An archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean where walled baroque cities sit alongside temples older than the pyramids and some of the clearest water in Europe. Malta is sun, deep history and English spoken everywhere.
Malta is a tiny archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean, between Sicily and North Africa, where walled baroque cities sit alongside megalithic temples older than the pyramids and some of the clearest water in Europe. It is a country on a human scale, coverable in a few days, with more than 300 days of sun a year, history in every direction and a cultural mix built from centuries of rule by Phoenicians, Arabs, the Knights of St John and the British.
The country is three inhabited islands. Malta, the main one, holds the capital Valletta, the Three Cities, the medieval former capital of Mdina and the resort areas of Sliema and St Julian's. Gozo, the second island, is greener, more rural and quieter, ideal for diving and switching off. And Comino, almost uninhabited, is famous for the Blue Lagoon and its turquoise water. Cheap buses and short ferries connect the lot.
What makes Malta work is a combination that is hard to find: first-rate beaches and diving, a heritage out of all proportion to its size, and prices more reasonable than much of the western Mediterranean. English is an official language, which makes it one of the easiest countries in Europe to travel in. The surprise is how densely packed it is: on an island you can drive across in 45 minutes there is a week's worth to do.
The currency is the euro (€), so there is nothing to change if you are coming from the eurozone. Cards are accepted without trouble in hotels, restaurants and shops, but carry some cash for buses, kiosks, markets and the Gozo ferry. ATMs are everywhere in the tourist areas.
The airport (MLA) is fifteen minutes from Valletta. Malta has no railway — the line closed in 1931 — so everything runs on Malta Public Transport buses, which cover the island and hub in Valletta, and on ferries. Fast ferries cross from Valletta to Sliema and the Three Cities in minutes and save long detours by road; the Ċirkewwa to Gozo ferry leaves every half hour and takes cars. Driving is on the left and the streets are narrow, so many people choose not to hire a car. Distances are short: the island is under thirty kilometres end to end.
Malta has a Mediterranean climate with a great deal of sun. The best window for combining beach and sightseeing is May to October, with the sea warm enough to swim from June to October. July and August are full summer: strong heat of 30 to 35 °C, perfect sea, but also the highest prices, a crowded Blue Lagoon and the village festas at their peak. If you can, aim for May, June, September or early October for good weather and swimming with fewer people and better prices.
Spring and autumn are ideal for the cultural side — Valletta, Mdina, the temples — because it is not too hot to walk. Winter, December to March, is mild at 15 to 18 °C by day but windier with some rain, and the sea is too cold for swimming; in exchange there are very few visitors and low prices. Two things worth timing your trip around: the village patron saint festas in summer, with fireworks and brass bands, and Carnival in February.
Maltese cooking mixes Italian, Arab and British influences. Try fenek, rabbit, the national dish, stewed or fried; pastizzi, flaky pastries filled with ricotta or peas, dirt cheap at USD 1 to 2 and the street snack of choice; ftira, a Maltese bread-pizza; and rabbit stew. From the British era the habit of tea survives, and the odd fish and chips. A meal in a local tavern runs USD 15 to 25 per person with a drink.
To eat cheaply, the pastizzerias and street food stalls are the answer; to treat yourself, the fresh fish at Marsaxlokk, the fishing village, is unmissable, ideally on a Sunday market morning. The local Cisk beer and Maltese wine go well with it. Tipping is not obligatory but 5 to 10 % is usual if the service was good. Verified July 2026.
Malta is one of the safest countries in Europe: violent crime is very low and you can walk comfortably day and night, including women travelling alone. The precautions are the basic ones for any tourist destination — the occasional pickpocket in busy areas, and care with car hire scams or unofficial excursions. In the Paceville party area, the usual sense about alcohol and belongings. The emergency number is 112.
No vaccinations are needed and tap water is safe to drink, though it tastes brackish, so many people buy bottled for drinking; it is cheap. The Mediterranean sun is strong: sunscreen, a hat and water, especially in summer. Healthcare is good, as Malta is in the EU; travel insurance covering the Schengen area is enough, and it should include water sports if you plan to dive. Check that your policy covers diving if that is the plan.
Malta is one of the more affordable destinations in the western Mediterranean. A backpacker day costs USD 45 to 75: a hostel dorm bed USD 27 to 40, street food and the odd tavern USD 15 to 25, and very cheap buses at USD 2.50 to 3 a ticket in summer, with an unlimited weekly pass at around USD 27 that is well worth it. Verified July 2026.
A mid-range trip with a three-star hotel at USD 70 to 120 a night and restaurant meals runs USD 110 to 150 a day. The ferries are very cheap: Gozo around USD 5 return on foot, Valletta to Sliema USD 1.60. What jumps is the ferry to Comino's Blue Lagoon at USD 25 to 40, and boat excursions generally. Museums and temples charge USD 6 to 11. Reference figures from July 2026.
Malta has two official languages: Maltese, a unique Semitic language and the only one of Arabic root written in the Latin alphabet, and English, spoken across the whole country. That makes it one of the easiest places in Europe to travel if English is your language — you will not need anything else. Maltese people are warm, strongly Catholic and family-centred; many shops close on Sundays. Power is 230 V with type G sockets, the British three-pin plug, a colonial inheritance: you need a UK adapter, not a European one.
Connectivity is good and an EU SIM or eSIM works without extra roaming charges because Malta is in the European Union. Two pieces of advice from having been there: buses are the cheap way to get around but can be slow and unpunctual in summer, so leave margin in your plans; and take care if you hire a car, because Malta drives on the left.
An archipelago of barely 316 square kilometres, sitting right in the middle of the Mediterranean, holds more layers of history than countries a hundred times its size. Before the pyramids of Egypt, and long before Stonehenge, Neolithic farmers built here the oldest stone temples still standing anywhere on Earth. After them came everyone: Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans and Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, the Order of the Knights of St John, Napoleon for a handful of years and the British Empire for more than a century and a half. Each left something behind, and the sum is this unlikely country where people pray in a Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet and drive on the left.
The history of Malta is the story of a strategic rock that never quite chose its own fate, fought over because whoever held it controlled the passage between the eastern and western Mediterranean. Hence the Ottoman Great Siege of 1565, and hence the brutal bombing of the Second World War that earned an entire civilian population the George Cross. Only in 1964 did the Maltese govern themselves for the first time in millennia. This is that long story, told with names, dates and figures.
Read the full history of Malta →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
