Short answer: On the ground in Malta, plan on roughly €60–85 (about $70–95) per person per day on a hostel budget, €120–150 (about $135–170) in a mid-range hotel shared by two, and €235–290 (about $265–330) in five-star comfort. A week therefore costs about €420–595 ($475–670) on a tight budget, €840–1,050 ($950–1,185) mid-range and €1,645–2,030 ($1,860–2,295) in comfort, before flights. For a reality check, Malta’s National Statistics Office found that tourists spent an average of €971 each in 2025, on stays of about six nights.
Malta is small, sunny and easy to get around, and it sits in the middle of the Mediterranean price range: dearer than Croatia or Albania, a little cheaper than Italy. Buses and ferries are cheap, Heritage Malta’s sites cost €5–12 each for adults, and the sea is free. The big variables are your hotel, the season (July and August cost the most), and a few special tickets such as the Hypogeum. This guide breaks it all down with figures from official sources, so you can build a realistic budget for your trip to Malta. Dollar figures use about €0.89 to the US dollar (so €1 is about $1.13), the Federal Reserve’s rate in early October 2026; use our Money exchange tool for today’s rate.
Malta daily costs at a glance
These example days are built from the sourced prices further down this page: one person, one day based in Valletta or Sliema. They leave out flights, boat trips, car rental, shopping and nightlife.
| Per person, per day | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed | Hostel dorm bed: €20–30 | Half of an €80–115 three- or four-star room, plus eco-contribution: about €42–60 | Half of a five-star room at about €220–240, plus eco-contribution: about €112–122 |
| Food | Two inexpensive meals at about €17.50–20: €35–40 | Lunch, half of a €75–80 dinner for two, a coffee and a beer: about €62–68 | Lunch, half of a €100 dinner for two, drinks: €75–90 |
| Local transport | Bus rides on a 7-day Explore card: €4–5 | Buses and the Sliema–Valletta ferry: €5–8 | Taxis or ride-hailing: €15–30 |
| Sights | Free viewpoints and beaches, or a small museum: €0–10 | One or two Heritage Malta sites: €10–15 | The Hypogeum plus a palace or museum: €35–50 |
| Total | About €60–85 ($70–95) | About €120–150 ($135–170) | About €235–290 ($265–330) |
The dorm range is from the hostel site Hostelz’s 2026 Malta figures (average about €22, more in July and August); the hotel figures are the 2025 average room rates reported by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) survey with Deloitte; meal, coffee, beer and taxi prices are 2026 Valletta and Sliema prices from the crowd-sourced Numbeo index; the eco-contribution, transport and sight prices are official. Treat these as typical ranges, not quotes.
What visitors actually spend in Malta
Malta’s National Statistics Office (NSO) counts tourists and their spending every month. In 2025, 4,022,310 tourists visited, 12.9% more than in 2024. They spent 25.4 million nights in Malta and an estimated €3,904.4 million in total, an average of €971 per tourist, up from €924 a year earlier. That works out at roughly six nights per stay and about €154 per night. Spending per night is lower in the quiet months: in December 2025, the NSO’s average was €117.70 per night.
On our Travel costs by country scale, which compares hotel, restaurant and transport prices with the United States (US = 100), Malta scores 91, in our “expensive” band. That is a little below Italy (100), close to Cyprus (88), and above Greece (83), Spain (80) and Croatia (53). Everyday living costs score lower (66), so supermarkets, bakeries and pastizzi shops are good value.
Accommodation costs
The MHRA’s hotel survey with Deloitte gives the clearest picture of Maltese hotel prices. In 2025, five-star hotels averaged €219.30 per room per night (up from €210.10 in 2024), and four-star hotels €115.20. Three-star hotels averaged about €80 in the second quarter (€80.50) and €77.10 in the last quarter of 2025, though few three-star hotels took part. Rates peak in summer: five-star hotels averaged €237.70 in the second quarter. For comparison, the price site combien-coute.net gives 2026 averages of about €134 for a three-star and €236 for a five-star hotel in Valletta itself.
For budget travelers, Hostelz’s 2026 Malta page puts the typical dorm bed at about €22 a night, with most between €15 and €80 and July and August the dearest months. Self-catering apartments are popular in Sliema, St Julian’s and on Gozo. November to March, outside Christmas and Easter, is when hotels are cheapest, as our best time to visit Malta guide explains.
The eco-contribution
Since 1 July 2026, Malta’s eco-contribution is €1.50 per night for every guest aged 18 or over at the start of the stay, up to a maximum of €22.50 per person per visit (reached after 15 nights). Your hotel, guesthouse or rental host collects it. Before July 2026 it was €0.50 a night with a €5 cap. For two adults on a week’s holiday, it adds €21.
Food and drink costs
Numbeo’s 2026 figures show a meal at an inexpensive restaurant at about €20 in Valletta (range about €8.50–30) and €17.50 in Sliema, and a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant, without drinks, at about €75–80 (range €50–100). A fast-food combo costs about €12, a half-liter of local draft beer €4–5 and a cappuccino about €2.40–2.85. Pastizzi (flaky pastries filled with ricotta or peas) from a pastizzerija, a ftira sandwich and a picnic from a village market are the cheapest ways to eat well, and waterfront restaurants in Sliema, St Julian’s and Marsaxlokk cost more than places one street back.
Getting around Malta
- Buses: a single fare costs €2.50 in summer and €2 in winter and is valid for two hours with transfers; night buses cost €3, and the airport express routes €3. The Explore Flex card gives unlimited travel for €21 (4 days) or €27 (7 days), and a card of 12 single journeys costs €19 and can be shared. The same fares and cards work on Gozo.
