Food tours and cooking classes are sold through the same handful of operators, and the listings look much alike. What separates a good booking from a poor one is rarely the itinerary. It is the group size, what the price covers, and how easily you can get out of it.
What each format is like, and what you will be eating, is on food tours and cooking classes. This page is about the booking itself.
What the price covers
Included, usually
- Walking food tours
- Enough tastings to stand in for a meal. Water is normally included, wine or beer sometimes, and anything you order on top is yours.
- Cooking classes
- Ingredients, the class, and eating what you cooked. Some send the recipes afterwards. Market visits are sometimes an add-on rather than part of it.
- Wine tastings
- The tasting itself and usually something to eat with it. Transport out to the estate is rarely included, and the estates are not on a bus route.
- Fenkata evenings
- Both courses and normally a drink. It is a set menu, so tell them in advance if somebody does not eat rabbit.
Group size changes the whole thing
A food tour of six and a food tour of twenty five cost about the same and are not the same product. On a small one you talk to the baker. On a large one you queue behind fourteen people to look at him.
Operators who keep groups small say so in the listing, because it is their selling point. If no maximum is stated anywhere, assume it is large and book something else.
Cancellation and weather
Most listings on the big platforms allow free cancellation up to a day before. The window is set by the operator rather than the platform, so read the one you are booking. Deposits paid directly to a small operator are often not refundable at all.
Walking tours run in light rain. What stops is anything on a boat. In July and August the risk is heat rather than rain, so an afternoon slot in a Valletta street is worth avoiding.
Check these before you book
The five questions
- How many people
- A stated maximum, not “small group” as a phrase.
- Where it starts
- A meeting point in Valletta is easy. One in an industrial estate outside Mosta needs a car.
- How long on foot
- Some tours cover three kilometres of hill and steps. Say so in advance if that is a problem.
- What language
- Most run in English. Confirm it rather than assume it.
- Dietary needs
- Tell them when you book, not on the day. A fenkata is rabbit from start to finish.
The dishes themselves are explained under Maltese food explained, and the markets they draw on under food markets.