It's easy to reach Malta from London by
train & ferry, and
you get to see Italy on the way. Malta is one of the
friendliest islands in the Mediterranean or anywhere else
for that matter,
and it's a great place for a week or two's holiday, with
plenty to see and do.
Take Eurostar to Paris then the
overnight Artesia sleeper train to Rome or Venice.
Spend a day (or longer!) exploring these cities, then board
the sleeper train overnight from Rome or Venice direct to
Sicily. Yes, these sleeper trains really do go direct
to Siracuse & Catania, they are shunted onto a ship to cross
the Straits of Messina, one of the few places in Europe (or
indeed the world) where train ferries still operate, an
interesting experience in itself. Fast catamarans of
Virtu Ferries then link Catania or Pozzallo (an hour south
of Siracuse by local train) in Sicily to Malta up to 6 days
a week with up to 3 sailings per day. Pozzallo
to Valetta takes just 90 minutes, Catania to Valetta takes 3
hours. Sailing times and days vary, so check them on the
www.virtuferries.com.
Above:
Virtu Rapid Ferries' fast catamaran, 'San Gwann'.
They now operate a newer and larger craft to link
Malta with Sicily...
Above:
Instead of arriving at a remote airport, your ferry
sails into Valetta's famous & historic harbour and you
arrive a short walk from your hotel...
Other ferries
to Malta: Although the suggested route below uses
Virtu Ferries from Sicily, Grimaldi Ferries (www.grimaldi-lines.com)
offer an excellent weekly cruise ferry from Genoa,
Civitavecchia (near Rome) and Catania (Sicily) to Valetta in
Malta. You can find information on train travel from
the UK to Genoa to connect with this ship on the
Italy page. If you have any feedback on
this or other ferries to Malta, please
email me.
London to Malta: Suggested
train+ferry times...
There are almost unlimited
permutations of route and train between London and Pozzallo,
Catania or Salerno, especially if you want to stop off here
and there on the way. But here are two suggested itineraries
out and back, with a day in Venice or Rome & Siracuse on the
way. By all means stop off for longer between trains,
to see more of Italy on the way. For much of the year,
Virtu Ferries' sailing dates allow a Saturday departure from London, and
a Sunday arrival back in London, allowing you to
take a convenient one- or two-week break in Malta with no need to fly.
To discover other possible routes and times, try using
http://bahn.hafas.de, the online timetable for train
times anywhere in Europe.
London ► Malta (suggested
outward journey 1, via Venice)
Use this option if you'd like to see Venice on the
way. It takes 2½ days & 2 nights, including a
day in Venice.
Journey
:
Train
type:
Times:
Day
London
to Paris
Eurostar
Leave
London St Pancras at 15:02 (15:32 at weekends), arriving at Paris
Gare du Nord at 18:17 (18:47 at weekends).
Cross Paris by metro.
Leave
Venice (Santa Lucia) at 19:03 by the 'Freccia della
Laguna' ('Lagoon Arrow') sleeper train, arriving at Siracuse
at 13:55 on day 3. This train has 4-berth
air-conditioned Comfort couchettes, and sleeping cars with 1, 2 & 3-berth rooms with
washbasin.
Day
2
Syracuse
to Pozzallo
An
hour by roughly hourly local train or take a taxi
A
local train leaves Siracuse around 14:30 arriving Pozzallo at about
15:32. A later train leaves Siracuse at16:25
arriving Pozzallo 17:28. You can check train
times at
www.trenitalia.com.
The ferry terminal is quite a hike from Pozzallo town
centre, but Virtu Ferries may have a minibus from
their office in town near the seafront.
Day
3
Pozzallo
to Valletta (Malta)
Fast
ferry
Depending on the time of year and day of the week, Pozzallo
depart 19:00, Valetta arrive 20:30 or Pozzallo
depart 21:30 Valetta arrive 23:00. The ferry
runs on 3 to 5 days each week depending on the month,
days & times vary so see
www.virtuferries.com
to check them.
It's is a fast air-conditioned catamaran with
reclining aircraft-type seats, some arranged in groups
around tables. A bar serves hot and cold drinks
and snacks. 'Club class' seats also available.
Day
3
London ► Malta (suggested
outward journey 2, via Rome)
Use this option if you'd like to see Rome on the way.
It takes 2½ days & 2 nights, including a day in Rome &
a day in Siracuse.
Journey
:
Train
type:
Times:
Day
London
to Paris
Eurostar
Leave
London St Pancras at 14:04, arriving at Paris
Gare du Nord at 17:26, or by all mans take an
earlier one.
Cross Paris by metro.
Leave
Rome at 21:26 by the 'Bellini' sleeper train, arriving at Siracuse
at 11:00 on day 3. This train has 4-berth
air-conditioned Comfort couchettes, and sleeping cars with 1, 2 & 3-berth rooms with
washbasin and deluxe Excelsior sleepers with 1 or 2 beds and
private shower & toilet.
