The bus, the island's backbone
The network covers the whole island and costs around two euros a journey in summer, slightly less in winter, with a rechargeable card that brings the price down over a week. The detail that matters: nearly every line converges on Valletta, so a trip between two points in the north can force a detour through the capital. The X lines, the airport ones, are the most direct. In summer buses are packed and sometimes drive past stops for lack of space.
Ride-hailing apps
Bolt and its competitors work very well in Malta, cover the whole island and cost less than a street taxi. Paceville to Sliema runs six to eight euros, Paceville to Valletta around fifteen. It is the best value with three or four of you: the fare splits and becomes competitive against four bus tickets, without the detour through the capital.
The ferry, underused
Two regular lines few visitors use: Sliema to Valletta, and the Three Cities to Valletta. The crossing takes under ten minutes, costs under three euros, and replaces a twenty-five-minute road trip at peak times. To get from Sliema to the capital it is by far the best choice, and the view of the bastions does the rest.
Hire cars, worth avoiding
Rates are low, from around twenty euros a day, and that is the only argument. You drive on the left, a British legacy, which takes two days to absorb. Roads are narrow and parking in Sliema, St Julian's and Valletta is hard at any hour and impossible in the evening. And if the trip is built around nights out, nobody will be able to drive home. A car only earns its keep for exploring the south and west by day.
Gozo and Comino
Gozo is reached by ferry from Cirkewwa at the northern tip: a twenty-five-minute crossing, around five euros return on foot, departures every forty-five minutes and more often in summer. Comino has no public ferry: you get there on private boats from Cirkewwa or day cruises from Sliema. Count the crossing in your travel time: Sliema to Gozo easily takes two hours door to door.
At night, when everything changes
Night buses run on Fridays and Saturdays, around two euros, but they thin out after three and are packed when they come. On weeknights coverage is far thinner. The apps work but pricing surges when the clubs empty, between three and five. The workaround fits in one sentence: order the car from inside the club, before closing, not on the pavement in the middle of the crowd.