How To Get Around In Malta - Travel with Tessa

If you’re planning on visiting Malta, you’re probably wondering how to get around. Malta has many cheap ways to see the island. I’m going to tell you all about them, so you can choose your preferred mode of transportation.

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Malta isn’t that big of an island. It’s only 316 km² (122 sq mi) with a population of just over half a million people.

The inhabited part of Malta is relatively small, but there is so much to see and to do around the towns. Sure, Malta is small, but you’re not going to be able to see everything just by foot!

Ways to get around in Malta

Bus Tallinja card

When you look or ask online, a lot of people will recommend you the bus. While this one is the most cost effective, it’s also highly unreliable! I personally talked to so many people who rely on the bus daily and they all tell me it’s a nightmare.

The busses are barely ever on time, if they even come at all. And when they come it’s not even guaranteed they will stop or let you on, because the busses can be crowded.

It’s so common that people are late because of busses, jobs don’t even look at you weird for being late.

If you’re okay with waiting, sometimes up to an hour, longer for a bus while saving some cash, this one is for you!

Sightseeing bus

A reliable bus is the sightseeing bus. This hop-on hop-off bus isn’t meant take you from A to B (something like grabbing a dinner a bit further away), but you will be able to see a lot of the important parts of the island in a few hours.

Simply buy a ticket, check your closest hop-on place and get on! You get to decide in your own time when you want to see the next spot.

Bolt car/Uber

For tourists who want to see the entire island on their own terms I’d highly recommend taking a taxi.

You don’t have to deal with the sweaty, unreliable busses, a schedule or only limiting yourself to short distances.

I’m not someone who regularly uses a taxi, because my perception of them is that they are super expensive. At least, that’s what I learned from all the drives back in The Netherlands, but I’m a fan since I used one in Malta!

One evening I went out for some drinks with some friends and it suddenly started pouring down. It was either getting a taxi or walking 20+ minutes through the pouring rain. To my surprise, my taxi ride cost only around €5! I got home dry and safe.

If you decide to take a Bolt taxi, you can use code “TESSAHHM” to get a discount on your first ride!

Download the Bolt app here for Android or Apple.

Download the Uber app here for Android or Apple.

Bolt/bird scooter

This type of transport is not just a way to get around, but it’s honestly a fun activity to do with your friends or family.

Lot’s of people use them to get around on the island, especially because it’s easy to use, not expensive and it’s safe, because you are allowed to go on the sidewalk with them (they automatically reduce speed there), whereas bikers over 12 years old are not allowed on the sidewalk.

The scooters are perfect to cover small distances, from one town to the other, but for longer distances I don’t recommend these. While you are allowed to go on the bigger streets with these scooters or bikes, it’s generally not very safe.

Again, if you decide to take a Bolt scooter, you can use code “TESSAHHM” to get a discount on your first ride!

Download the Bolt app here for Android or Apple.

Download the Bird app here for Android or Apple.

Ferries

Malta is an island and has many harbors and is divided into 3 different islands. There is no bridges between one side of the harbor to the other, let alone between 2 islands! That’s where the ferry comes into play.

Valetta – Sliema/Three Cities

I personally have taken this ferry many times. It’s by far the easiest and cheapest way to get to Valletta from either city. They go every 15 minutes and it takes about 5 minutes to get from one side to the other.

Check here for updated prices and schedules. You can buy your ticket on the ferry.

Valletta – Gozo

Between Valletta and Gozo there is a high speed ferry. It takes you from one island to the other within 45 minutes. The water closer to Gozo can be a little rough, but that only takes 5-10 minutes to be over.

For this fare you can buy your tickets on the ferry itself.

These ferries obviously work well when you have your own plans, but you can opt for a sightseeing ferry as well.

You can for example take a scenic cruise along Valletta and Three Cities or you could visit Comino and the Blue Lagoon.

Check out all the boat excursion options here!

Rental car

While parking is free, it can sometimes be an issue in Malta. However, don’t let that stop you from driving in Malta.

When you’re looking for a more private way to get around and you can handle a bit of traffic, renting might just be the way to go for you.

One of the biggest pro’s is that you are extremely flexible in what you’re doing and when.

The biggest con is that the traffic can be very busy and parking isn’t always easy to find.

I personally don’t have any experience with renting a car in Malta, but something I noticed is that there are Sicily By Car cars EVERYWHERE. I think that says something!

It may sound silly, but it’s just an Italian company that also operates in Malta. The license plate is Maltese and the steering wheel is on the right; it just has a confusing name.

You can book your rental car from the Valletta airport here!

Make sure to check the requirements for the rental before going. Car rental places often ask for drivers over 25 years old or sometimes even a 5-year+ drivers license.

Rental stuff

You also have the possibility to rent other vehicles, like scooters and quads. Quads are a great way to get around Gozo for example. The roads are less paved and there is a lot of nature to discover. They are less practical when you’re planning on exploring some towns.

You can choose to rent a quad and discover the island yourself, or you can decide to join a quad tour. The quad tour makes sure you get to see all the important places and these tours often include a pick up, a nice lunch and in summer even a swim stop.

Your own car

I personally came to Malta by car. I’m living here for a few months, so we had a lot of stuff to bring and it’s saving us quite some money in the long run, due to being able to get way cheaper groceries in bulk about 15 minutes away from home. The gas prices are also currently cheap (in comparison where I’m from).

However, the ferry from Sicily to Malta (and back) is not cheap. We paid about €250 for one way. If you’re just simply going on a vacation, it’s not worth it. To us, considering the amount of money we save in these few months, far outweighs the cost of getting the car here.

As far as parking in Malta goes, this is obviously the same as mentioned above for the rental cars.

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These are all the ways to get around in Malta. Happy traveling!