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Limassol stands apart from the other Cypriot cities in three ways. First, it has no airport of its own — you reach it from Larnaca (LCA, about an hour) or from Paphos (PFO, also about an hour). Second, it is the largest and densest city on the island: business towers, a long marina, multi-storey blocks along the seafront, and noticeably busier traffic than anywhere else on Cyprus.
Autoverhuur beoordelingen in Limassol
Because Limassol has no point of arrival of its own, two pickup scenarios dominate: hotel delivery, or collecting the car at one of the airports on the way in. Both are standard. There is little point in saving on a taxi from LCA to Limassol if you plan to leave the city for a day-trip on the very first morning.
Limassol traffic is the heaviest on Cyprus. If your first day with right-hand drive feels intimidating, take the car the day after arrival or stay in Limassol overnight and head out once the morning rush has cleared.
Car hire in Limassol makes sense for travellers who want to mix urban life with the mountains. Kourion is twenty minutes west. Omodos with its wineries is forty minutes up into the hills. Mount Olympus, where you can find snow in winter, is about an hour and a quarter. To the east, an hour gets you to Larnaca with its salt lake; beyond that, Ayia Napa.
Many travellers come to Limassol specifically to base themselves for trips into the Troodos. A typical day: a winery in Omodos in the morning, lunch in a mountain village, descent to Kourion at sunset. None of that is reachable on foot or by bus.
How to pick up a car in Limassol when there is no airport
With no airport of its own, Limassol has three standard pickup scenarios. The first is collecting the car at Larnaca (LCA) and driving an hour west on the A5 motorway. The second is the same idea from Paphos (PFO) along the A6 — also about an hour, on a more scenic road. Both let you start the route immediately, without a return trip for the car.
The third option is hotel delivery in Limassol. It suits travellers who arrive without plans for the first day and want to reach the hotel by airport bus or pre-booked transfer. Delivery is paid: figure on around fifty to seventy euros from either airport, depending on the supplier and which part of Limassol you are in.
Limassol routes and ideas on our blog
The blog gathers everything we have written for Limassol and the central part of Cyprus: which Troodos wineries take walk-in visitors, how to plan a hill day with children, where to park near Kourion, which beaches between Limassol and Larnaca stay quiet even in August. Every route is written for travellers in a rental car, with parking notes and travel times.
Parking and traffic in Limassol: what is worth knowing
Limassol feels closer to a small European city than a Cypriot resort when it comes to traffic. At rush hour (eight to nine in the morning, six to seven in the evening), the A1 and the area around the marina genuinely back up. Where possible, time your departures and returns to fall outside those windows.
Parking in central Limassol is mostly paid: blue zones run around the old port, the marina and the seafront. Free parking does exist in the upper blocks, three to five minutes' walk from the waterfront. The larger hotels have their own car parks, usually paid on a daily rate.
A double yellow line in Limassol is not a warning — around the marina and the old port the tow trucks move fast. On top of the fine, you pay the towing and storage costs. Parking one block back into the side streets is always cheaper.
Below — the average daily rental price in Limassol by month.
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- augustus
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Collect at Larnaca or Paphos airport
This is the most common scenario: meet-and-greet at the arrivals exit and an hour to Limassol on the motorway. The first stretch of both A5 and A6 runs across flat ground, with the Troodos serpentines well off to the side — a comfortable trajectory for adjusting to right-hand drive without sharp turns or roundabouts on the way in.
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Hotel delivery anywhere in town
Limassol stretches twelve kilometres along the coast, from the old port to Yermasoyia. Hotel delivery removes the logistics question and is often more convenient than getting yourself from the airport to a specific district. Rates depend on distance and time of day, and are confirmed at booking.
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Collection from a Limassol office
If you are already in town, you can collect the car at the supplier's office. Most are based around Yermasoyia and the old port; paperwork takes ten to fifteen minutes. This is usually the cheapest option, but less convenient — you need to make your own way to the office.
