Pula Airport (PUY) sits about six kilometres from the city, close enough that the transfer is quick if you know the options. The terminal is small and the season is the busy time, when charter and low-cost flights arrive in waves. Plan the last mile before you land.
Getting to the city
The airport shuttle bus runs to the city centre for €6 and takes about 15 minutes, timed to flight arrivals and terminating at the main bus station. A metered taxi from the airport to the centre costs roughly €15 to €20, and it is worth agreeing the fare first. The bus is the better value and lands you at the same station where the regional coaches leave.
Booking your airport transfer
If you would rather not queue for a taxi or figure out the bus after a flight, pre-booking a private transfer is the lowest-stress option — a driver meets the flight, the price is fixed before you travel, and there are no meters or surprises. It is especially worth it for families, late arrivals, or anyone with a lot of luggage. Book it before you fly and the car is simply there.
From Pula Airport (PUY) to your hotel or apartment — fixed price, meet-and-greet, free cancellation.
Book your Pula airport transferCompare transfer options
Car hire
Several car hire desks operate from the terminal in season, and having a car opens the rest of Istria, which the buses serve poorly. Book ahead in July and August, because the desks sell out on peak flight days. If you are staying in the centre and only doing city and beach days, you do not need one.
Inside the terminal
The building is compact: one arrivals hall, one departures area, a cafe, a couple of kiosks and a bureau de change. There is no lounge and little to do, so do not arrive hours early for a departure expecting to settle in. The walk from curb to gate is short.
How early to arrive
The terminal is small and the walk to security is short, so Pula is not an airport that needs a three hour buffer. The one thing that does bite is the bag drop queue when several charter flights leave together, which is common on summer Saturdays. Check your airline’s own check-in window when you book, since the low-cost carriers each set their own, and add half an hour if you are flying out on a weekend in July or August.
Which airlines fly
Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 carry most of the traffic, with TUIfly and various charter operators added in peak season. The schedule is heavily seasonal: a dense European network from late May to September, then very little between November and March, when some weeks have almost no scheduled service at all.
That seasonality is the thing to plan around. Routes are added and dropped year to year, so check the airport’s published timetable for your dates rather than assuming last summer’s route still runs, and if you are travelling in winter expect to fly into Zagreb, Trieste or Venice and continue overland. The getting to and around Pula guide covers the bus and taxi picture in the city itself.
