Malta without a car: how to get around & when it's worth it

Hiring a car in Malta may seem like the obvious move, but I’m here to show you another way.

On a relatively small island, we’d usually favour hiring a car for getting to lesser-known places on our own schedule, without the crowds or limitations.

However, after visiting Malta in January earlier this year, we quickly realised that visiting Malta without a car would make staying in its capital Valletta easier.

We were warned by a local before we arrived about Valletta’s difficult parking and once we were there, it was easy to see why. Streets packed with parked cars, narrow lanes, and traffic that crawls. Skipping the hassle by using a combination of ferries, Bolt and buses quickly became our new plan!

Here’s what getting around Malta without a car is really like: what works well and what to watch out for.

Getting to and from the airport

Now, we were super lucky here. We stayed at 136 Old Bakery, a gorgeous apartment in Valletta, and Booking.com included a free airport transfer as a Genuis perk!

If you’re travelling with your other half, I have a full guide on where to stay in Malta for couples.

Malta’s airport is in Luqa, just 10km from Valletta, so we were at our apartment in around 20 minutes – a quick, easy start to the trip.

If you don’t have a transfer included, your options are Bolt, bus or taxi. Taxis are more expensive than Bolt, but provide a straightforward option with a pre-set rate.

If you choose the budget-friendly bus option, there are five Airport Direct buses, connecting the airport to popular hubs like Valletta, St Julian’s, Sliema, Rabat, the Gozo fast ferry and more.

Using Bolt in Malta

Bolt was our most-used transport option (not counting our own two feet) and while we aren’t usually one for taxis, I’d highly recommend it as the most flexible way to get around.

We downloaded the app after arrival which was super easy to set up and came with an introductory discount on our first few rides. To give you an idea though, some of our journeys were really reasonably priced:

Valletta to Hagar Qim: €10.40 (£9)
Hagar Qim to Sliema: €11.70 (£10)
Valletta to Mdina: €9.70 (£8.50)

We never waited too long for a driver, especially at the entrance to Valletta’s main town, and found the service super reliable.

Buses in Malta

We fully intended to use the bus during our trip to Malta and actually headed to the bus station in Valletta to catch the bus to Hagar Qim. The bus station, located just outside the city gate near Triton Fountain, was clearly laid out with an information point and digital screens at each stop with the services operating. Combined with the app, it looked super easy to get around.

We switched to Bolt purely out of practicality: we’d just missed the latest bus so swallowed the small extra cost to avoid waiting around for nearly an hour.

If you do travel by bus, fares are super affordable at €2 in the winter and €2.50 in summer. Contactless payments are accepted, as are travel cards. For example, the 7 day Explore card is available from just €25.

As we discovered, frequencies do drop outside peak season with extra routes to beach destinations added from around June, so when you visit may influence your mode of transport.

The Tallinja card

If you’re travelling by bus in Malta, take a look into the tallinja card or travel cards offered. With a variety of different options depending on how long you’re staying, some passes even allow you a trip on different ferries. There’s a handy app you can use to purchase tickets and check bus times too!

Getting around Valletta

Good news: Valletta is entirely walkable. The vast majority of what you’d want to see in the small, compact city is in comfortable distance of each other, including St John’s Co-Cathedral, the Grandmaster’s Palace and all the city’s restaurants and bars. The city centre is also partially pedestrianised, as is Mdina, making it super easy for car-free travellers.

The only catch is if you have limited mobility, young children or heavy luggage. Valletta is cobbled and hilly throughout, which can provide challenges with prams and wheelchairs. If that’s a consideration, look at accommodation in a certain part of town or with accessible points – for example, our apartment 136 Old Bakery had a lift.

Ferries in Malta

One of the highlights of our trip were the short ferry rides.

Sliema to Valletta: rather than taking a bus or Bolt back to Valletta, we came across the ferry terminal and decided to hop aboard! €3pp and 10-15 minutes later, we were disembarking after a beautiful sunset cruise across the harbour. A way more pleasant way to travel than battling traffic around the coast.

Valletta to the Three Cities: I think we paid €4.80pp for the return trip that would have taken much longer by car! Visiting Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua (the Three Cities) is a must-do for anyone visiting Malta.

Both of these ferry services run regularly and are easy to use, with no pre-booking required. They’re also covered by the Tallinja travel card that I talked about earlier.

Getting to Gozo without a car

Unfortunately we didn’t get to take our planned trip to Gozo due to stormy weather that damaged the high-speed ferry terminal in Valletta.

This is one instance where a car would have come in handy, as it would have been easier to access the regular car ferry from Ċirkewwa! Without a car, it would have meant getting a Bolt or bus (around 90 minutes on the bus) followed by a 25 minute ferry crossing, then getting around Gozo by bus, taxi or Bolt.

This technically would have been doable with a long day, but being in my third trimester of pregnancy, we sadly decided to skip it for this trip.

If you’re determined, it could be worth hiring a car specifically for your day trip to Gozo.

Should you visit Malta without a car?

As you can see from this post, it’s definitely doable to visit Malta without a car. For us (visiting very touristy spots in January) it was worth skipping the parking stress and saving the car hire money to help us get around quickly with Bolt.

However, if you’re staying outside Valletta, want easy access to beaches, quieter coves and Gozo, or you’re travelling as a family or group, it may be well worth considering a car rental.

For the full guide to our car-free trip in January, read my four day Malta itinerary.

Laura x