Day
2
Syracuse
to Pozzallo
An
hour by roughly hourly local train or take a taxi
A
local train leaves Siracuse around 14:30 arriving Pozzallo at about
15:32. A later train leaves Siracuse at 17:45
arriving Pozzallo 18:49 (use this later train only if
connecting with the 2130 ferry, not an earlier one). You can check train
times at
www.trenitalia.com.
The ferry terminal is quite a hike from Pozzallo town
centre, but Virtu Ferries may have a minibus from
their office in Pozzallo town near the seafront.
Day
3
Pozzallo
to Valletta (Malta)
Fast
ferry
Depending on the time of year and day of the week, Pozzallo
depart 19:00, Valetta arrive 20:30 or Pozzallo
depart 21:30 Valetta arrive 23:00. The ferry
runs on 3 to 5 days each week depending on the month,
days & times vary so see
www.virtuferries.com
to check them.
It's is a fast air-conditioned catamaran with
reclining aircraft-type seats, some arranged in groups
around tables. A bar serves hot and cold drinks
and snacks. 'Club class' seats also available.
Day
3
Malta
► London (suggested return journey 1, via Catania)
This is the fastest journey, taking just one night, 2
days. However, it only runs twice a week or
less.
Journey
:
Train
type:
Times:
Day:
Valetta
to Catania
Fast
ferry
Leave
Valetta at 05:00, arriving Catania 08:30. This
5am ferry runs twice times each week, see
www.virtuferries.com
to check dates.
Day
1
Catania
to Naples
InterCity
train
Leave
Catania at 12:00, arriving in Naples (Piazza
Garibaldi station, adjacent to Centrale) at 19:18.
Day
1
Naples
to Turin
Overnight
sleeper
Leave
Naples (Centrale) at 21:08, arriving at Turin (Porta Nuova) at
08:20 on day 2. 4-berth couchettes and 1, 2 & 3-bed sleepers available. Walk from Turin Porta Nuova to
Turin Porta Susa station.
Day
1
Turin
to Paris
TGV
high-speed train
Leave
Turin (Porta Susa) at 09:40, arriving Paris Gare de Lyon
at 15:15.
See the
London to Italy page
for details.
Day
2
Paris
to London
Eurostar
Leave
Paris at 17:13 and arrive London St Pancras at
18:34.
Day
2
Malta
► London (suggested return journey 2, via Pozzallo &
Rome)
This option runs up to 5 times a week and takes 2 days
& 2 nights including a day in Siracuse and a day in
Rome.
Journey
:
Train
type:
Times:
Day:
Valetta
to Pozzallo
Fast
ferry
Leave
Valetta at 06:45 or 07:00, arriving Pozzallo at
08:15 or 08:30. This ferry runs up to 5 times each week, see
www.virtuferries.com
to check dates.
Day
1
Pozzallo to Siracuse
Local train
Take a local train from Pozzallo to Siracuse.
There's on at 08:55 arriving 09:58. If you miss
this, there's a railway bus at 11:25 arriving 13:25.
Spend the day exploring Siracuse.
Day
1
Siracuse to Rome
Overnight
sleeper
Leave
Siracuse at 20:25, arriving at Rome at 08:56 on day
2. This train has 4-berth air-conditioned
Comfort couchettes, and sleeping cars with 1 2 &
3-berth rooms with washbasin and deluxe Excelsior
sleepers with 1 or 2 beds and private shower & toilet.
Spend the day in Rome.
Leave
Paris Gare du Nord at 11:13 and arrive London St Pancras at
12:29.
Day
3
How much does
it cost?
The total cost from London to
Malta, including Eurostar, all rail travel,
couchettes for all three overnight sections, and
the ferry, starts at roughly £325-£360 return using the cheapest
Eurostar and Paris-Italy book-ahead fares with couchettes. Remember
that this includes 3 or 4 nights accommodation,
over 2,000 miles of travel, and a day in Rome or Venice! The actual cost
will depend on what class of couchette and sleeper you want,
and whether you can get the cheapest book-in-advance fares.
You can stop off and see the cities of Italy if you like, it
makes no significant difference to the cost.
Check London to
Rome or Venice
fares on the
London to Italy page.
Fares start at £59 return for Eurostar from London to Paris,
Paris-Venice starts at £33 one-way including a couchette
in a 6-berth compartment or £42 in a less crowded 4-berth
compartment. The price you pay will depend on availability
and the sleeper or couchette type you choose.
You can check Venice-Siracuse and Catania-Naples-Turin fares
online at
www.trenitalia.com.
Rome-Siracuse costs 69 euro with a Comfort couchette
(4-berth) or 93 euro per person in a 2-bed sleeper.
If you pre-book an Amica 20% discounted fare, that
falls to 55 euro in a couchette or 83 euro for a bed
in a 2-bed sleeper. Venice-Siracuse costs 80
euro with a Comfort couchette (4-berth) or 104 euro
with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper. If you pre-book
an Amica discounted fare, that falls to 65 euro
couchette or 75 euro for a bed in a 2-bed
sleeper.
