Larnaca to Nicosia: bus times, stops, fares, taxi and the drive

Intercity Buses runs a direct bus from Larnaca to Nicosia roughly every half hour on weekdays: thirty departures each way, the first from Larnaca at 05:50 and the last at 21:00. At weekends and on public holidays there are twenty each way. Most buses start at the Nicolaides Building on Archbishop Makarios III Avenue and end at Solomou Square, a few minutes’ walk from Ledra Street. The trip takes about 1 hour 15 minutes and costs 5 euros one way in cash. Driving is 47 km of motorway and about 45 minutes. A daytime taxi on the meter would come to roughly 48 euros.

The search results for this trip are a muddle of ticket resellers, taxi sellers, a Reddit thread from two years ago and an AI answer that quotes an out-of-date 4 euro fare. This guide covers the town: Larnaca’s seafront and centre to the capital and back, with the operator’s current timetable for both directions, both sets of stops, and the arithmetic for a car and a taxi. Landing at Larnaca Airport and going straight to the capital? The Larnaca Airport to Nicosia guide covers the direct airport shuttle, which is a different service.

Which option fits your trip

Your situation	Best default	Why
Day trip from central Larnaca	Intercity bus	5 euros, a departure about every 30 minutes on weekdays
Staying near the Rizoelia junction or Aradippou	Intercity bus	It picks up on Akropoleos Avenue on the way out of town
Back late on a weekday	Intercity bus	The last bus leaves Nicosia at 22:00
Group of four, or several cases	Taxi or transfer	About 12 euros a head on the daytime meter
Stavrovouni or a village on the way	Hire car	Neither is on the bus route

The Intercity bus: times in both directions

Intercity Buses publishes these departures on its route page, which we read on 8 November 2026. Larnaca departures start at the Nicolaides Building (1 Archbishop Makarios III Avenue at Filiou Tsigaridi), a short walk inland from the Finikoudes promenade. Nicosia departures start at Solomou Square.

Direction	Monday to Friday	Saturday, Sunday and public holidays
Larnaca to Nicosia	05:50, 05:55, 06:00, 06:30, 06:45, 07:15, 07:30, 08:00, 08:45, 09:15, 09:30, 10:15, 10:45, 11:00, 12:00, 12:30, 13:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 15:45, 16:00, 17:00, 17:30, 18:00, 19:00, 20:15, 21:00	06:30, 07:30, 09:00, 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:00, 12:45, 13:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 17:30, 18:30, 19:00, 20:30, 20:35
Nicosia to Larnaca	06:00, 07:15, 07:30, 08:00, 08:15, 08:30, 09:00, 09:15, 10:00, 10:45, 11:00, 11:30, 12:30, 13:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:20, 14:25, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:30, 18:15, 18:45, 19:30, 20:45, 22:00	07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30, 17:30, 18:00, 18:30, 19:00, 20:30, 21:45

The operator gives the journey as about 1 hour 15 minutes. A few departures carry footnotes worth knowing:

• 05:50 and 05:55 from Larnaca start at Saint George Church on Griva Digeni Avenue, not the Nicolaides Building.
• University hours. The operator marks the weekday 07:30, 09:15 and 14:00 from Larnaca, and the 13:00, 15:30 and 18:45 from Nicosia, as “University hours”. Treat them as extras timed around the academic day and do not build a plan around them in the holidays.
• Alampra. Some departures also call at Alampra, a village just off the motorway on the Nicosia side.
• 14:20 and 14:25 from Nicosia take a modified route in the city, with stops on Agapinoros, Grigori Afxentiou and Delfon streets.

Public holidays use the weekend timetable. Check the route page the day before you travel, because Intercity changes it a few times a year.

Where to get on and off

In Larnaca the bus calls at the Nicolaides Building, the Old Hospital, the Municipal Library, Saint George Church on Griva Digeni, Alexander College on Eleftherias Avenue, the Electromechanical Services Department in the Aradippou industrial area and Rizoelia on Akropoleos Avenue, before joining the motorway. If you are staying near Finikoudes, walk up to the Nicolaides Building; if you are on the north side of town, one of the later stops saves the ride through the centre.

In Nicosia it enters along Limassol Avenue and Archbishop Makarios III Avenue, stopping at Kalamon, the New Nicosia Hospital, the Kalispera traffic lights, the CYTA bridge by the Road Safety Park, APOEL by the Nicosia Technical School, the Ministry of Commerce, Makariou at Iras, and finally Solomou Square. Returning buses use the same stops in reverse.

Solomou Square is the city’s main bus terminus, just outside the Venetian walls next to Eleftheria Square, the redesigned plaza in the photograph above. Ledra Street begins about 600 m away, and the Cyprus Museum is about 900 m away. For what to do once you arrive, start with our Nicosia Old Town walk, and read the Green Line crossing guide before walking through to the north. Carry the passport or ID card you travelled with if you plan to cross.

