Storm in Malta, December 2012

Answer is quite straight forward – the best (read – cheapest) time to start renting in Malta is during Maltese winter. January and February are probably the best months to find a good place. These are the coldest months on the island and tourists are rare. Another thing is that popular English schools are having their low-season.

The minimum long-term rent is 6 months, if you need a place for less than that then the rent will go up. Great thing about looking for a place during the low-season is not only the price but also the number of great flats you can chose from.

Of course, January to mid-March are not “best” months to be on the island: it is cold, rainy and windy. Average temperature during the day is 11-13 C. The worst is the cold feeling you get in the house. As Maltese houses are made to preserve cold air due to long and hot summers when it is cold outside it is almost the same temperature inside and humid, cold and humid.

But if you can handle a few months of cold weather you will be rewarded with lower rent costs and a wide choice of apartments and houses to rent. Another great thing about low-season is that there is a higher need of employees for all those iGaming companies.

Another good news is that the cost of both Unlimited and Premium is lower than lets say in Sweden or UK. For unlimited, which offers no ads, good quality of music you will pay 3.59 EUR per month and for Premium which in addition to no advertisement and good quality will offer you to use software on your mobile and tablet as well as to keep some music that you want in off-line mode is 6.99 EUR.

In comparison, for same subscription in Sweden you would pay 5 to 10 EUR.

What I want to do in this post is to put all the most important information together regarding the costs of living in Malta. I will cover cost of rent in Malta, utilities and other bills, food and going out, prices for clothes as well as public transportation and taxi prices.

Typical street in Sliema, Malta

Rent in Malta

No matter that Malta is only 300 square kilometers the cost of rent will drastically vary depending on in which city you live, do you have a sea-view and how cool the flat or house is.

Most expats live in 3-4 main cities in Malta; those are Sliema, Gzira, San Julians and some in Valletta (the capital of Malta). Msida is another place where some of expats live. Most foreigners you will find in Sliema and Gzira. Thing is that those are 2 most conveniently located districts. They are close to the Strand, the sea, rocky beaches, restaurants, bars and offices. San Julians is a bit more far out but tends to be most expensive district to live due to nice views and amount of restaurants and bars to hangout.

For 1 bedroom apartment in Sliema (1 bedroom + living room), with 1-2 bathrooms, decently furnished and without sea-view you will pay around 500+ EUR a month. 2 bedroom flat with same conditions from 600 EUR a month.

In Gzira prices a slightly lower on rent and same apartment will cost you 400+ EUR a month. From Gzira it is 10-20 minutes’ walk to Sliema promenade and rocky beach.

In Msida prices are lower than in Gzira. Msida is closer to Valletta.

You can get the price slightly down, maybe 5-10%. It is better to use real-estate agency on your first rent and they do everything for you. In one day you can see 5 different places within your budget and move in almost on the day after. Rent business here is very efficient.

If you are planning to share the place the price tends to be 10% higher.

You need to pay one month of rent upfront, one month as a deposit and 50% of monthly rent fee to the agent.

Utilities

In Malta you pay for water and electricity. In some cases it is already included in your rent and usually is around 50-100 EUR depending on number of people living in the flat and the mood of the owner probably also.

Electricity in Malta is expensive but the good thing is that you do not need to use air-conditioner from September till December at all as the temperature is at pleasant 18-25 degrees outside. To give an example – 2 people living in a flat and consuming electricity with common sense during hottest months (June – September) will usually put aside 75-100 EUR a month for cost of electricity and water.

Bill comes 2 times a year so put money a side every month so you are not shocked my “huge” bill twice a year.

Food

Prices on food in Malta are most likely the same as anywhere else in Western Europe. I usually spend no more than 50 EUR a week for all the food for 2 people for the whole week. That includes all the usual products, drinks and maybe a bottle of wine. With 250-300 EUR a month you are safe and will have your fridge full.

