Where to stay in Valletta
Valletta for quiet and walking, Sliema for price and the ferry, St Julian's for nights out, the Three Cities for calm.
- Dorm bed
- from €15 (dorm bed)
- Tourist tax
- €1.50 per person per night
- Bus
- €2 winter, €2.50 summer
The neighbourhood decides the evenings and the bus rides far more than the street outside the window does. Sleeping inside Valletta costs more and goes quiet at night. The ferry from Sliema gives some of that money back. None of the four areas is far from the others, but each one changes the shape of a day. Choose first by what you want from the evening, then look at the price.
For those on foot
Valletta is a city without cars, which suits anyone who wants to be at the co-cathedral at nine and back in bed without a night bus. Every ticket on the itinerary becomes a walk of a few streets, and the streets climb in steps, so the morning saves a bus ride and costs a little breath. The guides describe the city as pricier than the rest and calmer once the evening begins, after the day visitors have gone back to their ships. For a first visit without a car, that settles it.
The cheap beds are hostels: Bed in Valletta and Dormitory by Vallettastay sit at the bottom of the range, and Mandera’s Boutique Suites & Dorms costs more. Hostel prices: from €15 (dorm bed). Read recent reviews before booking, because cleanliness comes up often.
hostel, dorm bed, per night
Sliema and St Julian’s: price and nights out
Sliema offers more choice at lower prices, and the ferry carries you across to Valletta without a bus. Prices in Sliema run lower than inside the walls, and the choice of rooms is wider, so a longer stay or a tighter budget points here. The trade is a commute at both ends of the day, and for many that is a fair price for a cheaper bed.
St Julian’s is where the evenings are, with bars and restaurants and hostels along the water. Valletta goes quiet after dinner, so anyone who wants a late drink ends up here anyway, and sleeping nearby spares the ride home. The cost is distance. The town lies farther from Valletta, so the bus is the usual way in, and a single ride costs: €2 winter, €2.50 summer. Parking is hard in both places, and in summer the area is crowded.
Calm and history
Birgu is a peninsula with water on three sides, home to Fort St Angelo and the Maritime Museum. The Order of St John settled here in 1530, when Mdina stopped being the capital, and stayed until Valletta was built across the harbour. The streets are quiet, and far from the nightlife and the shops. The ferry to Valletta leaves from Lascaris Wharf, so a day in the capital ends with a ride back over the water.
For a three-star hotel, aggregators only give a room average, not a per-person price.
The tax and when to book
Every guest aged 18 or over pays €1.50 per person per night, up to a cap of fifteen nights per visit, and it appears as a separate line on the bill. The amount tripled on 1 July 2026, so older guidebook figures are too low. Fix the Hypogeum slot first, then book the bed in the neighbourhood that suits that morning.
Where to next
What Valletta costs
→The Hypogeum and the day trips break the bill; squares, gardens and a pastizz save it.
Malta
→Three islands, a capital smaller than a square kilometre and megalithic temples from the fourth millennium BC
How well does Valletta suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Valletta
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Ready for Valletta?
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