Is Malta Cheap to Visit? Budget Travel Guide & Costs Explained
Malta is an underrated destination in Europe you must visit ASAP.
With 300 days of sunshine a year, even in March it’s amazing to visit, and you get amazing food, time at the sea, cute towns to explore, and more.
Similar to the vibes of Italy and Greece, but at a fraction of the cost.
So if you’re wondering, “is Malta cheap to visit?” the answer is absolutely yes. I’ve got a budget travel guide for you with all the costs explained.
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How Much I Spent in 8 Days in Malta
I spent €740 total for 8 days including flights from London.
This averages to €82 per day and only€63/day if you don’t count flights!
Here’s the breakdown:
| Category | Total Cost (€) | Cost Per Day (€) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✈️ Transport | €306 | €38 | Flights from London (€166), coach tickets & Uber in London (€60), ferries to Gozo (€24), car hire (€31), petrol (€19), parking (€5) |
| 🏡 Hotels | €162 | €23 per person | Split between 2 people |
| 🎟️ Activities | €16 | €2 | Entry fees & sightseeing |
| 🍝 Food & Drinks | €256 | €32 | Eating out (€214), groceries for some nights (€41) |
| Total | €740 | €82 | Includes all of the above & flights from London |
Malta on a Budget Tips
Wondering how to visit Malta on a budget? Here are my top tips and tricks. And I’ve also got another blog post with all my travel hacks.
Here’s also my full Malta itinerary so you can plan an epic trip.
1. Visit during off season
(April-May & September-October)
Malta has 300 days of sunshine! That’s more than most countries in the world. We visited at the end of February. Although, some days were windy and rainy, we had better weather than the UK on most of the other days. Plus, we experienced way fewer crowds which was nice.
Prices are definetly cheaper at this time of year as well as the early spring, autumn, and winter months.
2. Stay in smaller towns to save money
Don’t stay in Valletta! Instead, save money by staying in smaller towns. If you have a car, then you can literally stay anywhere on the island. That’s because Malta is small and drives to one place to another take 30 – 30 minutes max.
When I visited, I stayed in Mgarr at this Airbnb as well as Mosta (at this hotel). Both places were around €23/night on average split with another friend so €46 total if you’re traveling solo.
Mgarr was a small but cute town (pictured above).
3. Get a Rental Car
Rental cars are not expensive at all! We rented our car affordably through Discover Cars. To our surprise, we spent only €6 a day + full coverage insurance meant we only spent €62 for a whole 8 days on our car rental. That’s just €31 per person.
We saw people struggling to get around by just the bus transport in Malta. Someone even asked us to hitch a ride LOL because she said the next bus wasn’t coming for another hour.
Parking was mostly free throughout the city but was often tricky to find a good spot. A few places we parked had a fee but typically that was only €3. We only had to pay for parking 2-3 times during the entire week there.
4. Don’t go out to eat for every meal
We stayed in a Airbnb for part of our trip. It came with a fully equipped kitchen so on some nights, we just ate in after visiting the local grocery store. After an entire day of sight-seeing, it was nice to relax and dine in. And, it makes things so much more affordable!
5. Visit the many free attractions
We only paid entry fees to two things, our entire week long trip. And that was for the cathedral in Mosta (€5) and the Grandmaster Palace in Valletta (€12). Everything else was pretty much free.
You can visit the beaches, beautiful caves, walk the cute towns of Valletta, Mgarr, Mosta, Victoria in Gozo, and so much more.
Were you surprised by the cost to travel to Malta? Do you think it’s cheap to visit?
Great Tips thanks for sharing.🌸 When I was there I also used one app super often: ATM Fee Saver. The app shows ATMs with no or low fees for withdrawing money. Super simple and great for saving money while being abroad!