Getting around Paphos: airport buses, city lines, taxis and car hire

Paphos is easy to reach and easy to use without a car, as long as you stay within the town and its beaches. Beyond that, buses thin out and a rental car earns its fee. The Paphos travel guide covers the sights. If you are still choosing a base, read where to stay in Paphos first, since the base decides how much transport you need. The Cyprus guide covers the island as a whole.

Visit Cyprus, the official tourism portal, says the island has no train or metro and that you move by bus, taxi, rental car, bike or on foot. It lists four kinds of bus: airport transfers, interurban buses, urban buses and rural buses. For Paphos, the practical set is the airport lines, the city lines of Pafos Buses, taxis and a rental car for the coast.

Paphos has its own international airport. Pafos Buses runs two airport lines: line 612 between the Tombs of the Kings Bus Station and Paphos Airport, and line 613 between the Karavela Main Bus Station and the airport. In a notice for the 1 October public holiday, the operator said that only these two airport lines operate year-round without changes, while other lines follow the Sunday schedule on public holidays. That makes them dependable for late arrivals and holiday flights, though you should check current timetables on the operator's page before you travel.

Hermes Airports, which operates both Cypriot international airports, lists a taxi rank on the right after you leave the Arrivals Hall at ground level, working around the clock. It also names the airport bus and shuttle operators, including Pafos Transport Organisation for Paphos Airport and the region, and Limassol Airport Express for transfers from Limassol. If you arrive in Larnaca instead, Visit Cyprus lists a Kapnos & Sons airport shuttle with routes between Larnaca Airport and Paphos Airport, and between Nicosia and Paphos Airport.

Choose by arrival time and luggage. For a daytime landing and a stay in Kato Paphos, line 612 ends at the Tombs of the Kings Bus Station, on Tombs of the Kings Avenue, a short ride from the harbor. For a late arrival, a taxi gives certainty. For a stay in the old town, line 613 to the Karavela station is the better fit.

Pafos Buses divides its network into city and suburbs, villages, Polis and Latchi, and airport lines. It has four main stations: the Harbour Station next to the entrance to the archaeological site of Kato Paphos, the Karavela Main Bus Station, the Polis station and the Tombs of the Kings Station. Several lines matter to visitors.

• Line 610 runs between the Municipal Market and the Kato Paphos harbor.

• Line 611 runs from the Tombs of the Kings Station through the harbor to Geroskipou Beach and a waterpark.

• Line 606 links Geroskipou, Geroskipou Beach and the Harbour Station.

• Line 615 links the Tombs of the Kings Station and Coral Bay, and line 616 continues from Coral Bay through Pegeia to Agios Georgios.

• Line 631 links the Harbour Station and Petra tou Romiou.

• Lines 612 and 613 are the airport routes.

Pafos Buses lists a one-way paper ticket on district routes at 2.00 euros, a night ticket after 21:00 at 3.00 euros and a daily ticket at 6.50 euros, with these sold on the bus. It also lists a weekly personalized card at 25.00 euros and non-personalized at 35.00 euros, available at its information offices. It says children up to five travel free and children up to 12 pay half. Fares can change; the Limassol operator, for example, announced fare adjustments from 5 November 2026, so check the Pafos Buses ticket page for current prices.

The prices come from the Pafos Buses ticket page. The operator also links a live-bus tracker, and the Ministry of Transport's official Cyprus Bus app gives schedules and arrival times, so install one before you rely on a line that runs once an hour. Rural lines to villages typically run two or three times a day, according to Visit Cyprus, so do not plan an out-and-back day to a village by bus without checking the return.

Visit Cyprus says urban taxis operate 24 hours in all towns, can be booked by phone or hired on the street, and must use a taximeter, with charging starting when you enter. It lists a daytime tariff from 06:01 to 20:30 with an initial charge of 3.80 euros and 0.95 euros per km, and a night tariff from 20:31 to 06:00 with 4.80 euros and 1.10 euros per km, plus 1.40 euros per piece of luggage and a 2.00 euro supplement on listed public holidays. It adds 20 percent for five passengers and 40 percent for six. The Limassol tourism board also lists the Bolt app for taxis in Cyprus. Rural taxis serve village areas with their own tariffs and cannot be hired freely in town.