Fares and tickets

Ticket	Price	Where to buy
One way	5 euros	From the driver, cash only, or the motion card e-wallet
Return	9 euros	Paper motion card at points of sale, not on board
Weekly, this route	40 euros	Plastic motion card at points of sale
Monthly, this route	90 euros	Paper card from the driver, or plastic at points of sale
Daily, all buses island-wide	20 euros	Motion card e-wallet at points of sale

Prices are from the operator’s route page. Drivers sell only one-way and paper monthly tickets, and take cash only. The operator says discounts of 50 per cent and free travel are available only with a personalised motion card, which is how students and other eligible groups pay less.

For a day trip, the 9 euro return saves a euro if you can reach a sales point first; otherwise pay 5 euros each way on the bus. Town buses in Larnaca and Nicosia are run by a different operator, Cyprus Public Transport, with separate tickets. Our public transport in Cyprus guide explains how the networks fit together.

Day trips in each direction

Larnaca to Nicosia for the day. On a weekday, the 08:45 reaches Solomou Square at about 10:00, and buses back run every half hour or so until 22:00. That is a long day for the old town, a museum and a walk across the Green Line. At weekends, take the 09:00 or 09:30, and note the last bus back leaves Nicosia at 21:45.

Nicosia to Larnaca for the day. The 09:00 from Solomou Square is in Larnaca by about 10:15. That gives time for Larnaca old town, the Church of Saint Lazarus, the salt lake and an afternoon on Finikoudes beach, with buses back from the Nicolaides Building until 21:00 on weekdays and 20:35 at weekends.

If you are weighing up Nicosia against the coast as a base, our Nicosia guide and Larnaca guide set out what each is like to stay in.

Driving: about 47 km of motorway

From the Nicolaides Building in Larnaca to Solomou Square in Nicosia is 47.1 km by road, which the OSRM routing engine times at about 44 minutes without stops. From Larnaca Castle on the seafront it is 47.2 km. The route leaves Larnaca on the A3, joins the A2 at the Rizoelia junction and runs across the Mesaoria plain to the A1 near Alampra, then follows the A1 into the capital. There are no tolls and the motorway limit is 100 km/h. Allow extra time on weekday mornings into Nicosia and evenings out of it. Cyprus drives on the left, and our driving in Cyprus guide covers the rules.

The one worthwhile detour is Stavrovouni Monastery on its peak above the motorway: 32.8 km and about 43 minutes from central Larnaca, then 40.1 km and about 42 minutes on to Nicosia. It adds roughly 40 minutes of driving, and the monastery admits men only.

Distances and times from OSRM, 8 November 2026, with no allowance for traffic.

Taxi and transfer: the tariff arithmetic

A taxi between the two towns is usually sold as a fixed-price transfer, so get a written quote for your addresses. The Deputy Ministry of Tourism’s transport page gives the taxi tariff as a 3.80 euro initial charge plus 0.95 euros per kilometre from 06:01 to 20:30, and 4.80 euros plus 1.10 euros per kilometre at night, with 1.40 euros per piece of luggage and a 2 euro supplement on the main public holidays, including 24 to 26 and 31 December and 1 January.

	Daytime (06:01 to 20:30)	Night (20:31 to 06:00)
Meter for 47 km to central Nicosia	about 48 euros	about 57 euros
Plus two suitcases	about 51 euros	about 60 euros
Four people, per head	about 12 euros	about 14 euros

For one or two people the bus at 5 euros each is much cheaper. For four, a taxi at about 12 euros a head is close to the bus fare and takes you door to door. Our Cyprus taxi guide explains the meter, rural taxis and transfers.

Things people search for that do not exist

A train. Cyprus has no passenger railway, so the “Larnaca to Nicosia train” pages are ticket resellers.

A bus number. Intercity routes are named, not numbered. Look for “Larnaca - Nicosia” on the bus.

A 4 euro fare. It was the April 2024 price and still appears in Google’s AI answer. The fare is now 5 euros.

A bus from Finikoudes. Older pages give the seafront as the first stop. The current timetable starts at the Nicolaides Building.

The short answer

Take the Intercity bus: thirty a day each way on weekdays and twenty at weekends, 5 euros and about 1 hour 15 minutes, from the Nicolaides Building to Solomou Square beside Nicosia’s old town. Drive if you want Stavrovouni on the way, and book a taxi or transfer for a group, heavy luggage or a late return after the last bus. For other journeys from Larnaca, see Larnaca to Limassol and Larnaca to Paphos; from the west coast, Paphos to Nicosia.

Sources for changing details: the Intercity Buses Larnaca to Nicosia route page, read 8 November 2026; the Deputy Ministry of Tourism transport page for the taxi tariff and operators; OSRM and OpenStreetMap for road and walking distances.

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Hero photograph: “Eleftherias Square 5” by Iakovos Hatzistavrou for the European Commission, Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 4.0. Cropped for this page.