7 days in Malta with a rental car

Why renting a car changes everything in Malta

Without a car, you can do most of Malta’s main sights. With a car, you unlock everything else: the remote south coast, the tracks to St Peter’s Pool, the village festas that buses don’t reach at 11pm, the isolated coves of Gozo that tour groups miss entirely. Malta is only 27km × 14km — you can cross the entire island in 35 minutes. That scale makes a car feel worth every cent on a longer trip.

The challenge: Maltese drive on the left (British colonial legacy), roads in villages are extremely narrow, and parking in Valletta is essentially impossible. This itinerary manages those realities — we keep Valletta day 1 car-free (park in Sliema or use the ferry), and we use the car for everything outside the capital.

Rental cost: €30-50 per day for a small car in shoulder season, €50-70 in peak. Take out full excess waiver insurance (worth every extra €15/day — Maltese minor bumps are common). Fuel is around €1.65/litre. Total car cost for 7 days: roughly €250-400.

This itinerary is for: independent travellers who want maximum flexibility, couples or small groups splitting car costs, anyone specifically interested in the south coast or remote Gozo.

At a glance

Day	Base	Focus
1	Sliema	Valletta (car-free day)
2	Sliema	Mdina, Rabat, south to Hagar Qim, Blue Grotto
3	Sliema	Marsaxlokk, St Peter’s Pool, Marsaskala
4	Mellieha	North coast: Mellieha Bay, Popeye Village
5	Gozo	Ferry, Citadella, Ġgantija, Marsalforn
6	Gozo	Dwejra, Ramla, hidden south bays
7	Malta	Three Cities, sunset harbour

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Day 1 — Valletta car-free

Morning

Park your rental at the car parks in Sliema (Tigné Mall area, €6-8/day) and take the Sliema-Valletta ferry (€1.50, 5 minutes). Trying to drive into Valletta is not recommended — limited parking, narrow streets, and the walk from any car park is longer than the ferry.

[ Valletta 3-hour guided walking tour ] sets the scene for the entire trip — who built this city, why the streets are a perfect grid, what happened here in WWII.

Afternoon

St John’s Co-Cathedral — essential stop, €15 entry. Book ahead. [ Combined city tour and cathedral entry ] saves the queue.

Upper Barrakka Gardens: 4pm cannon salute, Grand Harbour view. Take the Barrakka Lift (€1) down to the waterfront rather than the stairs.

Evening

Walk Strait Street for dinner — Rubino for traditional Maltese, Legligin for wine and small plates. Budget €30-45 per head.

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Day 2 — The south by car: Hagar Qim, Blue Grotto, Mdina

With a car, day 2 is transformative — you can combine the south coast temples, the Blue Grotto, and Mdina in a single day that would take two days by bus.

Morning

Drive from Sliema to Mdina first (30 minutes, park outside the walls in the free car park on the approach road). Arrive before 10am. Mdina on foot — 90 minutes to walk the walls and the main lanes. [ The Mdina Experience audio-visual show ] is 25 minutes of context.

Quick stop in Rabat: Crystal Palace pastizzeria (pastizzi €0.40), then Domvs Romana if you have 30 minutes. [ St Paul’s Catacombs and Domvs Romana combo ] for the Roman villa floor mosaics.

Afternoon

Drive south to Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples (30 minutes from Mdina). These are UNESCO prehistoric temples — 5,500 years old, older than Stonehenge, on a clifftop above the sea. [ Prehistoric temples guided tour ] covers Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, and Tarxien with transport — alternatively drive yourself and pay entry separately (€10).

From Hagar Qim, drive 5 minutes to Wied iż-Żurrieq cove: boat trips into the Blue Grotto sea caves (25 minutes, €8). The cave walls reflect the turquoise sea — genuinely photogenic.

Return to Sliema via Dingli Cliffs (15 minutes from Blue Grotto): park at the cliff edge, spend 30 minutes walking the path. 253m, no barriers, view to Sicily. Then home via the ridge road through Rabat.

Honest tip: The Blue Grotto boat operators can be pushy about group sizes — wait for a smaller boat if the first one looks overfull. The experience is much better with 8-10 people than 20.

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Day 3 — Marsaxlokk and the far southeast

This day works best on a weekday (Tuesday-Thursday). On Sunday, the Marsaxlokk fish market is on but parking is a nightmare and the crowds are dense.

Morning

Drive from Sliema to Marsaxlokk (25 minutes). The fishing village is photogenic at any time — luzzu boats, church, waterfront — but best before the tour buses. Explore the harbour, walk to the jetty, watch the fishermen.

