Driving across Europe from Uk to Malta

2POSTS

9 years ago

Hello,

My husband and I moving to Malta em Feb and we are planning to drive there with our 2 years-old boy. We will obsviously stop for sightseeing and we think will be impossible to do it straight with a toddler.... Has anyone done this trip before? Could you give us any informations/ advices and suggestions of where to stop over, hotels, etc. Thank you!

Djanane

The Malta expat guide

Updated in 2025, comprehensive and free

Read it now

DP4 Contributor

143POSTS

9 years ago

I'm doing the same in February, best get ferry from Genoa to Palermo, look at Direct Ferries web site

1 member reacted to this post

Grumpymovers Member

11POSTS

9 years ago

Hi
We did the trip from U.K. Last June. Be prepared for high toll charges in France and Italy.
We booked all our Ferries through Direct Ferries which are fairly reasonable although the Pozzallo - Malta ferry is almost twice what you would pay if you book that direct through the Virtuferries site.
There was only the 2 of us and we drove directly from Calais to Livorno (about 15 hours with breaks for coffee and loos) make sure you get to the ferry port at least 2 hrs before. It wasn't the easiest place to find, signage not being their strong point.
The cars are out in the open on the ferry so may be worth investing in a car cover to avoid the car being covered in a shell of salt by the time you get to Palermo, we got one for about £50. We would suggest paying the extra for a cabin as there are not many places you can get your head down on the ship, the seats are not very comfortable.
The food on the ferry was terrible, we paid for lunch and dinner, only to find it was a plate of something over cooked and a drink was extra so was a pudding. If you can source something to take on with you you maybe better off.
The roads in Palermo are very narrow and busy, the drivers are erratic and rude but just be patient you get out eventually and it will take approximately 4 hrs to get around the island to Pozzallo.
The roads were bad, lots of road works, we didn't pay any tolls but have been told that they would be reinstated once the roads were finished. We stayed in the B&B Brezza Marina, you can find it on TripAdvisor, small family run very clean and reasonably priced, only 5 min drive from the ferry port.

Approx cost for whole trip was just under £1000, inc fuel.

Be ready for some amazing views once you hit the boarders of Switzerland going into Italy, so worth the effort of the drive.

Hope this helps

bernie_iris_fabian_david Serial expat

337POSTS

9 years ago

Grumpymovers wrote:
Hi
[...] make sure you get to the ferry port at least 2 hrs before. It wasn't the easiest place to find, signage not being their strong point.
The cars are out in the open on the ferry so may be worth investing in a car cover to avoid the car being covered in a shell of salt by the time you get to Palermo, we got one for about £50. We would suggest paying the extra for a cabin as there are not many places you can get your head down on the ship, the seats are not very comfortable.
The food on the ferry was terrible, we paid for lunch and dinner, only to find it was a plate of something over cooked and a drink was extra so was a pudding. If you can source something to take on with you you maybe better off.
The roads in Palermo are very narrow and busy, the drivers are erratic and rude but just be patient you get out eventually and it will take approximately 4 hrs to get around the island to Pozzallo.
The roads were bad, lots of road works, we didn't pay any tolls but have been told that they would be reinstated once the roads were finished. [...]

Totally agree with the part about the ferry from Livorno - once in the harbour area in Livorno, it took us almost an hour to find the correct port (there are three different terminals, depending on where you're going - and the one to Sicily is hardest to find as it is mainly for lorries).
The cabin in the ferry was great, though - we had an outside cabin, and it really was like a hotel room, so great with children! If you are a member of an automobile club, there are special offers for the ferry, too.
And the food was awful - although it is an Italian ferry operator, the entire crew is Greek, and they certainly can't cook... (not the Greek in general, the crew, I mean!)

We didn't think the roads in Sicily were too bad - certainly much better than the ones in Malta. And as far as the driving is concerned, I believe southern Italians and the Maltese are on the same level...

1 member reacted to this post

earsRgood New member

5POSTS

9 years ago

We will be doing it next week with a 5 & 7 year old and breaking the trip up:

1st Stage: UK to Disneyland Paris for 5 days. 4-5hrs
2nd Stage: Paris to Macon for one night. 3-4 hrs
3rd Stage: Macon to Avoriaz (Ski resort for 7 days near Mont Blanc tunnel)
4th Stage: Avoriaz to Livorno, with a quick stop at Pisa. 5hrs
5th Stage: Livorno to Sicily ferry.
6th Stage: Through Sicily with a stop over.
7th Stage: Ferry to Malta!

