Malta & Gozo · self-drive car hire
Car hire in St Paul's Bay
St Paul's Bay stretches a long way — a car turns a scattered resort area into somewhere you can actually get around.
Getting to St Paul's Bay from the airport
Around 35 minutes from the airport on the main road north. The bay runs from the old village through to Buġibba and Qawra, and the sheer length of it is the thing visitors underestimate: what looks like one place on a map is a good walk end to end.
Driving and parking in St Paul's Bay
Easier than Sliema or Paceville, and there's reasonable on-street parking away from the promenade. The older village streets are narrow and steep in places, so a compact car is the more comfortable choice, and the seafront spaces near the restaurants go early in the evening.
What a car unlocks from here
The whole bay
Buġibba, Qawra and the old village are minutes apart by car and a slog on foot in the heat.
North-coast beaches
Għadira and the Golden Bay side are both around 15 to 20 minutes away.
Gozo in a day
Ċirkewwa is about 20 minutes up the coast, which makes a day on Gozo genuinely easy from here.
Where you collect
There's no desk in St Paul's Bay — collection is at Park East inside Malta International Airport, about 35 minutes away. Walk out of arrivals, turn right and carry straight on for a few minutes; the car is waiting there.
Open 08:00 – 02:00, every day.
How the airport pickup worksIn every rate
- Comprehensive insurance
- Unlimited mileage across Malta and Gozo
- Free cancellation up to 48 hours
- 10 classes, from €6 a day
Car hire in St Paul's Bay — common questions
- Where do I pick the car up for St Paul's Bay?
- At Park East inside Malta International Airport, roughly 35 minutes' drive away.
- Is St Paul's Bay walkable?
- In parts. The promenade is pleasant and flat, but the bay is long and the older village sits up a hill, so distances add up quickly in summer heat.
- Is it a good base for exploring?
- Very — you're within about 40 minutes of most of the island, and closer than the Sliema side to both the north beaches and the Gozo ferry.