So you’re going to Malta! It’s such an interesting country with such a unique culture that’s a mix of English, Italian and Arabic. It has the Mediterranean weather you want, crystal clear water and beautiful European buildings, truly such a lovely place. However, once you’ve booked those flights, next up is figuring out accommodation and it is super confusing. When we were researching where to stay in Malta, we found lots of conflicting perspectives and no concrete answer on the best area to stay. But now we have lived experience to share with you!

We chose to stay in Gzira which is near Sliema. We were originally looking at staying in Valletta, the capital. However, we were accidentally (and amazingly) there at the same time as Europride 2023, so all the accommodation in Valletta was sold out. As we explored quite a few places, we feel like we might have a good idea of where would be best to stay.

One of the main things you need to consider is how you will be getting around the island. We decided not to hire a car, as we were on a budget and we didn’t think a car would be worth it for only 6 days. Also, driving in another country stresses us out . Public transport in Malta is okay, but the buses are frequently late. You need to make sure you give yourself lots of time as the buses are often late. Only €2 for daytime tickets and €3 for tickets at night. It certainly is possible to get around Malta by public transport but it will likely affect where you can stay.

As Valletta is the capital and a UNESCO world heritage site, it is absolutely beautiful but super busy! There’s definitely some pros and cons of the city so let’s dive into those.

Most people stay here as it has easy to the airport and has great public transport options. Plus there is so much to see and do! You’ve got St John’s Co-Cathedral and the upper and lower Barrakka gardens which are both beautiful. There are plenty of restaurants and stores. As it is a walled city, everything inside the walls has a unique feeling and it’s lovely to explore. You could easy spend hours wandering around and checking out all the twists and turns for something magical.

Being so popular, it is definitely the most busy city in Malta. It is also on the more expensive side for accommodation.

However, it is definitely the most interesting place we went in Malta, so we would recommend it for accommodation. If you can’t stay in Valletta, you will definitely need to put aside at least a day to explore.

Sliema is a popular area of Malta to stay as it’s close to Valletta. It’s quieter than Valletta, and has cheaper accommodation options.

Sliema is the next headland along from Valletta and you can see each town from the other one. It has a ferry port that you can head out to other areas of the country. Buses frequently run from Sliema to Valletta and only take 15 minutes. You can also get buses from Sliema to most places on the island. Theres lots of shops and restaurants in Sliema, and the coastal walk has some incredible views of the other cities.

Gzira is in the bay between Sliema and Valletta, and is about a 15 minute walk from Sliema. It has some bus routes as well, and is a bit cheaper again than Sliema.

It definitely doesn’t have the old town charm of Valletta and doesn’t have as many attractions to keep you entertained. It’s more of a base to stay and explore the rest of the island from. Particularly if you are in Gzira, definitely check that you are near a bus stop to places you want to visit. Less buses run through Gzira than Sliema, and both have less buses than Valletta.

If you’re not staying in Valletta, Sliema or Gzira would be your next best bet. You will still have the benefits of a nice area with good transport links.

Mdina is a stunning walled city up on a hill that used to be the capital of Malta. It is one of the most beautiful places on the island (in our opinion). We went as a day trip which is perfectly doable, but it would also be a wonderful place to stay!

The cute little winding streets make exploring this city so magical. As it’s up on a hill the view from the city is wonderful. Theres cute restaurants and lots of shops, as well as St Paul’s Cathedral and a Cathedral museum.

The city was used in the filming of Game of Thrones, so if you’re a fan you will love exploring! Then when you’re done in Mdina, 5 minutes walk away just outside the city walls is the town of Rabat. It’s also nice to explore and has a huge, very interesting catacomb that’s only €6 each.

Honestly, the only major con to Mdina is its location. You’ll need to either drive or take a bus from somewhere else on the island. The drive is around 20 minutes from the airport, but using public transport will take closer to an hour. This also means getting anywhere else on the island would take quite a while. If you’re thinking of day tripping from Mdina, you’ll need to allow more time for the buses.

Another small con would be that because the city is in the centre of the island, there are no beaches or coastal walks within walking distance. You can reach many easily by bus.

If the location isn’t an issue for you, Mdina would be a wonderful place to stay. It truly is just such a unique and gorgeous little city.

