Paphos Airport to Paphos: bus, taxi or hire car?

For most hotels around Kato Paphos, the harbour and Tombs of the Kings, start by checking bus 612. For the town-centre/Ktima side or a connection at Karavela Station, check bus 613. Both leave from Paphos Airport, but they solve different arrival problems. A taxi or pre-booked transfer is the better answer when the bus timing is awkward, the hotel is some way from a stop, or you would rather not negotiate luggage after a flight.

The important distinction is between Paphos as a broad destination and your exact address. A harbour-front hotel, a Ktima apartment and a hillside resort may all be sold as “Paphos”; they are not served by the same final walk. Save the accommodation pin before flying, then choose the route around where it actually is.

The short answer: choose by where you are staying

Your destination or arrival	Best default	Why
Kato Paphos, harbour-side hotels, Poseidonos Avenue	Bus 612	Its published route runs through the tourist-area coast before continuing to Tombs of the Kings.
Tombs of the Kings area	Bus 612	It terminates at Tombs of the Kings Bus Station.
Ktima / Paphos town-centre side	Bus 613	It runs to Karavela Station via the town-side corridor.
Late flight, young children, pushchair or bulky bags	Taxi or pre-booked transfer	It removes the timetable, final walk and stop-selection risk.
Paphos plus Akamas, villages and several day trips	Consider a hire car	It earns its cost through the whole itinerary, not just the first drive.
Coral Bay	Use the separate Coral Bay guide	Coral Bay needs a 612-to-615 connection rather than the central-Paphos answer here.

The local operator, Pafos Buses, lists Paphos Airport’s two services as 612 to Tombs of the Kings Bus Station and 613 to Karavela Station. Open the relevant live route page shortly before travel, rather than treating any copied timetable as permanent. The airport routes are published as year-round services, but a live notice is still the useful final check.

Bus 612: the practical route for the harbour-side part of Paphos

Route 612 is usually the right first check for a stay in Kato Paphos, near the harbour, along Poseidonos Avenue or around Tombs of the Kings. Pafos Buses’ current route information shows it between Paphos Airport and Tombs of the Kings Bus Station, with stops including Kings Avenue Mall, the post-office/Ikarou area, Iasonos, the Almyra-hotel area and Poseidonos Avenue.

That makes it useful for much of the visitor-facing coast, but not an automatic door-to-door service. Hotels described as “harbour” can be several streets inland; resorts on the edge of Paphos may mean a long walk. Check both the stop map and your hotel pin before deciding that the bus is the easy option.

The operator currently lists airport departures of 612 every day, including late services. Check the official live 612 route and timetable after you have your flight details. Build in time for passport control and bags — the most optimistic version of a landing is not a sensible basis for a connection.

Bus 613: the town-side route and Karavela connection

Route 613 links Paphos Airport with Karavela Station. Its published stop sequence includes Geroskipou and the town-side streets leading to Karavela, so it is the more natural option to investigate for Ktima, the town-centre side of Paphos or an onward local-bus connection there.

Karavela is a station, not the end of every visitor’s journey. If your address is uphill, outside the centre or near a particular landmark, look at the final leg before boarding. A short-looking route on a map can become uncomfortable with cases in afternoon heat, especially if the accommodation is not on the main road.

Pafos Buses publishes daily 613 departures from the airport, including an after-midnight service in the current timetable. The official 613 route page is the right place to verify its live route, first/last journeys and any notice affecting the town streets. This is especially worth doing on a public holiday or when the operator has posted a diversion.

Tickets: the fare is simple; the journey may not be

Pafos Buses currently lists a €2.00 one-way district ticket, a €3.00 night ticket after 21:00 and a €6.50 daily ticket. Its ticket page says the one-way and daily paper tickets are available on the bus, and that its paper smart card can allow transfers within 60 minutes under its stated conditions.

For a first arrival, do not buy a ticket scheme merely because it sounds cheaper on paper. A single central-Paphos journey is normally simple. A connection, a late arrival or a hotel beyond the main route needs a more deliberate comparison between a daily ticket, another bus and a taxi. Read the current Pafos Buses ticket terms and ask the driver if the exact connection matters; fares and transfer rules can change.

For a broader view of local buses, intercity routes and when a car-free holiday is realistic, see our public transport in Cyprus guide.

Taxi or private transfer: buy an easier first hour when it is worth it

The bus is the low-cost choice when its timing and stop both work. A taxi or pre-booked transfer is often worth choosing when it does not. This is particularly true if you land late, are travelling with children, have a pushchair or several cases, or have booked an apartment whose access is not obvious from a main road.

Do not set your budget from a generic “from” fare in a search result. Taxi prices, airport supplements, vehicle sizes, waiting time and availability are live commercial details. Ask for a confirmed price for the precise flight and address, then check these points before booking:

• whether the price includes airport, night, luggage and waiting charges;
• how many people and cases the vehicle can take;
• child-seat or accessibility arrangements, if needed;
• the exact meeting point and flight-delay process;
• the final address, especially when the booking says only “Paphos”.

A pre-booked transfer can be a calm choice because the meeting arrangement is agreed before you fly. A rank taxi can be equally sensible when it is available and the fare is clear. Neither is inherently better; the useful comparison is a confirmed door-to-door journey against the bus timetable you can realistically make.

Hire car: choose it for the holiday, not the airport run

Collecting a car at the airport can make sense when Paphos is the first base for a wider west-coast itinerary: villages, wine country, Polis, Latchi or several independent beach days. It is less compelling for a short stay centred on the harbour, archaeological sites and one or two bookable excursions.

Before committing, decide where the car will be parked, whether every driver is comfortable driving on the left and how often it will be used after arrival. Our driving in Cyprus guide covers the practical checks, including why a standard rental agreement is not blanket permission for unsealed Akamas tracks. If you want Paphos as a no-car base, our Paphos guide is a better next read than a rental search page.

Do not use this route for Coral Bay

Coral Bay is northwest of central Paphos, so it is a different airport journey. The normal public-transport approach is route 612 to Tombs of the Kings, followed by route 615 towards Coral Bay. Our dedicated Paphos Airport to Coral Bay guide explains that change, the ticket question and when a direct transfer is likely to be kinder to your arrival day.

Likewise, if you are landing at Larnaca rather than Paphos, start with Larnaca Airport to Paphos. The journey crosses the island and should not be treated as a local airport bus.

A five-minute arrival plan

1. Save the hotel’s full address and map pin offline.
2. Check whether it sits near the 612 coast-side route or the 613/Karavela side.
3. Compare your realistic terminal-exit time with the relevant official timetable.
4. If the wait, final walk or luggage load looks brittle, arrange a transfer instead.
5. Keep a backup plan — the operator’s live route page and your accommodation’s contact details.

This is a small piece of planning, but it prevents the classic arrival mistake: taking the first Paphos-labelled bus, then discovering that “close” is a hot uphill walk away. Choose the route for the first door you need to reach, not for the town name on the hotel listing.