Malta is one of the better value spots in the Mediterranean, as long as you avoid a handful of expensive habits. Almost everything that makes the islands worth visiting is free.
Most of Malta is free to walk into. A few sites need booking and they fill up.
The savings that matter
Come outside July and August
This is the biggest saving there is. It costs you nothing in quality. May, June, September and October give you a warm sea, everything open, and a fraction of the peak room rate.
September has the warmest water of the whole year. Picking it over August is the rare decision that saves money and improves the trip at the same time.
Month by month
Walk inland to eat
Three streets back from the water changes the price of every meal, and usually the quality too. Seafront tables are priced for the view rather than the plate.
Once a day, eat from a bakery instead. Pastizzi (savoury pastries), qassatat (round pastry parcels) and ftira (Maltese flatbread) are excellent, cost very little, and people here eat them every day.
Maltese food explained
Skip the car and take the bus
Buses are cheap, extensive and air-conditioned, and a card for repeat journeys costs less again. Skipping car hire takes out hire, fuel, the insurance excess and parking in one decision.
Then go swimming. Every bay is public and free. The sea is the main attraction. It has never had a ticket.
Which bay is sheltered todayBook a day trip instead
The best sights cost nothing
Some of the best of Malta costs nothing at all. Many of the best things here cost nothing. You can walk up to the bastions and the fort gateways. The Upper Barrakka Gardens look down over the saluting battery. Dingli Cliffs are best at sunset. Valletta and the Three Cities are worth seeing on foot. Marsaxlokk harbour is busiest on a Sunday morning. Village feasts run through the summer, and every parish church you pass is free to enter.
Where you do pay, buy the multi-site pass. More than three or four Heritage Malta sites and it costs less than the singles.
Free things to do
Budget for water, sun protection, and a taxi home from Paceville at three in the morning. Malta is cheap enough that saving on those three is a false economy.
If you do want a car for a day
One day of hire to reach the north and west coast is often better value than a week of it. Book the day rather than the trip, and leave the car parked for anything in Valletta. Full costs are on the trip budget page.