A lot of the best of Malta is free. The swimming and the walking cost nothing, and the churches are open to anyone. The best night on the calendar is a village festa (a village feast), which is not put on for visitors.
A few of the most popular sites cannot be entered without a booking.
Free things worth a whole day
Upper Barrakka Gardens
The terrace looks straight down over the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities. You can stand there as long as you like for nothing. The gun below fires at noon and again late afternoon.
Watching from the gardens is free. Going down into the battery costs money, and most people are happy where they are.
What is worth paying for
Village festas
Brass bands, banners down every street, food stalls and fireworks on a scale that would bankrupt a small town anywhere else. Every village has its own, and somewhere is holding one most summer weekends.
None of it is put on for tourists. You are watching a village do its own thing. You are welcome to join in.
The festa calendar
Beaches and Dingli Cliffs
There are no private beaches in Malta. Rock swimming needs nothing at all and is often better than the sand. The sea is the main reason people come.
Dingli Cliffs at sunset costs a bus fare. So does Marsaxlokk on a Sunday, when the harbour is full of painted luzzu (a traditional fishing boat) boats.
Which bay is sheltered today
Churches and old towns
There are more churches in Malta than days in the year. The ordinary village ones are the surprise. The dome at Mosta is one of the biggest in Europe and costs nothing to stand under.
Valletta, the Three Cities and Mdina are all free to wander. Only the interiors are ticketed. The streets are most of the appeal anyway.
Doing the whole trip cheaply
Everything on this page is on a bus route. Buses are the cheapest way to get around and they go almost everywhere you would want to go. If you are making several trips, a card works out cheaper still.