Driving on the left in Malta: the roundabouts, the IDP rule, and the reality

Malta drives on the left, in right-hand-drive cars — the same set-up as Japan and the UK. If your licence is not printed in English or Maltese, you must carry an International Driving Permit (IDP, an official translation of your licence) alongside it. And if you hold a Japanese licence, that means arranging the permit in Japan before you fly, because you cannot get one once you have left. Everything else — the roundabouts, the fast local driving, the headlights rule — is manageable once you know what is coming.

Key facts

• Side of the road: left, in right-hand-drive cars (the same as Japan and the UK).
• Non-EU licences: valid for up to 12 months.
• IDP: required if your licence is not in English or Maltese — so a Japanese licence needs one.
• Speed limits: 50 km/h in built-up areas, 80 km/h on open roads (the national maximum).
• Daytime headlights: compulsory, including inside tunnels.
• Adjustment time: about a day for most people.

The short version

If you drive at home in a country that keeps left — Japan, the UK — the car will feel familiar the moment you sit in it. The real work is paperwork and nerves, not the driving itself: get the right permit sorted before you travel, then brace for busier roundabouts and faster, more assertive traffic than you may be used to. Keep to the speed limits, drive defensively, and Malta is straightforward. This piece walks through the licence rule first, then the driving.

Do you need an IDP?

It depends on what is printed on your licence, not only on your nationality.

Your licence	IDP needed?
EU / EEA licence	No — drive on your home licence
Non-EU, printed in English or Maltese	Usually not; valid up to 12 months
Non-EU, not in English or Maltese (e.g. Japan)	Yes — carry the IDP with your home licence

A Japanese licence is printed in Japanese, so in practice you need an IDP to drive in Malta. The permit never replaces your home licence — you carry both, and you show both. Rental firms usually ask for the IDP when you collect the car, so do not count on being waved through without it. The police can ask for it too. It is a small document to forget and a large problem if you do.

whether to hire a car at all

Getting your IDP in Japan before you fly

Japan issues one type of IDP: the 1949 Geneva Convention permit. You get it inside Japan — at a prefectural police licence centre, a driving-licence centre, or through JAF (the Japan Automobile Federation) — by bringing your licence, your passport and a photo. It is valid for 12 months. Malta is a party to the same 1949 Geneva Convention, so a Japanese-issued IDP is accepted there.

Here is the one thing to plan around: you cannot obtain this permit after you have left Japan. If you land in Malta without it, there is no counter at the airport or the rental desk that will fix the problem — you simply will not be able to hire a car legally. So put it on the pre-trip list, next to the passport check. The application itself is quick, and in many cases the permit is issued the same day.

Driving on the left when you’re not used to it

For visitors from countries that already drive on the left, the mechanics feel natural straight away. The steering wheel is on the right, the seat position matches home, and the flow of traffic runs the way your instincts expect. For everyone else, most people settle in within about a day.

There is one reliable anchor that keeps you on the correct side: the driver sits nearest the centre line, so the kerb is always on the passenger side. If the kerb has drifted over to your side of the car, you have wandered too far across. Two moments are where old habits creep back — junctions, and pulling out of a parking space — so take those slowly for the first day and check twice before you commit.

Surviving Malta’s roundabouts

Roundabouts are dense in Malta. You will meet a great many of them, and they are the single thing most worth getting right. You go clockwise around them, and you give way to traffic already on the roundabout — which, driving on the left, arrives from your right.

Now the honest part. Local drivers change lanes late and yield inconsistently. That means you cannot rely on the textbook: the car beside you may not stay in its lane, and a driver who ought to give way may not. So approach every roundabout ready to stop, choose your lane early rather than at the last second, and never pull out on the assumption that someone else will follow the rule. Sitting for a moment and watching one or two cars go before you commit is completely normal here — nobody will think less of you for it.

Local driving style, headlights and cameras

Malta’s driving is fast and assertive: quick acceleration away from lights, tight overtakes, and frequent use of the horn. It sounds alarming written down, but it is not dangerous if you keep to the limits and do not engage. Let the assertive drivers past. You are on holiday; they are trying to get to work.

A few rules regularly catch visitors out:

• Daytime headlights are compulsory — yes, in full daylight, and specifically including when you pass through tunnels. Traffic wardens spot-check for this.
• Speed limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h on the open road. That 80 is the national maximum, not a suggested cruising speed — there is nowhere in Malta you are allowed to go faster. Both fixed and mobile cameras enforce the limits, so a light foot saves you a fine you will only discover later.

Where you can’t drive

Two of Malta’s most famous spots are effectively closed to tourist cars:

• Valletta sits inside the CVA charge zone (a controlled-access charging area for the capital). It is not a place to arrive by hire car.
• Mdina is the car-free “Silent City”. The old walled town does not admit tourist traffic at all.

For both, the move is the same and simple: park on the edge and walk in. You would struggle to park inside in any case, and both are more pleasant on foot. getting around Malta by bus

FAQ

Do I need an international driving permit to drive in Malta? If your licence is an EU/EEA one, or it is printed in English or Maltese, then generally no. If your licence is not in English or Maltese — a Japanese licence, for example — then yes: carry an IDP alongside your home licence, and show both when asked.

Is driving in Malta difficult or safe for tourists? It is manageable. The traffic is faster and more assertive than many visitors are used to, and the roundabouts are busy, but if you keep to the speed limits and drive defensively it is safe. The danger comes from copying the local pace, not from the roads themselves.

What side of the road does Malta drive on? The left, in right-hand-drive cars — the same as Japan and the UK. Malta was a British colony until independence in 1964, which is why.

Can you drive in Valletta or Mdina? Not really. Valletta is inside the CVA charge zone and Mdina is car-free. Park outside both and continue on foot.

Internal links to place:

• whether to hire a car at all
• getting around Malta by bus
• crossing to Gozo

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