You should not buy everything in one place. There are many “shops-on-wheels” when farmers sell their goods on the street. Veggies and fruits are cheaper than in supermarkets.

There are also main small shops around; they tend to me more expensive than supermarkets.

Going Out

Drinking in Malta is cheap. Beer is from 1.5 EUR (cheap lager, pint) to 4 EUR. Prices depend on where you go. Pubs in St Julians are more expensive than in Sliema and Gzira. The more out you go the cheaper it gets. Decent restaurant in Sliema for 2 people with starter, main and house wine will get you to 50-60 EUR total. This can get up to 50-75 per person in high-end place.

Credits: World Web

Public transport and Taxi

Taxi is expensive. There are no meters in cabs and price depends on the place (district) you want to go, how drunk you are, season and the taxi driver. Best thing is to look for proper taxi companies in Malta on the internet and check their prices. You should not pay more than official taxi company charges.

Example – a ride from Malta airport to Sliema is 18-20 EUR. From St Julians to Gzira is 8-10 EUR (that is 5 min ride).

Busses are cheap. If you get local ID card daily ticket will cost you less than 2 EUR and 2 hour ticket is around 1.60 EUR. Busses are slow and constantly miss their time-tables. Be prepared to wait infinite amount of time.

Total

If you are planning to move to Malta here is the approx. total cost of living on the island for one month:

550 EUR for a good one-two bedroom place in Sliema/Gzira

60 EUR utilities/month

250 EUR for full fridge of food

100+ EUR going out

And it all sums up to approx. 1000 EUR a month including rent, utilities, food and going out using common sense.

Marsaxlokk in December 2012

My first trip to Marsaxlokk, a small town on the south of the island of Malta where the famous Sunday fish market is held, was in the beginning of December. Weather was good, it was warm for a long-sleeve shirt. This photo was taken using Canon 7D with 17-40 4.0 wide angle lens. ISO 200 if I am not mistaken.

On that day I got very lucky with the weather and especially with clouds just before the sunset.

The voucher offer was very simple and basic; it included obviously 1 night in the suite on the top 3^rd floor of the house, sparkling wine in the room and breakfast next morning served downstairs in a very nice big hall.

Villa Ammende has a rich history dating back to 1904, when of the richest merchants of the city, Hermann Ammende, decided to build this house. Initially he was looking for an already existing building for his daughter’s wedding but could not find one, so, as many rich people do, he decided to invest lots of money and build a house.

Villa is located 300-400 meters away from the sea in a quiet area of Parnu with a short walking distance to the Main Square as well as dozens of restaurants, bars and main shopping street. It is 1,5 km away from the central bus terminal.

Suites are specious, king size bed (at least in the room 13), wardrobe, quite big bathroom, mini-bar, cable-TV, internet, small desk, and sofa. There were no tea/coffee facilities in the room. In the evening we had to go downstairs to the lobby and ask for it.

Credits: Ammende Villa

As I mentioned in the beginning of the post we visited Ammende in December, right after Christmas. The house was basically empty. I think there were like 5 other visitors. In the evening the house is quite spooky inside with its 100 year old wood squeaking and all the strange noises in the house made me thing about ghosts.

We noticed the sound isolation is weak. We could hear people walking in the corridors, closing doors and talking. It was not a problem as there were only a few other gusts but I guess when there is more people this can become an issue.

Ammende villa in Parnu is a nice place to relax and get away from the big city noise (especially in winter). I would not recommend this place to young people or couples as it might be a bit too quiet.

Breakfast by the way was great, similar to a 4-5 star hotel, they even served sparkling wine!

Upper Barakka Gardens

There are websites suggesting from Top 10 things to do up to Top 100. It might be difficult to decide what top pick out of the list, what to skip and so on. In this short insider’s guide you will find a list of places and activities with short explanations and some additional info. OK, so let’s start.

