Princess Garage

Princess Garage has been putting visitors behind the wheel in Malta since 1945, and it is still run by the same family. If you are flying in from the UK and want a car waiting rather than a queue at an arrivals desk, it is a straightforward option: you send your dates, a real person replies with a price, and the car is brought to the airport, your hotel or any address on the island.

The business is based on Fraxxnu Street in St Julian's, close to the Sliema and Paceville stretch of coast where many British visitors stay. On VisitMalta.co.uk it sits in our directory of car hire in Malta, and this page explains the cars, the rates, how booking works and what to know before you drive here.

A family garage with a long history

Princess Garage dates from 1945, the year Frank Borg, fresh from Royal Air Force service, bought the business. The 1950s brought plenty of car hire and taxi work, partly thanks to the British troops stationed on the island, and as tourism took off in the 1960s the fleet grew to keep pace. An early photograph of the premises dates from 1950, at a Prince of Wales Road address in Sliema.

The name has a royal story behind it. During the years the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip spent in Malta before the coronation, the garage provided a car to the royal party, and the name stuck. Raymond Borg, Frank's son, now runs it with his own son Christian, the third generation of the family. It trades as Princess Garage Ltd, and was formerly known as Princess Car Hire.

For a UK traveller the practical point is simple: you deal with the people who own the cars. The operation is deliberately small, so the car is matched to your trip, whether that is a village-lane runabout or a seven-seater for the Gozo ferry, and you reach a person rather than a chatbot.

The fleet and daily rates

There are five car classes. Category A is a Hyundai i10 or similar, an economy car with five seats and the one marked as best value. Category B is a Nissan Micra or similar, also five seats. Category C covers the Toyota Aygo X, Kia Picanto or similar, and Category D is a Suzuki Baleno, Kia Picanto Automatic or similar, with a little more boot room. Category E is the Peugeot Rifter or similar, a seven-seater suited to families and airport transfers.

The quoted rates are daily figures on a seven-day hire and shift with the season. Low season runs November to February, mid season covers March, April, October and the Christmas weeks, high season is May, June and September, and peak is July and August. The Hyundai i10 costs €16 a day in low season, €18 in mid, €20 in high and €23 in peak. The Nissan Micra runs from €16 to €24 across the same bands. The Toyota Aygo X is €20, €23, €25 and €28, the Suzuki Baleno is €20, €22, €25 and €28, and the Peugeot Rifter is €28, €30, €40 and €50.

Those figures are for a seven-day hire, so the exact price for your own dates comes back in a written quote before you commit. What you are quoted is what you pay. Drivers aged 21 to 24 add a daily young-driver fee, which is displayed before you confirm.

Choosing the right car

For a couple with modest luggage, the economy Hyundai i10 copes well with tight village streets and sips fuel on day trips. On longer runs towards Mdina or the south coast, the Suzuki Baleno offers extra boot room yet remains simple to park, and this is the class with an automatic option. Our Mdina guide is a good companion if the walled city is on your list.

Travelling as a family or a larger group is where the Peugeot Rifter earns its place, keeping everyone and the luggage together. The seven-seater is usually the first car to go in the summer holidays, so enquire once your flights are confirmed and mention the children's ages so child seats can be agreed.

Manual gearboxes are the norm among Malta's hire cars. Drivers who can only use an automatic should say so in the enquiry and ask early, and the business will tell you plainly what it can offer for your dates. Our Malta weather guide helps with timing, because the season you travel in changes both the rate band and how busy the roads feel.

How booking, delivery and payment work

Booking starts with an enquiry rather than an online payment. You tell the business your pick-up place, dates, car class and driver age, and a member of the family team answers by email or WhatsApp with a complete price, normally inside an hour. Sending the enquiry does not reserve anything; the car is held once you accept. Cancelling costs nothing, though earlier notice lets the car go to another customer.

Delivery is built in. Princess Garage brings the car to Malta International Airport, your hotel or villa, or wherever you are staying, and collects it the same way. Airport delivery costs €12 each way, and the handover is timed to your booking instead of the desk hours. If you are flying from Heathrow or Gatwick, our flights to Malta guide sets out the routes and timings to plan around.

You pay when the keys are handed over, not online. The main driver needs a credit card in their own name for a refundable deposit, which is a hold placed on the card rather than a charge. Each car goes out with insurance included in the quoted price, and that cover carries an excess, which the hold mirrors. The exact figure depends on the car class and cover, and it is stated in your written quote. Every driver is named on the agreement and shows a valid licence and photo ID. Hirers must be at least 21, and the main driver needs two years of full licence history.

Transfers, chauffeur driving and leasing

Beyond ordinary rentals the business offers three other services. Private airport transfers run day and night, by car, minibus or seven-seater van, to and from Malta International Airport. A 24-hour chauffeur service covers airport runs and touring around Malta and Gozo, including for cruise passengers who are ashore for the day.

For longer stays there is short and long-term leasing of brand-new cars on flexible monthly terms, aimed at relocations and business use. If you are moving rather than visiting, our Malta relocation guide for UK movers covers the wider picture of settling in, and a lease can bridge the weeks before you buy a car of your own.

Driving in Malta: what first-timers should know

Traffic keeps to the left here, a hangover from British rule, so UK drivers feel at home. On roundabouts you yield to vehicles approaching from the right. Limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h on open roads. Fuel use is modest because distances are short, and many petrol stations are automated at night, so keep a card or some coins handy.

Valletta runs a Controlled Vehicular Access zone with a charge for cars going into the centre, so leaving the car outside the walls or using park and ride is simplest. Our Valletta guide describes the capital for visitors. Elsewhere, street parking in white-lined bays is mostly free, but avoid double yellow lines and reserved bays, and allow extra time near the seafronts at Sliema and St Julian's, which get busy.

Where a hire car takes you

A car makes the island's spread-out sights easy to link. Valletta, with St John's Co-Cathedral and the Upper Barrakka, is the obvious first stop, and you can read more about St John's Co-Cathedral. Mdina and Rabat are a short drive inland, the Three Cities are an easy Grand Harbour road trip, and Marsaxlokk offers a fishing harbour, colourful luzzu boats and a Sunday market.

In the north, Mellieħa Bay, Golden Bay and Għajn Tuffieħa are the classic beach drives, and the car parks fill by mid-morning in high season, so an early start helps. Our guides to the best beaches in Malta and to Golden Bay can help you choose, and the Three Cities guide covers the harbour side.

A season-by-season view also helps. Winter is the quietest and cheapest time for a car, with green countryside and empty roads, but the sea is too cool for most swimmers. March, April and October suit road trips, while July and August are the hottest, busiest and dearest weeks, best handled with early starts.

How to start

Settle your dates, your pick-up place and the car class you prefer, and add any extras such as flight numbers, child seats or an additional driver. Then use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to Princess Garage, which replies with a full price.