Malta
Discover Malta
Introduction
Malta is three inhabited islands and 316 square kilometres in the middle of the Mediterranean, the tenth-smallest country in the world and the ninth most densely populated. Everyone who wanted to hold the sea between Sicily and Africa has held it -- Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, the Knights of St John for 268 years, Napoleon for two, the British for a century and a half -- and the islands are a stone record of all of them: temples older than the pyramids, a fortress capital built in one campaign after 1565, and a harbour that was among the most heavily bombed places of the Second World War.
On this site the country divides as the sea divides it: Malta Island, with Valletta, the old capital of Mdina and the temples; Gozo, a 25-minute ferry away and a slower island of some 39,000 people; and Comino between them, with two permanent residents and the Blue Lagoon.
Malta has been in the European Union since 2004 and on the euro since 2008; its two official languages are Maltese, the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, and English. Over 2.3 million tourists came in 2017, to a country whose entire coastline you can drive round in a day; the crowd, and the heat of an August with daytime highs of 28 to 34 degrees, are the two facts to plan around.
Do I need to change money?
No, if you come from the euro area: Malta adopted the euro in 2008. Bus fares are paid on board in cash or by contactless card.
How do I get to Gozo?
The Gozo Channel ferry from Ċirkewwa, at the northern tip of Malta, to Mġarr on Gozo: about 25 minutes, daily, €4.65 standard fare (€4.05 at night, €1.15 for children 3 to 12, €15.70 for a car and driver). You pay and validate on the Gozo side. The Airport Direct TD1 bus and TD4 to the Gozo fast ferry connect from the airport.
How much is the bus?
The winter single was €2.00, valid for two hours, from 19 October 2025 to 13 June 2026; a 12-journey card is €19 and unlimited cards are from €21 for four days and €27 for seven. The operator's page has the current summer fare.
Can I just turn up at the Hypogeum?
No. Only 80 people a day are admitted; adults pay €35 booked ahead, youths 12 to 17 and seniors €20, children 6 to 11 €15, infants are not admitted, and any last-minute ticket is €50.
When is the best time to visit?
May to June and September to October: the sea is above 20 degrees from June to November and peaks at 26 in August, when the air reaches 28 to 34 degrees and the islands are full. Winter is mild, with January highs of 12 to 20 degrees, and rain falls mainly then.
What language do people speak?
Maltese and English, both official. Everyone a visitor meets speaks English.