 people. The hotel was great – in this trip, because the distances are small, once you’re there, there’s no repacking until the end. The staff were friendly. Breakfast was pretty good once you’ve worked out what everything is and what you like. The only disappointing thing is the coffee – nescafe rather than a decent machine or good local coffee. The hotel is about 10 mins walk to the harbour. There are plenty of restaurants near by for the three evenings when we don’t eat as a group.
Our trip was in late February. It was a bit like April here in the UK. Warm during the day, cold at night. A couple of hardy people did swim in the hotel pool and in the sea – but that wasn’t for us. Bring a good jump for the evenings!
Up at the St Hilarion Castle in the mountains - super views. Also visiting the 'ghost town' of Varosha. I was reading 'The Sunrise' by Victoria Hislop, a great novel about Cyprus in 1974. It's set there and everything came even more to life.
Gizer is great. He's very experienced and professional, good fun and informative. He coped and helped well with the issues thrown up by some lost luggage and flight disruption. Everything in his control went pretty smoothly! One of the drivers on the journey from the airport to the hotel was poor and my wife ended up with car sickness - Gizer ensured that he wasn't one of our regulars and there was no recurrence of any nausea on our trips. We learnt a lot about Cyprus and the north from him. He made a good choice of restaurants and there was a nice mix between 'group time' and 'individual time'. The final day could be a bit of a let down as the flight home is late afternoon and there's nothing in the Exodus itinerary. But Gizer arranges an optional / additional trip to the Turkish side of Nicosia which is pretty interesting and if you do that you're already part of the way to Larnaca airport.
- Once we cross into North Cyprus, Gizer stops at an ATM. There are plenty of them in Kyrenia. We lost money by buying Turkish lira at LHR - it was a very poor rate and there was no need to buy there. - Read 'The Sunnise' by Victora Hislop on or before the trip - see above
Cyprus is actually quite a long way away and over four hours flight time. We therefore delayed our return for a week. We booked a hire a car from the airport, organised our hotels and toured the south. Having a week in the north and a week in the south gave us a super blend of Turkish and Greek Cyprus. Highlights in the south were the medieval churches, walking in the Troodos mountains and the mosaics at Pafos. They very much complement what you see in the north.
After great deliberation on whether to venture out on holiday again, we are glad we did. This was an excellent trip & very well organised. Exodus provided excellent advice & details of all the requirements necessary in view of COVID regulations.
We met with a sociable & lovely group of people and at 12 I think this was an ideal number. This is our 3rd or 4th group holiday & after years of independent travel it is relaxing to just go with the flow & not have to be responsible for anything!
The walking was superb – challenging in places but well worth the effort of some steep climbs. The views were fantastic & we visited Crusader castles & monasteries. Our guide Gizer was a great host & very knowledgeable about the history & culture of his country.
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The walk up to St Hilarion castle was a real highlight. It was tremendous when back at the foot of the mountain, to look back up and know that we had climbed up there. It looks so inaccessible so was a sense of achievement. My favourite moment was on our last day, en-route to the airport, we visited Nicosia the divided city, and after seeing the old market, we walked though an entrance to the caravanserai where it opened up into a square with arches & little shops.
Gizer is a superb guide & ambassador for his country and a great asset to Exodus. He is a charming man, kind, thoughtful & very knowledgeable & an expert at diplomacy and was always aware of each persons needs. Nothing was too much trouble and he was always ready to answer our many questions. He has a great sense of humour too. His recommendations for restaurants were welcome.
Don't worry too much about the rules & endless form filling. (Says someone who was very stressed about it before we went) It is worth all the faff. North Cyprus is a beautiful country and the history - both ancient and recent - is fascinating. You do need to have a certain level of fitness as it is a full on active holiday. If you've never been on a group holiday before, don't hesitate, it's great fun!
The hotel was nice. Very quiet so always felt safe re covid rules. It would be nice to return in warmer months to take advantage of the lovely outside areas & pool. Also a mention for the couple of drivers who took us to the start of our walks. They were both very nice & friendly.
