Information checked on 29 September 2026.
Let’s be honest: buses in Cagliari are cheap. A single ticket costs just over €1. Figuring out how to pay for it and validate it, though, can take a little more explanation. I’ve noticed that visitors still get confused, especially when apps, QR codes, and contactless readers come into the picture. Just a few days ago, I was on a bus with a group of German visitors who asked the driver if they could buy a paper ticket. They didn’t realise there was a simpler way to do it themselves.
The city’s buses are run by CTM, which serves Cagliari and several nearby towns. Here’s how to buy a ticket, use it properly, and find your way around.
Where to Buy Bus Tickets in Cagliari
You can use an app or buy a physical ticket. Both work, so you don’t need to download anything just to take one bus.
BusFinder is CTM’s official app. You can use it to buy tickets, plan a route, and look up stops and bus times. In the “Tickets” section, tap “Buy”. Set up your account and pay before you board; then all you need to do on the bus is validate your ticket.
AroundSardinia is another app that CTM lists as a way to buy its tickets. You still need to validate a CTM ticket bought there by scanning a QR code on board. If you also use the app for trips elsewhere on the island, check that you’ve selected the right operator. An app selling tickets in Sardinia doesn’t mean every ticket works on every bus.
For a physical ticket, look for an authorised CTM seller, usually a tobacconist or newsstand displaying the CTM symbol. There are also ticket machines, including near Piazza Matteotti. You can find sales points on the CTM website.
Need to catch a bus right now? A standard ticket costs €1.30 and lasts 90 minutes from validation. In BusFinder, buy it and scan a QR code on the bus as soon as you board. With a physical contactless ticket, hold it against the validator and wait for the green light. Validate again if you change buses while your ticket is still valid.
Can You Buy a Ticket with Cash on the Bus?
Yes, but there are a few conditions:
- A standard ticket bought from the driver costs €1.80, which is €0.50 more than buying it through the app or at a sales point.
- You need the exact amount; don’t expect the driver to give change.
- Tickets are sold subject to availability.
CTM lists these times for onboard cash sales:
- Monday to Friday, 7 am–8 pm: only at the route’s terminus.
- Monday to Friday, 8 pm–midnight: also at other stops.
- Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, 7 am–midnight: also at other stops.
It can be useful in a pinch, but buying ahead means one less thing to work out while your bus is pulling in.
Can You Pay by Card on the Bus?
On certain routes to the Poetto area — PF, PQ, PEX, and 5ZE — you can buy a ticket using the driver’s POS terminal. It accepts credit and debit cards, as well as enabled phones and smartwatches. The fare is the standard one, with no surcharge.
The driver’s POS is for buying a ticket. CTM’s onboard validator reads a ticket you already have. They are different devices. When you pay, ask the driver whether the ticket you receive needs a separate validation: CTM’s POS announcement doesn’t explain that step. Think of it as a way to pay the driver by card, rather than a London-style system where you simply tap your bank card on any bus validator.
The POS announcement covers those specific routes. PEX and 5ZE don’t run all year, so check which services are operating on the day you travel.
How Much Do Cagliari Bus Tickets Cost?
For an occasional journey, the 90-minute ticket is the obvious starting point. If you’ll be using buses more often, compare the other options:
| Ticket or pass | Price | Validity | Includes MetroCagliari? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard ticket | €1.30 | 90 minutes from validation | No |
| Integrated time ticket | €2 | 2 hours from validation | Yes |
| Integrated day ticket | €3.30 | 24 hours from validation | Yes |
| 12-journey ticket | €13 | 12 uses of 90 minutes each | No |
| Integrated weekly pass | €12 | 7 consecutive calendar days, including the day of first validation | Yes |
| Standard monthly pass | €34.50 | One calendar month | Yes |
For three separate journeys in a day, the day ticket can already work out cheaper: €3.30 instead of €3.90, provided your journeys fall within its 24-hour validity. Changing buses within the 90-minute validity period doesn’t mean buying a new standard ticket each time.
Watch the difference between the longer passes: the weekly pass expires at midnight on its seventh calendar day, while the day ticket really does last 24 hours from validation.
The monthly pass follows the calendar. Buy one for September and start using it on the 20th, and it still expires on 30 September — it won’t last until 20 October. In BusFinder, choose whether you want it for the current month or the next one.
Travelling together? A 12-journey ticket on a CTM card can cover several people making the same trip. CTM requires you to validate once for each additional passenger within 40 seconds of the first validation. If the whole group changes buses together, one validation of the card covers the group for that transfer. For individual BusFinder tickets, each passenger must be able to show their own ticket. The app lets you transfer an unused ticket to another account, but one account can’t be used on two devices at the same time.
How to Validate Your Bus Ticket
Do this as soon as you board, before settling into a seat or putting your phone away. The steps depend on the type of ticket you bought.
A Ticket Bought in BusFinder
Open your ticket in BusFinder, tap “Valida” (Validate), and use the app’s camera to scan one of the QR codes inside the bus. If it’s your first time, your phone may ask you to allow camera access.
You’ll find QR codes on the validators, above the exit doors, and between the windows. You scan the code with your phone; you don’t hold your phone up to the contactless validator. Before closing the app, check that your ticket shows as validated.
A Physical Contactless Ticket or CTM Card
Hold the ticket or card against the validator and wait for the green light. You don’t need to insert it into a slot or wait for a printed stamp. If the light is red, validation hasn’t gone through.
Still have an old magnetic-strip ticket? CTM says you can validate it manually by writing the date, bus route, and boarding time on it, or exchange it at the CTM Point in viale Trieste 151. This exception doesn’t apply to the newer paper contactless tickets.
What If You Change Buses?
