Car hire in Bugibba

Getting to Bugibba from the airport

Bugibba sits on the north-east coast, roughly a 30 minute drive from Malta International Airport. You collect the car at the airport with meet-and-greet and the price you booked, then drive straight to your apartment or hotel on the strip.

The seafront strip: promenade, Bay Square and the hotels

Bugibba is the liveliest stretch of Malta’s northern coast, built around a long seafront promenade that runs from the resort hotels round the headland towards Qawra. The centre of it all is Bay Square (Misraħ il-Bajja), the pedestrian square a street back from the water, ringed with bars, restaurants and cafes that stay busy on summer evenings. The shore itself is mostly flat rock with swimming ladders and lidos, plus a small man-made perched beach on the front, and the Malta National Aquarium is a level walk along the promenade in neighbouring Qawra. It is a base built for holidays: flat, walkable and full of places to eat, with your parked car ready for the days you want more than the strip.

Parking in Bugibba

This is a busy, built-up resort area, so on-street parking near the seafront and Bay Square can fill up, especially on summer evenings. There is a mix of free and controlled parking; arrive with a little time to spare or use a car park near your accommodation. The streets behind the front are a tight grid, so a smaller car is noticeably easier to slot in.

Looking for St Paul’s Bay itself?

One naming note worth a moment: Bugibba is the resort quarter of the wider San Pawl il-Baħar locality, and St Paul’s Bay town is a separate, older neighbourhood around the original village core and harbour on the other side of the bay, with a quieter, more residential feel, Wignacourt Tower on its front and Xemxija on the hill beyond. If you are staying on that side, or want the quieter end rather than the strip, our St Paul’s Bay car hire page covers it properly. For the days out, the sandy bays around Mellieħa are a short drive north, and the Ċirkewwa Gozo ferry and Mdina are both easy half-day trips.

Car hire prices in Malta by class

Wherever you stay, the price is the same all-in figure: VAT, the airport fee, collision damage waiver, third-party cover and unlimited mileage are included, and the car is collected at Malta International Airport, Park East, 08:00 to 02:00 every day.