Paphos Travel Guide

Choose which Paphos you want to stay in

Kato Paphos is the harbour and archaeological-park area. The upper town around Karavella serves a different purpose, especially when you are arriving on an intercity coach. Neither is the right choice for every visitor. For a short stay built around the mosaics and evening walks, a convenient harbour-area room may save more effort than a cheaper room with an awkward daily transfer.

If you stay in the upper town, plan the journey down to the coast and the return after dinner. Hotel descriptions often use “Paphos” for a wide area, so look at the actual address before deciding that everything is within walking distance.

Give the mosaics time and shade breaks

Kato Pafos Archaeological Park is an outdoor visit with important mosaic buildings spread across the site. Start earlier in the day when possible, bring water and leave room for a rest. A rushed visit immediately after a long coach ride is unlikely to be the most enjoyable part of the trip.

Standard adult admission is €4.50. Tombs of the Kings is another site and costs €2.50. The name does not mean that kings were buried there: the tombs were made for high-ranking officials and wealthy families. You can visit the sites on separate days and use the harbour walk as the lighter part of each outing.

Together, those two ordinary admissions cost €7. An antiquities pass only helps if the other eligible sites you will actually visit make its price worthwhile. Do not buy one merely because it covers more places than you have time to see.

Know where your bus finishes

The current airport route 612 runs between Paphos Airport and Tombs of the Kings station, serving places along the coastal and town route. Route 613 connects the airport with Karavella. Choose the service and intermediate stop that fit your accommodation; the old shorthand “612 to the harbour station” is not a reliable arrival instruction.

Pafos Buses lists an ordinary daytime single at €2 and a night single at €3. Airport departure times vary, so use the published route timetable instead of assuming a bus every 20 minutes. An intercity arrival from Limassol uses Karavella, with any onward local ride additional.

Keep the departure day simple

Allow time for the correct airport bus, waiting and the walk from your room. If flying from Larnaca, that is a separate cross-island journey; the six-day Cyprus plan explains how to keep its final day flexible. A sightseeing stop is optional when it competes with a flight connection.

The budgets below are adjustable plans. Replace the activity allowance with your actual tickets, and replace the whole room allowance with your complete accommodation quote.

Archaeological park · Tombs of the Kings · Airport route 612 · Local tickets