Malta Bus Travel

When I told friends that we were going to Malta for a holiday, they all said " you must travel around this island by bus".

Malta has a wonderful public bus service, with vintage buses.  Some of them are so 'historic' that I asked Wonderful Husband if our travel insurance was up to date.

With the idea of travelling around the island, I had a a vague idea that we would travel around the island by bus. I envisaged that we would almost literally go around the edge of the island travelling on a bus.

In fact, the Malta bus routes do not work that way. Most routes start at the bus terminal in Valletta and go out to most of the towns and villages on the island.

I advise anyone wanting to see the island by bus to stay in Valletta. If you stayed anywhere else you would need to come into Valletta to get a bus to other area.

About Malta

Malta is a small island in the Mediterranean. The island is 122 square miles (316 sq km), and at its widest point it is 17 miles (27km) across.

The island enjoys hot summers and warm winters. The coldest months are January and February when the average daily temperature is 59°F (15°C). In August the average daily temperature climbs to 88°F (31°C). Malta has developed a beach resort business based on this weather, plus of course an abundance of beautiful beaches.

The island occupies a strategic position for trade routes. Today there is a large free port on the southern side of the island, while the harbour in Valletta is the largest in the Mediterranean.

This strategic position has been recognised for centuries and over several centuries ownership of the island has been hotly contested.

Malta is now a member of the European Union.

The history of the island gives it an international flavour. Many things look British and English is one of the 2 official languages (the other being Maltese).

Buses on Malta

There is a uniform colour for all their vehicles. Every public bus on Malta is yellow, almost the same shade as is used on school busses in the USA. The yellow is offset by an orange stripe.

That is about the full extension of uniformity. There is a very wide variation in the make and model of busses. I imagine this presents a considerable challenge for the maintenance department.

I saw one or two examples of bus model that looked as if they were from the 1950s. The rest span the decades from 1960s to 1980s. Possibly there are a few more modern vehicles, but they were not much in evidence.

I did not travel in any bus with air conditioning. Passengers open the windows when they are hot.

All the buses are single deck. Given that some of the roads are in only fair condition I would have been alarmed to see double-decker busses in use. That said, I did see a few open top tourist buses, which I decided not to board.

The busses are given further individual touches. Most of them are decorated with religious references. This can take the form of an icon over the rear view mirror, decorations on the interior lights, painted slogans on the interior or exterior, garlands of artificial flowers or anything that takes the driver’s fancy. I don’t know if there are any guidelines.

Perhaps these are meant to instil confidence in the passengers. Personally, I found boarding a bus that was labelled ‘Paradise’ had the opposite effect. Although I hope to attain paradise one day, I want that day to be a long way in the future!

This is a rather grand and misleading name, as there is no structure such as one might see at a British bus terminal.  The bus terminal is a large open area, arranged around a grand central fountain.

There are designated spots for each bus route.  These are identified by numbers on posts and also by numbers painted on the road surface.

The designated spots (or start and finish points) are laid on in concentric circles, with room between the parking areas for the vehicles to drive past parked buses to the correct spot.

Sometimes a driver will find his path blocked, and will usually resort to sounding the horn until the offender moves.  This is a frequent occurrence, so the area is noisy!

Valletta is an ancient walled city, and the terminal lies just outside the main city gate.  The entrance to the gate is aligned to the fountain, giving the bus terminal an air of grandeur.

The paved area that borders the bus parking area is lined with kiosks mainly selling snacks and soft drinks.   There are some areas for drivers to rest between shifts, a few information points and lottery ticket sales desks.  This gives the area the air of a street market.

The streets of Valletta are very narrow; buses do not go into the city.  There is one bus that goes around the edge of the city.

If you are staying in Valletta, go to the Tourist Information Office to get information about bus routes and times.  Walking into the city through the main gate, turn right as soon as you are through the gate and you will find the Tourist Information Office.  (Of course, if you are already inside the city, the office is to the left of the gate.)

It is possible to buy a Saver ticket to cover all journeys for 1, 3, 5 or 7 days.  The Tourist Information Office can provide details of where to buy such a ticket.

There is also some information displayed at the Terminus. 

We did observe other numbered routes that were not included in the leaflets we obtained.

Eventually we learned to supplement the printed information with details gleaned from the internet.  To get precise times, we consulted the website www.atp.com.mt.

At the bus terminus, the drivers adhere to the designated spot.  If you wait by the number of the route you want, you can be fairly certain that the bus will arrive even if it appears other busses are in the way (usually there will be some horn-honking first).

The fares were very low in price in 2009 – less than 1 Euro per journey.  This is considerably less than most English or Scottish bus fares.

Each bus displays a route number, but no information about the destination or the stops along the route.  You will need to get this information from the leaflet, the website or fellow passengers.

Pay the driver when you board the bus.  You may be charged extra for suitcases or large items that will take up another seat.

If you know the name of your destination but are uncertain as to where to get off, explain this.  You may find that the driver and/or other passengers will be very happy to tell you when to alight from the bus.

Be warned that the seats are not always cushioned, and some of the roads are very bumpy! 

Keep your ticket somewhere handy while you are on the bus.  The bus inspectors were very active during our visit, boarding at a stop during the journey and asked to see everybody’s ticket.

Most bus stops are very well marked with the route number.  The number may be displayed overhead, so remember to look up if it is not immediately obvious.

We chose to stay in Valletta as we did not want a resort based holiday.  The central location of our hotel gave us a wide choice of cafes and restaurants so we were able to eat in a variety of establishments.

It would have been impractical to rent a car because we would not have had anywhere to park it.  In general parking is very difficult and the parking wardens are very enthusiastic.  Clamping occurs in some areas.

The bus fares were very low and the wide choice of routes enabled us to see most of the island.

Travel by bus gave us the chance to at least listen to people who lived on the island. 

We had some interesting conversations as bus stops.

Careful study of the map allowed us to take one bus to the coast, and then walk inland via footpaths, seeing areas far from the normal tourist trail.

Finally, it’s fun!

In my limited experience, the buses proved to be quite safe.  Indeed our stay on Malta passed without incident.

Despite never using it, I would not travel abroad without insurance.

I am a legal resident of a European Union member state, and have an EU health card.  This entitles me to defined levels of health care, but the exact level can vary from country to country.  It is important to check this before leaving home.  It is also important to check that your EU card is up to date.

If you fall ill or have an accident this may lead to problems with travelling home.  You may not be able to travel home as planned, leading to extra expense.  If you have adequate travel insurance these extra expenses will be covered.

It can be difficult to obtain travel insurance if you are over 80.  I know this because I have travelled with older family members.  My local travel agent recommends Boots or the Post Office for this age group.  If it applies to you or a family member, I suggest some Internet research.