The Best Golf Courses in Northern Cyprus

How we chose

There was no choosing to do, and we think that is worth saying plainly. This list was researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk in June 2026, and our rule for it was simple: a course earns an entry only if it really exists, really takes golfers, and we can verify its basic facts from the club and independent sources. Northern Cyprus produces exactly two such places. Several large resort and casino developments in the north have announced golf over the years; until grass is grown and tee sheets are open, none of them belongs on a ranking, and we will add them when they do.

What we did weigh is honest expectation setting. Korineum is ranked first because it is a proper 18 hole championship course with a practice academy and a small resort around it; CMC is ranked second because it is nine holes of living industrial history rather than a destination round. Green fees in the north have generally been modest by Mediterranean standards, but published rates change season to season and the club was resetting its prices at the time of our review, so we quote none here: always confirm directly before booking. The golf season is effectively year round, at its best from October to May, with July and August fierce.

How the south of the island compares

Candidly: if golf is the engine of your trip, the south wins on volume and polish. The Republic of Cyprus side has four established championship venues within easy reach of Paphos, led by Aphrodite Hills, the island's flagship resort course across a dramatic ravine, with the modern links style Elea Estate, the hilltop Minthis and the older Secret Valley layout near Kouklia filling out a genuine four round week. We rank all of them in our guide to the best golf courses in Cyprus, and the wider island picture lives in our Cyprus destination guide.

What the north offers instead is the older, quieter Cyprus: the harbor at Kyrenia, the castles of the mountain ridge, long empty beaches on the Karpaz peninsula, prices a tier below the south, and a course at Korineum where a morning tee time rarely needs fighting for. The strongest play for a golfer is the combination. Base a few nights around Kyrenia for Korineum and the sights, cross the island for Paphos and the championship belt, and you have played the whole of Cyprus in one trip; the crossing itself, covered below, is routine. Our full guide to playing golf in northern Cyprus handles the detail.

Getting there, and the crossing

A short practical note on the politics, because it shapes the logistics. The north of the island has been administered separately since 1974 and is recognized as a state only by Turkey; for a traveler the consequences are the flight routings and a passport check, not drama. All scheduled flights into Ercan, the airport of the north, route via Turkey, on carriers including Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet and SunExpress, which suits anyone connecting through Istanbul, perhaps after rounds on the Belek and Antalya courses covered in our Turkey guide. Most European golfers instead fly direct to Larnaca or Paphos in the south and drive across; Kyrenia is roughly an hour and a half from Larnaca through the Nicosia area crossings such as Metehan. Carry your passport, and check your car hire terms, since vehicles rented in the south usually need additional insurance, sold at the crossing, to be driven north, and some rental firms do not permit it at all.