Best Place to Exchange Money in Cagliari

Where to change money in Cagliari

No exchange office or bank in Cagliari met our two-source standard, so none is named here. According to Italia.it, euros can be had at airports, major stations, banks and exchange agencies; if you carry a debit card, a bank cash machine is generally the easier choice.

• Cash machines, Cagliari Elmas Airport - Cagliari Turismo, the city's tourism site, places cash machines on the ground floor, which handles arrivals, without naming the bank. We found no exchange counter.

Changing money at the airport

Cagliari Elmas Airport (CAG) lies in the municipality of Elmas, a few kilometres from the centre. Neither the airport operator nor the city mentions an exchange counter, so take euros from a terminal cash machine and check the fee on screen; your own bank may add a charge.

The train is the cheapest and fastest way in. SOGAER, which runs the airport, puts the single fare at EUR 1.30 and the ride to the city at 5 to 7 minutes. Trenitalia runs a train about every 20 minutes, daily from 05:10 to 23:07, and links Elmas Aeroporto station to the terminal by a covered walkway with moving pavements. Tickets come from Trenitalia machines, including those in the airport atrium, ticket offices, authorised sellers or online.

SOGAER gives a minimum daytime taxi fare of EUR 17 to the centre; with no fixed-price table, ask the driver for an estimate first. ARST and FlixBus coaches link the airport with other Sardinian towns.

ATMs and cards in Cagliari

Card payments must be accepted by Italian traders and professionals: fines for refusing began in summer 2022 (ANSA), and in June 2026 ANSA reported that a new law had extended the duty to wallets and payment apps. A debit or credit card should cover most spending, though a beach kiosk or small stall may still ask for coins.

For notes, a cash machine run by a bank is a safer bet than a stand-alone one. Look at the operator's fee before you go ahead, and remember your UK card provider may add its own charge. When asked whether to be billed in pounds or euros, choose euros, so that your bank, not the machine's operator, sets the exchange rate.

Paying for transport in Cagliari

CTM runs Cagliari's city buses, and since January 2025 its tickets are contactless: hold yours up to the validator and watch the light, green for valid and red for not. An older magnetic ticket counts only if you validate it by hand, noting in pen the day, the line and when you got on; a CTM Point will swap it. New tickets are sold at CTM Points in Cagliari and Quartu Sant'Elena, such as viale Trieste 151, and at authorised retailers. We could not open CTM's fares or confirm that a bank card can be tapped on board, so buy before you travel.

For Poetto beach, ask at a CTM Point which line to take and whether its buses accept card payment.

Good to know

• Tourist tax: Cagliari charges per person per night, by type and grade of accommodation, on no more than five consecutive nights in one place. Rates reset by the city in December 2025 have applied since April 2026, so ask your accommodation for the amount.
• Children under 12 and visitors over 70 do not pay the tourist tax.
• Tips are not expected as a rule: Italia.it puts the customary figure at about 10% when you are pleased, and Lonely Planet says up to 10% in smarter places.
• A coperto, or cover charge, is a normal item on restaurant bills and is not a tip.