Very little transport in Malta needs booking. Buses are turn-up-and-go, ferries are turn-up-and-go, and taxis come from an app. The exceptions are worth knowing precisely, because everything else is a waste of money.
The driver meets you in arrivals, and the price is agreed before you fly.
The companies here are local rather than the international chains.
The three things worth arranging
The airport transfer
A fixed price agreed before you fly, with a driver waiting in arrivals. It is worth booking late at night, with children, or with a lot of bags.
This is the one transport booking that reliably pays for itself.
Airport transfers
A hire car for a few days
A car earns its keep in the north, the south and in Gozo, and costs you money everywhere else. Plenty of people hire for two or three days mid-trip.
Book the days you need rather than the whole week.
Car hire
Buses and scheduled ferries
Buses take cash or contactless on boarding. The Gozo ferry and the harbour crossings are turn-up-and-go. You pay leaving Gozo rather than arriving.
Anyone selling you a ferry ticket in advance is selling you convenience you already have.
How the buses work
- Airport transfersThe one transport booking that reliably earns its price, especially late at night or with luggage.
- Car hireWorth booking ahead in summer. Check the excess before you compare headline rates.
- Scooter and bike hireEasier to park than a car, and cheaper by the week than by the day.
- Ferry ticketsMostly unnecessary. Comino and Sicily are the exceptions.
Malta’s buses take cash or contactless on boarding, and visitor travel cards are sold at the airport and the main terminals when you arrive. Nothing about them needs arranging in advance. See buses and the Tallinja card.