London to Malta . . .

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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), and it's a great place for a week or two's holiday, with plenty to see and do.

Malta is linked to Sicily several days each week by the fast catamarans of Virtu Ferries.  These sail to Valletta from either Pozzallo (an hour south of Siracuse by roughly hourly local train) or Catania.  The cost is about £55 return for foot passengers, and you can book in the UK through Viamare Travel, call 020 8343 5810.  Sailing times and days vary, so check them on the www.virtuferries.com.  The crossing to Malta from Pozzallo takes just 90 minutes, or 3 hours from Catania.  There are no Virtu Ferries sailings in November or December.

Right:  Virtu Rapid Ferries' fast catamaran, 'San Gwann'

Grimaldi Ferries used to sail from Salerno (just south of Naples) to Malta once a week year-round, though this ferry seems to have been discontinued in late 2006.  If you have any feedback on this or other ferries to Malta, please email me.

London to Malta:  Suggested train+ferry times...

There are a whole variety of possible rail routes and train times between London and Pozzallo, Catania or Salerno, but here is a recommended itinerary, with a day in Venice on the way.  By all means stop off for longer between trains, to see more of Venice, Rome or Naples 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)
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.  Cross Paris by metro.	Day 1
Paris to Ven:ce	EuroNight sleeper	Leave Paris (Gare de Bercy) at 19:42 by sleeper train, arriving Venice (Santa Lucia station) at 09:39 on day 2.  Spend day in Venice.  See the London to Italy page for details.	Day 1
Ven:ce to Syracuse	Overnight sleeper	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.	Day 2
Syracuse to Pozzallo	An hour by roughly hourly local train or take a taxi	A local train leaves Siracuse around 14:20 arriving Pozzallo at about 15:19.  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 several times each week - see www.virtuferries.com to check dates and times.	Day 3

On board the trains...

The overnight Paris to Venice 'Stendhal' is a EuroNight express, with 6- & 4-berth couchettes, 1-, 2- & 3-berth sleepers with washbasin, and a restaurant car (the set menu costs 26 euros).  Click here for an illustrated guide to the sleepers, couchettes and restaurant car on this train.

The overnight Venice to Siracuse 'Freccia della Laguna', has ordinary seats (not recommended for an overnight trip), ordinary 6-berth couchettes, 4-berth air-conditioned Comfort couchettes (recommended), and sleeping cars (highly recommended) with 1- 2- and 3-berth rooms with washbasin. The couchettes and sleepers on this train are similar to the sleepers and couchettes on the 'Stendhal'.

The Virtu Ferries service 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.

Malta ► London (suggested)
Journey :	Train type:	Times:	Day:
Valetta to Catania	Fast ferry	Leave Valetta at 05:00, arriving Catania 08:30.  This ferry runs several times each week - visit www.virtuferries.com to check dates.  On other dates there may be sailings to Pozzallo.	Day 1
Catania to Naples	InterCity train	Leave Catania at 12:00, arriving in Naples (Piazza Garibaldi station) at 19:18.	Day 1
Naples to Turin	Overnight sleeper	Leave Naples (Centrale) at 21:38, 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 (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

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 £280 return using the cheapest Eurostar and Paris-Italy book-ahead fares.  Remember that this includes 3 nights accommodation, over 2,000 miles of travel, and a day in 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 Venice and Turin to London fares on the London to Italy page.  Fares start at £59 return for Eurostar from London to Paris, Paris-Venice starts at £28 one-way for including a couchette in a 6-berth compartment or £47 in a less crowded 4-berth compartment, Turin-Paris starts at £20 one-way for one way by TGV train.

• You can check Venice-Siracuse and Catania-Naples-Turin fares at www.trenitalia.com.

• You can check the ferry fare at www.virtuferries.com, for foot passengers it is about £60 return low season, £70 return high season.  Children under 4 go free, children 4-14 (inclusive) travel at half fare.  Note that fuel surcharges and embarkation/port fees may need to be added to these fares.

How to arrange tickets online:

It's possible to book this trip online.  It involves 3 separate websites, but booking this way means no booking fees and it puts you in control.  I'd recommend sketching out your itinerary before you start, jotting down the dates for each separate train journey to avoid mistakes.  Naturally, you may want to do a dry run on all 3 sites to check availability and prices before booking for real.

• Step 1, follow the step-by-step booking instructions on the London to Italy page to buy tickets for (1) the London-Paris-London return Eurostar journey, (2) the Paris-Venice overnight train journey and (3) the Turin-Paris day train journey online at either www.raileurope.co.uk (un English, for UK users) or www.voyages-sncf.com (for any user, English button is at the bottom).  You will need to book these as three separate journeys, although all 3 can be bought in one transaction.

• Step 2, book the Venice-Siracuse and Catania-Turin tickets online at www.trenitalia.com.  Tickets can be picked up in Italy.  Tickets for the Siracuse-Pozzallo local train can be bought 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 Italian rail tickets online in the UK using the Seat61 Rail shop.  Prices are only slightly higher than those charged by Trenitalia but are shown in pounds and a small charge is made for postage.

• Step 3, book the ferry online at www.virtuferries.com.

How to arrange 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 Ffestiniog Travel on 01766 772050 - Click here for a list of agencies.

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Bus information for Malta:  www.atp.com.mt

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.

Right:  Brightly-painted Maltese buses at Valetta bus station.

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.

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