Larnaca International Airport to Nicosia
Roughly 48 km inland; the Kapnos shuttle runs there for about €9, and a taxi is around €70 in 45 minutes.
The island's capital, ringed by Venetian walls and still divided — Ledra Street's shops running north to the crossing point, the Cyprus Museum's antiquities, and a café culture that owes nothing to the beach resorts.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Nicosia, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €65). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €9) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €9 | €65 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €18 | €65 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €36 | €65 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €9, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Shuttle
€9 flat, the best-value long run from the airport. Because it's the operator's busiest service, departures are spread through the day and evening rather than clustered around a few flights.
Where to catch it: Kapnos's core route and its most frequent — coaches load outside arrivals and terminate near the city centre.
Best for budget travellersTaxi
Nearly eight times the coach fare for the same journey, so it's a choice about luggage, timing and company rather than convenience alone.
Where to catch it: About €70 for a standard car, with minivans quoted nearer €90 for larger groups.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Much of the walled city is pedestrian or one-way, so confirm the drop-off street when booking rather than assuming the driver can reach the door.
Where to catch it: Agreed in advance, which suits the conference and government traffic that makes up much of Nicosia's inbound business.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Worth checking your rental agreement carefully if you plan to cross the Green Line — most Cypriot hire agreements have specific terms about it, and insurance cover differs on the other side.
Where to catch it: A2 then A1 motorway inland, about three quarters of an hour.
Best for travellers who want to exploreNicosia & Larnaca in photos
Buying tickets in Larnaca
Cyprus has no railway. From Larnaca the cheap way into town is an ordinary city bus — Cyprus Public Transport (Zenon) routes 425 and 429, roughly €1.50 to €2.40 paid to the driver, running about every 30 minutes from 05:55 to 23:25. The stop is outside the Departures hall at the far left end of the terminal, not outside Arrivals, which catches most first-time arrivals out. For everywhere else there are coaches: Kapnos Airport Shuttle to Nicosia (€9), Ayia Napa (about €13) and Paphos, and the separately-run Limassol Airport Express (€10 adult, €5 child). Buy coach tickets online in advance or at the desk in arrivals; luggage travels in the hold.
Taxi scams & safety in Larnaca
Cyprus taxis run a day tariff and a night tariff that starts at 20:30, raising both the flag-fall and the per-kilometre rate. A great many charter flights land after that, so a higher fare late at night is usually legitimate rather than a scam — but it is also why you should establish the basis of the charge before setting off. For long resort runs drivers normally quote a fixed price instead of metering; agree the figure and the exact hotel before the boot opens. The Limassol route is where this matters most, with fixed quotes starting around €48 against meters that can reach €86 for the same journey. Use the rank outside arrivals rather than accepting an offer inside. If you hire a car, remember Cyprus drives on the left, hire cars carry red plates, and most agreements have specific terms about crossing the Green Line — read them before you attempt it.
Getting from LCA to Nicosia
Forty-eight kilometres inland, three quarters of an hour, and away from the coast entirely. Nicosia is the capital and it isn't a beach town in any sense — a walled city with a Venetian star-shaped rampart around it, museums, government, a university crowd, and a café culture that owes nothing to the resorts. It's also the busiest route Kapnos runs, which makes getting there easier and cheaper than anywhere else on this list.
Nine euros, and departures spread through the day
The Kapnos Airport Shuttle's Nicosia service is its core route and its most frequent. Coaches load outside the arrivals hall and run to the city centre for a flat €9. Because it's the operator's busiest line, departures are spread across the day and into the evening rather than clustered around two or three arrival banks — which is a meaningful difference from the eastern resort services, where a badly timed landing can mean a long wait. Buy online or at the desk; luggage goes in the hold. Roughly fifty-five minutes.
The taxi is seven times the price for the same hour
About €70 for a standard car, nearer €90 for a minivan if there are five or six of you. That's not a scandal — it's forty-eight kilometres of motorway and the driver has to come back — but it does mean the choice here is about luggage, timing and company rather than convenience. A coach that runs regularly and drops in the centre is genuinely competitive with a car on this route in a way it isn't on the run to Ayia Napa. Unless you're arriving very late or carrying something awkward, the €9 option deserves serious consideration.
The walled city, and where a car can actually stop
Much of old Nicosia inside the Venetian walls is pedestrian or one-way, and Ledra Street — the main shopping spine running north — is entirely pedestrianised. If you book a transfer at €65 to €85, confirm the drop-off street when you book rather than assuming the driver can reach your hotel door. This is standard practice for the conference and government traffic that makes up a lot of Nicosia's inbound business, and the operators here are used to being asked. Getting it wrong means a few hundred metres over cobbles with wheels.
If you're hiring a car, read the crossing clause
Nicosia is a divided city and there are crossing points, of which Ledra Street is the best known on foot. If you plan to drive across the Green Line, check your rental agreement carefully before you do. Most Cypriot hire agreements contain specific terms about it and insurance cover differs on the other side — some policies simply don't extend, and separate cover is generally purchased at the crossing. This is a practical contractual matter rather than a complicated one, but it's the sort of thing people discover at the barrier rather than at the desk, and by then it's awkward.
What the city is for
Worth knowing before committing three quarters of an hour each way. The Cyprus Museum holds the island's serious archaeology — the Neolithic material and the Roman sculpture that the coastal sites reference. The old town has the Büyük Han caravanserai on the northern side and a run of restored streets around Faneromeni on the southern. The Leventis Municipal Museum covers the city's own history well. And the food is better and cheaper than in the resorts, because it's cooking for locals. It's a day trip from Larnaca as easily as a destination in itself — the Kapnos coach makes that entirely practical.
Getting between Nicosia and the coast afterwards
The same €9 coach runs back to the airport, and intercity buses connect Nicosia to Limassol and Larnaca frequently on weekdays, less so at weekends. If you're combining a city stay with a beach stay, the buses handle it without a car. If you're planning to reach the Troodos mountains from Nicosia, that's where you'll want to hire — the mountain villages are poorly served and the drive up through Kakopetria is one of the good ones on the island.
The short version: €9 on the Kapnos coach, which runs often enough that you won't wait long, against €70 in a taxi. Take the coach unless it's very late. And if you're hiring a car with any thought of crossing the line, ask about the insurance before you sign.
