UK to Malta Drive and Ferrys

Just seen all the other messages above so that should help me! Thanks!

Just be aware that you do have to notify the Maltese authorities and be met at the docks by the Vet.
There is a form to filled in and returned.........

http://vafd.gov.mt/pet-travel-scheme?l=1


Terry

hi how do u drive to malta from england pls i want to move there next week and really need to plan

Its around 3000kms and a suggested route is this  but you can choose the route yourself depending on if you wish to go all motorways (expensive ) or not ......

http://www.gosur.com/map/?route=1&gclid … AodewoAsA#

Terry

L

Hi I am driving to Malta this September to permanently relocate and was wondering if anyone knows the best route and ferry locations and companies ect, all help would be much appreciated.

Hi there I'm doing the same drive at the end of August are have planned the following route and ferries. We are travelling with 3 dogs and wanted to spend as much time on the road and as little time on the ferry as possible.
So, we are using the tunnel to France (£65). Driving the length of France and Italy. Getting ferry at Reggio Calabria to Messina (30 euros) and then 3 hour drive through Sicily to get ferry at Pozallo to Valletta. (350 euros) Have a look at Virtu Ferries and Grimaldi lines.
It's about 3000kms from our house, Chester to Malta. We are leaving on 26th August and have booked our house from 1st September. Good luck with your move!
Lesley

Amazing thanks for the reply,  we are going 3rd September. How long were you planning on taking to get there? We have a dog and have done the pet passport but is there any other things we need to do for the dog to get him in to malta? Thanks again.

reading all these wish , we had driven now .. sounds exciting and much better then the cramped ryanair flight i had to deal with

We haven't really set ourselves a time limit but are expecting to take four/five days as we will make frequent stops to let the dogs out. Hotels in France are dog friendly but not really sure about Italy yet. Just make sure that as well as the passport your dogs rabies and annual boosters are up-to-date and you will be fine. Do you know Malta well and whereabouts are you going to be living?

Hello Caroline, thanks for your blog. I am going in a few days and you answered one of my questions, whether to book the ferries in advance or just arrive. As one never knows if the trip will go exactly to schedule, I would like to just arrive and book on the spot. Was this more expensive? Can you advise your ferry costs, I am seeing that the best route should be Genoa- Palermo and then Pozzallo-Valletta? Thanks, Richard.

Great post Julian, I am doing this trip shortly and this is very valuable information. If there are any changes or updates I would be grateful again. Would you know if thee would be any problem with not booking ferry tickets in advance (online) as one never knows how the schedule will work out? I am seeing that the best route should be Genoa- Palermo and then Pozzallo-Valletta? Also if anyone can confirm how long I can drive a UK car in Malta, don't know at this stage if I will be there a month, 3 months, might get a job and then stay, etc, and how this would affect registering the car in the future.

Hi I have just booked our ferries and I would safely say the best ferry routes are naples to catnia the pozzallo to malta.

Thanks, cost wise? That would mean driving through most of Italy, so time, fuel, tolls etc, and add 700km to the journey? Do you remember the cost of the 2 ferries? Thanks

Yeah 350 and 410 I believe.

I'm getting £120 for the Genoa to Palermo ferry but £216 for the Pozzallo to Valletta ferry. ??? How is a 1:45 hour ferry twice the cost of a 21 hour ferry with accommodation? I've noticed this in other posts too.

maybe its because its faster its more expenisve lol

Virtu Ferries is hideously expensive, there's no competition, it's the only way to get on/off this island by boat.
When we go for a trip to Sicily, it's usually cheaper to fly to Trapani with Ryanair and rent a car than to use the ferry with our own car (off season at least).

Thanks everyone, I'm learning the ropes bit by bit ;>))

Does anyone know if it is ok to just arrive at the ferry terminal without prebooking?

what ferry are you talking about?
In the busy season you may not get on board with a vehicle.

Terry

would it be worth driving to Malta in my car for 4 months?

Lbell wrote:

would it be worth driving to Malta in my car for 4 months?

That would depend on where you are driving from and the route you wish to take.

Terry

559lkm... How did they drive go? Get there ok?