Explore Valletta

Valletta is the capital of Malta, an Old Town with some very nice museums and cathedrals including famous St John’s Co-Cathedral. Great view opens from Upper Barakka Gardens, especially on sunset. Don’t miss Church of St Paul’s Shipwreck and War Museum. Valletta is great for restaurants and bars. Add to that amazing old buildings, narrow streets and dim lights and you get a perfect place to walk around in the evening.

This is especially great during high summer season when temperature on the Sun can get up to 40 degrees Celsius. Then you really appreciate narrow streets with lots of shadow. There are 2 ways you can get to Valletta – by bus or by a boat-taxi. You can take boat taxi from Sliema Ferries to Valletta. I recommend boat-taxi. It is faster (basically 5 minutes) and way more fun.

Busses are always crowded in summer and very slow. It takes almost an hour to get to Valletta from Sliema at any time of the day in summer and around 20-30 minutes in low season (starting from middle of October).

Important point is that boat-taxi stops working somewhere in October and then there is only 1 slower boat every 20-30 minutes.

Explore Sliema

Sliema is one of the best cities (read districts) of Malta to live in. Its location is very convenient. It is right across Valletta, close to Sliema Ferries, close to many bus stops, has many small shops, clean and very safe. There are a lot of expats living here. Cost of rent is quite high. Anyway, it is a nice place to walk, check out some small shops, and have a dinner in of the restaurants.

In Sliema you will also find one of the biggest shopping malls in Malta – Tigne Point. Another thing is that all tourist boats leave from Sliema Ferries. Sliema has very long rocky “beach” and many restaurants and bars on the water line. Here you will also find many diving schools. Both Sliema and Valletta are great for hotel location. Sliema is better for its rocky coast line which is used as a beach (in case if you do not want to spend at least 2 hours every day to get to the sandy beach and back).

Graffiti in Sliema

Valletta is better for traveling around Malta as the main bus station is there.

Visit Blue Lagoon

This place is 100% tourist place. It is crowded during the high season, there is very little space on the rocks for a sunbed, there is almost no shadow but it is worth a visit anyway. It is amazing for its crystal clear light blue water. Boats are not allowed to enter the lagoon so it is all for people. I have a full article here on how to get to the blue lagoon and how to do it cheaper. Definitely go there even if you have only few days on the island. Do it early in the morning to get a better space and avoid the crowd.

Go to wine festival

Wine festivals are usually in summer months, sometime in July, August. If you get lucky and there is one during your stay I recommend you visit it. It happens in Valletta in the upper gardens. It starts a bit before sunset, so the head is down. There is life music, relaxing atmosphere and of course different wine to try, starting from low cost examples to premium wines. It can get crowded and most likely it will get but on such events people are friendly.

Learn English

Malta is famous for its English language schools. First of all English is basically almost first language here: everyone speaks English. Of course, Malta was part of British Empire. You will notice red phone booths, red post boxes and some blue street police lights. Many English people live here or travel for long vacation. The level of teaching is very high because in many schools teachers are from England.

I think to study English in Malta is a lot of fun. First of all you “dive” into 100% English environment with native speakers giving you lessons. Add to that an option for accommodation that for example MaltaLingua school offers (from host families to 5 star hotels), party times, meeting other students from around the world and of course sunny weather for at least 6 months a year.

I met few people here who came to study English with their kids. Well, kids came here to study and parents for a longer vacation, which I think is a great way to combine both important activities.

Get into diving

Diving in Malta is easy and exciting. There are so many places to dive and so many things to see. Water is crystal clear and very warm. There are plenty of wrecks from 10 meters deep up to 90 meters deep. It does not matter what is your level you can find something for yourself.

I did my open water, advanced and deep specialty here on the island. As with language schools, diving is very popular here (Malta has one of the best diving spots in the World), very professional and cheaper than in most other European countries. Getting a combo license here (open water + advanced) can get 20-40% cheaper than anywhere else in EU.

If you really want to get your first license you can do it in one weekend.

