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Pick up at Larnaca or Paphos airport and drive on the left. Northern Cyprus and unpaved roads, such as in Akamas, are ruled out.
Counts and median day rates from our 22 October 2026 read of seven-day hires from 16 November 2026; one company can deliver to several towns, so the counts overlap and never add up. Drive times are routed without traffic and rounded up.
The eastern airport: from the terminal, the seafront at Finikoudes is about 15 min, Nicosia about 45 min and Limassol about 1 h.
Its median day rate, €42, was the lowest of these ten towns. Every Larnaca car in the count that wanted a credit card was handed over at the airport.
The western airport: Paphos harbour is about 25 min away, Coral Bay about 40 min and Polis about 1 h.
Day rates ran above Larnaca’s in all three weeks we sampled; the November median was €52.
No airport handover here: about 55 min from Paphos Airport, about 1 h from Larnaca’s. The tourism authority calls it the island’s maritime capital, with the main commercial port.
360 cars, 285 by delivery and 75 from an office. Our booking partner lists a St Raphael Marina Port pickup, but no car offered it in the weeks we read.
About 50 min from Larnaca Airport, almost all of it on the motorway.
334 cars, all delivered or from an office. Cape Greco, listed in clause 11 as Kavo Gkreko National Park, is one of the named places whose unpaved roads are out.
Roughly an hour from Larnaca Airport; from Paphos Airport, allow about 2 h 30 min.
All 253 cars counted came by delivery, 19 of them manual. The clause 11 ban on Kavo Gkreko National Park matters on this stretch of coast too.
About 50 min (60.1 km) from Larnaca Airport.
Delivery only: 155 cars, 18 with a manual gearbox and 36 with no deposit.
The inland capital, both a walled old city and a modern business hub: about 45 min from Larnaca Airport, about 2 h from Paphos’s.
Only 17 of its 180 cars had no deposit, the smallest share of the ten. In the Lefkosia (Nicosia) area, most stations close for attendant service on Wednesday afternoon rather than Tuesday afternoon.
About 40 min (30 km) from Paphos Airport.
All 136 cars counted were automatics, every one delivered. The tourism authority’s boat trips from Paphos harbour call here and at Lara Beach, whose unpaved roads clause 11 rules out (it names Turtle beach LaraBay).
An hour or so from Paphos Airport; from Larnaca’s, budget about 2 h 30 min.
A small pool of 55 delivery cars, every one automatic, and the highest median day rate of the ten, €89.
Roughly 1 h 15 min out of Paphos Airport, on the harbour the tourism authority lists as Polis (Latsi).
71 cars, all delivered. Boat trips from here follow the western Akamas coast from May to October, weather permitting; by car, clause 11 rules out the Akamas Reserve.
Only Larnaca and Paphos have airport handovers; the tourism authority adds that four-lane motorways link Nicosia with Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Ayia Napa, with emergency phones along them.
Larnaca Airport suits Nicosia and the east coast, Paphos Airport the west; every other town gets its cars by delivery or from an office. Flying home from the other airport? Set it as the drop-off.
Our 22 October 2026 tally of seven-day hires from 16 November 2026 found 10 of 485 Larnaca cars asking for a credit card, while 164 of the 358 handed over at Larnaca Airport carried an airport pickup charge inside the price; check both lines and the deposit, then pay the online part.
Our email voucher names the company, its number and the meeting point. Bring your licence, pay the balance there, and set off on the left.
Larnaca and Paphos airports are some 125 km apart by road, a drive of about 1 h 45 min each way.
Our 22 October 2026 count for seven-day hires from 16 November 2026: 358 of 485 Larnaca-search cars were offered at Larnaca Airport (LCA), and 293 of 445 Paphos-search cars at Paphos Airport (PFO). The others came by city delivery or from an office.
Even with a return to the same airport, 164 of those 358 at Larnaca and 195 of 293 at Paphos included an airport pickup fee. It is part of the total shown and is paid at pickup.
The terminals run around the clock; rental companies keep their own hours. We priced 30 cars per airport for a 03:00 pickup on 16 November 2026, prices taken 22 October 2026: 24 at Larnaca and 19 at Paphos added a fee. Enter your real landing time and any such fee appears in the total.
