Overview: North Cyprus Holidays Type: Running/Walking/Training Vacations Location: Karaman Village, Cyprus Dates: Available on request Accommodation: 3 bedroom old style house Prices: Please see details below Other things to do: Please see details below Getting there: Please see details below

Anna and I have a lovely spacious house nestled at the foot of the Troudos Mountains in North Cyprus. The house is in a little village called Karaman overlooking the ancient city of Kyrenia and the Mediterranean Sea.

The location in the hills about 2 miles from the coast is ideal for running and walking. There are endless trails with fantastic views, some great hill work, on and off road and some tougher climbs to the top of the mountains.

We have run for miles and miles around the area in the spring, autumn and the heat of the summer. It is always good training and such a pleasure because of the wonderful environment and views.

The House

An old style large 3 twin bedroom, 2 bathroom house with large through lounge and kitchen. The property has terraces on 3 sides and stunning views across the Mediterranean and the ancient port of Kyrenia. The house has been in the family for 35 years now and is decorated and well stocked as a family home.

The Village

Karaman (or Karmi) is a lovely little village settled in the hills at around 2000 ft, with winding roads and little alleys linking it all together. The village has a shop where you can buy essentials for the week, a village pub, “The Crow’s Nest” which is the centre of village life, and a Bistro.

The Surrounding Area

The coast around Kyrenia is fabulous with great facilities and sandy beaches everywhere. Kyrenia itself is an ancient town with a huge fort at the harbour entrance built by Richard the Lion Heart. It is overlooked by the amazing Hilarion Castle which is built into the rock at the top of the mountains. The shops / bars and restaurants create a buzzing atmosphere and a great place to sit and relax.

Running, Walking & Mountain Biking

The house, terrain, the village and the surrounding area are ideal for a week’s fun, but hard training. You could mix up long trail runs, with some tough hill work and short fast road runs. One of the routes has to include the run / walk up to Hilarion Castle. The climb is worth the views.

Training

If you are training for something specific like the Marathon des Sables then the training in the July / August months would be ideal as the temperature gets up to 36 to 38 degrees.

If you are training for an event like the UTMB there are plenty of big climbs and long distance trails to keep you occupied.

If you just want a relaxing holiday with a couple of hours running a day, then there are lots of options for you.

We have run most of the area so we will give you some recommended routes and distances to get you started. We may also be able to send you GPS marked routes.

Other Things To Do

After training you want to be able to relax, and with the beaches, the water sports, the pub and the restaurants there is plenty on offer at great prices.

Activities on offer (depending on the season include)

• All watersports from jetskis, waterskiing, sailing etc
• Scuba diving (we can organise this for you through a very good school)
• Paragliding
• Turtle watching
• Visiting ancient sites and monuments

North Cyprus is all in Turkish Lira so very good value. A good 2 course meal will cost you around £10 a head (without wine), beer is around £2 a pint, wine around £7 - £8 a bottle.

Getting There

Getting to North Cyprus is really easy these days. There are lots of options for cheap flights to Larnaca (in Southern Cyprus) with Easyjet, Monarch, Thomson etc or scheduled flights with British Airways and Cyprus Airways.

Larnaca to Karaman is about an 80 min taxi journey (we can arrange this for you) and costs about £60.

The Cost

A hire car is essential and costs about £15 - £20 a day. Again we can arrange this for you.

The costs for renting the house for a week start at £200 and go up to £350 in high season. We are flexible on start / finish dates and will come up with a good price for stays longer than a week.

If there are large club groups then we can arrange for other very close by accommodation in the village.

Discounts for military and emergency service personnel

Interested?!

If you would like to know more or enquire about a booking please contact Neil on +44(0)7801244628 or neil@xnrg.co.uk