Malta International Airport Car Rental

Driving in and around Malta International Airport (MLA)

You won’t have too many problems driving around Malta relatively freely, but like any location, it sometimes suffers from traffic jams, roadworks and diversions, so to keep up to date and plan your road trips efficiently each day, download the Maltese Traffic app for real time traffic updates across the island and live cams that allow you to check hotspots from your phone.

The Speed limits are 80 km/h on open roads and 50 km/h in built up areas unless any local road signs indicate a lower limit.

In some ways, driving in Malta follows similar rules and conventions to the UK, but there are some variations here are a few tips:

• The government body Transport Malta manages a number of public car parks in Malta and the neighbouring island of Gozo. They’re free of charge but it’s acceptable to offer tips to the attendants on duty if you wish.
• Elsewhere, parking bays are painted in certain colours to indicate how they should be used. White paint indicates that anyone can use the parking bay, yellow means don’t park, green means permanently reserved for residents and blue means reserved for residents between 7pm and 7am.
• There are no motorways in Malta ̶- the main roads are usually dual carriageways.
• Main roads are usually in good condition, but once you’re traversing village roads and B roads, potholes are common, so be prepared for a bumpy ride and drive cautiously if you want to avoid catching a flat tyre.
• Traffic is monitored by the police and official wardens (watch out for their dark green uniforms) and they’re especially vigilant regarding issues such as speeding, using your mobile phone while driving and illegal parking. However, the most serious issue for authorities is probably drink driving ̶ as you’d expect, they take a dim view of anyone who gets behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol and police sometimes erect roadblocks and breathalyse cars they stop. The drink drive limit is 80mg in 100ml of blood, which is the same as in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• There are around 10 speed cameras in the main island of Malta, so coverage isn’t as comprehensive as in larger nations, but you should watch your speed carefully nonetheless.

• Drivers, passengers and children are required to use seatbelts and/or car seats or similar age- and size-appropriate restraints.

• Drivers in Malta are required to indicate, but unfortunately many don’t put this into practice on the road, so don’t be surprised if a vehicle in your vicinity turns without warning and always drive defensively in order to protect yourself.

• There are several petrol stations dotted across the island, so you shouldn’t ever run out of fuel. During the day, pump attendants are usually in place and they’ll fuel up for you, but at other times, many stations have 24-hour automated pumps, so you’ll never be stuck.

• You can drive in Malta with a valid UK license and licenses from most other nations are recognised too but you should check with your car hire provider to confirm as early as possible.
• Don’t use your car horn in built-up residential areas in Malta between 11pm and 6am.
• If you’re staying outside the capital and you want to explore Valetta on foot, leave your car at the park and ride facility and hop on a shuttle bus into town. This is sometimes the most convenient way of exploring the area.