Iskele beaches are the run of golden-sand bays along the east coast of North Cyprus, from the Long Beach development strip south of Iskele town up to Bafra at the gateway to the Karpas Peninsula. They share fine sand, shallow Mediterranean water, and a swimming season that runs from May to October.
This guide compares the main beaches on sand, swimming gradient, facilities, family suitability, sea temperature by season, and sea-turtle nesting, so you can match the right stretch of coast to your trip. It covers Long Beach, Bogaz, Bafra, Glapsides, and the quieter public beaches, with the distances and the months that matter.
- The Iskele coast has 5 main beaches worth comparing: Long Beach, Bogaz, Bafra, Glapsides, and the Kalecik public beach.
- Long Beach and Glapsides are best for swimming, with Glapsides shallow enough to wade more than 100 metres offshore.
- The sea is warm enough to swim from May to October, peaking at about 28.9°C in August and bottoming near 17.1°C in February.
- Loggerhead and green turtles nest on the quieter stretches, laying between 70 and 150 eggs from late May to late July.
- Each beach leads on a different attribute: Long Beach for facilities, Glapsides for toddlers, Bafra for open space, and Bogaz for a quiet harbour lunch.
What beaches are on the Iskele coast?
The Iskele coast has 5 main beaches worth comparing: Long Beach, Bogaz, Bafra, Glapsides, and the Kalecik public beach, plus the Mackenzi and Pera venues that sit on the Long Beach sand. All are sandy, most are free to enter, and they line a continuous east-coast run between Famagusta and the Karpas Peninsula.
The table below sets them side by side on the attributes holidaymakers and buyers weigh most. Each beach is then reviewed in its own section.
Long Beach is the headline stretch, reviewed first, but the smaller bays each have a reason to choose them, so read past the table before deciding.
Long Beach
Long Beach is the most popular and most developed beach on the Iskele coast, a multi-kilometre run of golden sand with a shallow, gentle entry into the water that suits families with children. A seafront promenade backs the central and northern sections, lined with cafes, beach venues, sunbeds, and changing rooms.
Entry to the municipal sand is free, with sunbeds and umbrellas rented by the section. Holiday apartments sit as close as 500 metres from the water, which is why the strip doubles as a residential seafront rather than a day-trip-only beach. A standard beach visit here takes 2 to 4 hours, and the morning and late afternoon are the most comfortable times in high summer. The sands at Long Beach run further south into the Mackenzi Bay, Pera Mackenzie, and Zaradise Garden beach clubs, where loungers and wooden decks line the southern end.
Bogaz beach
Bogaz beach is a sheltered sandy bay beside a working fishing harbour, 25 kilometres north of Famagusta on the road toward the Karpas Peninsula. The harbour wall keeps the water calm, and the fishing boats that tie up here supply the seafood restaurants a few steps back from the sand.
Bogaz is a quieter, smaller stretch than Long Beach, better suited to a half-day by the water and a long lunch than to a full day of beach facilities. The harbour and its dining define the spot more than the sand does. The sandy beaches at Bogaz wrap around that working harbour, which is what gives the spot its half-day, long-lunch character.
Bafra Beach
Bafra Beach is a wide, open stretch of fine golden sand at the entrance to the Karpas Peninsula, run as a free public beach (Bafra Halk Plaji) with parking, showers, toilets, and changing cabins on site. Sun loungers, umbrellas, and snack bars are available, generally rented or bought separately.
Bafra sits in the Vokolida resort area, where 4 five-star hotels back the coast: Kaya Artemis Resort & Casino, Noah’s Ark Deluxe Hotel & Spa, Limak Cyprus Deluxe Hotel, and Concorde Luxury Resort & Casino. The public beach stays open to everyone alongside the hotel frontages, and its wide sand makes it more comfortable for a family trip than the wilder, unserviced beaches further into Karpas. Reach it by car or by dolmus (shared minibus) from Famagusta or Iskele.
Glapsides Beach
Glapsides Beach is a soft-sand beach with exceptionally shallow water, about 0.5 kilometres long and roughly 5.5 kilometres north of Famagusta, set between 2 military bases on the east-coast run toward Iskele. The water is shallow enough to wade more than 100 metres from the shore, which makes it a favourite with parents of toddlers.
Beach cafes provide sunbeds (around 100 lira each), showers, toilets, and changing rooms, while the northern end stays undeveloped. Older children can hire stand-up paddleboards, and the municipality-run sand supports watersports, scuba diving, and beach volleyball, drawing local families and students from the nearby Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU). Entry is free; you pay only for a sunbed or cafe service. From the Burhan Nalbantoglu roundabout it is roughly a 1-kilometre walk to the sand.
Kalecik and the quieter public beaches
Kalecik Halk Plaji is a quieter public beach north of Iskele’s main beach zone, the choice when Long Beach feels too busy. It carries less infrastructure than the developed strip, trading cafes and promenades for space and calm.
Other small public beaches (Halk Plaji translates as “people’s beach”) dot the same coast, including the free sandy beach beside the Salamis ruins and Bedi’s Beach, around 8 kilometres north of Famagusta next to ancient Salamis. These suit visitors who want sand and sea without the sunbed rows, though they offer few facilities, so bring your own shade and refreshments.
Which Iskele beaches are best for swimming?
The best iskele swimming beaches are Long Beach and Glapsides, both with soft sand and a shallow, gradual entry that lets you walk a long way out before the water deepens. Glapsides is the gentlest of all: the seabed stays shallow enough to wade more than 100 metres offshore.
