Malta is small enough that everything is close and awkward enough that getting between two close things can still eat an hour. There is no single right way to travel here, so this is the honest set of options with the official link for each. We keep no prices or timetables on this page on purpose: they change, and the operator's own site is always right where a copy of it would not be.
Everything listed here is free, honest advice. We are not paid by anyone on this page, we have no affiliate arrangements, and nothing is here because someone asked to be. If that ever changes, it will say so on the entry itself.
Buses
One network covers both islands, and it reaches far more than visitors expect. It is slow rather than unreliable, so it suits unhurried days better than packed ones.
Taxis and ride-hailing
Cheap enough that a group of three or four often beats the bus on both time and cost, particularly at night when routes thin out.
Bolt
bolt.euThe ride-hailing app most people here use day to day. Fares vary with demand, so check in the app rather than trusting any figure you read elsewhere.
eCabs
ecabs.com.mtMaltese operator, app or phone booking, and you can book ahead. The usual choice when you want a car confirmed for a fixed time rather than hailed on the spot.
Ferries
The harbour crossings are the ones visitors miss most. They are quick, inexpensive, and a far better way to arrive than driving around the creek.
Gozo Channel
gozochannel.comThe car ferry to Gozo, from Ċirkewwa in the north. This is the crossing you need if you are taking a hire car over.
Gozo High Speed
gozohighspeed.comFast passenger ferry to Gozo, foot passengers only. Worth it when you are basing yourself around Valletta or Sliema and do not want the drive north.
Valletta Ferry Services
vallettaferryservices.comThe Valletta to Sliema and Valletta to Three Cities harbour crossings. A few minutes on the water instead of a long way around by road, and the best view of the bastions you will get for the price.
Driving and parking
Malta drives on the LEFT. Parking is the part nobody warns you about: white lines are free, blue zones may be timed or paid and vary by area, and green lines in Valletta are residents only. There are no street meters anywhere, so timed bays are worked by a cardboard clock dial that hire companies usually supply. Avoid driving into Valletta itself and use the Park and Ride at Floriana.
Private hire for a group
The case for this is specific: several people, a packed day across scattered places, and nobody wanting to drive. A car and a driver for the day can beat both buses and a hire car once you are more than two or three.
Luggage and laundry
The two problems every trip runs into: a gap between checkout and your flight, and a second week with nothing clean left.
Easy Drop, luggage lockers
easydropmalta.comSelf-service lockers in Valletta, Sliema (both Tigné and High Street) and St Paul's Bay / Qawra, which is most of where people actually stay. Useful on a departure day when your room is gone but your flight is not for hours.
Easy Drop, self-service laundry
easydropmalta.comSelf-service laundrette from the same operator. Worth knowing about on any trip past about ten days, or after a week of beaches.
Planning around a specific month? The sea, the heat and the crowds change what "getting around" even means, and we compare all twelve in when to visit Malta. If something goes wrong instead, the medical help page has the pharmacy roster and which door to knock on.
Let us route the days for you.
Xemxi builds a day-by-day Malta itinerary around how you're actually getting about, so the plan fits the bus network, the hire car, or neither.
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