Do You Need to Hire a Car in Malta?
Transport is a major concern for anyone that’s travelling to another country or city. You want to know that getting around will be easy and stress-free once you reach your destination.
Every country has a unique way of organizing transport, so you need to do your research ahead of time to cover your bases. If you’re not sure whether or not to hire a car for your stay in Malta, here are some pros and cons.
To hire or not to hire?
The decision to hire a car while visiting Malta depends on a number of factors. You have to consider the place where you’ll be staying and its proximity to the sights you want to visit. For instance, if you’re staying at the gorgeous but remote Golden Bay, hiring a car is essential if you want to see the rest of the island.
With that said, most people that travel to Malta prefer to not hire a car because the island’s bus system has a reputation as one of the most efficient in all of Europe. Other people actually enjoy the experience of riding the open-top hop-on hop-off bus far better that cruising around in a car. This bus gives you a chance to discover different parts of Malta and is a great option on the first day so you can note the places you’d like to visit for the remainder of your trip.
If you’re planning a long stay in Malta with a lot of diving involved, you can easily get by without a car. When you’re not using a bus you can take advantage of the transportation shuttles provided by local dive centers, which will pick you up straight from your hotel and drop you off afterwards.
But there’s always a possibility that you’ll change your mind and decide to hire a car whilst on the island. If that happens, you can easily contact a Malta car rental company to sort you out. The process should be straightforward as the car rental industry is fairly easy to navigate in Malta. The most cost-effective option is to hire a car yourself by directly contacting one of the local car hire service companies. Hiring through a hotel might be more convenient but it will put a bigger dent in your wallet.
Pros and cons of hiring a car in Malta
Pros
- Malta is a walking tourist’s dream. In fact, rambling is actually the best way to fully capture Malta’s mystique. There are little streets and nooks the locals can show you which are inaccessible by bus, so a car can really come in handy in such situations. You can just park the vehicle wherever you like and take the rest of the journey on foot.
- Hiring a car opens up your sightseeing options tremendously. Certain destinations like Fomm Ir-Riħ Bay in Baħrija, and Ghar Lapsi beach are so remote that the local bus network doesn’t even come close to reaching them. And yet they’re two of the most beautiful places in Malta.
- You can spend as much time as you like exploring the tourist attractions without worrying that you’ll miss the bus.
- Bus delays are common during peak times whereas a car allows you to travel wherever, whenever.
Cons
- Malta’s roads are almost always busy and more than a little noisy. So if you’re sensitive to road traffic congestion then you should probably stick to public transport.
- Parking might be an issue in the more popular tourist areas like Sliema and St. Julians, and some of the parking spots have a time limit which might restrict your sightseeing. However, places like Valletta are easier to navigate because they don’t have as much traffic and there are plenty of viable parking spots to choose from in the area.
As you can see, the choice of hiring a car while visiting Malta depends on a number of factors, such as the location of your accommodation and how remote it is from the sights you want to see. Sometimes the best thing to do is get there first and assess the situation to see which option you prefer. Otherwise, hiring a car will give you a lot of freedom and make your life much easier than relying on public transport.
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