I have booked a 5-day holiday in Malta next month and planned to hire a car there.
But web search reveals driving standard in Malta is very poor and accident is a common event everyday in that tiny island.
Since I'll be travelling with my 3.5 months old daughter, this made me wonder whether I should hire a car at all.
How good is public transport there?
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I'd still get a car if I were you. Public transport is a bit rough and ready. The roads are a bit rough and ready too though! I've generally found driving there to be far more leisurely than, say, Italy or Greece where it is really harum scarum.
Mind you, I haven't been since they came in to the EU - has that made much difference?
(My Mum's half Maltese, so I've a bit of experience of the country).
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Been there a few times, not the worse place in the world to drive, roundabouts where a relatively new innovation when I last went there in 2001 and caused some "issues" but on the while not a bd place to drive. Public transport is perfectly described above but may have improved.
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My experience of driving in Malta taught me two basic things: overtaking on blind bends is a national pastime and the poorer the road surface, the faster you're expected to go.
I'd take the buses if I went again. The in-laws have the last couple of times and they've found them pretty good, if basic! Can be a bit on the busy side, which is not ideal with little ones though.
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"web search reveals driving standard in Malta is very poor"
Don't be put off. Nowhere is ever as bad as people would have you believe.
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>> Don't be put off. Nowhere is ever as bad as people would have you believe.
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Apart from Cairo.
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When I was last there the driving seemed to be a mix of styles - re-assuringly they drive on the correct side of the road (unless the shade is on the other side !) - transport was a bit of free for all especially around Valleta and Rabat (Gozo) "hubs" - I would like to believe that they've refreshed a bit in the last ten years - when I was there I found myself on an ex-Crosvile Bristol that unbelievably I used to court on once upon a time..(recognized from the bus company's indexing plate inside the bus)
similar to this one...very spartan
gallery5516.fotopic.net/p7695930.html
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Add Rome and Paris to that list.
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I'd like to add my voice to those reassuring the OP that driving is OK in Malta.
I was there in 2008 and used both a hire car and the buses. I am a fairly nervous driver, but I wasn't worried at all about driving there. As another poster has said, it really helps that the UK & Malta both drive on the same side of the road, so all of your natural instincts at junctions and roundabouts are the same.
The buses were extremely cheap, and we had a great time using them. From the main gate at Valetta you can get a bus to anywhere on the island. Just ask the locals to help you if you are not sure where to get off the bus. Maltese people are very helpful, (pretty brilliant all round, actually)
For such a small island there is a lot to see (and don't forget Gozo, either). I love Malta.
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PU said they drive on the shady side of the road, which isn't far from the truth. They also move to the outside lane as soon as they get to a dual carriageway (like many in this country), but seem to expect to be undertaken.
When I was there we used the bus to get in and out of Valetta, but hired a car to see the more remote places and Gozo.
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40 yrs ago a story in the DT - RAF officer bet fellow officers he could keep a new car for 2 years and not get it hammered by a Maltese whilst posted there.
He drove it home through Italy, France and was approaching London when he had an accident - you've guessed - it was a Maltese Tourist who came through a redlight.
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I was there at the beginning of November for 10 days with a car for the duration.
We were on the north east side - place name began with Q I think, though that may have been the hotel name!
The island isn;t very big, and they do drive on the left.
We were advised to use the bus to go to the Valetta Sunday market - just over a Euro each return and a chance to sit back while someone else drove - I think the parking would have cost more.
There is lots of the island you can't reach easily by bus and I like the freedom of having a car. I took it easy the first few days while I sussed out the local style, then joined ion (to a degree). There is some dangerous overtaking, but I just throttled back once they started to let them out of my way. I also noticed their tendency to creep onto roundabouts in front of you.
Road quality is pretty abysmal even on the best road, but just take your time - mostly saw very little traffic away from main routes. Ferry across to Gozo was cheap enough (c €20 for two + car IIRC) and it was a good day out. (Crossing back was v rough and they took a long detour to avoid the waves!)
I think by standard out there ther car comes with half a tank of petrol which you have to pay quite a lot for, but you take it back empty. Fuel prices about the same as here, maybe a little less. Hired mine for about a tenner a day (it was an i10) but discovered on arrival this didn't cover all insurance, so rather than splash out another £70 I took the risk of a £600 excess.
Driving there didn't bother me at all, but not sure I'd rush back there...10 days was enough for me.
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>>not sure I'd rush back there...10 days was enough for me.
SWMBO described parts of it as looking like Beirut on a bad day.
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I wouldn't go back either, however driving was fine but try to get a car that is a soft rider.
The car they gave me was a 40K miler Hyundai Accent, which turned out to be just about the perfect car for the dreadful roads, softly sprung with very long suspension travel.
I would not drive there in a small or hard sprung car...or Eire come to mention.
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I was born there pre-war - father in the Andrew.
Only been back once in the 1950s - just pre Suez - and I thought it was a horrible place!
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www.crosville-ec.org.uk/photos.asp?p=411
Inspired by the OP I did some Googling....nostalgia or what ?
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I am now back from Malta and thought of updating the thread.
I did not hire a car there and used public buses. Buses were not at all pram friendly. However, I managed to load pram unfolded in many cases. 80% buses were of old type. 20% buses are like low floor UK buses.
Roads were full of potholes in many places which made bus journeys quite bouncy (though it helped my 3-month old baby to fall in sleep quickly).
Buses go everywhere in the islands. Bus fare is VERY cheap and buses are very frequent.
Driving standard is not that bad. People do sometimes overtake which looks risky but that appeared more of exceptions than rule.
There are some weird road networks - like a one way street (single late) but bus can travel in opposite way!
Most cars are very old. Some were so old that I could not recognize the make/model! BMW/Mercs were few and far between. Not seen any Audis. VW seemed quite popular though. Not many Japanese brands either. Lots of old French cars (Peugeot mostly). Kia/Hyundai are common. Quite a good number of Indian made cars like Maruti, Tata etc.
I was surprised to find a Bentley showroom there!
In a nutshell, I think the whole island is a kind of transport museum :o)
Last edited by: movilogo on Thu 20 Jan 11 at 12:57
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>> There are some weird road networks - like a one way street (single lane) but
>> bus can travel in opposite way!
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A Polish bus driver did that in the Midlands a few years ago!
Last edited by: Chris S on Fri 21 Jan 11 at 15:49
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Driving in Malta - Alanovich