Taxis make sense for the airport at night, for short rides when the bus has stopped and for splitting a fare among four people to Petra tou Romiou or Kouklia. Ask for the meter if a driver quotes a flat price, and keep the fare in mind against the cost of a rental car for a day. Complaints about taxis go to the Road Traffic Department, which Visit Cyprus names, or to the police.

A car is the right tool for the Baths of Aphrodite, the Akamas trails, Kouklia on your own schedule and a loop that links Coral Bay with Pegeia and Agios Georgios. Visit Cyprus says major car-rental firms have offices in all towns and at both airports, that four-lane motorways link Nicosia with the coastal towns, and that minor and forest roads are largely unsurfaced but in good to fair condition. Take extra care on them in wet weather.

The rules matter. Traffic drives on the left. Visit Cyprus lists a 100 km/h limit on motorways, 80 km/h on other roads unless signed lower and 50 km/h in built-up areas, with seat belts compulsory front and back. FCDO says driving standards are poor and that road deaths are more likely than in the UK. It says a UK photocard license works in Cyprus, and other licenses may need an international driving permit; international driving permits explains when. Insurance is charged extra, and Visit Cyprus notes that rental insurance is valid only in the area under the control of the Republic of Cyprus. FCDO adds that rental firms sometimes ask for your passport as a deposit, which is illegal, so never hand it over. Read car hire insurance abroad before you book.

Visit Cyprus lists intercity bus routes between Paphos and Limassol, Larnaca and Nicosia, and shuttle services between the towns and both airports. The Limassol tourism board lists Paphos Airport at 59 km from Limassol, about 50 minutes, so the two towns are roughly an hour apart by road. For a day in Limassol, see the Limassol travel guide or the Limassol or Paphos comparison. Check the operator's timetable for the return, since a late departure from Limassol can leave you with few options.

If you are thinking of northern Cyprus, FCDO says only pedestrians can use the Ledra Palace and Ledra and Lokmaci Street crossings, that cars hired in the Republic often have no insurance in the north and that entering the Republic through the north, such as via Ercan Airport, counts as illegal entry. Treat a northern day as a separate plan from a Paphos stay.

Kato Paphos is flat and compact, and walking is the best way to link the harbor, the castle, the park and Faros Beach. Visit Cyprus publishes cycling routes in the region, including one from Paphos through Agios Georgios, Pegeia and Lara to the Baths of Aphrodite, so cycling is possible for fit riders in cooler months.

Scooters and quad bikes deserve caution. FCDO says hire companies usually provide only third-party insurance, so you pay for damage to the vehicle, and that you should use licensed operators and check that your travel insurance names the activity. Visit Cyprus says driver and passenger must wear helmets and that 17-year-olds may drive only 49 cc auto cycles. See whether insurance covers scooters before you rent one.

For most visitors the choice is a bus for the airport and the town, and a car or tour for the coast. A table shows how the options differ.

The first mistake is renting a car for four days in Kato Paphos and paying for parking you do not need. If your plan is the park, the castle and Faros Beach, skip the car. The second is trusting a bus timetable without checking the return on a rural line. The third is assuming an airport bus runs the same schedule on every day; check the current timetable and the holiday notice. The fourth is renting a car without checking insurance for the north, or assuming the cover extends across a crossing. The fifth is leaving your passport as a deposit, which FCDO says is illegal.

An eSIM for Cyprus helps with bus apps, taxi apps and maps from the moment you land, and travel insurance with medical cover is worth having for a trip that includes a rental car or water sports. For more on moving around the island, see getting around Europe, and for the wider trip, the Paphos in 2 days plan shows how the transport fits the sights.