Landing at Pula Airport (PUY) is the easy part — it’s a small terminal six kilometres from the centre, and the last mile to your accommodation is where the choices matter. You can take the shuttle, grab a taxi, or pre-book a private transfer. This guide covers the transfer option specifically: when it makes sense, what it costs, and how to book it before you fly.
What a pre-booked transfer actually is
A pre-booked airport transfer is a private car or minivan reserved in advance. A driver tracks your flight, meets you in arrivals, and drives you straight to your hotel or apartment. The price is fixed when you book — no meter, no surge, no “how much?” at the curb. For Pula, that usually means a saloon or minivan from PUY to the centre, Verudela, or Medulin.
It is not a shared shuttle and not a public bus. You are the only party in the vehicle, the driver waits if your flight is late, and most services include free cancellation up to a set window before pickup.
When it beats the alternatives
The shuttle bus is €6 and fine if you’re staying near the main bus station. A taxi is €15–20 to the centre but drivers quote wildly in high season, and the queue outside the terminal can be long when two charters land together. A pre-booked transfer sits between them on price and beats both on certainty.
It is the better call when:
- You’re arriving late — after the shuttle’s last timed departure, a transfer is the only pre-arranged option.
- You have a family or lots of luggage — no dragging bags onto a bus or haggling over boot space.
- You’re staying on Verudela or in Medulin — the shuttle only reaches the bus station; a transfer delivers you to the door.
- You want a fixed price — what you see when you book is what you pay, in either direction.
For groups of three or four, a private transfer is often cheaper per head than separate taxis and far less faff than the shuttle-plus-walk combination.
Where you can be dropped
Transfers run from PUY to anywhere in the Pula area: the old town, Verudela resort strip, Stoja, and south to Medulin and Premantura. If you’re heading deeper into Istria (Rovinj, Poreč, Brijuni’s gateway at Fažana), book the transfer to that town instead — the same fixed-price model applies across the region.
From Pula Airport (PUY) to your hotel or apartment — fixed price, meet-and-greet, free cancellation.
Book your Pula airport transferCompare transfer options
Returning to the airport
The same services run in reverse. Booking both legs together means a driver is scheduled for your departure window, which matters at Pula where early-morning flights can fall before the first shuttle. Build in the 15-minute drive plus check-in time, and confirm the pickup time with the operator the day before.
Transfers vs. car hire
If you only need to move between the airport, your hotel and the beaches, a transfer covers arrival and departure without you touching a steering wheel. Hire a car only if you plan to explore Istria’s hill towns and Cape Kamenjak, which buses serve poorly. The two are not mutually exclusive — many visitors transfer in and out, and rent a car for a day or two in between. See our Pula airport guide for the car-hire desks and airline picture.
