Without a hire car in Sotira: buses, taxis and timetables

Five bus routes stop in Sotira

Cyprus has no rail network; public transport means the bus. In the Famagusta district it is run by OSEA, the Famagusta District Transport Organisation (Οργανισμός Συγκοινωνιών Επαρχίας Αμμοχώστου), and according to its route list five routes stop in Sotira. The 709 runs from the Strovilia crossing via Vrysoulles, Frenaros and Sotira to Ayia Napa, and the 710 from the Deryneia crossing via Sotira to Ayia Napa. The 703 links the Dhekelia power station with Paralimni, Protaras and Konnos via Ormideia, Xylofagou, Liopetri and Sotira. The 714 runs from Paralimni via the hospital, Deryneia, Sotira, Liopetri, Xylofagou and Dhekelia to Larnaca, as far as the Metropolis Mall shopping centre. The 701A links Xylofagou with Paralimni and the hospital via Liopetri and Sotira.

None of these routes goes to the airport. How to get from Larnaca to Sotira is explained in the guide to getting there. This guide is about getting around day to day: how often the buses run, what changes in winter, which tickets are worth buying and when a taxi is the better choice.

How often the buses run

OSEA's timetables give the departure times at the first stop, not in Sotira, but they show exactly how many journeys there are; the figures here are based on the timetables valid until 15 November 2026.

To Ayia Napa, the 709 runs seven times a day and the 710 four times, eleven times a day in total. In the other direction there are eight journeys on the 709 and three on the 710, again eleven. The first 709 leaves Strovilia at 05:35, and the last one leaves Ayia Napa for Sotira at 23:00. For the whole route the timetable allows 60 minutes on the 709 and 50 minutes on the 710; Sotira lies in between in both cases.

Only the 714 runs to Larnaca: seven times from Paralimni on weekdays, the first at 05:50 as the 714A, and five times on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, starting at 08:00. In the other direction the buses leave the Metropolis Mall seven times on weekdays and five times at weekends, the last at 21:00. According to the timetable, the whole route takes 90 minutes. It is not intended for journeys within Larnaca: between the CTO beach and the city you may not board when travelling into the city or get off when travelling out of it, and OSEA refers passengers there to the city buses of Cyprus Public Transport.

To Paralimni and Protaras, the 703 runs four times a day towards Konnos and three times back, the last leaving Konnos at 23:00. There is also the 714, which stops at the hospital between Sotira and Paralimni. The 701A runs only on weekdays, once in the morning at 06:40 from Xylofagou to the hospital and once back from Paralimni at 13:45; it does not run at weekends or on public holidays.

OSEA's app shows where the bus is at any given moment, with real-time arrival times. Information is available on the freephone number 8000 5200 and on +357 23 819090.

The timetable change after 15 November and winter services

All the current timetables are valid until 15 November 2026. By 6 November 2026 OSEA had not published a winter timetable for 2026/27; its most recent announcement, on 28 October, covered only the times from 1 to 15 November. The 2025/26 winter timetable, valid from 15 November 2025 to 29 March 2026 and preserved by the Internet Archive, gives an indication.

For Sotira, little changed at that time. The 709 likewise ran seven times towards Ayia Napa and eight times back, with two morning journeys timed five minutes differently. The 710 ran four times out and three times back, at the same times as in summer 2026. The 714 had the same seven journeys on weekdays and five at weekends, and the 701A the same single journey in each direction on weekdays. Only the 703 ran less often, three times instead of four towards Konnos and twice instead of three times back; the late journeys at 21:30 and 23:00 were missing. Whether winter 2026/27 will look the same is an open question. Before your first journey after 15 November it is therefore worth checking the OSEA website.

On public holidays the buses run to the timetable for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays; routes with the same timetable every day are not affected. OSEA lists the following as public holidays (δημόσιες αργίες): 1 and 6 January, Green Monday, 25 March, 1 April, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday, 1 May, Kataklysmos (Orthodox Whit Monday), 15 August, 1 and 28 October, and 24, 25 and 26 December. The movable feasts follow the Orthodox calendar; their dates in 2027 are given in the guide to Easter in Cyprus.

Tickets: cash on the bus, period passes on the Motion card

Fares are the same on all OSEA routes. A single journey costs 2 euros between 04:00 and 21:00 and 3 euros at night. A day ticket costs 6 euros, five days 20 euros, seven days 25 euros, 30 days 50 euros and one year 500 euros; the period passes are also valid at night. Children under six travel free, and children and young people aged 6 to 18 pay half the single fare. A bicycle costs 1.50 euros, or 2 euros at night.

On the bus you can only pay in cash, with notes up to 20 euros; the driver does not accept debit or credit cards. Paper tickets and Ultralight Motion cards for single journeys and period passes are sold on board. The rigid plastic Motion cards, personalised or anonymous, are only available at OSEA's two offices in Paralimni: the bus station with its information office at 23 Agiou Georgiou Street on St George's Square, and OSEA's central administrative offices at 66 Megalou Alexandrou Street. You can also pay by card there. The card can also be topped up online via JCC Smart, but the top-up only takes effect 24 to 48 hours later.

