Is Renting a Car in Malta Worth It? My Honest Answer
Let me start with the truth: it depends. I know that is not the satisfying yes or no you were looking for, but give me five minutes and you will know exactly what the right answer is for your specific trip.
I have visited Malta more times than I can count, with a car and without one. Both work, but they work for completely different kinds of trips. Below is my honest breakdown of when a car transforms the experience — and when it is just an expensive parking problem.
Where You Stay Changes Everything
If you are basing yourself in Valletta — the UNESCO-listed capital with the baroque streets and the Grand Harbour views — you genuinely do not need a car for the stay itself. Valletta is small, largely pedestrianised inside the walls, and driving in the centre is restricted anyway.
Parking is limited and not cheap. If Valletta is your base for the whole trip and you are planning mostly day trips by bus or organised tour, you can skip the car. I would still suggest picking one up for two or three days to explore the island properly, but for the Valletta stay itself, no — you do not need it parked outside your door.
Sliema, St Julian’s, Bugibba — the resort-style areas along the northeast coast — are similar. You can walk, you can take buses, you can get around. But the moment you want to go somewhere that is not on the main tourist circuit, you are either taking taxis or spending a lot of time waiting for connections. And that starts to add up, in both time and money.
Anywhere else on the island — a village, a farmhouse in the interior, somewhere on the south coast — yes. Rent a car in Malta. You will need it, and you will be glad you have it.
What You Actually Cannot Reach Without One
This is the heart of the question. The best of this island— and I mean the genuinely memorable stuff — is not concentrated in one place. It is scattered all over. You really need to drive in Malta to reach them all.
The Blue Grotto on the south coast. The ancient temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, which are honestly some of the most underrated ancient sites in the entire Mediterranean — older than Stonehenge, older than the pyramids, sitting quietly in a field with almost no queue. St Peter’s Pool, a natural swimming spot carved into the rock. Mdina in the centre — the silent city, a fortified medieval town on a hill that stops you in its tracks the first time you see it.
None of these are impossible by public transport. Malta actually has a decent bus network for the size of the island. But combining two or three of them in a single day, on your own schedule, stopping when you want, leaving when you are ready — that is only really possible with a car. The bus will get you there eventually. The car gets you there and back and somewhere else in between.
If you are doing the south coast loop — St Peter’s Pool, Marsaxlokk fishing village, Blue Grotto, the temples — honestly, do it by car. It is one of the best day drives I have done on the island.
If You Decide to Rent, Do It Right
Personally, I always book through DiscoverCars, the comparison platform that works as a sort of Airbnb for car rentals. Every supplier is rated between 5 and 10 stars by real customers who actually completed a rental. I filter above 8, usually 9, to shortlist the most trusted operators and book from there. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before pickup, so I always lock in early and cancel if plans change.
Car size: Stick to a compact. Malta’s streets are narrow, the village lanes are tighter, and parking in the old towns is genuinely challenging with anything larger. Automatics are available but cost roughly €15–€20 more per day. If you can drive manual, do it — but if you are nervous about the left side, an automatic removes one layer of stress.
Insurance: I always add full coverage through DiscoverCars for €8–€10 per day. Zero excess, roadside assistance, tyres and rims included. The narrow lanes and stone walls make small damage likely, and your credit card coverage probably has a €700 excess that makes it useless for the scratches that actually happen here.
| Insurance Option | Cost | Excess | My Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card coverage | Free with card | ~€700 | Useless for small damage |
| Counter insurance | €30–€50/day | Zero | Works but overpriced |
| DiscoverCars full cover | €8–€10/day | Zero | A real bargain |
Pickup tip: Photograph everything at pickup. All four sides, the roof, the undercarriage, the interior. Malta has operators with a pattern of pre-existing damage claims. Five minutes of photos is your complete defence.
Gozo Is a Separate Conversation
Gozo is Malta’s smaller sister island, a short ferry crossing from the north. And if you go — which you should — the experience with a car versus without a car is night and day.
Without a car in Gozo, you are either on an organised tour following someone else’s schedule, or you are walking between the things that happen to be within walking distance of wherever the bus drops you. Not very practical.
Gozo rewards wandering. The countryside roads, the coastal paths, the old villages, the salt pans, the unique viewpoints — that is the Gozo I like. And you need a car for that. The ferry from Ċirkewwa is free in the direction to Gozo, and you pay on the way back — classic Malta. Most rental companies in Malta allow their cars on the ferry, but check your rental conditions before you book.
The Honest Case Against
Let me give you the situations where I would say maybe skip the car.
If you are doing a short weekend in Valletta only, with no plans to leave the city, save yourself the parking stress and just use your feet and the occasional taxi. Valletta is genuinely one of those places that rewards walking slowly. A car would just be something to worry about.
If you are genuinely nervous about left-hand driving, factor that in. Malta drives on the left, and while it is not difficult, it is an adjustment. If the idea of it is already stressing you out before you land, maybe day one is not the day to also navigate Maltese village roads.
And peak summer — July and August specifically — traffic around Sliema and St Julian’s can be genuinely frustrating. Not impossible, but real. If your whole trip is based in that area and you are not planning to venture far, weigh that up.
But here is the thing. Most people I speak to who went to Malta without a car and then came back — they rent one the second time. Every single time. Because the island simply opens up in a way it does not on foot or by bus.
Final Word
Five takeaways before you decide.
If you are staying in Valletta only and not leaving the city — you can skip the car, honestly.
The moment you want to explore the south coast, Mdina, or Gozo properly — get the car. There is no real alternative.
Public transport works but it will slow you down. Factor that in if your time is limited.
Book through DiscoverCars, filter above 8 or 9 stars, and add full insurance during booking — not at the counter.
Photograph the car at pickup. You may need it in case of false claims on pre-existing damage.
Do that, and Malta opens up in a way that buses never will. The megalithic temples at dawn, the silence of Mdina at dusk, the swimming spots with no name — they are all out there, waiting at the end of a narrow lane.
