Taxis in Malta: white cabs, ride-hailing apps and when they're worth it

With taxis in Malta, what matters is understanding how the fare is set, and on that the official sources are fairly clear. Used well, a cab solves problems the bus can’t. Here’s how it all works, what the airport and the tourism authority say, and when I’d actually take one.

White taxis, private firms and the apps

Three kinds of service operate side by side. Taxis belonging to the public transport service are white, according to Spain’s Foreign Ministry, and Visit Malta says they can pick you up anywhere except at a bus stop. Then come the private taxi firms and the app-based services, Uber, Bolt and eCabs, all named by the same ministry. So at least two of those names will be familiar from home. At the airport, the official taxi service is run by Malta Taxi, which has a fare calculator on its website.

Why do you need to agree the price?

Because the meter isn’t always switched on. The Foreign Ministry says plainly that white taxis often don’t use it, and recommends finding out the fare before you travel. Visit Malta’s own taxi page gives the same tip, ask and agree the fare before getting in. I’d never climb in without a fixed price, and if the driver won’t give one, I’d find another cab. Once the fare is agreed, rounding up is a courtesy rather than a duty, as with tipping in Malta in general. There’s more on this and similar traps in my guide to scams in Malta.

The easiest fix is the prepaid booths. The ministry lists three, one at the airport, one in Sliema and one in Valletta, and the airport says its own is in the arrivals hall, with fixed fares.

From the airport, taxi or bus?

Visit Malta explains that taxis from the airport and the cruise terminal run on fixed fares to any town in Malta. The only figure I’ve found published by an official source is the airport to Ċirkewwa, €32, given by the Ministry for Gozo. Malta Taxi’s website didn’t let me read its prices for Valletta, Sliema or St Julian’s, so I’m not going to make them up.

My rule of thumb is simple. Travelling alone or as a couple with light bags, the Airport Direct costs €3 each, leaves from the bus stop outside the terminal and runs to Valletta every 30 minutes. If there are four of you, you land in the small hours or you’re heading to Ċirkewwa for the Gozo ferry with suitcases, a fixed-fare taxi starts to make sense. A standard taxi takes four people, luggage permitting. Every option is compared in my guide to Malta airport transfers.

Taxis from the cruise terminal

Coming in by ship, the logic is much the same as at the airport. Visit Malta says seaport taxis also charge fixed fares, and the port operator explains that an office on the Waterfront promenade arranges taxis and tours at set rates. Even so, I’d check whether I need one at all, because you can walk to Valletta in about a quarter of an hour, and from the harbour the Upper Barrakka lift takes you up into the city. I’d keep the taxi for going further, to Mdina or the south, with the length of the stop firmly in mind.

When would I actually take a taxi?

Beyond the airport, in three situations. In the small hours, if none of the night routes (€3) suits me and neither does the On Demand service Malta Public Transport runs through its app. On Gozo at night, because the Ministry for Gozo says public transport runs until 23:00, so if you’re having dinner in Xlendi or Marsalforn and staying in another village, plan the ride back before asking for the bill. And in a group of four with luggage, where splitting a fixed fare is easier than four bus tickets. For everything else I’d use Malta’s buses, which with the Explore Flex pass cost €21 for four days of unlimited travel.

Taxis on the water

There’s one option that isn’t quite a taxi but is worth knowing about. Visit Malta mentions water taxis in the dgħajsa, the traditional Maltese boat, across the Grand Harbour. To get from Valletta to Sliema or the Three Cities, though, the scheduled ferry is €3 each way in the daytime and far more predictable. For timetables, see my page on the Valletta ferries.