Cycling in Malta

jc4lab

I fancy this for the end of November ..Has anyone been and any tips on where to go,stay etc whenr touring the island by bike ?My intention is to hire a bike locally..Thanks

pq

I rode in Malta for a couple of days last winter and was very unimpressed.

1. Malta is very urban so you spend a lot of time riding through pretty unpleasant urban sprawl
2. The small country roads away from the towns are not maintained at all so they are extremely rough.
3. The standard of driving is very bad
4. There are too many cars and they're not used to cyclists.

I was very glad when I jumped on the boat for Sicily. Riding there was far better.

jc4lab

Thanks..Heard rave reviews for Malta as a holday destination but nothing for cycling there..The only cycling site I have found on the net is for Mountain biking in summer

cpeachey

:roll: We took the tandem there a few years ago. Cycling is ok as a means of transport but scenary does not compare to many other places around the med. It's a cheap island (or was!) with 1950s busses taking you anywhere for very little cash. We did pass a bike shop on the way to Valetta so hire should not be a problem. The island is too small for "touring" as such.
Chris

mandie

I've just come back from a (non-cycling) holiday there and I would endorse everything PQ says. Usually when we go somewhere without the bikes we hire bikes for a couple of days but we both decided that it wasn't worth the effort.

It is quite a cheap place for a holiday, but not quite as cheap as you sometimes think it is. ( The Maltese Pound is worth about £1.60 so that beer at 60p iis actually costing you about £1.00)

The buses are cheap and reasonably efficent, once you work out how they operate. Some of them must date back to the 1940's but seem to be reliable.

St John's Co-Cathedal in Valletta and the city of Mdina need to be seen, the rest I could have taken or left.

The people are very laid back and friendly and the bread fresh from a local bakery is out of this world.

jimstephenson

I grew up on the island and still travel back occasionally; I have a lot of fond memories of the place.

However, I can't think of a single reason why anyone would choose Malta for a cycling tour.

Hope this helps and you choose somewhere more appropriate.

retrobiker

Hi am thinking of taking a 7 day break in Malta this month, in the UK I own a car and campevan but cycle most places that don't require me to use four wheels, (that includes into central london) mainly as transportation but for leisure and fitness as well. I rarely catch public transport (haven't been on a bus or train in well over a year) Is it really that bad cycling in Malta! I took my bike when I was on Isle of Wight for a week found it pretty hilly (how does Malta compare), the car was king there as well but I still preferred to cycle rather than drive as it avoids traffic jams, parking problems, parking fees etc.. plus of course you can stop where you like.
I suppose if it really is so bike unfriendly in Malta I guess I will hire a car...

tatanab

It is 20 year since I last visited Malta for a week of comparatively short distance cycling with my wife.

True, the island is not huge so rides are short(ish). I stayed in Sliema and a ride the length of the island for a visit to Gozo was quite within our scope. Most of the time was spent cycling around just looking at some of the tourist stuff, and some of the stuff off the normal tourist trail. Admittedly the roads were not exactly as smooth as a billiard table, but so what.

20 year old memories tell me that Malta was perfectly ok for cycling and not end to end hoardes of mad motorists. I recall the locals being very friendly and pro-British. The strangest thing on the road is that traffic entering a roundabout has priority. Tea or coffee tastes salty unless made with bottled water because the island has no fresh water (other than rain) and tap water comes from desalination plant.

I'd say - go and form your own opinions.

mandie

retrobiker wrote:

I suppose if it really is so bike unfriendly in Malta I guess I will hire a car...

I wasn't saying that you couldn't cycle, it's just that it struck me as cycling in town, which I don't mind doing to get somewhere, but wouldn't choose to do it for pleasure. Very few locals seem to cycle for transport, but if you are up early enough on a Sunday morning (when the cars are still asleep) you will see quite a few people out on road bikes.

However my advice is do what the locals do and take the bus, a seven day pass is M£6:00 if you go before 1st January, or what ever the equivelant in € is after that.