Validate again, even if your ticket is still within its validity period. In BusFinder, choose “Trasborda” (Transfer) and scan a QR code on the new bus. With a physical contactless ticket, tap it on the validator again. This rule also applies to passes. The app also has a “Check-out” option for the end of your journey, but CTM says this is currently optional.
One important thing: changing buses doesn’t restart your 90 minutes. If you first validate at 10 am, your ticket still expires at 11:30 am.
If a validator isn’t working, tell the driver straight away. If the app gives you trouble, ask for help immediately. A payment confirmation alone, without a visible and validated ticket in the app, isn’t enough to travel. Keep your phone charged and your ticket accessible: you’ll need to show it if an inspector asks. If you can’t show an ordinary app ticket because of a problem with your phone or account, CTM says you need another valid ticket to travel.
How to Find the Right Bus and Stop
BusFinder can plan your journey and show bus arrivals, including live information. Personally, I find Google Maps easier for working out which bus to take and where the stop is. For live CTM arrival times and service updates, BusFinder should be more reliable, but I still use Maps as well :-D. On some routes, buses run roughly every 15–20 minutes during the day. But, yes, it depends on the line, direction, time of day, and day of the week; other services run less often. Check the timetable or live arrival time for your stop in BusFinder rather than counting on a fixed interval.
Many CTM stops also have an electronic display showing which buses are coming next and their estimated arrival times, updated in real time. If there’s one at your stop, you can check it without opening an app. The times are estimates, so keep an eye on the display if your bus is delayed.
Before boarding, check both the route number and direction. When your bus approaches, give the driver a wave: CTM stops are request stops. Press the stop button in good time when you want to get off.
Getting to Poetto Beach by Bus
From central Cagliari, PF and PQ are the main routes to check for Poetto. They serve the station area and continue towards the seafront. But “Poetto” isn’t one single stop: which one you need depends on the stretch of beach or venue you’re heading for.
On the PF route, for example, you’ll find stops such as Marina Piccola and Poetto (fronte Ippodromo). Look up the exact beach access or place you want in BusFinder or Google Maps, then choose the nearest stop. If you’re here in summer, you’ll probably appreciate avoiding an unnecessary walk in the heat.
Are There Night Buses in Cagliari?
Yes. CTM runs specific Saturday night services. Check the route that matches the area you’re travelling to:
| Route | Areas served |
|---|---|
| ER — Circolare Esterna Rossa | Station and via Roma area, via Dante, San Benedetto, and Quartu Sant’Elena |
| L — Litoranea | Central Cagliari, Marina Piccola, Poetto, and Quartu Sant’Elena |
| 9N | Cagliari, Elmas, Assemini, and Decimomannu |
| 1N | Ospedale Brotzu, San Michele, Sant’Avendrace, the centre, San Benedetto, and the Flavio Gioia area |
These are just the main areas, not complete stop lists. And don’t assume that a Saturday night service runs on other nights too.
Summer can bring extra routes. For example, from 9 June to 14 September 2026, the CN summer night circular linked the centre, Poetto, and several neighbourhoods from Sunday to Friday. Passengers without a pass were given free tickets, validated on board. That service has ended for 2026; check CTM’s website to see what is running during your stay.
Children, Pets, and Priority Seats: A Few Rules on Board
An adult with a valid ticket can take one child aged 0–5 free of charge. If you’re travelling with more young children, check CTM’s rules for how many additional tickets you need.
Folded pushchairs travel free. On buses with a suitable space, one open pushchair with a child inside is allowed. It should face backwards, with the brakes on and the safety belt fastened if there is one.
There are priority seats for passengers who need them. You can sit down when they’re free, but give up the seat when an older passenger, a pregnant passenger, or someone with a disability needs it.
Small pets can travel free in a bag or carrier. Medium and large pets aren’t allowed, with an exception for guide dogs. Folding bicycles and scooters must be folded and placed in a suitable bag.
You can read the full conditions in CTM’s travel rules.
Left Something on the Bus?
If you leave a bag, phone, or anything else on a CTM bus, found items are taken to the Ufficio Oggetti Smarriti (lost property office) at CTM’s depot in viale Ciusa 14, Cagliari.
The office is open Monday to Saturday, 9 am–6 pm. You can go there in person to ask whether your belongings have been handed in. Bring a valid ID: to collect an item, you’ll need to show that it belongs to you. There’s no charge for getting it back.
If speaking Italian on the phone feels you daunting, having a short description translated into Italian on your phone can make things easier at the office (for example with Google Translate). Include the bus route, direction, and roughly when you travelled. A photo of the missing item can help too, but it’s not mandatory. Bear in mind that your item may not have reached the office yet. If you’d rather enquire by phone first, the number is +39 070 2091316.
CTM, ARST, and Trenitalia: Don’t Mix Up the Tickets
CTM, ARST, and Trenitalia are different operators. For a CTM bus, get a CTM ticket; for an ARST service or a train, check the ticket required for that particular journey. CTM buses also serve towns around Cagliari, so crossing the city boundary doesn’t automatically mean changing operator. And the standard CTM bus ticket won’t work on the airport train just because both fares happen to be €1.30.
What About the Airport?
From Elmas Airport, the train reaches Cagliari station in Piazza Matteotti in around six minutes. A single ticket costs €1.30 and is separate from your bus ticket. You can buy it through Trenitalia or from a ticket machine.
There’s also Tap&Tap: tap your bank card or enabled device on a marked validator at the departure station before boarding, then tap the same card or device again at the arrival station. Each adult traveller needs their own card or device. This is a payment system for the train stations, not a card reader inside the train or a way to pay for a CTM bus.
Arriving late? Check the last departure for your date on Trenitalia’s airport page. If there are no more trains, the airport website lists taxi services and 24-hour contact numbers. Check the fare before setting off.
