Transportation in Malta
Malta’s Malta International Airport (Luqa) can be reached in 2.5 hours from Ataturk Airport and only Turkish Airlines flies there, but don’t forget to check Air Malta airline before you buy a ticket. You may be able to find a cheaper ticket since they fly joint flights. Now let’s examine the transportation options in Malta.
Transportation by Bus
Malta is a country with a network of public transportation. Valletta, the capital of Malta, can be reached directly from anywhere in the country. There are bus services to all parts of the country from the square where the city gate is located at the entrance of Valletta. You can also reach the airport by X lines from all over Malta. If you prefer to buy tickets from the bus drivers, you have to pay €1.5 in winter season and €2 in summer season. Night buses cost 3€ in any case. For those who want to travel unlimited, 7-day passes are 21€ and 12-use passes are 15€. You can find all the routes, timetables and travel planning of the city buses at Malta Public Transport. If you want to examine the Malta and Gozo Bus Lines Map may be useful for you.
How to get from Malta Airport to Valletta, the city center of Malta, what are the transportation options? In Malta, thanks to the developed transportation network, it is possible to go everywhere on the island by bus. Valletta is 8km (15 minutes) from the airport. However, if you want to go by bus, you should use the X4 buses that depart every 30 minutes and the journey takes 25 minutes with this public transportation line.
Transportation by Private Vehicle
You can rent a car from car rental companies in the city or at the airport. However, traffic in Malta is on the left just like in the UK and Cyprus. Also, there is a driver’s seat instead of a passenger seat, so the steering wheel is on the right. We did not rent a car during our Malta trip, but it is possible to travel more quickly with your rental car. But there is no need to rent a car as the transportation network is adequate.
It is also possible to get City Sightseeing service in Malta. It is a very pleasant activity to visit Malta with Hop on Hop Off city tour buses. You get off wherever you want and after visiting the area where you got off, you get on the next one of the buses that frequently travel around Malta. Since we were using Malta Pass, we had 1 day right and we made use of it. You can also benefit from this service without a Malta Pass for €20 for 1 day. These buses have blue routes that take you around the middle of Malta, green routes that take you around northern Malta and red routes that take you around southern Malta, so it is possible to reach all touristic spots with hop on hop off buses. Moreover, both on the island of Malta and on the island of Gozo.
How to get to Gozo or Comino Island from Valletta? With lines 41 and 42 from Valletta, line X1 from the airport and line 222 from Sliema, you can reach Cirkewwa, where the ferries that provide transportation to Gozo Island and Comino Island depart, in 1 – 1.5 hours.
From Cirkewwa you can take the ferries to the other side. There are regular ferry services from here to Gozo. You go directly to the ferry and pay on the way back. You can find the departure times of the ferries from Gozo and Cirkewwa on the Gozo Ferry Timetables page. There is a ferry even at night and it takes about 25 minutes to cross. In the summer months, it is better to go early as there are a lot of day-trippers, while there is no rush in the winter season. Gozo ferry fare is 4,65€ for pedestrians and 15,70€ for vehicles.
Comino is a small island and there is hardly anyone living on it. The highlight of the island is the sea. Transportation to Comino is also possible by small boats. You can reach Comino in about 25 minutes for 15€ round trip. Boats depart from Cirkewwa harbor again. You can find detailed timetables on the Comino Ferry Timetables page.