DP4 Contributor

143POSTS

9 years ago

Can anybody tell me why people prefer the livorno crossing to the Genoa crosing,? seems a shorter drive from the UK

Grumpymovers Member

11POSTS

9 years ago

i believe it worked out a bit cheaper, and the crossing is a little shorter too

ItsMrsGray Member

2POSTS

9 years ago

Hi everyone,

So, after a lot of thinking, doubts, etc. Hubby and I decided this will be our route:

19th Feb London - Dijon ( leaving around 4am and via eurochanel).
20th Feb Dijon- genoa. We will then catch the 11pm ferry to Palermo.
21st Feb- arrive in Palermo and then drive straight off to Pozzalo and staying the night there.
22nd- catch the early ferry to Malta.

We decided to take the longer ferry from genoa as we have had experiences of driving with our toddler before and he isn't very keen on sitting around for long periods hehe.

I will post the "outcome" of our adventure later

1 member reacted to this post

firstek Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#10

Good luck!
Hope you have a great journey! My husband and our son ( and me!) did the journey entirely by train , except the Catamaran from Pozzalo.
We left London in October last year via Eurostar to Paris, then Paris to Turin, 3 hours at the station then from Turin to Naples for the midnight sleeper train to Syracuse in Sicily. We then got the small train from there to Pozzallo, had to wait 6hours but then finally arrived on the Catamaran in Valletta in the evening about 8.30 pm.
It was non stop over two days and cost us roughly 1,100 pounds.

It was exhausting, epic and thoroughly amazing! We saw so many lovely sights on the train and met some genuinely kind and helpful citizens of Europe!

2 members reacted to this post

bernie_iris_fabian_david Serial expat

337POSTS

9 years ago

#11

Good luck, and take care! And of course keeping my fingers crossed your little boy will "enjoy" the trip, too

DP4 Contributor

143POSTS

9 years ago

#12

I'm off nxt Sat(4/feb), via tunnel, taking my time with 7 stops across France & Italy, getting ferry from Genoa on sat(earlier departure time on sat), stopping in Palermo, them drive to pozzalo to get 7:30pm crossing to Malta. Doing trip on my own , so look out for UK registered car.

1 member reacted to this post

Andrew-scuba New member

7POSTS

9 years ago

#13

Hi,
My wife and I drove all the way from UK to Malta last February. We arrived in Pollazzo on a Tuesday and hadn't booked a place on the ferry from Pollazzo to Valletta for the Wednesday crossing. Fortunately, being winter time we were able to turn up at the port and get on but were told we would have to wait until it had loaded to see if there were any spaces. We had tried to book online 2 days earlier but they wouldn't accept online bookings so close to the sailing date. We didn't check the timetable but our hotelier in Pollazzo said that the ferry didn't run on a Thursday.
You will be OK crossing on 22nd Feb but best to check the timetable and book in advance if possible.

DP4 Contributor

143POSTS

9 years ago

#14

Thanks, booked all my ferries via direct ferries.com in advance

kateblank Active member

52POSTS

9 years ago

#15

A co-worker did it, and he said it was stressful and tiring, simply because he did not allocate enough time or money. He said he wished he had cut his daily driving time in half, down to 3-5 hours a day, because he had to pass up chances to stop at interesting places, and at the end of each day he was usually too tired to do anything big in the evenings. He also said he way underestimated the costs, and always felt like he was checking his wallet. He said if he does it again, he'll budget a lot more for tolls & upgrades & random expenses, and a lot more for petrol & repairs, just so he doesn't have to give those things any thought while he's trying to enjoy the trip.

Vin Mooneeram Member

1POSTS

8 years ago

#16

Hi

just wondered how your trip went ? I'm planning to do drive from the UK ( Cardiff ) in October and any tips or advice would be helpful.

Thanks

GozoMo Malta Expert

2213POSTS

8 years ago

#17

Vin Mooneeram wrote:
Hi

just wondered how your trip went ? I'm planning to do drive from the UK ( Cardiff ) in October and any tips or advice would be helpful.

