Karsiyaka / Horseshoe Beach

If you fall for one of those notorious copy-paste traps on listing sites and set off assuming Karsiyaka Beach and Horseshoe Beach are the same place, you'll only come face to face with the painful 12-kilometre truth on the winding Kayalar road... Karsiyaka village's own beach runs like clockwork as Vasilia Beach, part of a sports club's facilities, while Horseshoe sits a full 12 kilometres further west: a tiny, untouched horseshoe-shaped cove tucked away in the village of Kayalar. So we did the legwork and laid both shores out separately for you in this article, villages, operators and what each one offers included.

The night-and-day difference hits you the moment you set foot in either place: Vasilia Beach delivers no-fuss comfort with showers, sunbeds, a pool and a big car park, whereas at Horseshoe, apart from that single family restaurant standing guard above the cove, you're pretty much in the middle of nowhere. That being the case, before you turn the key you need to ask yourself one critical question honestly: am I really after a comfortable club facility with sunbeds and a pool, or a simple, untouched cove where I can be alone with nature?

Two Villages on the Same Coast Road

Karsiyaka is a scattered village 18 kilometres west of Kyrenia, part of the Lapta-Alsancak-Camlibel (LAC) Municipality. Its old name was Vasilya, which is where the Vasilia in the beach's trading name comes from. Kayalar lies further west, built on the coastal slope between Karsiyaka and Sadrazamkoy, roughly 30 kilometres from Kyrenia. Both villages sit at the foot of the Kyrenia (Besparmak) Mountains, which makes them the far end of the west coast. The 8-kilometre stretch of the same road running from Kayalar to Sadrazamkoy passes through the Akdeniz Special Environmental Protection Area. There are no big hotel chains on this protected tip; facilities are small and few and far between. Eyes arriving here from the row of casinos in Alsancak struggle at first to get used to how empty the coastline is. Because the village is so spread out, it's normal to make a few turns before you spot the facility's sign; you're better off typing Vasilia Beach into your sat nav rather than the village name.

The name "Guzelyali", meanwhile, points to two different places here. Vasilia Beach in Karsiyaka is also known as Guzelyali in Turkish, but the 240-metre "Guzelyali Public Beach" opened by Lapta Municipality in 2019 is a completely different, municipally owned stretch of sand, free to enter of course. The distance between them isn't small either. A driver who sees that sign and stops in Lapta hasn't reached Karsiyaka yet.

Vasilia Beach Is a Sports Club's Facility

The beach is run by Karsiyaka Anamur Sports Club Social Facilities under the name Vasilia Beach. The facility is listed as having WC, showers, sunbeds and umbrellas, a private pool, a restaurant, Wi-Fi, a lifeguard and a car park. Since the car park is inside the facility, there's no worry about leaving your car on the edge of the coast road either. Customers dining at the restaurant use the beach without paying separately. For anyone who just wants to head down to the sand without eating, the operator hasn't published a separate rate, so you're better off asking at the gate... This level of amenities is undoubtedly rare on the west coast; the coves get more basic the further you go towards Kayalar. Having the pool right next to the sea is a real convenience for families with children: if the sea is rough, the day can be spent in the pool. This facility is the place people mean when they search for "Karsiyaka beach", with sand, pool and dining table all sitting inside a single set-up entered through one gate.

The Horseshoe Cove at Kayalar

Horseshoe Beach's Turkish name is At Nali Plaji. The cove is closed off by rock on both sides, and that shape is where the name comes from. As you enter Kayalar from the coast road, the family restaurant of the same name appears right above the cove, with fish, grills, Antakya-style meze, pizza and burgers coming out of the kitchen. Since the cove's set-up runs hand in hand with this restaurant, there's no separate beach operator. The enclosed shape calms the sea, and the rocky bottom offers a lively seabed for anyone swimming with a snorkel.

So what's underwater? Rock, fish and, on some days, seagrass. Because the cove is enclosed, Posidonia builds up on the shore from time to time, and visitor reviews say this reduces the visibility of the sand and causes a smell. The other adjectives that keep recurring in those same reviews are calm, secluded and little-known. You need to set your expectations accordingly, because the restaurant hasn't published any rates for things like sunbeds, showers or entry fees. That's why it's worth bringing a towel, water and a snorkel set with you. As the restaurant's tables sit above the cove, lunch and the sea stay within the same field of view.

The Kayalar-Sadrazamkoy Road Has Been Under Construction Since 2025

The 15.5-kilometre route between the Kayalar Junction and Sadrazamkoy finally turned into a construction site in September 2025. Going by news reports from March 2026, they had only just finished the base beneath the asphalt and were carrying on from the Gecitkoy and Lapta turn-off. The calendar now says September 2026, yet there's still not a peep from anyone about the road being open. So the most sensible thing before hitting the road is to call your accommodation or the municipality and confirm the latest situation. Fortunately, there isn't the slightest problem with the asphalt in the Karsiyaka beach direction right up to the facility; the real mystery starts on that final section beyond Kayalar. The 30 kilometres from Kyrenia to Kayalar may look like a quick hop on paper, but that never-ending work zone turns the journey time into a complete guessing game. And what if the road turns out to be closed? The section up to Karsiyaka is unaffected, so you can carry on enjoying yourself without changing your plans at all.

As for getting there, you take the coast road out of Kyrenia, leave Alsancak and Lapta behind you and drop down to Kayalar via Karsiyaka. Your other alternative is to turn off the Kyrenia-Morphou (Guzelyurt) road at the Sadrazamkoy junction and reach the cove in a short time. Minibuses and the like are pure fantasy on these routes, so anyone setting out without a car is in for a pretty tough adventure. If you have a hire car, be sure to time your return by the sun, because driving in the dark on those rough roads where construction work is still ongoing genuinely wears you down.

Two Shores in One Day

With 12 kilometres between the two shores, seeing both in one day isn't hard. But the order matters: spending the morning at Kayalar and heading back to Karsiyaka in the afternoon means you meet the roadworks in daylight. Those after a sunbed, shower and pool set-up stay on the Karsiyaka beach side, while those who want to eat lunch above the sea and swim in a simple cove carry on to Kayalar. For anyone carrying a snorkel set, the real address is therefore Horseshoe, because Vasilia Beach's seabed isn't highlighted in that respect. Families with children, on the other hand, do their sums around the lifeguard, and that points to the facility side. At Horseshoe on a summer midday, the only shade is under the restaurant's roof; no umbrella arrangement has been announced for the beach. Of the places we looked at, on the Kayalar side hats and sunscreen are entirely your own responsibility.

So that it doesn't get mixed up again: in Karsiyaka the place you're looking for is Vasilia Beach, in Kayalar it's Horseshoe. The two shores are in no way the same place; they share neither an operator nor a name, they're just two stops close to each other on the same coast road. Sadrazamkoy is beyond Kayalar, the last village you reach when the road ends. The fresh information on hand is limited: Tripadvisor's Kayalar page lists the area as current for 2026, yet no review from this year has been posted for Horseshoe. Vasilia Beach restaurant's 4.8 rating is in the same position; the reviews behind that score come from previous seasons.

Since neither shore is realistically reachable without a car, our Kyrenia car rental guide is worth reading first; for the villages you pass on the way see the Alsancak and Lapta guide, and for other options along the coast our North Cyprus beaches roundup.