Where it is, and how far
Malta International Airport sits at Luqa, eight kilometres from Valletta and about twelve from Sliema and St Julian's. Allow twenty to thirty minutes by car to the nightlife side of the island, a little more in the morning rush. It is the archipelago's only airport: Gozo has none, you reach it by ferry from Cirkewwa.
The taxi, and the trap on the way out
This is the bit to remember. Just outside arrivals, a desk sells white taxis at a fixed price, around twenty-five to thirty euros to St Julian's. It is reliable, but it is also twice the price of a Bolt, which runs twelve to eighteen euros for the same trip. Ride-hailing apps work very well in Malta and the pick-up point is signposted in the car park. Split between four, the difference pays for the first night's entry.
The bus, for tight budgets
Lines X1, X2, X3 and X4 connect the airport to the island's main areas. The X2 serves Sliema and St Julian's. A ticket is around two euros in summer and the ride takes forty-five minutes to an hour depending on traffic. It is the right call when you travel light and are not in a hurry. With a suitcase and four of you, a Bolt is simpler and barely more per head.
Landing in the middle of the night
Which is what most low-cost flights do. The X1 and X2 run night departures at reduced frequency, timed to arrivals. Ride-hailing works at night too, with a slightly longer wait. The taxi desk stays open as long as flights are landing. In other words there is no scenario where you end up stranded: that is the upside of an airport serving an entire island.
Hire cars, worth skipping for a party trip
All the rental desks are in the terminal and rates are low, from around twenty euros a day. But you drive on the left, the roads are narrow, and parking in Paceville or Sliema is a nightmare in the evening. Above all, if the trip is built around nights out, nobody will be able to drive home. For a clubbing weekend a car costs more in constraints than it gives back.
What to know about the trip back
Check-in closes forty minutes before departure and security queues stretch out in July and August. Allow two hours in high season, and book your ride the night before if the flight leaves before seven: at that hour the apps have few cars around and the buses are not running everywhere yet.