Malta: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Malta feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 79 written places.
Baroque stone, church bells and bus-sized streets; English is official and everywhere.
✓ Considered polite
- Use the buses - cheap, air-conditioned and they reach everything eventually
- Swim from rocks - Malta's beaches are mostly stone platforms into clear water
- Visit Gozo - the slower sister island is many visitors' favourite
- Look up in Valletta - balconies and bastions are the show
✗ Better avoided
- Expect punctual buses in summer crowds - build slack
- Wear beachwear in Valletta - it is a working capital
- Skip village festas in summer - fireworks and brass bands are the culture live
- Underestimate summer heat on shadeless stone
Worth knowing
- English is co-official - everything works in it
- Tipping is 5-10%
- The euro is the currency; cards work widely
- Ferries to Gozo and Comino run constantly and cost little
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.