Long Beach pairs that gentle gradient with serviced central sections and a promenade, so it works for confident swimmers and paddlers alike. Bafra offers open water and space but fewer marked swimming zones, while Bogaz stays calm thanks to its harbour wall. None of these beaches has the steep shingle drop-off found on parts of the north coast, which is why the Iskele stretch reads as a swimming coast rather than a snorkelling one.
Are the beaches near Iskele good for families?
Yes, the family beaches in Iskele are among the most child-friendly in North Cyprus, thanks to shallow water, soft sand, and on-site facilities. Glapsides and Long Beach lead for young children: both have a gentle gradient, and Glapsides lets toddlers paddle safely far from shore while Long Beach adds playgrounds, showers, and changing rooms near the promenade.
Bafra widens the choice with free parking and space to spread out, useful with a car full of beach kit. The beaches near Iskele cluster within a short drive of one another, so a family can switch beach by the day. Pair a morning on the sand with things to do around Iskele for the days the weather turns or the children tire of the water.
How warm is the sea on the Iskele coast?
The sea on the Iskele coast is warm enough to swim from May to October, holding above 20°C off nearby Famagusta and staying warm into November. It peaks at about 28.9°C in August and bottoms out near 17.1°C in February, so summer swimming is bath-warm and even autumn stays comfortable.
According to seatemperature.info, the Famagusta monthly averages run 17.8°C in January, 18.4°C in April, 21.1°C in May, 24.7°C in June, 27.7°C in July, 28.9°C in August, 28.1°C in September, 25.9°C in October, and 22.9°C in November. The practical read: June to October is reliably warm for any swimmer, the May and November shoulders suit the hardier, and the January-to-April window is cool but not freezing. Treat these as a live snapshot, since sea temperature shifts year to year.
Tip
Where turtles nest near Iskele, use no lights or camera flashes at night, do not dig in the sand, and keep clear of marked nests.
Do turtles nest on the Iskele beaches?
Yes, turtles nest on the quieter sandy stretches of the Iskele and wider east coast, mainly the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Females come ashore to lay between 70 and 150 eggs from late May to late July, and hatchlings emerge from August into late September after roughly 50 to 60 days of incubation.
The Society for Protection of Turtles (SPOT), founded in 1991, marks nests with cages or stakes and runs night watches through the protected season, which spans 1 May to 31 October. On monitored nesting beaches such as Alagadi, the sand is closed to the public between 8pm and 8am during this period. Where turtles nest near Iskele, keep to the same etiquette: no lights or camera flashes at night, no digging in the sand, and keep clear of marked nests. The wider Karpas coast holds dozens of nesting beaches, so the loggerhead and green turtle are a genuine feature of this shoreline, not a rarity.
“Match the beach to the day rather than hunting for one champion.”
Which is the best beach in Iskele for your trip?
The best beaches in Iskele each lead on a different attribute, not a single overall winner: Long Beach for facilities, Glapsides for toddlers, Bafra for open space, and Bogaz for a quiet harbour lunch. Match the beach to the day rather than hunting for one champion.
Choose Long Beach for a serviced day with cafes, sunbeds, and a promenade within walking distance of accommodation. Pick Glapsides when small children need water they can stand up in. Head to Bafra for room to spread out at the Karpas gateway, and to Bogaz when a calm bay and a fish lunch matter more than beach kit. The sandy beaches in Iskele sit close enough together that a week on the coast can take in all 4, and they shape much of what draws visitors and buyers to the Iskele area.
The verdict: choosing your Iskele beach
Start with Long Beach if you want sand, services, and a promenade in one place, then branch out to Glapsides, Bafra, or Bogaz as the trip and the company dictate. The Iskele coast gives you soft golden sand, a gentle swimming gradient, water above 20°C from May into November, and turtle-nesting bays you can share responsibly in summer. That mix is why the coastline anchors so much of life and property along this part of the island. Plan your stretch of coast around the season and the people you bring, and you will find the right beach on this shore for any day out.
FAQ
Long Beach has the most extensive run of soft golden sand on the Iskele coast, a continuous multi-kilometre stretch with a promenade behind it. Bafra runs it close on fine sand and open space at the Karpas gateway, while Glapsides offers the softest underfoot for small children.
No, comfortable swimming runs from May to October, with the sea off Famagusta holding above 20°C into November. The water peaks near 28.9°C in August and falls to about 17.1°C in February, so the December-to-April window is cool for swimming, though the beaches stay open for walking year-round.
Yes, the main Iskele beaches are free public beaches (Halk Plaji), including Long Beach, Bafra, and Glapsides. You pay only for extras such as a sunbed or umbrella, which run around 100 lira at Glapsides, or for food and drink at the beach cafes.
Turtles nest in early summer, from late spring to late July, when loggerhead and green turtles lay eggs on the quieter sandy beaches. Hatchlings emerge from August into late September, and SPOT closes monitored nesting beaches such as Alagadi between 8pm and 8am through the protected season that runs into late October.
Glapsides is the best Iskele beach for young children, with water shallow enough to wade more than 100 metres from shore and soft sand underfoot. Long Beach is the strong second choice, adding playgrounds, showers, and changing rooms near its central promenade.
The Iskele beaches sit 5.5 to 25 kilometres north of Famagusta along the east coast. Glapsides is around 5.5 kilometres north, Bedi’s Beach beside Salamis is about 8 kilometres, and Bogaz is roughly 25 kilometres on the road toward the Karpas Peninsula.