If you are spending some time exploring the islands of Malta it can be a bit of a challenge to get around. Maltese public transport being notoriously unreliable and you might not want to hire a car or have anywhere to park one.
This is where GoTo Malta can step in and save the day. It’s an Electric Car Sharing Scheme with a large fleet of electric cars scattered across Malta and Gozo. You can simply jump into one and drive once you’ve registered for the service.
Quick and Simple Car Hire in Malta
With GoTo car sharing, you can have the freedom of going where you want and when you want without committing to expensive car rental or relying on taxis or buses. If you want to own your itinerary and keep it as fast, slow, nimble or flexible as you wish, GoTo car-sharing is your best option to get around in Malta.
The car-sharing system allows you to ‘hire’ a car only for the time that you need it. It is ideal for point-to-point trips, and cars are really easy to pick-up and use. The electric cars are parked in appointed parking spaces, accessible 24 hours, 7 days a week.
A Quick Trip to the Beach in Malta
When we wanted to head to the coast, I loaded up the GoTo app and found a car available a couple of streets away from our Swieqi apartment.
I clicked on ‘reserve’ and that gave us 15 leisurely minutes to get ourselves together and locate the car. This meant that no other users could swoop in and take our precious ride.
Once at the car, the in-app damage report submitted, we pulled away as quietly as a mouse in the super sleek Renault Zoe. We were soon heading towards the opposite coast for a wander amongst the greenery and moonscape around Għajn Tuffieħa bay.
Twenty or so minutes later we pulled into the dedicated parking spot close to the bay, finishing that part of our journey with one click of the app and we were good to go for a much-needed hike.
After a good couple of hours of exploration, covering most of the massive rocky outcrop which separates Riviera Beach from neighbouring Gnejna, it was time to return home.
Our car, No. 60, was still exactly where we had left it. If you did want to use GoTo and keep the car reserved whilst you head off and explore, there is a handy ‘Stop Over’ option you can for €0.14 per minute but this time we opted not to this time.
How Can I Sign Up With GoTo and Start Driving?
If you’d like to give GoTo a try then just visit the website or download the app and follow the simple steps to create an account.
Don’t forget to use the exclusive code at the bottom of this page to grab yourself 10 Free driving minutes!
After a simple signup and verification process, this takes less than 24 hours, you are good to go.
There are hundreds of designated parking spots across Malta and Gozo when you can simply drop the car and finish your journey. The service is charged by the minute and there’s no shifty car rental agreements or agents to deal with. Nice.
What are the Cars Like?
Honestly, they are a total dream to drive and fully automatic. If you have never driven an electric car before, it is going to be a lovely surprise to find how smooth and quiet they are as you navigate your way around the island.
Plus, they are charged and cleaned when not in use so there’s no more smelly rip off petrol stations to deal with. Hooray.
Should you have any queries or difficulties, just press the call button and speak to a customer care agent directly from the car. Their customer care is stellar, way better than you will experience from other car companies around the island.
How Much Does GoTo Car Hire Cost?
The pricing has been kept super simple to keep in line with similar schemes across Europe.
Basic Plan – no membership fees but a bigger per minute and round trip rate.
Standard Plan – €7 per month, free for the first 2 months, a lower per minute or roundtrip rate.
Savings Plan – €99 per month gets you a bucket load of driving minutes, ideal as a car replacement.
Pre-Paid Package – €42 gets you plenty of minutes or a great daily rate. This is the ideal one for tourists and visitors to Malta!
One Way or Round Trip?
You can see in the above packages that you have an option to make one way or round trips with the GoTo car hire service. Here’s what that means:
One Way
This is a point to point option, you pick the car up somewhere and drop it off at another location.
Ideal if you wanted to drive from Valletta to the Gozo ferry, dropping the car at the ferry terminal for example.
Roundtrip
Ideal for trips to the beach, you use the car to go somewhere and back again to the same spot.
This is going to be the best option for tourists. Roundtrip means you can take trips across the islands from your accommodation at the best car hire rate.
Who Is the GoTo Malta Service Suited To?
To calculate if the service is going to be a good fit for you, use google maps to get an idea of the distances you’ll need to cover to visit the places you want to.
Do bear in mind that the traffic in Malta can get pretty heavy at peak times so being charged by the minute could quickly become a downside to the service.
However, if you want to tour the Maltese islands at your leisure then using the GoTo tourist ‘pre-paid’ package could be a better fit. With just over 2 hours of driving time built-in and the attractions in Malta and Gozo not being far apart, this could cover you quite well.
Get 10 Free GoTo Malta Driving Minutes
If you want to try out the service or using it on your next trip to Malta we’ve lined up a handy 10 Free driving minutes for you.
As a reader of MapTrotting, all you need to do is:
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- Visit the GoTo website or download the app
- Register at least a week before your trip
- Use the exclusive code: MAPTROTTING
- Get 10 FREE Driving minutes from GoTo car sharing
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Just follow these simple steps and you’ll be enjoying some super smooth electric car travel around the Maltese islands in no time.
We recommend you register at least a few days before your trip to Malta to get verified as a licenced driver.
This will also give you some time to chat with them on Facebook or call the 24/7 number (+356 2226 8000) before your trip should you have any queries.
Disclaimer: GOTO Malta provided us with 120 minutes of drive time to experience their service over the Christmas holidays but had no input into the content of this post.
Why isn’t the fee measured on distance travelled, not time?
Traffic,accidents, detours, all add up time without one’s control!
Hey Marvic, I’ve seen a few people make that suggestion as it does work that way in other countries. I can only think that with the relatively short distances people would travel in Malta, GOTO charge by time to make it a viable business. Anyway, thanks for reading the article, cheers!