Palm Beach (Famagusta/Varosha border)

If you looked at the property listed as "Arkin Palm Beach Hotel" on a booking site and assumed the public beach of the same name came with an open door, our research says otherwise. This is exactly why a search for Palm Beach Famagusta turns up two separate prices and two separate sets of rules: two different operations work side by side on the same stretch of shore. One is the Famagusta Municipality's public beach, open to everyone; the other is a roughly 250-metre private beach the hotel reserves for its own guests. Same name, separate management. In our research we looked at where that line runs, what costs how much on the sand, and how having closed-off Varosha next door shapes the day. The municipality announced on 19 July 2026 that the beach had been renovated with a capacity of 200 sunbeds; the place we are talking about is a beach just south of the Walled City, 2 to 3 kilometres from the centre and right outside the closed zone.

Public Beach and Hotel Beach Side by Side

On the municipal section, all you have to do is step onto the sand, because there is no ticket and no turnstile. On the hotel section, sunbeds, cushions, umbrellas and towels are included in the room rate; only drinks at the beach bar are sold separately. But what marks where one area ends and the other begins, a sign or a fence? Neither the hotel nor the municipality says. The question of responsibility, on the other hand, is clear: public authority on one side, the hotel on the other, so the sentence "the hotel beach is open to the public too" is flatly wrong. The hotel has no separate kids' club, only a children's pool, and babysitting is arranged on request. The practical upshot for a family: if you are staying at the hotel, you pay nothing extra for equipment; if you come to the public beach from outside, a sunbed may be a separate line item.

The 2026 Renovation and the Sunbed Fee

The municipal announcement dated 19 July says the beach has been reorganised with 200 sunbeds and given a layout everyone can access. The announcement does not cover this beach alone: "Glapsides" was overhauled the same summer, and "Silver Beach" has been in municipal hands since 2016. Entry is free, and that is not a business decision either, because Article 38 of the TRNC constitution already prohibits charging for access to the first hundred metres of the coast. Since sunbeds and umbrellas count as a separate service, the model works the same way at all three municipal beaches: nothing for entry, a fee for equipment. How much? 150 TL according to the July 2026 announcement, but the figure changes over the season, so it is worth asking for the current rate before you go. On disabled access, the announcement stops at the phrase "accessible to everyone" and does not list any concrete equipment such as a ramp or a wheelchair-friendly sunbed. Since Glapsides is known to have a separate accessible section with 14 sunbeds, the gap becomes visible here; for anyone arriving in a wheelchair, calling the municipality in advance is the shortest route.

What Is on the Sand

The ground is wide sand, and the water deepens slowly from the shore. For anyone coming with small children this profile is useful, because feet stay on the bottom for a long way out. The facilities list is short: a sunbed and umbrella rental point, toilets, changing cabins. A lifeguard is on duty during working hours; outside those hours nobody is in the tower. Bars and restaurants line up behind the beach, so there is no need to go back to the Walled City for lunch. No separate arrangement for parking has been announced; you can work out where to leave the car on the spot. On the public side of Palm Beach Famagusta, whoever rents equipment pays, and whoever spreads their own towel on the sand pays nothing. When the 200 sunbeds fill up on summer afternoons the beach stays open, nothing closes; only shade can get hard to find, and anyone who brings their own umbrella solves that problem from the start.

Next Door to Closed-Off Varosha

The official visitor entrance to Varosha is from this stretch of shore, while the beach itself lies outside the closed zone. Part of the area that has been sealed off since 1974 was opened to visitors in 2020, with free entry. The neighbourhood does not end there, because the real difference is in the rules. In Varosha, the visit follows a marked route, entering buildings is strictly forbidden, and hours change through the year. If you are asking about photography, yes, according to our research it is allowed, but drones are banned. Inside you can rent a bicycle or a golf cart, and a minibus also leaves every hour. There are two more beach spots inside the zone with "150" and "300" sunbeds, but both lie within the closed boundary and are not the same area as Palm Beach public beach. At Palm Beach Famagusta public beach there is no route and no checkpoint; you can step onto the sand at any hour from any point you like. If you are combining the two on the same day, the order matters: Varosha in the morning, the beach in the afternoon. It is worth checking Varosha's opening hours for that day before you go, because those hours have no bearing whatsoever on Palm Beach.

Getting from the Walled City to the Beach

You reach the beach from the Walled City on foot or with a short drive; the distance measures between 2.4 and 3 kilometres depending on the reference point. The road running south from the city gate towards the Varosha gate drops you straight at the shore, so there is no need to hunt for directions. For those coming from out of town, the drive from Ercan takes about forty-five minutes and from Nicosia fifty minutes to an hour, with Kyrenia a little further. There is no ferry to Famagusta: the "Tasucu" sailings dock at Kyrenia harbour. The city minibus line is no use to you either: it runs along the Salamis road, that is, north, and since the beach is in the opposite direction you are left with walking back or a taxi. The walk from the city gate takes around half an hour; rather than doing it without shade at summer noon, setting out early in the morning or in the late afternoon is more comfortable.

Palm Beach Instead of Glapsides

Most people who come here combine the day with the ancient city of Salamis or a tour of the Walled City: the historic site in the morning, the beach in the afternoon, and the heaviest hours of heat spent in the shade. But why here when Glapsides is right there? "Glapsides" is eight kilometres from the centre and has a car park for three hundred vehicles; Palm Beach is under three kilometres from the Walled City and adjoins the Varosha gate. The shallow sea is similar at both, and entry at both is of course free; the difference comes down to location and parking. So a family arriving by car picks Glapsides, and anyone on foot or planning to see Varosha as well picks Palm Beach Famagusta. For hotel guests the question does not arise at all, their own beach is right outside the door. For anyone coming to the public beach there are two decisions: rent a sunbed or spread a towel, and go into Varosha in the morning or skip it altogether.

To plan the rest of the city, see our Famagusta travel guide; for the alternative with a car park, our Glapsides Beach Famagusta page; and for the full set of entry-fee rules on the island, the free beaches in North Cyprus guide.