Car hire here is cheap by European standards, so the question is whether you need one at all. If you are staying in Sliema, St Julian’s, Valletta or the Three Cities, a car is more trouble than it is worth. Parking is scarce, Valletta charges for access, and the buses and ferries cover those areas well.
Do you need a car in Malta? It depends on where you are staying and what you want to reach. For about half of visitors the answer is yes, for at least part of the trip.
It earns its keep if you are in the north or the south, in Gozo, or chasing the bays and countryside the buses reach slowly. Plenty of people hire for two or three days in the middle of a trip rather than the whole week.
These are local companies rather than the international desks, and you collect at Luqa.
What driving here is like
Short distances take a long time
Nowhere is more than about an hour away, but the roads are narrow, busy and full of junctions. Thirty kilometres can take a lot longer than it looks on a map.
Driving is on the left, the same as the UK and Ireland.
Driving in Malta
Parking is hard work
Spaces are tight and there are not enough of them, particularly in Sliema, St Julian’s and around the harbour towns. Expect to circle, and expect to walk at the other end.
Hire the smallest car you can live with. Village streets are one car wide and so are most of the spaces.
Parking and the CVA
Some streets are not worth attempting
The historic centres were built for carts. Streets narrow without warning, some end in steps, and satnav will cheerfully send you down them anyway.
Park on the edge and walk in. Every old town here is small enough that you lose nothing by doing it.
What to see once you park
Where the car pays for itself
The villages inland, the western bays and the coast road are where hiring makes sense. These are the places the buses reach slowly or not at all.
One good day out here can justify the whole hire on its own.
Where to goLocalrent list the airport as Luka, which is their spelling of Luqa.
Check these before you book
The things that cost money later
- The excess
- The headline daily rate is often low and the insurance excess high. Check the excess figure and how it is held on your card before you compare prices.
- Size
- Hire the smallest car you can live with. Village streets are one car wide and the parking spaces are tight.
- Fuel policy
- Full-to-full is the fairest. Full-to-empty arrangements almost always cost more.
- Taking it to Gozo
- Most companies allow it, some do not, and some charge. Confirm before you book if Gozo is in the plan.
- Traffic charges and fines
- Speed camera fines and the Valletta access charge are billed to the hire company, which passes them on with an admin fee. Ask how they handle it.
- Damage on collection
- Photograph the car thoroughly before you drive off, including the roof and the wheels. Minor scrapes are common on Maltese hire cars and disputes are easier to win with timestamps.
Foreign-registered vehicles are treated differently from Maltese-registered ones under the Valletta access scheme, and a hire car has Maltese plates. Do not assume that being a visitor means the charge does not apply to you.