Home / Valletta /Malta International Airport / Airport Direct TD4 to Valletta vs Bus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to Mġarr

MLA → Valletta · head to head

Airport Direct TD4 to VallettaorBus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to Mġarr?

The short answer

These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The Airport Direct TD4 to Valletta reaches the Valletta bus terminus outside City Gate, by the Triton Fountain — bay B1, where the TD4 sets down, with the whole walled city on foot from there; the Bus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to Mġarr does not. This goes to Gozo, not Valletta: the boat lands at Mġarr, on the island's east coast.

The Airport Direct TD4 to Valletta is quicker: 14 min against 1 h 47. The Bus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to Mġarr varies between 83 and 115 minutes.

Airport Direct TD4 to Valletta: 05:20–00:50. Bus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to Mġarr: hours not recorded.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in EUR. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
TravelersAirport Direct TD4 to VallettaBus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to MġarrDifference
1€3€8.15€5.15
2€6€16.30€10.30
3€9€24.45€15.45
4€12€32.60€20.60
5€15€40.75€25.75
6€18€48.90€30.90
7€21€57.05€36.05
8€24€65.20€41.20

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
TD4 · Malta Public Transport (tallinja)Airport Direct TD4 to Valletta
From
The "Airport 1" stop at the bus terminal outside arrivals, signposted from the Welcomers' Hall; the 24-hour card machine is by the stop
To
Bay B1 of the Valletta bus terminus outside City Gate, by the Triton Fountain, in 11 to 17 minutes; then Lascaris Wharf for the Gozo fast ferry and the Barrakka lift, and Bombi in Floriana on the way back out
Luggage
Built for it: the operator says "ample luggage space", USB sockets and Wi-Fi on the Airport Direct fleet.
Runs
05:20–00:50
Journey
11–17 min

This is the bus that replaced the X4 on 20 April 2025. A guide that sends you to the X4 is sending you to a route whose page now says "Timetable not available!".

A personalised tallinja card, free on the rest of the network, pays EUR 1.50 here; the twelve-journey card costs two journeys (EUR 3.17). Otherwise pay cash or tap a bank card, unless you have a 4- or 7-day Explore Flex.

Every 30 minutes, not "frequent": land at 10:22 and the next bus is 10:50. The 88 from the Airport 2 stop leaves every 20 minutes on weekdays if the timing is better, for 50 cents less and half an hour more.

Last bus 00:50, first 05:20, every night. Between them nothing public leaves the airport; the taxi ticket is EUR 17.

It is a loop: Airport, Valletta terminus, Lascaris, Floriana, Airport. Get off at the terminus for the city; stay on one stop for the Gozo fast ferry at Lascaris Wharf.

The operator's Welcomers' Hall office is open to midnight by its own page and to 19:30 by the airport's; the machines are 24 hours, and the driver sells the ticket anyway.

Airport Direct TD4 to Valletta: price for every party size

See Airport Direct fares from Malta Public Transport
TD1Gozo Channel · Malta Public Transport (tallinja) and Gozo ChannelBus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to Mġarr
From
The "Airport 1" stop at the bus terminal outside arrivals — the TD4's stop
To
Mġarr, the ferry harbour on Gozo, by the TD1 to Ċirkewwa and the Gozo Channel ferry
Luggage
An Airport Direct bus: "ample luggage space", by the operator.
Journey
83–115 min

The TD1 is hourly, on the hour, and takes 58 to 90 minutes to Ċirkewwa; the ferry is a second, separate ticket.

Gozo Channel does not take reservations: boarding is first come, first served. Its sailing times load by script on its schedule page; check them for the hour you land.

From November to March, a foot passenger leaving Mġarr after 20:00 and before the first morning trip pays the night fare of EUR 4.05, by the operator.

The Gozo fast ferry from Lascaris Wharf in Valletta is the TD4's second stop; its fare is not priced here.

Bus TD1 and Gozo Channel ferry to Mġarr: price for every party size

See Gozo Channel's passenger fares

This compares two of 13 options. See all of them ranked for your party size

The other comparisons at Malta International Airport