At Larnaca and Paphos the meeting arrangement is set by each company, not by the airport; the voucher explains it and lists a number, and clause 12 wants you on the phone from the eve of collection, by call or on Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp.
Larnaca Airport pickup spot (map) · Paphos Airport pickup spot (map)
Counted 22 October 2026: seven-day rentals from 16 November 2026, Larnaca and Paphos.
When a card is asked forEvery car in that count wanting a credit card was an airport pickup. You must show the card itself, embossed and issued to the main driver. In some cases a company accepts a debit card that meets those conditions; the listing and voucher say which.
Cash for the deposit190 of Larnaca’s 485 cars accept a cash deposit, about 1.5 times the middle share in our 19-destination table (16 to 23 November 2026 hires, read 22 October 2026), and 208 of Paphos’s 445 do. Each listing also states its own deposit amount, and the deposit filter narrows the results.
The balanceThe online part is calculated on the hire charge only. Whatever remains, plus any airport pickup charge, goes to the company when you collect.
Sources: the EU’s Your Europe page (Cyprus figures last checked 18 September 2024), the tourism authority, the rental terms and the road traffic regulations as consolidated in March 2013 (the newest text we could read); all read 23 October 2026.
From the tourism authority and the UK Foreign Office pages, both checked 23 October 2026. None of this is a rental term; the terms still rule out unpaved roads.
Crossing to the north is ruled out by the terms, whatever you add at booking.
Clause 10 bans taking the rental car into Northern Cyprus outright. No other clause lets a company agree an exception.
The tourism authority notes that hire-car cover only applies in areas the Republic of Cyprus controls.
None of the drive times or one-way returns on this page crosses into the north.
For the time being there is no ferry connection between Cyprus and other countries, the tourism authority says; the boat trips it lists from Limassol, Paphos, Latchi, Ayia Napa and Larnaca Marina (May to October, weather permitting) carry passengers, not cars.
If a visit north is on your list, the rental stays behind; the terms give no way round clause 10.
Clauses 9 and 11 of the Cyprus terms.
Hermes Airports’ price list for both airports and the tourism authority’s parking notes, read 22 October 2026. Clause 13 leaves every parking charge with you.
Use P2 at Larnaca or P1 at Paphos, opposite the terminal: €1.00 for up to 20 minutes.
Larnaca’s departures kerb is free for a 1-minute stop. Paphos gives 5 free minutes in its drop-off area, then charges €10.00.
Airport car parks are self-park with number-plate recognition; the price bands are on the airport’s list.
A double yellow line means no parking or waiting; a single one allows loading and unloading only. Meters in town centres cost about €1 to €2 an hour on weekdays in office hours, says the tourism authority.
Under the road traffic regulations as consolidated in March 2013 (the newest text we could read): no parking within 10 m of a junction, 50 m of traffic lights or 15 m of a marked crossing or bus stop unless a bay is marked there, never on a pavement or pedestrian street, and never across the way in or out of a fire or police station, bank, church, mosque, hospital, school or car park.
Clause 3: the gauge should read what it read at pickup. The company charges for any missing fuel at its own price, and a fuller tank earns no refund.
Rental terms first, then the official numbers and rules.
Clause 6 asks for two things: an immediate call to the rental company, and a Cyprus police report (the agent may waive the report). Skip one of those steps and the cover lapses, so the whole bill lands on you.
Ambulance, fire and police all answer on 112, and the tourism authority says English is spoken on the emergency lines.
Under the road traffic regulations as consolidated in March 2013 (the newest text we could read), the hard shoulder is for breakdowns and emergencies only, and a car may not stay there beyond 24 hours. Put a reflective triangle on the shoulder about 50 metres behind the car, and tell the police straight away if the car sticks out into the lane. No U-turns on a motorway, and no reversing except to move off.
The same 2013 text has every car carry two red reflective warning triangles. The UK’s travel advice tells anyone hiring to check the vehicle has the right safety equipment, so look in the boot at pickup.
Under the same 2013 text, when a police car, fire engine, ambulance or other listed emergency vehicle comes up with its siren on (with or without flashing lights), pull in as close to the edge or kerb as you can and stop until it has gone by, unless a uniformed officer signals otherwise.
