Malta Roads - Moving to Malta and Need Advice
 

Should we bring our car with us to Malta? I love my convertible BMW (although I think bumpers are meant for bumping, so I'm not a fanatic who will freak out over things). We are moving to Malta and we have government permission to ship our US vehicle. It was a no brainer until I started stumbling on websites devoted to the poor street conditions. Is this a slight exaggeration? Is it shocking to the conscience of people who live/have lived in or near Valletta for us to bring the car? Honest advice would be appreciated.

I visited Malta in 2004, traveled all over the island and did not see any streets in poor condition. Temperature extremes and large trucks contribute to tearing up roads and Malta has neither of these. The roads were in good condition. There is very little car traffic on Malta except in the Valetta area which is a hub for the buses and along the road near St Julians. Parts of the island see little traffic.

<< Is it shocking to the conscience of people who live/have lived in or near Valletta for us to bring the car? >>

I really have no idea what you mean by this. Why would anyone be shocked if you have a car? People who live on Malta have cars.

You know, they drive on the left side and practice a "southern way of driving". Walking or taking a bus usually is faster, it's not a big island. It's totally over-populated. It's a rock in the ocean. Beaches are lousy.
You must have a good reason for moving there, people I spoke to down there, usually wanted to move away from that rock.
At least, you won't get lost or ever need to buy a GPS. ;-)

I don't recall the roads being particularly bad. I don't know I'd want the expense of shipping a car--how long will you be there? Where will you go after that?
I think I'd buy a car there, as it will be nice to have the freedom of a car to explore, even though the island is small. You'll never need it in Valletta (which I found charming), but you will use the car plenty.
Malta--especially Gozo and Comino--has some really beautiful areas.

The only hazard on the roads of Malta will be crazed bus drivers who don't slow down on bends and consider the whole width of the road as their territory. Other than that - and driving on the left-hand side of the road (except bus drivers!) like in UK - you'll have few problems.
I'd agree with others in renting long-term, leasing or buying a used car on Malta as the more sensible solution to your transport needs.

Watch some YouTube clips on "Malta Bus"!

Wow. Thank you for the replies.

The issue of left side drive and the cost of shipping the car are red herrings. Please don't concern yourselves with them - our job will cover the expense and we will be able to use the left side drive. Regarding buying a car, it's a no brainer but for the fact that I will have to sell my car here and will surely take a loss. I will then have to pay a bomb to replace the car with something comparable, or I will have to get a price conscious compact car which won't be a nice driving convertible. Clearly, I'd rather have my car. I'm really just interested in the condition of the streets.


I'm surprised to hear that no one thinks the streets are bad. There are websites (and even Facebook applications) dedicated to the _supposedly_ horrendous potholes, washed out streets, etc. This is what I'm trying to investigate. Even Tales Magazine has a posting detailing how the bottom of a minivan got banged up from the potholes, but it's dated several years ago so I'm not sure if it's still relevant.

From your postings, I'm going to guess that the roads have either improved or the warnings are histrionic.

I'll check out the Malta Bus on YouTube - thank you!

And as for being crazy to go live on that rock, I'd say a living room view of the sail boats on the Mediterranean and living a ferry ride from Sicily and a hop from Northern Africa for a few years beats spending my entire life in Philly. People thought I was nuts to spend a few years in India, and it was the best thing I ever did. I guess to each their own :-)

>to each their own
How true, :-) I find this place so frustrating basically because it's so difficult and expensive to get away from there. Either fly, which isn't cheap at all or being on a ferry for at least six hours one way. Stuck in one tiny place with people everywhere around you. I mean in Philly, you can at least drive to NYC.
Well, anyway, interesting! :-)

Well I've just moved to Malta about 6 months ago.
Are you from the US?
Have you ever been to Malta?
If not you will find many surprises here just waiting for you. It is so very different here and frustrating at times.
Depending on where you want to go, yes the roads can be terrible, the major roads and bypasses are very good.
We bought a used car for now luckily because we do alot of exploring, our car has already taken a beating, but then I am really picky about keeping my car clean and it really bothers me if there is a scratch on it. Many people here have two cars, one for the weekdays and a nicer car for the weekends. There are many other things to consider too, the roads off the beaten track are uneven, potholled, and the level of the curbs are different, I can't tell you how many times I have scratched the bottom of my door because of this.
Also the people here drive like maniacs so there are many fender benders. But like I said I am very careful with my cars and am glad we bought used for now.
When are you moving?
If you have any other questions I might be able to answer them for you. I find it very hard to find people from the US or canada who can tell me what they are experiencing so it's been hard for us.

I been to Malta 4/5 times in the 60's. I fell in love with the country. I am retired now and would to live. It would be me and my adult son who also my caregiver. What is the cost of living like these days and do they still use the british pound. As I remember it was cheap to live. But I sure this has change. My main reason to live there is health.

Come on, living in Malta is fun! Its probably one of the easiest places to move to and settle in fast! The people are friendly, customer service is great! (next to London at least), so we have a few potholes especially after a heavy rain, but the weather is perfect most of the time, renting property is good value although buying a property in Malta can be expensive!Its easy to make new friends everybody seems to want to party here and its almost impossible to lose your way!