Mr John Personal Experience - Varosha Ghost Town Famagusta Tour
Description
Explore the hauntingly beautiful Ghost Town of Famagusta on a unique, personal guided tour with Mr. John. As a TripAdvisor award-winning experience, this tour offers insight into the rich history and poignant stories of Varosha, a once-thriving area left abandoned since 1974. Your knowledgeable guide will share local tales and historical facts, providing a deep understanding of this intriguing location. Daily departures from Ayia Napa, Protaras, and Kapparis make it accessible for all visitors to experience the cultural significance of Famagusta. - Award-winning tour showcasing the Ghost Town of Famagusta - Personalized insights from a knowledgeable local guide - Daily departures from Ayia Napa, Protaras, and Kapparis - Discover the historical significance of Varosha in a small group setting
Tour Options
Itinerary
We enter the reopened area of Varosha, once one of the most glamorous tourist destinations in the Mediterranean before 1974. You will walk through streets that remained abandoned for nearly 50 years. Mr John shares personal memories from his childhood — including stories from his own neighborhood and family home. During this part of the tour, a Turkish Cypriot guide from that era also joins, offering a second perspective on the events that shaped the city. This is the emotional heart of the experience — history seen through real lives.
Dividing Line & Checkpoint Crossing Here, Mr John explains the events of 1974 and how the city of Famagusta became divided. Guests gain historical context about the buffer zone and the transformation of Varosha into a closed military area for decades. This is not just a border crossing — it is the physical line that has changed thousands of lives. Duration: Approx. 30–40 minutes including crossing formalities.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We have Pickup locations across Ayia Napa - Protaras - Pernera Area. You may select your preferred pick-up point and we will contact you and inform you of the exact nearest pickup location and pick up time.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(14)
The hole experience was fantastic and very informative. Would highly recommend
A really interesting visit to this ghost town. Mr John, although a little hard to understand, is full of knowledge and tells the history from a personal point of view. The Turkish Cypriot guide Mr Ahmed was also exceedingly knowledgeable and the pair worked as a team giving information and insights into the history behind this abandoned town. Well worth visiting, plenty of information from Mr John and Mr Ahmed, we are glad we went.
Wow, what a great experience using Mr John famagusta tour. They picked us up and dropped us off directly from our hotel and Mr john gave us a great insight whilst walking through the ghost city with our ear piece in. Highly recommend and my advice is.to book directly ( you will see him driving around patoras strip).
The most memorable part was the beach as the sea was so still with a backdrop of derelict former hotels. We found it really interesting but sad.
Very informative, I learnt a lot from someone that had lived through the occupation. Mr Ahmed was also very good at explaining everything
Amazing trip to the ghost town such a sad story Mr John shares his memories as he was brought up in the town Mr John and Ahmed are fantastic guides and such lovely people. I definitely recommend booking this trip with Mr John.
Worth the early start for this tour (730am) to learn about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and what has happened since. Very sad and ridiculous that it has not been resolved since. So many families negatively impacted including Mr John. Bus air conditioned and comfortable. Mr John difficult to understand at times as he speaks so quickly when on the bus due to his passion (which is understandable). Easier to understand when wandering round Varosha. If he could slow down on the bus, it would be clearer for all aboard. Mr Ahmed is excellent, very clear and both act as a comedy double act. Worth noting that Border Control takes a bit of time both ways, approx 20-30 mins each way. Tour lasted about 6 hours in total from pick up to drop off. As others have said, take water with you as very hot in the summer.
It was a very worthwhile trip. Mr John and Mr Ahmed were hugely knowledgeable, It was a privilege to hear about the real life experiences of those who grew up in the area. The marginalization of Turkish Cypriots is particularly sad. We really really struggled to understand Mr John at times as he speaks very quickly, with a strong accent and no breaks between words/sentences but we got the sentiment.
Mr John’s tour was great. Mr John and Mr Ahmed were both lovely and very knowledgeable. However, Mr John can be quite hard to understand, but when he was walking around the city, he was a lot easier to understand as he slowed down his speech. It was a very informative but sad tour.
My husband and I did this trip yesterday on probably the hottest day so far. Mr John and Mr Ahmed were brilliant guides and made the tour more interesting by their own personal experiences. The ghost town tour was brilliant but sad at the same time and we had lunch at the lovely Patek restaurant ( get a meal to share as you’re given loads ) and it’s reasonably priced too 5 stars for this trip and it’s worth the money