Where to drive from Limassol: mountains, wine, antiquity
Limassol is the strongest base on the island if mountains are part of the plan. The Troodos start right behind the city — the first passes appear half an hour out. In winter the high villages get snow and the ski resort opens; in summer the same villages stay cool and welcoming, and almost none of them are reachable without a car.
Mountains and wine
From Limassol, forty minutes brings you to Omodos, the main wine village on Cyprus, with tastings in courtyard after courtyard. Lania, Platres and Kakopetria follow, each with its own character. For a longer day, the Kykkos monastery — the oldest on the island — is worth the two hours each way.
Limassol gives you a clean script: morning at the beach, afternoon up in the hills for the cool air, evening back at the marina or the old port. Half an hour of altitude swaps one season for another, and most regular clients adjust to that pattern within a couple of days.
Antiquity and the coast
Twenty minutes west of Limassol you reach the ruins of Kourion, with its amphitheatre on the cliff and views over the sea. Forty minutes further is Aphrodite's Rock on the road to Paphos — a ten-minute stop. East, the coast road towards Larnaca runs past golf clubs and quiet beaches without the hotel-strip backdrop — about an hour with two stops.
Kourion in high season is best visited in the morning. By eleven the car park is full of tour coaches. Arrive at nine, see the amphitheatre nearly empty, and head into the hills by lunch — that is the classic day out of Limassol.
Veelgestelde vragen
Two scenarios dominate. Collect at Larnaca (LCA) and drive an hour west on the A5, or do the same from Paphos (PFO) on the A6 — also about an hour but more scenic. Both let you start the route immediately. The third option is hotel delivery to Limassol; figure on €50–€70 from either airport, scaling with district.
On TakeCars partners the deposit ranges €0–€1,500 depending on supplier. Local Cypriot suppliers often take €100–€500 in cash or on a debit card; international chains hold €500–€1,500 on a credit card in the main driver's name. The no-deposit filter narrows the listing to cars without a hold.
From 21 with at least one year of driving experience on TakeCars partner cars. The widest fleet is open to drivers 26 and over with three years' experience. Age varies even for similar models — the listing shows the threshold before booking.
Weekday peaks fall between 08:00–09:00 in the morning and 18:00–19:00 in the evening, on the A1 and around the marina. Weekends are noticeably quieter, especially Sundays when parts of the city close to vehicles for the public promenade. Time departures and returns to fall outside the morning and evening peaks.
Parking around the old port, marina and seafront is mostly paid (blue zones). Free parking exists in the upper blocks, three to five minutes' walk from the waterfront. Larger hotels have their own car parks at a daily rate. Tow trucks operate quickly around the marina, so double yellow lines are not optional.
Omodos is about 40 minutes from Limassol — the main wine village on Cyprus. Mount Olympus and the deeper Troodos sit just over an hour out. Kykkos monastery, the oldest on the island, is two hours each way. The Troodos passes start half an hour from the city, so a morning departure brings you to a winery before lunch.
Usually yes. Supplier offices around Yermasoyia and the old port set the lowest tariff of the three Limassol scenarios — paperwork takes ten to fifteen minutes and there is parking at the offices. The trade-off is logistics: you make your own way to the office, while hotel delivery brings the car to your door.
Both work as a single day. Nicosia is about an hour north on the A1, Troodos and Omodos forty minutes to an hour up into the hills. Kourion ruins are twenty minutes west — it is the classic morning stop before turning inland. All three combinations are realistic; the limiting factor is how many wineries you stop at.
Pay at the meter or through the easyPark app — around €1 per hour. The blue zones run around the old port, marina and seafront. Yellow lines mean no parking; double yellow means no stopping at all, with a fine around €85 plus towing if a tow truck arrives.
Around €50–€70 from either airport, scaling with the district within Limassol. Limassol stretches twelve kilometres along the coast from the old port to Yermasoyia, so the fee depends on which end of town your hotel sits. Suitable when arriving without plans for the first day or with small children.