Malta is 27 kilometres end to end, and a car turns that into a country you can actually see: Valletta and Mdina a quarter of an hour from the terminal, the megalithic temples and the Dingli Cliffs twenty minutes further, and Gozo across the water on the Ċirkewwa ferry. Traffic keeps left here, as it has since British rule.
Malta is 27 kilometres end to end, and a car turns that into a country you can actually see: Valletta and Mdina a quarter of an hour from the terminal, the megalithic temples and the Dingli Cliffs twenty minutes further, and Gozo across the water on the Ċirkewwa ferry. Traffic keeps left here, as it has since British rule.
No deposit, no excess
Premium Insurance means the local partner waives the security hold completely – nothing is blocked on your card for the length of the trip.
Local rates, not airport markups
Direct prices from Maltese partners. What you book is what you pay at the counter in arrivals, with no desk fee added on the island.
Unlimited mileage
Malta is small enough to lap in a morning, and most visitors do it several times over. No rental we offer charges by the kilometre.
Briefed for driving on the left
Malta is the only left-hand-traffic country we operate in. Partners talk you through the roundabouts and the Valletta access zone before you pull away.
The Gozo ferry, sorted
Every car may cross to Gozo on the Ċirkewwa–Mġarr ferry. You drive on and off, and the fare is collected only when you leave the island.
One counter, in the arrivals hall at Malta International Airport. Open it for terminal directions, drive times and what is worth the detour on the way out.
Three islands, one of them uninhabited, and no drive on any of them longer than 45 minutes — which is exactly why a car is worth more here than the map suggests.
The UNESCO capital on its peninsula, with the Three Cities directly opposite across the water. Park outside and walk in: the centre is a controlled-access zone with number-plate cameras.
The walled Silent City and Rabat below it, fifteen minutes from the airport. Beyond them the Buskett woodland and the Dingli Cliffs run along the whole west edge of the island.
Golden Bay, Għajn Tuffieħa and Mellieħa Bay are the sand the south does not have — 35 minutes up, and the road keeps going to the Ċirkewwa ferry ramp.
Greener, slower and 25 minutes across the channel. Ġgantija predates the pyramids; Comino between the two islands has no roads at all and is reached by boat from Ċirkewwa.
The one country in our network that keeps left — and the briefing that matters more than anything else on this page.
Drive on the left
A British inheritance, kept after independence. Give way to the right at roundabouts and take the first few junctions slowly; most visitors have adjusted within a day.
Roundabouts, constantly
Malta runs on them rather than traffic lights. Traffic already on the roundabout has priority and it moves clockwise — the opposite of what mainland Europe has taught you.
Valletta is a controlled zone
Number-plate cameras charge for time spent inside the capital. Use the MCP car park in Floriana or the Park & Ride and walk in through City Gate instead.
Speed limits are low
50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h at most anywhere else. Nothing on the island is far enough away for that to cost you real time.
Roads are narrow
Village lanes, stone walls and few markings. A small car is a genuine advantage here rather than a compromise, and folding the mirrors becomes second nature.
Minimum age 21
With at least one year of driving experience. Some vehicle categories set a higher minimum, shown on the car before you book.
Choose Premium Insurance (zero excess) and the local partner waives the security deposit entirely, so you settle at the counter with a debit card or cash. Cover comes direct from the partner, with no pay-and-claim afterwards.
At Malta International Airport (MLA) in Luqa — the only airport on the islands and the only counter we operate here. It sits fifteen minutes from Valletta and the same from Mdina, so it works as a central pick-up point rather than a detour.
The left. Malta is the only left-hand-traffic country in our network, kept from British rule along with the roundabouts. Take the first few kilometres slowly and remember that roundabout traffic moves clockwise, arriving from your right.
Yes. Cars cross on the Ċirkewwa–Mġarr ferry, about 45 minutes north of the airport, and the crossing takes 25 minutes. You drive on and off, and the fare is collected only when you leave Gozo, so the outbound leg costs nothing.
For Valletta alone, no — buses reach it easily. For everything else, yes: the temples, the cliffs, the northern beaches and the Gozo ferry ramp are all poorly served by public transport, and the whole island is under an hour wide.
You can, but the capital is a Controlled Vehicular Access zone with number-plate cameras and a charge for time spent inside. Almost every visitor parks at the MCP car park in Floriana or uses the Park & Ride, then walks in through City Gate.
Yes, on every car and every insurance tier. It matters less here than on the mainland — Malta is 27 kilometres end to end — but it means a week of lapping the island costs exactly what a single day does.
The smallest one you are comfortable in. Village lanes are narrow, stone walls are unforgiving and parking bays are short. Nothing on the island needs ground clearance or power, and the roads worth driving are the ones that punish a big car.
Book in minutes, choose flexible insurance, and pick up in the arrivals hall the moment you land.
