Larnaca International Airport to Protaras
Roughly 60 km from LCA; Kapnos coaches serve it via the eastern route, and fixed-price taxis run about €66–70 in 50–55 minutes.
The family-facing side of the eastern tip — Fig Tree Bay's sheltered water and pale sand, a quieter strip of hotels and restaurants than Ayia Napa, and the whitewashed Profitis Ilias chapel on the rock above town.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Protaras, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €60). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €13) 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 | €13 | €60 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €26 | €60 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €52 | €60 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €13, 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
The cheap option at around €13–16, but Protaras comes after Ayia Napa on the run, so budget an extra fifteen or twenty minutes over the taxi time. Set-down is at marked stops, not hotels.
Where to catch it: The same eastern coach service that runs to Ayia Napa continues to Protaras — board outside arrivals, tickets online or at the desk.
Best for budget travellersTaxi
Fifty minutes in light traffic. The night tariff from 20:30 pushes it towards the upper end, and Protaras hotels are spread along several kilometres of coast, so name yours when you agree the price.
Where to catch it: Quoted as a fixed fare rather than metered for a run this long — commonly around €66.50 for a standard saloon in daytime.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
One price for the car whatever time you land. Worth booking the return leg together: early-morning departures from this end of the island start before the coaches do.
Where to catch it: Child seats can be specified at booking, which is why the family market that fills Protaras books ahead rather than trusting the rank.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
The eastern tip rewards a car — Cape Greco's cliffs, the sea caves and the string of small bays between Protaras and Ayia Napa are all short drives and awkward by bus.
Where to catch it: Motorway east then the coast road; remember the left-hand driving and the red hire plates.
Best for travellers who want to exploreProtaras & 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 Protaras
Protaras is the answer to Ayia Napa. Same coastline, same water, ten minutes further round — but the resort is built around Fig Tree Bay and families rather than a nightlife strip, and the evening sounds different. Sixty kilometres from Larnaca airport, about fifty minutes by car, and the practical wrinkle is that the coach which serves it gets to Ayia Napa first.
The coach costs €13–16 and adds twenty minutes over the taxi
Kapnos runs the eastern service from outside arrivals, and Protaras sits after Ayia Napa on the route. The fare is around €13 to €16, luggage goes in the hold, and departures are timed loosely to arrival banks rather than a clock-face timetable. Budget seventy-five minutes rather than the fifty a car takes, because you're riding through the neighbouring resort's stops first. Set-down is at marked points along the Protaras strip, not at hotels — and this resort runs for several kilometres along the coast, so identify your stop before you book.
Fig Tree Bay is the centre of gravity
Orientation that helps when you're deciding between options. The bay is a compact crescent of pale sand with an islet you can wade to, and the resort's older hotels cluster around it. Newer development runs north towards Pernera and south towards Cape Greco, which means "Protaras" covers a stretch where the two ends are a twenty-minute drive apart. Whatever you book, work out whether you're at the bay, north of it or south of it, because that determines whether the coach stop is a two-minute walk or a taxi ride in itself.
€66.50 is a published number, not a negotiation
Cyprus taxi drivers quote fixed fares for long resort runs rather than metering them, and Protaras commonly comes in at about €66.50 for a standard saloon in daylight. After 20:30 the night tariff pushes it towards €80. Fifty minutes in light traffic. As with everywhere on the island, agree the figure and name the hotel before you load, and if you're landing near the tariff boundary, ask which rate applies rather than assuming.
Child seats are why families book ahead
This is a family resort — that's the whole proposition — and a taxi rank cannot guarantee a child seat. Cars arranged in advance run €60–78, and booking lets you specify exactly what you need when you book: two boosters, a rear-facing seat, whatever the family requires, fitted and waiting. That single practical constraint does more to determine how people get to Protaras than any price comparison, and it's why the pre-booked share of arrivals here is higher than at Ayia Napa. The per-vehicle pricing helps too: a family of four compares one car against four coach tickets plus a walk.
Out of season the coach thins and the resort empties
Protaras is seasonal in a way that Larnaca and Limassol are not. Through July and August the Kapnos service runs often and the strip is fully open; by late November a good share of the hotels and restaurants have shut for the winter and the eastern coach timetable contracts along with them. That has a direct effect on arrivals: a February landing may find no convenient coach at all, which turns the €66.50 taxi from a choice into the only option. If you are travelling outside the main season, check the operator's current timetable rather than the summer one, and price the taxi in from the start rather than discovering it at the terminal.
Book the return when you book the outbound
Departures from this end of the island tend to be early, and the coaches don't start early enough to help with a 06:00 flight. Arranging the return leg at the same time as the arrival avoids scrambling for a car the night before, when every departing family in the resort is doing the same. It's a small piece of admin that saves a genuinely annoying evening.
The eastern tip rewards a car
A car is €25 to €55 a day. Cape Greco's cliffs and sea caves, the string of small bays between here and Ayia Napa, the coastal path, the Konnos Bay viewpoints — all short drives and all badly served by bus. Protaras itself is walkable along the seafront but the interesting coastline is spread out. Left-hand driving applies, hire cars carry red plates, and most hotels here have their own parking, which removes the usual objection.
Summary: €13–16 on the Kapnos coach if you're two people who don't mind the extra twenty minutes, a fixed €66.50 taxi if you'd rather go direct, and a booked car with seats specified if there are children — which, in Protaras, there usually are.