[ Marsaxlokk luzzu boat tour ] takes you out on a traditional painted boat for 30-45 minutes — the best way to see the harbour. Book at the dock.

Afternoon

Drive to St Peter’s Pool (15 minutes from Marsaxlokk, rough track for the last 800m — fine in a normal rental, just slow down). This is one of the best swimming spots in Malta — a natural rock pool cut from the limestone, extraordinary colour, almost no facilities. Take a picnic. [ Marsaxlokk to St Peter’s Pool by boat ] is an alternative if you want to arrive by sea.

Marsaskala for the late afternoon: a quieter fishing town on the east coast, almost no tourists. The sunset boat trip from here is good. [ Marsaskala sunset boat to St Peter’s Pool ] — 90 minutes, €20-25, leaves around 5:30pm in summer.

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Day 4 — Northern Malta: Mellieha and the beaches

Morning

Drive north from Sliema to Mellieha (25 minutes). Mellieha Bay is the largest and best sandy beach in Malta — 500m of sand, gentle slope, lifeguards in season. In the morning before 10am it’s genuinely pleasant.

Popeye Village is 5 minutes by car from Mellieha: the original 1980 film set, converted into a family theme park. [ Popeye Village entry with optional transfers ] — if you have children aged 4-12, they’ll love it. If you don’t have children, spend the time at Golden Bay instead.

Golden Bay: 10 minutes north of Mellieha, arguably the most beautiful sandy beach in Malta — smaller than Mellieha Bay, slightly more dramatic, better snorkelling on the north side.

Afternoon

Drive to Marfa Point (northernmost tip, 15 minutes from Mellieha). You can see Gozo from here clearly — only 4km away across the Gozo Channel. The road runs along the top of dramatic limestone cliffs with the sea on both sides.

Paradise Bay (near Cirkewwa) for a late afternoon swim — small sandy beach, usually less crowded than Mellieha Bay.

Evening

Stay overnight in Mellieha for the first time — there are good B&Bs and boutique hotels with views over the bay. Bouquet Garni restaurant in Mellieha village centre is recommended: proper Maltese cooking, local wine, €35-45 per head.

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Day 5 — Ferry to Gozo: Citadella and Ġgantija

Morning

Drive to Cirkewwa ferry terminal (5 minutes from Mellieha). You can take your rental car on the ferry to Gozo (€15.70 car + driver return, pay on return journey) — check your rental agreement allows this. Most do, but verify.

Ferry departs every 45-60 minutes, 25 minutes crossing. If you have a car, join the vehicle queue 30 minutes before departure in peak season (queues can be 45-90 minutes in July-August).

Drive from Mġarr to Victoria (10 minutes, €8 by taxi if you left the car in Malta). The Citadella — the fortified hilltop above Victoria — is free to enter and the views cover almost all of Gozo. [ Victoria guided walking tour ] for the backstreets and history.

Afternoon

Ġgantija temples in Xaghra: 5,500 years old, UNESCO, extraordinary. [ Ġgantija temples tour ] gives context with a guide. Entry €10.

Marsalforn salt pans in the late afternoon: still actively worked by local families, photogenic, free.

Evening

Check into accommodation near Marsalforn or Xlendi — Gozo is small enough that either works for a car-based visit. Dinner at a local restaurant — Il-Kartell in Marsalforn for seafood, or Tmun Mgarr if you’re staying near the ferry.

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Day 6 — Gozo’s wild west coast

With a car on Gozo, you can access places that the day-trip tours never reach.

Morning

Drive to Dwejra on Gozo’s west coast (20 minutes from Marsalforn). Park at the Inland Sea car park. The lagoon here — connected to the open sea through a rock tunnel — is one of the most dramatic landscapes in the Maltese archipelago. The Azure Window arch is gone since 2017, but the Inland Sea remains extraordinary.

[ Gozo full-day jeep tour with lunch and boat transfers ] is a good option if you want the expert guidance and don’t want to navigate yourself. Otherwise, Dwejra and the Blue Hole (adjacent dive site) are easy to self-drive.

Afternoon

Drive to Ramla Bay (35 minutes from Dwejra, across the island): Gozo’s best beach, reddish-gold sand, crystal water, Calypso Cave above. Usually much quieter than any Maltese beach.

Sanap Cliffs on the south coast: a little-visited stretch of limestone cliffs with no path, no facilities, extraordinary isolation. Park near Mgarr ix-Xini bay and walk the headland.

