Practical information
How to get to Malta, when to go, how to get around, what it costs. Plain answers to the questions travellers ask before they book the flight.
Getting there & around
4 guides in this section
Driving in Malta: left-hand traffic, parking and the road reality
What to know before you drive: left-hand traffic, narrow roads, parking economics, fuel, the stop-sign convention, and where the locals are not joking about the traffic.
Ferry to Gozo: Cirkewwa, Valletta fast ferry, and how the fare works
Mechanics of the Cirkewwa-Mgarr car ferry, the Valletta-Mgarr fast passenger ferry, summer queues and how to skip them.
Getting around Malta: buses, Bolt, taxis and the case for a car
Honest comparison of the four ways to move around: the €2.50 bus network, Bolt ride-hailing, traditional taxis, and the hire-car option.
Getting to Malta: flights, airports and the no-ferry reality
Direct flights from most European hubs, the airlines that fly the routes, the limits of the airport, and why there is no ferry from mainland Europe to Malta.
When to visit
1 guide in this section
Budget
1 guide in this section
Health & safety
1 guide in this section
Formalities
1 guide in this section
Culture & language
2 guides in this section
Public holidays and village festas: the Maltese calendar
National holidays that close shops and museums, the festa calendar from June to September, and the small religious feasts spread through the year.
Language in Malta: Maltese, English and the Semitic-Romance hybrid
The only Semitic language in the EU, why English works everywhere, what signs actually look like, and a few useful Maltese words and phrases.