Which Malta Bus Ticket is Right For You

Travelling between locations can sometimes be a hassle depend which country you visit. Luckily, the small islands of Malta are easy to get to with their public transport. Malta's bus service is the most convenient and cheapest way to get around the country - here are some of the options to suit the way you like to travel.

There are five ticket options to use the Malta bus: purchasing a single ticket or taking advantage of any of four bus cards. Each have their own advantages so I'll break each option down. I recommend watching my video explaining all the options below, and then reading below for additional details.

Single Bus Ticket

The most common universal way of using the bus is simply buying a ticket from A to B. No matter how far you go, the price per ticket stays the same. Great if you're going to the other island of the island. Buses are relatively cheap compared to other European countries so you're transport budget doesn't need to be huge. Currently, non-summer prices for a ticket is
€1.50, €2 in peak summer time. There are frequent night services that run from most from places such as Tas-Sliema, Valletta, Bugibba and Mellieha. These are NXX buses and cost €3 throughout the whole year.

There are no other type of bus tickets, just the single trip ticket priced for adults, concessions, students and children. So why get the single bus ticket? Well, the good part is you get unlimited bus use within 2 hours. Each ticket has a QR code and validity time so you know exactly when it's valid until. Whether you're making an interchange or city hopping, you can cover distance in this one price. This includes buses to and from the airport. You can buy these at the airport desk but it's easy enough to purchase straight from the driver. If you plan to make infrequent trips to different places in Malta, then this works well.

Explorer

The explorer bus card will most likely be the most popular option for those wanting to visit far and wide, travelling plenty during the day into the night. The explorer bus card gives you unlimited bus rides in Malta, including Gozo island. It's valid for 7 days and can be purchased for €21 or €15 for a child. Jump on any bus including Night services with a tap of the Explorer card. You can purchase one from any customer information desk at any bus terminal, payable either by card or cash. You can also purchase them from certain retailers, the full list of each town listed here for you. It's valid from the first time you use it on the bus, though I'd recommend buying it on the day you plan to travel as I'm not sure if buying in advance works.

Read: What's in my Luggage? Malta Edition

Explorer Plus

The explorer plus card holds all the benefits of the Explorer card (unlimited bus travel including Gozo and night services), but includes a few admissions that may be appealing to you. It's a flat
€39 per person but includes: 2 ferry rides in Valletta and either one admission for the hop-on, hop-off bus tour (usually €20 if I can recollect) or a boat trip to Comino. If you're interested in doing any of these, then the Explorer Plus card is better value for money as tickets for any of these will be more expensive.

You can only choose either the boat trip to Comino or bus tour, along with the ferry trips in Valletta and not all three so bear that in mind. For children, you may want to see if buying an Explorer card with admissions for child tickets is cheaper. This can be bought in any bus terminal sales and information office.

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12 Single Day Journey

All of those are great but if you're planning to go as a group, it can still get pricey. An alternative you can consider are the 12 Single Day Journey cards. Essentially, you'll get 12 single tickets on this card, using up one for each trip you take. It works the same as a normal single ticket, but you tap the card on the machine like the other options. You'll see how many you have left on the machine after you tap but it's simple enough.

Most likely the 2 hour time limit also applies, but I'm not sure as I never used it again within the 2 hours. It may recognise it if you tap again, but double check with the driver. So why get the 12 single day card if it follows the same principle as a normal ticket? The good thing is that you can share this card with your group, using up the tickets on this one card isn't of needing to manage separate tickets. You'll also save €3 (the pass costs €15) compared to buying 12 single tickets separately. This is great if there are a few of you and you don't plan on travelling often.

Example: if you're a group of 2, this covers round-trips to 6 destinations. If you're a group of 3, this covers 4 destinations and so forth. It's convenient and saves a little money. If you use up all the tickets, you can simply buy another one. The card is valid for 12 months from the first time of use, though bear in mind night services use up 2 tickets, as they cost €3 each way.

You can buy a personalised tallinja card here if you're planning to stay longer, both for visitors and Maltese residents. This cuts admission prices significantly so check if this works better for you. There are a few admin hurdles to get through but offers good benefits for the long-term, including free travel aged 14-20 years old in 2019. See the travel scheme information and conditions.

I hope that helps, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, otherwise the next time you visit Malta, I hope you have a great experience travelling empowered :)

Keep Being Awesome,
One Tech Traveller