- Harbor ferries: the Sliema–Valletta and Valletta–Cospicua ferries cost €3 one way and €5 return for adults by day, and €3.50 / €5.20 after 7:30 p.m.
- Gozo: the Gozo Channel car ferry from Ċirkewwa costs €4.65 per foot passenger, paid on the way back from Gozo, and €15.70 for a car and driver. The fast ferry from Valletta to Mġarr takes about 45 minutes and costs about €7.50 one way.
- Taxis: Numbeo’s figures suggest about €3.50 to start and €1.60 per kilometer in Valletta; ride-hailing apps also operate.
- Sicily: Virtu Ferries’ catamaran from Valletta to Pozzallo showed one-way adult fares of €37–43.50 when we checked, for a day trip or onward travel to Sicily.
Our Malta itinerary shows how to combine Valletta, Mdina, the south coast and Gozo by bus and ferry.
Sightseeing fees and free things to do
Most of Malta’s historic sites are run by Heritage Malta, with adult tickets of €5–12; the underground Hypogeum is the big exception.
| Sight (adult) | Entry |
|---|---|
| Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum | €35 (last-minute tickets €50 the day before); under 6 not admitted |
| St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta | About €15, including audio guide |
| Grand Master’s Palace, Valletta | €12 |
| Fort St Elmo and National War Museum | €10 |
| Fort St Angelo, Birgu | €10 |
| Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra temples | €10 |
| Ġgantija temples, Gozo | €10 |
| St Paul’s Catacombs, Rabat / Domvs Romana | €6 each |
| National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta | €5 |
| Saluting Battery, Valletta | €3 |
| Heritage Malta Multisite Pass (30 days, not the Hypogeum) | €60 |
Heritage Malta sites close on 1 January, Good Friday and 24, 25 and 31 December. Free pleasures include the views over the Grand Harbour from the Upper Barrakka Gardens, the streets of Valletta and Mdina, Sunday morning at the Marsaxlokk fishing village, the cliffs at Dingli, and swimming at Golden Bay, Mellieħa and Ramla on Gozo. Going ashore at Comino’s Blue Lagoon needs a free time slot booked online. See our top places to visit in Malta and our beaches page for more.
A sample mid-range week
Here is one person’s share of a week based in Valletta or Sliema with a day trip to Gozo, staying in a mid-range room for two and using the example day above:
| Item (per person, 7 nights) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Half of an €80–115 room | €280–405 |
| Eco-contribution, €1.50 a night | €10.50 |
| Food, at about €65 a day | About €455 |
| Explore Flex 7-day bus card | €27 |
| Gozo Channel ferry and a Sliema–Valletta ferry return | About €10 |
| Hypogeum, St John’s Co-Cathedral, Grand Master’s Palace and Ġgantija | About €72 |
| Total, before flights and boat tours | About €855–975 ($965–1,105) |
The same week from November to March costs less, mostly because hotels are cheaper and the winter bus fare is €2; in July and August it costs more.
Tipping in Malta
Tipping is appreciated but not obligatory. In restaurants, leaving about 5–10% for good service, or rounding up, is common if service is not already on the bill; a small tip for boat crews and guides is welcome. Our tip calculator works out amounts on the spot.
Money-saving tips for Malta
- Travel in spring or autumn. April to June and late September to early November bring warm weather without July and August prices; November to March is cheapest of all.
- Get an Explore Flex card if you will ride the bus more than once or twice a day; the 7-day card costs €27.
- Do the sums on the Multisite Pass. At €60 it pays off if you visit six or more of the €10–12 Heritage Malta sites within 30 days.
- Book the Hypogeum early at the €35 price; last-minute tickets cost €50.
- Take the ferry to Gozo as a foot passenger for €4.65 and use the bus there, rather than paying for a car on the ferry.
- Eat like the Maltese: pastizzi, ftira and village restaurants cost far less than the seafront.
Plan your trip: our free trip planner can build a day-by-day plan for Malta from our guides, including Valletta, Gozo and St Julian’s. Then use the Money exchange tool to turn euros into your own currency, and the Destination weather tool to pick your dates.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need for a week in Malta?
Using the example days above, seven days on the ground cost roughly €420–595 ($475–670) per person on a hostel budget, €840–1,050 ($950–1,185) mid-range and €1,645–2,030 ($1,860–2,295) in comfort, before flights and boat tours. Malta’s statistics office found tourists spent an average of €971 each in 2025, on stays of about six nights.
Is Malta expensive?
Moderately. Malta scores 91 on our travel cost scale (US = 100), a little below Italy and above Greece and Spain. Buses, ferries, Heritage Malta sites and local food are good value; five-star hotels in summer and the Hypogeum are the big costs.
Do I need cash in Malta?
A little. Cards are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops, and Heritage Malta tickets can be bought online. Carry some euros for pastizzerias, kiosks, small village shops and tips.
How much is the eco-contribution in Malta?
Since 1 July 2026 it is €1.50 per night for guests aged 18 and over, up to €22.50 per person per visit. Your accommodation collects it, so a week costs each adult €10.50.
How much does it cost to get to Gozo?
The Gozo Channel car ferry costs €4.65 per foot passenger for the round trip, paid when you leave Gozo, and €15.70 for a car and driver. The fast ferry from Valletta costs about €7.50 one way and takes about 45 minutes.
What is the cheapest month to visit Malta?
January is usually the cheapest month for hotels, and November to March, outside Christmas and Easter, is the low season, with sights, buses and ferries running all year. See our best time to visit Malta guide for the weather month by month.