St Julian’s is the next headland on from Sliema, so it is also a good base for exploring. It’s got more of a party vibe than some of the other towns with its nightclubs, bars and casinos. It has some good shopping areas with lots of luxury high end stores. It also has a couple of beaches, Balluta Bay and St George’s Bay, that are nice for swimming.

Due to its location, there are lots of public transport routes to other towns on the island and the airport. There are a couple of nice beaches and lots of restaurants and shops. The coastal walk from Valletta to Sliema continues along to St Julian’s. It also didn’t seem anywhere near as busy as Valletta.

Similar to Sliema, St Julian’s doesn’t have as much character as Valletta. As it’s more of a shopping area it doesn’t have the old town vibe or cute winding streets of some other towns, and also doesn’t have as many landmarks to see.

Overall, not a bad place to stay, especially in terms of location, but not the best if you want to stay somewhere that has that a beautiful, old town European feel right outside your door.

We spent a short amount of time at St Paul’s Bay when we went up to visit Malta’s Aquarium, which is on the water there. From our short time there we saw what a lovely little town it is. It’s set towards the top of the island so is a little further away from the capital and the airport, but as Malta is so small, nowhere is very far!

St Paul’s Bay is a lot quieter than some of the other towns on the island so finding accommodation would probably be a bit easier and cheaper. It has a main shopping area with shops and restaurants and a little beach close by called Bugibba Perched Beach. As mentioned it also has an aquarium which is a great way to spend a couple of hours and is within walking distance to the main area. Also, if you’re interested in going to Gozo or the Blue Lagoon there are direct ferries from St Paul’s Bay, which is lovely.

The town is quite small so there isn’t as much to see or do and again doesn’t have the charm of Valletta or Mdina. It’s location also means getting anywhere might take a bit longer so you might be spending a bit more time on buses or in cars if you stay there.

Same as St Julian’s, it’s going to be a bit quieter and cheaper than the popular areas of the country but it will come at a cost of being a bit further away from the main towns you might want to spend time at.

Gozo is an island in the north of Malta and is a popular destination for tourists who either visit on a day trip or spend a couple of nights there. We decided to do a day trip there and coupled it with a trip to the Blue Lagoon on the small island in between Malta and Gozo called Comino. We booked that trip here and it was a great way to see Gozo and the Blue Lagoon when we were short on time. But you can absolutely stay a couple of nights on the island so let run through the pros and cons of that!

Gozo is a unique and interesting island with lots to see and do and lots of places to stay so you’d be able to fill a couple of days pretty easily. The capital of the island is Victoria and we assume most public transport links would go through there so it would probably be the best place to stay. In Victoria is the Cathedral of the Assumption (which you can enter for free!) that has a great view of the island.

On Gozo there’s also the town of Xlendi that is very cute and lots of beautiful beaches to swim at so lots to keep you entertained. Also the proximity to Comino and the Blue Lagoon means it would probably be quick and easy to find trips there for the day. The island is also less busy than some of the towns on the main island but doesn’t seem to be any cheaper.

Similar to Mdina, the only con is its location as it is a boat ride from the main island of Malta including the airport. To get from the airport or Valletta to Gozo there are a couple of options. You either need to get to the top of Malta which you can do by public bus or car (but this does take an hour), then get a public ferry across to Gozo if you’d like a shorter ferry ride. Alternatively, you can take a direct public ferry from Valletta, but this ferry ride is longer.

If you’re just going to stay for a couple of days in Gozo on a longer trip to Malta and also stay on the main island, then we think Gozo would be a great place to spend a couple of days. But if you only have a couple of days to spend on Malta we would recommend staying on the main island and day tripping to Gozo.

No matter where you choose to stay, there is so much to see and do on the island and it’s well worth a visit! As you can see, there are quite a few options for accommodation on the beautiful island of Malta. Whether you’re looking at staying in a typical European old town, or by the beach, or somewhere less touristy and quiet, Malta has got it all! And as the island is so small, it never really takes that long to get between any of them. There is so much to see and do on the island and is such a unique place so we hope you have a wonderful time visiting because we sure did!

You can see everything we got up to during our time in Malta including our visits to all of these areas in our YouTube video:

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