Group hire
9-seater or 7-seater in Malta?
The short answer: take the seven unless you genuinely have eight or nine people. The extra two seats cost you boot space, manoeuvrability and the option of an automatic.
Family pick7-Seater
7-SeaterSeven seats for larger families and groups
From
€26/day
Minibus (9-seat)
MinibusUp to nine seats for groups and transfers
From
€40/day
| 7-Seater | Minibus (9-seat) | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats | 7 including driver | 9 including driver |
| Daily rate | €26 | €40 |
| Transmission | Auto or manual | Manual |
| Luggage with all seats up | Enough for a family's cases | Day bags only |
| Licence | Standard car licence | Standard car licence |
| Village streets & parking | Manageable | Demanding |
| Best for | Families, groups of five to seven | Groups of eight or nine travelling light |
The honest recommendation
Most groups who book a nine-seater for Malta would have been happier in a seven. Two extra seats sound like insurance against being cramped, but they cost you the boot, and Maltese roads punish length more than almost anywhere else you'd drive on holiday. The minibus is also manual only, so if anyone in the group needs an automatic, the decision makes itself.
Where the nine-seater genuinely wins: eight or nine people travelling with hand luggage, airport transfers for a group, or a party that wants to stay together in one vehicle rather than convoy. In those cases it's cheaper per head than two cars and considerably simpler to organise.
Nine versus seven — common questions
- Do I need a special licence for a nine-seater in Malta?
- No. A standard car licence covers a vehicle of up to nine seats including the driver, which is exactly what the minibus is. Anything larger would be a different category.
- Is the Minibus (9-seat) harder to drive?
- It's longer and taller than anything else in the fleet, and it's manual only. On the open road it's straightforward; in a village lane or a Sliema back street it asks more of you. If your group would fit in seven seats, take the seven.
- Can I fit luggage as well as nine people?
- Not comfortably. With all nine seats up the boot is small — realistic for day bags, not for nine people's suitcases. Groups arriving with hold luggage usually take two cars or accept folding a row.
- Which is better value?
- The 7-Seater at €26 a day against the Minibus (9-seat) at €40. Per seat the nine-seater is cheaper, but only if you actually fill it — for six or seven people the seven-seater is both cheaper and easier to park.
Ready when you are
The island's 7,000 years of history aren't going anywhere — but the July deals are.
Find your car