Thanks

If you look at all the posts, which there are many, on this subject you should find the right information you need.

pastymuncher008 Member

3POSTS

8 years ago

#18

I drove down from Leicester in January 2015 with an 8 year old. Toll roads are painfully expensive although one was 48cents, one was €76

If you drive through Switzerland you need a Vignette which I think you can get at the border. Drove through France (like driving in UK motorway - clearly signposted, etc), then you get to Italy, Italy is different - one autostrada came to an abrupt end with a red painted arrow on a piece of wood sending us down a lane and onto the old road (I kid you not); then you get to Sicily - Sicily is different again. Got stuck in Sicily because the ferry wasn't running so do be prepared for that. When guide books tell you not to drive in Italian towns and cities it really is because you take your life into your hands everytime you do it - I love driving in Sicily/Italy! Check AA or RAC website on what you require, I had a kit from Halfords that I'd used before but you need a breathalyser for France and you MUST have hi-viz vests for all passengers which can be put on before leaving the car - so not in the boot.

I forgot my GB sticker and the headlight deflectors (left them on my old kitchen table). Driving through Italy I don't think I've ever said "wow" quite so many times. It is a life changing experience and I don't regret it at all.

Oh, one thing, in Italy fill up your tank when you get down to 3/4 full as some of the fuel stations are a very long way apart.

Good luck.

1 member reacted to this post

Gabbylw Member

2POSTS

8 years ago

#19

Hey was wondering how your jorunery went? Me my partner and two year old are also moving to Malta in April I was wondering how did your toddler cope with the long drive?

GozoMo Malta Expert

2213POSTS

8 years ago

#20

Don’t forget it’s just not the expense of driving here but the additional costs of bringing a car into Malta which I assume you have read about, good luck with a two year old.

bernie_iris_fabian_david Serial expat

337POSTS

8 years ago

#21

When we did the journey from Austria to Malta (ferry from Livorno to Palermo), and then back from Malta to Austria (driving all the way) back in 2016, our two children aged five and one-and-a-half were fine. But they are used to longer trips in the car (we visit their grandparents every two or three weeks, and it's a 3-hour drive, sometimes longer if the traffic is bad...)

So I guess it's mainly down to whether your two-year-old is used to being in the car. Also, regular stops are a good idea. April should be ok as it's not too hot - but be prepared for snow if you're going through the Alps, and if there is a storm the ferry from Pozzallo to Malta might not go...

As GozoMo has said, make sure you've got all the info regarding bringing a car to Malta (if you plan on keeping it there for longer, that is. We just stayed for a little more than 3 months, so we were actually tourists, not residents, hence didn't need to deal with that...)

Best of luck for your move!
Bernie

1 member reacted to this post

Kgeorge1 Member

2POSTS

7 years ago

#22

Hi there did u manage to do this journey by train, could u please let me know how u got on as my husband and I are thinking of doing it with our 3 kids. Tks

pjcallwood1 Member

1POSTS

4 years ago

#23

@ItsMrsGray There are no issues about driving to Malta from UK with excellent motorways en route. I would avoid stopping in the big cities and take 5 to 7 days so you are not exhausted on arrival. There are 3 ferry journeys en route 1. UK Cross Channel to France 2. Reggio Calabria to Sicilly 3.Sicilly to Malta via Vertu Ferries. Recommend a motorway carnet in advance from Swiss Embassy in advance and I think there is one available for Italy. Recommend Logis de France for accommodation in France. *****and AirBnB for all European countries as well. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Moderated by Djameel 4 years ago
Reason : No external links/promotional content on the forum please.
We invite you to read the forum code of conduct

DP4 Contributor

143POSTS

4 years ago

#24

Your replying to a message sent in 2018,

The Malta expat guide

Updated in 2025, comprehensive and free

Read it now

GozoMo Malta Expert

2213POSTS

4 years ago

#25

@ItsMrsGray There are no issues about driving to Malta from UK with excellent motorways en route. I would avoid stopping in the big cities and take 5 to 7 days so you are not exhausted on arrival. There are 3 ferry journeys en route 1. UK Cross Channel to France 2. Reggio Calabria to Sicilly 3.Sicilly to Malta via Vertu Ferries. Recommend a motorway carnet in advance from Swiss Embassy in advance and I think there is one available for Italy. Recommend Logis de France for accommodation in France. [link under review] and AirBnB for all European countries as well. Good luck and let me know how it goes.
- @pjcallwood1

I should think they may have arrived here by now as it was 2017 they asked the question.