Drive was fantastic. No problems and very happy now in Malta. Thanks for asking!
Lesley

Im very envious

Can you talk us through ur journey... where u stop, your route, tolls, ferries etc, its just that i'll be doing this trip one day

Thanks

Hi just read your account of the journey to Malta and am now feeling much more hopeful! We shall be taking our little dog with us and after everyone else"s version yours seems quite a doggle. I soon sorted out the ferry from Dover to Calais it was just the question of which ferry and from which port...anyway I shall carry on and see everything else.....we aren't going until the end of may 2015 but with having to sort out the passport for my little dog ect. I decided to get the ball rolling and see what it all entailed so hopefully all will go well! Anyway thanks for the information it looks very helpful.                 
                              Jean

If you need any help at all, just let me know. It was a great journey and we did it with 3 dogs and 2 cars and just my husband and myself. I would do it all again tomorrow if I could! We chose the shortest ferry crossings possible as we didn't want the dogs being put in cages on decks. So we took, Dover to Calais. Then Reggio de Calabria to Messina in Sicily and then Pozallo to Valletta. The only one we didn't have to book was the Reggio to Mssina as they run every 30 minutes and you can stay with your dogs in the car on that one.

Hello All,

I am moving to Malta in April with my fiance and son who will be 8 months when we move.

This forum has been great the information is brilliant.

Caroline - the details you have put in this post are brilliant! Do you have anymore tips or must dos for the journey? Did you stay in hotels each nights and did you pre-book these?

I am intending to take about 14 days to drive down stopping in France and Italy (we think!)

We don't currently own a car and we intend to buy one to drive down and want to sell it when we arrive as I don't think we will need it in Malta. Is selling a car easy in Malta? Could we do it without registering it etc if sold it within a certain time frame?

Or is this the worst idea ever!

Thanks

Hilda

Whirlygiglife wrote:

Hello All,

I am moving to Malta in April with my fiance and son who will be 8 months when we move.

This forum has been great the information is brilliant.

Caroline - the details you have put in this post are brilliant! Do you have anymore tips or must dos for the journey? Did you stay in hotels each nights and did you pre-book these?

I am intending to take about 14 days to drive down stopping in France and Italy (we think!)

We don't currently own a car and we intend to buy one to drive down and want to sell it when we arrive as I don't think we will need it in Malta. Is selling a car easy in Malta? Could we do it without registering it etc if sold it within a certain time frame?

Or is this the worst idea ever!

Thanks

Hilda

Your plan seems OK but be sure you buy a reliable car a few months before your trip.
Its a long way and reliability will be a worry on a newly purchased car!
It will  be easier to sell in Mata if you register it in Malta first.

Its a great journey with lots to see so its great that you have allowed plenty of time.

Good luck

Terry

Hi Whirlygiglife,

We recently moved to Malta from London in September and brought our car with us, please beware if you are planning on buying a car just for the journey if you wish to sell your car when you arrive in Malta you will need to register it which is a small cost but unless you can prove that you have owned the car for 2 years prior to arrival you will be charged import tax.

We thankfully had owned it for 2 years so we were ok, but the import tax can be quite high... even if you want to sell when you get here you will still need to pay the import tax to be able to register it unfortunately.  I know some of the garages will also take into account they will need to pay this import tax so may bring you selling price down.

You may even want to consider keeping your car as even though its a small island and public transport is quite good, everything can be quite spaced out on the island and driving is so much easier :-)

If you need any advise on anything let me know, me and my other half have been here since September we drove from London to Malta so happy to answer any questions you may have.

Anne Marie

Travelling in March to Malta, road trip with a small dog.

Love everyones suggesed routes I would prefer to avoid going up in mountain routes and little roads where Ive got a cliff drop overhanging at the side of me lol

I plan to travel Lousitiges to visit my sister beforehand but that will take me out of the way for a few days but still nice to get some time with her.

So does anyone have any do's and dont's and route ideas other than whats posted?  We have to book with port authorities for the dogs arrival apparently so ferry from SIcily I am told.

roadtripper wrote:

Travelling in March to Malta, road trip with a small dog.

Love everyones suggesed routes I would prefer to avoid going up in mountain routes and little roads where Ive got a cliff drop overhanging at the side of me lol

I plan to travel Lousitiges to visit my sister beforehand but that will take me out of the way for a few days but still nice to get some time with her.

So does anyone have any do's and dont's and route ideas other than whats posted?  We have to book with port authorities for the dogs arrival apparently so ferry from SIcily I am told.

use http://www.viamichelin.com/ before you go to find the cost of using the peage system in france and make sure you have correct change makes things a lot easier but if you have family in france you may already know that lol