Honest tip: Gozo’s small roads are genuinely narrow. A compact car is better than an SUV here. The locals drive fast — pull into passing places confidently, don’t hesitate.

Evening

[ Wine tasting and 4-course dinner in Victoria, Gozo ] — an excellent final Gozo evening, local wines matched with traditional Gozitan cooking. Worth booking ahead.

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Day 7 — Return to Malta: Three Cities and sunset

Morning

Ferry back to Malta (Mġarr to Cirkewwa). Drive down to the Three Cities area — park in Cospicua (free street parking, 10-minute walk to the waterfront).

The Three Cities — Birgu, Senglea, Cospicua — are the pre-Valletta capital. Fort St Angelo, the Inquisitor’s Palace, narrow streets barely changed in 400 years. [ Three Cities private insider walking tour ] for the last guided experience of the trip. [ Fort St Angelo e-ticket with audio tour ] for the Great Siege ramparts.

Afternoon

Drive along the Three Cities waterfront, cross to Kalkara, and up to the Bighi Palace overlook — a classic but little-visited viewpoint over Grand Harbour.

Return car to the airport or your rental agency. Bolt or bus to Sliema/Valletta for a final evening.

[ Sliema harbour cruise ] as a final Malta activity — 90 minutes on the water, Grand Harbour and Marsamxett from the sea, sunset timing in the right season.

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Driving tips for Malta

• Left side of the road. The steering wheel is on the right. Give yourself 10 minutes of adjustment before going anywhere complicated.
• Valletta: Do not attempt to drive in. Use the Sliema ferry or park in the P+R outside the city walls (€2.50/day).
• Speed limits: 50km/h urban, 80km/h rural, 100km/h on the few fast roads. Strictly enforced with cameras.
• Roundabouts: Give way to traffic already on the roundabout (same as UK). Maltese drivers are generally confident and fast.
• Parking: Street parking in most towns is free (blue lines = residents, unmarked = free). Town centres fill up quickly by 9am.
• Gozo queues: In July-August, the Cirkewwa-Mġarr ferry vehicle queue can be 90 minutes. Arrive early or take the foot passenger ferry + rent a car/scooter on Gozo.
• Petrol: Fill up at the Sliema or Msida stations — stations in small villages may be closed evenings and Sundays.

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What this itinerary skips

Comino: Difficult to do properly with a car — you can’t drive to the Blue Lagoon. Best approached by boat from Sliema or Mellieha (see 7-day standard Malta itinerary).

Guided city tours: With a car, you naturally self-navigate more. We included some guides above for context, but if you prefer to do everything independently, the audio guide apps (Mdina, Valletta) work well.

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How to adapt this itinerary

• Without a car: See 7-day standard Malta itinerary — same coverage, buses and ferries instead.
• More beach time: Keep day 4 at Mellieha Bay and add Golden Bay. Gozo’s Ramla Bay is the best overall.
• Adding Sicily: See 10-day Malta itinerary — adds a Sicily day trip from Marsa ferry port.
• With kids: See 7-day family Malta itinerary — car-based, Mellieha base, different activity focus.

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Practical info

• Car rental: Budget €35-55/day for a compact, full excess waiver €12-15/day extra. Book in advance online (Hertz, Europcar, Avis all have airport desks).
• Ferry with car: Cirkewwa-Mġarr: €15.70 car + driver return (passenger rate €4.65 included). Pay at the Mġarr toll on return.
• Currency: EUR.
• Best time: April-May or September-October. July-August: add 15-30 minutes to every journey estimate due to traffic.

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Frequently asked questions

Is renting a car in Malta worth it?

For a 7-day trip, yes — especially if you want to explore the south coast (St Peter’s Pool, Hagar Qim) and Gozo’s west coast. The savings vs taxis/organised tours over 7 days typically cover the rental cost, and you get total schedule flexibility.

Is it hard to drive on the left in Malta?

Most people adjust within 30 minutes. The main challenge is narrow village roads, not the side-of-road itself. Take the first 15 minutes slowly and you’ll be fine.

Can I take a rental car on the Gozo ferry?

Most rental agreements allow it, but verify explicitly when booking. Add the car on the ferry booking online (or queue at the toll) — it adds €15.70 to the ferry cost but saves the hassle of renting a second car on Gozo.

Where should I park in Valletta?

Don’t drive into Valletta. Park at Floriana (Argotti Gardens area, P+R, €2.50/day) or in Sliema and take the ferry. The Valletta ferry from Sliema is €1.50 and 5 minutes — far easier than navigating the city walls’ restricted zones.

Last reviewed: 2026-04-20