Why there is no direct flight
Ercan, the airport inside North Cyprus, is not internationally recognised as a point of entry. In practice that means aircraft heading there call at an airport in Türkiye first. It is not a technicality you need to worry about as a passenger, but it does explain why searching for a non-stop flight from Britain returns nothing.
So you have two routes, and neither is obviously better. Which one suits you depends on where you are flying from and what you mind more: a change of plane, or a longer journey on the ground.
Route one: via Türkiye to Ercan
You fly from your UK airport to İstanbul or Sabiha Gökçen, then on to Ercan. The advantage is where you land: Ercan is inside North Cyprus and close to Kyrenia, so the transfer at the end is short and you are at your hotel soon after landing.
The trade-off is the connection. It is one journey on one booking, but it is still a change of aircraft, and a long day if your UK departure is early.
Route two: direct to Larnaca, then across
Larnaca is in the south of the island and is served by direct flights from a good number of UK airports. You fly straight there, then travel north by road across the crossing point.
This route is often cheaper, and for some UK airports it is the only sensible option because no connection to Ercan is available. The trade-off is at the other end: a longer drive, and a border crossing to pass through.
The car hire catch
This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it catches people out every season. Hire cars picked up in the south are generally not insured for driving north. The rental agreement usually says so, and travellers often do not read that far.
If you are flying into Larnaca and planning to drive yourself, check the policy wording with the hire company before you book — not at the desk on arrival. If it does not cover the north, arrange a transfer instead. We can help with that; see our Larnaca airport transfers page.
Which one suits your trip
A rough guide, not a rule. If you are travelling from an airport with a connection to Ercan and you would rather be at the hotel quickly, take route one. If you are further from those airports, travelling with people who find connections tiring, or you have found a direct Larnaca fare that is materially better, route two is worth the ground time.
Our city pages go through this properly for each departure point, because the answer genuinely differs. Start from North Cyprus holidays from the UK.
Arriving at Ercan
Ercan is small and straightforward, which is a pleasant surprise after a connection. The drive to Kyrenia is short, over the hills and down to the coast. If you are arriving late in the evening, tell us — it changes what we would suggest about your first night, and we would rather sort that out before you land than after. See Ercan airport transfers.
A note on what is on this page
We have deliberately not listed airlines with timetables. Routes and schedules to this part of the world change from season to season, and a page full of specifics is a page that is wrong within a few months. Plenty of pages you will find on this subject are years out of date. Check current options with the airline, and if you want a second opinion on whether a routing makes sense, ask us.
Questions and answers
Can you fly direct from the UK to North Cyprus?
Not to Ercan. Flights to Ercan call at an airport in Türkiye on the way, because Ercan is not internationally recognised as a point of entry. You can fly direct to Larnaca in the south and travel north by road.
Is it better to fly to Ercan or Larnaca?
It depends on your departure airport. Ercan means a connection but a short transfer at the end. Larnaca means a direct flight but a longer journey on the ground and a border crossing.
Can I hire a car at Larnaca and drive to the north?
Check the policy wording first. Hire cars picked up in the south are generally not insured for driving north, and the restriction is easy to miss. If your policy excludes it, arrange a transfer instead.
How long does the whole journey take?
Longer than a direct Mediterranean flight, because of either the connection or the ground leg. The honest answer depends on your departure airport, which is why we have written a page for each of the main ones.
Why does this page not list flight times?
Because routes to North Cyprus change seasonally and a specific timetable would be out of date quickly. A lot of the flight information online for this destination is several years stale. We would rather be useful than precise and wrong.
