Are scooters/bikes/small motorcycles available for rent on each of the islands? Are there ferries between the islands? Cost?
How's the public transportation? We're trying not to rent a car. Thanks in advance.

We didn't rent a car either when in Malta, but relied on public (bus) transportation-and what a good value their bus system is ! MOST fares are $.15 and the longer trips (say, across the island) are only $.40. ALL bus routes will originate/end in the capital, Valletta, but there are some direct point-to-point routes as well, depending on where you're headed. We found the bus system very economical and easy to understand. Most of the time you'll get a seat. The majority of the busses are old, but they're clean and very reliable. Be careful, though, of when the *last* bus leaves wherever you're it - if you miss it, you'll have an expensive taxi ride ahead of you. There's a ferry service between the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, and water taxi service from Sliema ferries (in this case, ferries simply means the center of town) to Valletta. The water taxi service between Sliema and Valletta runs every hr on the 1/2 hr and is a bargain at $.35! Trip takes about 5 minutes, bus service from Sliema to Valletta about 20 minutes. Once you pay your bus fare, remember to take the ticket from the little machine near the driver. Sorry, don't recall seeing scooters/bike/cycles available for rent, but we weren't looking for them either. If you do rent something, remember that driving is on the LEFT. Malta is spectacular! ENJOY!

The public transportation (buses) is very good on Malta as the previous poster said. The price quoted is Maltese cents so that translates into about 45 cents American. It really is best to take buses into Valletta and then out from Valletta - you'll save time doing that.

I don't remember seeing many motorcycles. In any case, I wouldn't advise renting one. There are really no road rules on Malta, i.e., traffic lights and stop sign rules are not always followed. We did rent a car and I drove. Driving wasn't bad except in the rural areas where there's no signage.

I posted a very long trip report which you'll find if you search on Malta.

It's a great place to vacation...very historic, beautiful churches, friendly people.

The general consensus from Fodorites is that the transportation on Gozo is iffy. That is, you may arrive on the ferry and there's no bus going to where you want to go. You might want to rent a car just for Gozo so you can go wherever you want in your own time frame. I was on a tour and stayed overnight but I think you could arrive as early as possible, get a car, and cover most if not all of the island. It would be rushed but doable.

You should try to get to Gozo as it's quite different, scenery-wise, from Malta. And, they have one of the most gorgeous churches I have ever seen!

First I want to thank Adrienne and Nancy, Adrienne for a very enjoyable trip report, and Nancy for the valuable information about Hypogeum. Thanks to her I didn't miss it.

Use the busses! We got a five-day bus ticket from a machine in Sliema, from The Strand at the point where the busses leave (there is another machine in Valletta), and it cost only 4,5 liras (about 10 euros), and we could drive the busses all over the island with no limits. We just showed the ticket to the driver, and bussed just about every road on the island.

In Gozo we hired a scooter because there was so little traffic compared to Malta. The island is so small that a car would have felt like exaggerating.

wow--am I glad to find these messages. We're going to Sicily in september, and then on to Malta. We are having trouble arranging transportation from south sicily, to valletta. the roads/buses/train routes from Catania to Pozollo, sicily (in the south)are very sketchy.
need help, please
surfingmomma

correction on my previous posting. the roads/buses/trains from Pozzallo, Sicily (the very southernmost point) are very sketchy to get to Valletta, Malta.
sorry for the confusion
surfingmomma

There is no road/bus/train from Pozzallo to Malta. You must take a ferry:
http://www.virtuferries.com/
Thaks 90 minutes.

Remember too, that driving on Malta is on the British side.