Newbies in North Cyprus, Day 1

Day 1: Tuesday

To say that we were looking forward to a holiday in North Cyprus was an understatement. After months of depressing news, endless tales of the UK recession, and a summer that ultimately disappointed, we were more than ready for two weeks of Cyprus sunshine and poolside R’n’R.

For once, a flight on easyJet lived up to its name. Despite a 45 minute delay on departure, we arrived just 10 minutes late into Larnaca airport's new terminal. Our suitcases were already waiting for us in the reclaim area, even after what must be the shortest immigration queue in living memory!

Our Amy Villas driver was also waiting for us, with a big smile and a helping hand for our cases, and soon he was speeding through the evening light along and new motorway towards the border. We crossed at Beyarmudu with the minimum of fuss; our driver collected our visas for us, so we didn't even leave the air conditioned car! As we crossed the border, our driver put his foot down in sheer delight, declaring "Turkey now!".

Our route took us up the east side of North Cyprus, passing by the ancient city of Famagusta and the coast on our right, and with Ercan Airport (the International airport for North Cyprus) on our left. The almost direct route also took us through the foothills of the Five Finger Mountains, where a smooth new road took just a minimal amount of wiggles to cut through to the north coast. In no time at all, the sea was before us, as we turned along the new coast road towards Esentepe.

Only as we turned off the main road onto a dirt track did our confidence fade a little. Like many villa developments in North Cyprus, Sunset Valley in Bahceli (near Esentepe) has no paved road between the main road and the development roads themselves, but it was only a few gentle bumps before we were on the smooth road up to our North Cyprus rental villa.

And what a villa! Perched in the foothills of the mountains, with sweeping views across the sea from the front and to the mountains from the pool, it was an idyllic setting. Within minutes of our driver popping our cases onto the hall floor and departing with a cheery wave, we were up on the roof terrace, the warm wind on our face and an endless blanket of stars above our heads. What a start to our North Cyprus holiday!