Visit Mdina

Mdina is also called the silent city and it is ex-capital of Malta. It is an amazing place. After few weeks in hectic Sliema and Valletta going to Mdina for a half-day trip will become a nice getaway. There are very nice museums, definitely check Palazzo Falson. Walking in Mdina is an experience on its own. It is very clean city and very quiet. Try to go there during the week, not on the weekend. Have a dinner there.

Another very cool thing about Mdina is that the famous TV series “Game of Thrones” was filmed there.

Next to Mdina there is another city called Rabat. It is famous for its catacombs of St Paul and St Agatha. It is worth a visit, plus it is so close to Mdina that you won’t notice you moved from one city to another.

Visit Gozo

The famous Azure Window

Gozo is a second island of Malta and it is very different. It is 3 times smaller than the main island but there are 10 times less people. My recommendation is to go there for at least one full day or better two days and rent a car. There is no traffic in Gozo comparing to Malta. Even if you are not sure how to drive on the left side still rent a car. It is much easier than you think and in Gozo it won’t be a problem at all.

Get a GPS and pay attention to roads. I will give you one very important advice – if GPS shows you that there is a road, but your eyes are telling you that the road does not look big enough or good enough – go with your eyes! We stuck on the 45 degrees hill which according to GPS was a normal road. It was so narrow that I could not open my door. All ended well, but I lost a lot of nerves. This article is about my trip to Gozo.

The list is far away from being full and finished. It will be updated at least few more times and more places will be added.

Credits: Ritz-Carlton Japan

Tokyo being one of the most expensive cities on the planet can offer you a relaxing night or two at the most expensive Suite at Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The thing is that comparing to many other most expensive hotel rooms in the world Ritz in Japan will not offer you anything extra ordinary.

You will get a two bedroom suite with an amazing view of Mt Fuji and the Royal Palace with enough space to accommodate few extra people, as long as 300 sq. meters is enough for you. Backpacks nowadays can take lots of space! There is even a flat screen in the bathroom.

In addition to that you can also use the gym and sauna free of charge, which is great because the price of one night in this room is 25 000 dollars (USD). Not too shabby.

While you are in Tokyo staying at Ritz do not miss your chance to try out most expensive drink in the world served at their restaurant. Name of the drink is Diamonds are Forever, it comes with a real diamond inside (be careful not to swallow it!). One drink will add another 18 000 dollars (USD) to your check-out bill.

Credits: saxman772(flickr)

As any other “world capital” Paris can get expensive. In 2012 Paris was rated as one of the most expensive cities in Europe. In case if you are a 5 star traveler it should not be a problem for you to find a suitable hotel to stay. For example one of the most expensive hotel rooms you can get is in Paris. The Royal Suite on the 5^th floor of The Plaza Athenee will cost you around 26000 USD per night.

For those of us on the way to become very rich Paris can offer more affordable options, such as laid-back and friendly hostels. There is something for every taste, from hostels with few rooms and no common area to big hotel-like places with beds for every taste and wallet.

Here are top 3 hostels in Paris:

Oops! Hostel

This hostel with out-of-the-place name stands out from the rest in this list because it is very new. Opened in 2008 it offers big bright rooms ranging from dorms to privates, Scandinavian furniture, geeky wallpapers, wooden floors and great location. It is few minute walk to famous Latin Quarter.

Price: dorm – 25EUR; private – 60EUR (room)

La Village Hostel

Fans of art and culture will love this place. Hostel decorations are done in Montmartre’s golden age. Hostel is located in Montmartre district, so you will be surrounded with culture for 100%.

Price: dorm – 23EUR; private – 40EUR (person)

St Christopher’s Paris

This hostel keeps the title of “Most Popular Hostel in Paris in 2011”. This hostel is huge, with enough space to accommodate 300 people! Hostel offers a locker under each bed, curtains for privacy; own reading light and 2 power sockets for each bed. They also give you free ear plugs! St Christopher has a bar and a club inside the place. Hostel is recommended by Hostelworld.com.