You can check the ferry fare at
www.virtuferries.com.
For foot passengers it is about 125 euro (£104) return low season,
147 euro (£125)
return high season. Children under 4 go free (5
euro fuel surcharge may be payable),
children over 4 but under 16 go for 86 euro return.
Youth fare (anyone under 26) 105 euro (£89) return,
senior fare (anyone over 65) 106 euro(£90) return.
Travelling in more luxurious 'Club class' costs an
extra 16 euro each way.
How to buy
tickets to Malta online...
You can book this trip online,
which is the cheapest way to arrange tickets as you don't
pay any booking fees and can see all the cheap fares if they
are available. It involves 3 separate
websites, so before jumping in sketch out your
itinerary, listing the date & time for each separate
train you wish to book to avoid mistakes. Naturally,
it's a good idea to do a
dry run on all 3 sites to check availability and prices
before booking for real.
Step 1, check
sailing times and dates for the
ferry online at
www.virtuferries.com. Why start with the ferry?
Well, it only runs on certain days and sailing times vary,
so it makes sense to start by checking ferry sailings,
finding a suitable sailing on a specific date and then
working backwards to book the trains as these run daily.
Step 2, follow
the step-by-step booking instructions on the
London to Italy page to buy tickets
to book (1) the
London-Paris-London return Eurostar journey, (2) the
Paris-Venice or Paris-Rome overnight train journey and (3) the Turin-Paris
or Rome-Paris trains for your return journey. You can
book all these online at either
www.raileurope.co.uk
(in English, for UK users) or
www.voyages-sncf.com (for any user,
see
advice on using this). You'll need to book them as separate
journeys, adding each ticket to your basket, clicking
'continue shopping' then booking the next ticket, although all
the tickets can be paid for as one transaction.
Step 3, book the
Venice or Rome to Siracuse and Siracuse to Rome or Catania
to Turin tickets online at
www.trenitalia.com. Tickets can be picked up in
Italy. Tickets for the Siracuse-Pozzallo local train
can be bought at the station when you get to Siracuse.
Advice on using the
Trenitalia website.
If you have any difficulties
booking at Trenitalia.com (which can struggle with some
UK credit cards) you can buy tickets either at
www.raileurope.co.uk
or at the
Seat61 Rail shop. Prices are slightly
higher than
those charged by Trenitalia but are shown in pounds and
a small charge is made for postage.
How to buy
tickets by phone...
If booking
online sounds a bit complicated, you can book by
phone with two phone calls.
It's probably
best to start with the ferry
journey. First, visit the
www.virtuferries.com to check on sailing times, days of
the week, and dates. Then call
Viamare
Travel on 020 8343 5810 to book. A word of advice - when I called,
Viamare denied that there was a sailing to Catania on
Saturday in May. They only had information on Virtu's
car-carrying ferries, and this particular sailing was due to
be operated by a passenger-only ferry until June. So
check the times yourself with the Virtu Ferries website or
the Thomas Cook European Timetable, and talk to
Viamare nicely!
Then book the rail journey
from London to Sicily. You
can book through a number of UK agencies, such as Rail
Europe on 0844 848 5 848, Ffestiniog
Travel on 01766 772050 - Click
here for a list of agencies.
Above:
Palace Square, Valetta. Brits will find many features familiar!
Above: Valetta's Victoria Gate.
Above: Malta's famous George Cross in
Valetta's town museum, awarded to the whole island an
its people during world war 2.
Above: Valetta street scene. Afficionados
of the film 'Malta Story' may well recognise this corner
from one of the scenes, it hasn't changed much!
Buses, many of them vintage and all
pained bright orange, link Valetta with towns and villages all
over Malta. The Valetta bus station is immediately outside the
city’s main gate. Fares are cheap, usually Lm 0.50 or less per
trip, and buses run at least every half hour throughout the day
on most routes. You can buy tickets giving you unlimited bus
travel all over Malta for 1 day (Lm 1.50), 3 days (Lm 4) or 5
days (Lm 5). You can download a leaflet
showing all Maltese bus routes,
frequencies and fares at www.atp.com.mt,
which also shows which part of Valetta’s bus station each
bus leaves from.
Above: Brightly-painted Maltese buses at Valetta bus
station, just outside the city's main gate.
Valetta to Gozo by bus & ferry...
Take bus number 45 from Valetta bus station to Cirkewwa ferry
terminal, for the ferry to Gozo. Buses run every 20-30 minutes
throughout the day, journey time 1 hour 10 minutes, fare Lm
0.50. The Gozo Channel ferry (www.gozochannel.com)
links Cirkewwa on Malta with Mgarr on Gozo every 45 minutes
throughout the day, crossing time 25 minutes. The fare is Lm2
each way. Grey-painted Gozo buses link Mgarr with all main
points on Gozo.