By our calculation, the day ticket is cheaper than single journeys from the fourth journey in a day, the seven-day pass from the 13th journey and the 30-day pass from the 26th journey, in each case at the daytime fare. For journeys beyond the district there are island-wide passes for seven days at 75 euros and for 30 days at 225 euros, which are also valid on the buses of the other districts and on the intercity buses.

Changing in Ayia Napa and Paralimni

Many destinations can be reached from Sotira with one change. In Ayia Napa, route 101 starts at the water park and runs via Cape Greco, Konnos, Protaras and Pernera to Paralimni; the 102 covers the same route in the opposite direction and ends at the water park. Both also stop at the main square in Ayia Napa. They are the most frequent routes in the district: according to the timetable for 1 to 15 November 2026, the 101 runs daily from 06:05 to 01:00, every 15 to 20 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes in the evening, and the timetable allows 75 minutes for the whole route. In winter 2025/26, too, both routes ran on weekdays from 06:15 until midnight, the 101 until 01:00.

Within Ayia Napa, two circular routes run from the bus station opposite the Pierre Anne hotel. The 201 heads west to the beaches of Vathia Gonia, Nissi, Landa and Makronissos and to the marina, and the 202 heads east along Kryou Nerou Avenue to Ammos tou Kambouri beach. Both stop at the main square and at the Thalassa Museum. In Paralimni, circular route 301 runs through the town from the bus station on St George's Square. What there is to see in Ayia Napa away from the beaches is described in the guide to Ayia Napa beyond the clubs.

For longer journeys, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism lists the Intercity Buses services, including between Ayia Napa or Paralimni and Nicosia and between Ayia Napa and Larnaca. We have not checked the timetables and fares of these routes; they are available from the operator.

Taxis: the official tariff and what a journey costs

Taxis in Cyprus come in two forms. Urban taxis operate around the clock, can be ordered by phone or hailed in the street, and must use the taximeter. Rural taxis are based at ranks in the villages, can only be hired for journeys from or to their base and have no taximeter; they charge per kilometre, with a minimum fare of 3.64 euros (Visit Cyprus).

Fares for urban taxis are set by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works; the most recently published notice, Κ.Δ.Π. 293/2022 (a regulatory administrative act), has applied since 1 August 2022. During the day, from 06:00 to 20:30, the initial charge is 3.80 euros and each kilometre costs 0.95 euros; at night it is 4.80 euros and 1.10 euros per kilometre. An hour of waiting time costs 17 euros, or 19 euros at night, and each piece of luggage 1.40 euros. On 24, 25, 26 and 31 December, on New Year's Day, on Orthodox Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and on 1 May, 2 euros are added per journey, and with five passengers the fare rises by 20 per cent, with six by 40 per cent. VAT is included.

We have calculated what this means from Sotira using the daytime tariff and OSRM routes, without waiting time, luggage or surcharges. A journey to the centre of Paralimni (4.6 kilometres) costs around 8.20 euros, to the hospital in Paralimni (5.7 kilometres) around 9.20 euros, to the centre of Ayia Napa (10.4 kilometres) around 13.70 euros and to Protaras (11.9 kilometres) around 15.10 euros. To the Metropolis Mall in Larnaca (47 kilometres) it would be around 48 euros. At night the journey to Ayia Napa costs around 16.20 euros. These are calculated figures based on the official tariff, not quotes; detours and time spent in traffic come on top.

According to Visit Cyprus, the Road Transport Department accepts complaints about taxis by email, as do the police on +357 22 802 020.

What remains difficult without a car

For everyday life between Sotira, Ayia Napa and Paralimni, the bus is enough, with a little planning. It gets harder for destinations away from the bus routes. No direct route runs from Sotira to the Achna reservoir, and at weekends the first bus to Larnaca does not leave Paralimni until 08:00. Nor is the airport on any route from Sotira. Oroklini Lake, by contrast, can be reached without changing: the 714 runs along the coast road through Oroklini and stops in both directions at the Oroklini Fire Station stop (Πυροσβεστικός Σταθμός Ορόκλινης). From there, according to our route calculation with OSRM, it is around 600 metres on foot to a bird hide at the southern end of the lake shown in OpenStreetMap, and around 1.3 kilometres to the main hide at the northern end, where BirdLife Cyprus invited visitors in 2020. The restriction between the CTO beach and Larnaca only concerns boarding towards Larnaca and getting off towards Paralimni, so both the outward and the return journey from Sotira are possible.

For individual days a hire car can fill the gap; driving on the left, driving licences and the minimum age are covered in the guide to getting there. If you are staying longer and looking for a pharmacy, a doctor or a supermarket, the guide to everyday life in Sotira shows where to find them.

Suite 203 is in Sotira and is expected to be ready for occupancy in March 2027. According to the information on our home page, the nearest bus stop is around 200 metres away; we will check which routes stop there as soon as the building is finished. If you already have a stay in mind, you can ask to be put on our list.