Practical, honest guides to driving and getting around Malta and Gozo, from the team behind Nova Drive self-drive car hire.
Malta is small, so no journey is long, but each way of getting around works very differently on the ground. This guide explains how the tallinja buses actually run, how Bolt, eCabs and the traditional white taxis operate day to day, and what life with a hire car looks like in practice. Then it matches each option to the kind of day you have planned, and finishes with an honest list of trips where you do not need a car at all.
GuideFuelling a hire car in Malta is straightforward once you know the local rhythm: stations are easy to find on the main island, service changes after hours, and Gozo asks for a little planning. This guide covers how filling up actually works for visitors, which cars in our fleet run on petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric power, and exactly what Nova Drive's like-for-like fuel policy asks of you, so there are no surprises when you hand back the keys.
GuideOne of the best things about hiring a car in Malta is that it does not have to stay on the main island. You can take it straight across to Gozo, Malta's quieter, greener sister island, on the car ferry, and roam at your own pace. It is simpler than many visitors expect, with no booking to arrange for the car and no size restriction to worry about. Here is how taking your Nova Drive hire car to Gozo actually works.
GuideDriving in Malta is very manageable once you know the handful of rules that genuinely matter. Some are the same everywhere, some are particular to Malta, and a few involve exact figures, speed limits, the drink-driving limit, fine amounts, that change from time to time, so the honest advice is to know the principle and check the current official number before you rely on it. Here is a calm, practical run-through of the rules that keep you safe and legal on Maltese roads.
GuideBefore you book a hire car in Malta, it helps to know who is allowed to drive it and what to bring to the desk. The rules are straightforward once they are laid out: there is a minimum age, a minimum time you must have held your licence, a surcharge for younger drivers, and a short list of documents. Here is everything you need so that collecting your car takes minutes, not a stressful back-and-forth at the counter.
GuideIt depends on the trip you want. Malta is small and well connected, so you can get by without a car, but the moment you start chasing quiet bays, day trips to Gozo, or several stops in one day, a car earns its keep. Here is an honest comparison of the alternatives, with a clear view of when hiring makes sense and when you can happily skip it.
GuideMalta is small, which is its great trick: you can be in a walled medieval city, a Roman-era catacomb, a fishing village and a red-sand bay on Gozo, all in the space of a few days, without ever being more than a short drive from the next thing. A car turns the whole archipelago into a day-trip map. Here are the trips worth building a day around, roughly in order of how far they sit from the airport, with the towns where it helps to have wheels.
GuideWinter is one of the most underrated times to see Malta. The weather stays mild, the crowds thin out, parking gets easier, and the island feels like itself again. A car earns its keep more in these months than it does in August, because bus services run lighter and some seasonal links scale back. Here is how to plan a winter trip, what to expect on the road, and where the off-season is genuinely worth the drive.
GuideValletta is a tiny, walled peninsula with pedestrian streets and controlled vehicle access, so the honest truth is that you do not really park inside it. You park just outside the walls and walk in, or you leave the car at your base and arrive by ferry. This guide walks through the realistic options, from the Floriana car parks and the free park-and-ride shuttle to on-street bays and the harbour ferries, plus a plain explanation of the CVA charge so nothing surprises you on the day.
GuideGozo is Malta's quieter sister island: greener, slower and ringed with cliffs, red-sand bays and centuries-old fishing villages. With your own hire car you can take the ferry across in the morning, loop the whole island in a single day and stop wherever the view asks you to. Here is how to do the Gozo road trip properly, from the Cirkewwa crossing to the salt pans, with realistic timings, parking tips and one important fact that a lot of older guides still get wrong.
GuideMalta International Airport is the island's only airport, so your trip almost certainly begins here. This guide walks you through exactly how collecting a hire car works at Nova Drive: where the meet-and-greet happens, the documents to have ready, why your flight number matters, what your price actually covers, and how late-night and early-morning arrivals are handled. Read it before you fly and the desk visit takes only a few minutes.
GuideIf Malta is your first time driving on the left, the good news is that it is very doable, and the island is small enough that most journeys are short. This guide walks you through the things that actually catch visitors out: roundabouts, narrow village lanes, the colour-coded parking lines, speed limits in kilometres, fuel stations after dark, and the restricted zones in Valletta and Mdina. Read it before you collect your car at Malta International Airport, Park East, and the first hour behind the wheel will feel a lot calmer.
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