Cycling in Malta: where it works and where I wouldn't bother

Cycling in Malta sounds better than it is on the main island, and turns out better than you’d expect on Gozo. Distances are short and the scenery changes every few miles, but traffic and a shortage of lanes take their toll. Here’s what’s on offer, what it costs and where I’d actually get on a bike.

What is tallinja Bike and what does it cost?

It’s the e-bike sharing system run by Malta Public Transport. You take a bike from one dock and leave it at another. To start, you register on the screen at any station with a credit card, which is checked with a €1 charge that’s refunded later, choose how many bikes you want and the screen shows you which ones are free.

Pay as you go costs €3 for the first half hour and €2 for each half hour after that. With the Explore card many visitors buy for Malta’s buses, you pay €1.50 for the first half hour instead. There are passes of €15 for 24 hours, €30 for three days and €60 for a week. Two things worth knowing before you set off. The meter keeps running until the bike is docked, so if you stop for a while, leave it at a station. And each hire has a 24-hour limit, with penalty fees if you’re late bringing it back.

Where the docks are

On the island of Malta the network is concentrated around Valletta and the harbour. There are docks at the Valletta bus terminus, to the left of the Triton Fountain, at the Barrakka Lift, on the Valletta Waterfront, in St Julian’s (at the Ross stop), at Pembroke Park and Ride, at the University, at Bombi, at a further education college in Msida and at the Centerparc shopping centre in Qormi. Malta Public Transport pitches the bikes for getting around Valletta and nearby areas, and I wouldn’t ask much more of them.

Gozo has three, at Mġarr just outside the ferry, in Victoria beside the bus station and in Marsalforn. That’s enough to roll off the boat, ride up to the capital and carry on to the north coast.

Can you cycle around the island of Malta?

You can, with caveats. Visit Malta concedes that there aren’t many cycle lanes on the main roads. On the plus side for a British rider, traffic drives on the left, so roundabouts work the way you’re used to. The appeal lies elsewhere, though. Visit Malta talks about narrow country lanes between rubble walls and villages only a short hop from one another.

Thanks to an EU-funded project called SIBIT, which created more than 1,000 km of routes across Malta, Gozo and Sicily, there are three signed routes on the islands. On Malta, the North West route leaves Rabat and takes in Dingli, Baħrija, Mġarr, Mosta and Mdina over 34 km, while the South West route runs from Rabat to Girgenti, Qrendi, Żurrieq and Buskett Gardens over 27 km.

Gozo, where I’d actually ride

The Ministry for Gozo puts the island at roughly 14 km long and 7 km wide, with roads generally less crowded than Malta’s and terrain ranging from gentle rolling hills to proper climbs. Gozo’s official route is the 42 km coastal loop, which starts at Għajnsielem by Mġarr harbour and circles through Qala, Nadur, Xagħra, Marsalforn, Żebbuġ, Għarb, San Lawrenz, Kerċem, Sannat and Xewkija.

The one I’d do first is shorter. It leaves Victoria for Ta’ Pinu, passes through Għasri with Ta’ Ġurdan lighthouse in view, climbs to Żebbuġ and drops down to the Xwejni salt pans and Marsalforn. The Ministry warns that the descent can be very windy. A second loop covers the east, from Mġarr to Xewkija, Nadur and Qala, with a detour to Mġarr ix-Xini that’s a stiff climb back out. And the Ministry is clear that the cliff edge between Xlendi and Mġarr ix-Xini is only for extreme mixed-terrain riders.

Bikes on the boats

Gozo Channel charges €1.15 return to take a bike on the Gozo ferry, and Gozo Highspeed carries it free if you tell staff when you arrive. Coming over from Sicily, Virtu Ferries doesn’t charge for bikes either, as long as you book them with your ticket. To weigh the bike against every other option, the full picture is in my guide to getting around Malta.