Price: dorm – 24EUR; private – 35EUR (person)

I hope recommendations for hostels you found here will make your Paris stay a bit more comfortable.

Credits: chylle (flickr)

For a first time visitor the ticket system might look a bit complicated mainly due to several different options you can choose from. It really depends for how long you are planning to stay in the city and what is your plan when it comes to sign seeing.

The Metro is split into zones. All major attractions, museums, art galleries are located in Zone A. Single journey ticket will cost you 1.50 EUR.

What does a single journey ticket mean? Well, for those of us who are not very familiar with metros a single journey ticket is trip from point A to point B with any number of train changes on the way. Basically it means that if you need to get to Tirso de Molina station from the airport you will need to switch trains 2 times but as long as you stay in metro it is still a single trip.

Anyway, if you are not planning to use Metro often, let’s stay 2-3 times for the whole trip then the most profitable option for you is buying single tickets.

In case if you are planning to use subway more often best option is to get a 10 ticket pass (price is 12 EUR). In such case you do not limit yourself and you can use subway at any point. This option is cheaper than buying a tourist pass for 2 and 3 days. If you buy 10 ticket pass at the airport it will cost you a bit more. This is due to that the line which connects center of Madrid and its airport has a bit higher price.

I have spent 3 full days in Madrid, managed to see almost all major touristic places and still did not use 10 tickets card fully. In the end of my trip I gave a card to a fellow backpacker; it still had 2 trips on it. In the center of Madrid some attractions are very close so you do not need to use any transport. Plus to that Madrid is a beautiful city with amazing architecture, make sure you do not stick to its subway too much.

Last quick hint – there are 2 types of machines from which you can buy your ticket: only credit card and cash and credit card. They are very easy to use and have English menu.

Cover image - Victor Ferando, Article image – chylle.

Way hostel is located on Calle Relatores  17; the closest metro is Tirso de Molina and it is 1 minute walk from the hostel, very convenient.

Around the hostel you will find several quite affordable bars and dining places. Right behind the corner is LIDL. Way hostel has a small bar with cheap beer and cider.

Plaza Mayor is 10 minute walk from the hostel, Royal Palace of Madrid is another 10 minutes (max) from Plaza and another 10 to Temple of Debod. The 3 famous museums: Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen Museum are all within 20 minute walk from the hostel. As an alternative you can take metro which is super convenient in Madrid. For museums your station is Atocha.

Now more about the hostel itself. As I have already mentioned hostel is big, a lot of rooms. I stayed in 8 bed dorm. It is very simple and affordable: bunk beds, lockers for free, bed sheets included. You need to bring your own lock or rent one for 5 EUR deposit from the reception. Towels are not provided but can be rented. Take a small one with you.

Bathrooms are in corridors, they are OK, but do not expect a hotel standards, most of the time they were clean.

There is a big common area downstairs with TV and 4 PCs which were super slow and old, but they served their purpose well. Kitchen is OK size, quite comfy. On the reception you can get all the info about the city, transport, events and so on. Stuff is great and very helpful, use that!

Every evening there are activities and staff going on in the hostel. Check their schedule next to front desk or just ask. I had pizza night (slice for 1 EUR, cheap way to have dinner!), pub crawl is great (One night that you will never remember!). They also have free city guided tours every day at around 10am.

Hostel wasn’t crowded but again it was October. I paid 58 EUR for 3 nights with breakfast included. Breakfast in Way hostel is very simple – cereal, milk, coffee, tea, toasts and Nutella. Tip for breakfast – get up early! Have your breakfast before 9am and you will have all for yourself. After 9 there will be crowded.

I think Way hostel is a great place to crush at with a bunch of friends or if you travel alone. It is very laidback hostel, easy going and I met few nice people there. Do not expect much, be relaxed, talk to people and you will be just fine.