The 2013 text has you stop when a uniformed officer asks and let them look at the car. For listed offences (not speeding more than 75% over the limit), an officer may offer an out-of-court settlement: a notice offering a fine plus penalty points, with no prosecution if the fine is paid and a declaration accepting the points is signed within 105 days (Law 86/1972, art. 20Α(3), May 2025 consolidation). Clause 13 makes fines the renter’s to pay.
The tourism authority says private companies run a 24-hour breakdown service across the island. The voucher carries the rental company’s own number.
Larnaca day rates for a 7-day hire beginning 16 November 2026, as read on 22 October 2026. Airport pickup charges are included in these figures; other dates bring other prices.
lowest €11
median €34 per day
lowest €25
median €55 per day
lowest €23
median €58 per day
lowest €38
median €74 per day
lowest €42
median €140 per day
lowest €42
median €75 per dayWant a manual? Only 33 of the 485 Larnaca cars had a manual gearbox in that window, against 452 automatics. Median: half the cars cheaper, half dearer.
All four compare 16 to 23 November 2026 hires. The Larnaca search counts airport and town-delivered cars, while some destinations we compare are airport-only searches, and our booking partner may file a car under two classes, so treat these as a guide to the mix rather than exact shares.
Three sample weeks of 7-day rentals, all checked on 22 October 2026, airport pickup charges included.
| Week | Larnaca cars | Larnaca lowest | Larnaca median | Paphos cars | Paphos lowest | Paphos median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From 16 November 2026 | 485 | €11 | €42 | 445 | €14 | €52 |
| From 18 January 2027 | 519 | €11 | €42 | 464 | €16 | €53 |
| From 14 June 2027 | 228 | €13 | €48 | 201 | €27 | €64 |
Driving times without traffic or stops, rounded up; town rush hours and summer traffic make them longer.
Airport pickups, seven-day hires from 16 November 2026; prices taken 22 October 2026. The amount shown is the pickup and drop-off charges added together, already included in each total.
Four levels, and what none of them covers.
Only on the cars that say so. Our 22 October 2026 count for seven-day hires from 16 November 2026 found 10 such cars among 485 in Larnaca and 4 among 445 in Paphos. Those listings flag it up front; bring the embossed card itself, issued to the main driver. Some companies settle for a debit card meeting that standard.
Yes. Larnaca had 157 of 485 cars and Paphos 156 of 445 with no deposit, in the week beginning 16 November 2026, counted on 22 October 2026. Every other listing states its deposit, and on some it falls with a higher cover level.
Yes: the EU lists Cyprus with Ireland and Malta as its only left-driving members. The terms note right-hand steering, and any left-hand-drive car is flagged on its booking card.
Traffic approaching from the right has priority. The road traffic regulations, in the March 2013 text we read, also set the indicator by exit: left on entry for the first exit, none for the second, right for the third.
No. Clause 10 of the terms forbids taking a rental car into Northern Cyprus. The tourism authority adds that hire-car insurance only applies where the Republic of Cyprus has control.
Both do. Of the 485 Larnaca-search cars, 358 could be handed over at Larnaca Airport (LCA); of the 445 in Paphos, 293 at Paphos Airport (PFO), according to the 22 October 2026 count of seven-day hires from 16 November 2026. Where a company charges for airport pickup, that charge is already part of the listed price.
On 204 cars collected at Larnaca Airport, yes, according to our 22 October 2026 read of seven-day hires from 16 November 2026. Set Paphos as the return point; both the pickup and return charges are included in each total. Expect about 1 h 45 min on the road.
Each listing sets its own; even near-identical models vary. The 8 Larnaca cars we looked at on 22 October 2026 set minimums between 20 and 27. If you are under 25 and have held a licence for under three years, the tourism authority asks you to let the company know so young-driver cover is put in place.
Any road without a paved surface. Clause 11 rules out unpaved roads in general and names these places, plus the roads to each, as examples: Akamas Reserve, Avakas Gorge, Turtle beach LaraBay, Blue Lagoon, Waterfall Bath Adonis, Kavo Gkreko National Park.
Put your dates in and compare what the local companies list.
