Travel to Valletta
Flying to Valletta
Airlines offering flights to Valletta from the UK include Air Malta, British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair. Cheap flights are available year-round, but fares tend to rise during school holidays. There are no direct flights from the USA.
Flight times
From London - 3 hours 10 minutes; New York - 12 hours (including stopover); Los Angeles - 16 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 12 hours (including stopover); Sydney - 26 hours (including stopovers).
Travel by road
Unless they are delivering a car, no one drives across Europe to get to Malta. There are car ferry services from some Italian ports but the cost/hassle against the option of cheap flights and the cheap cost of car hire on the island makes this a non-starter for conventional holidaymakers.
Traffic drives on the left and the minimum driving age is 18. You can drive on a valid national driving licence from another country for up to 12 months. Speed limits are 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas and 80kph (50mph) outside urban areas.
Routes
Getting to Valletta is relatively easy as it is the transport hub of the island and all main roads are signposted. Unless you are resident here (in which case ask your host about parking), park outside the walls in one of the marked car parks. Valletta's streets are steep and narrow and much of it is pedestrianised.
Time to city
From Rabat - 25 minutes; Birżebbuġa - 20 minutes; Mdina - 20 minutes.
Travel by boat
There are ferry services to and from the city to neighbouring islands as well as further afield.
Ferry operators
You can travel to Malta by high-speed ferry from Sicily with Virtu Ferries (tel: +356 2206 9022; www.virtuferries.com).
Gozo Channel (tel: +356 2210 9000; www.gozochannel.com) offers a 25-minute ferry service from Gozo to Malta.