All-inclusive in Malta, for and against

All-inclusive gets sneered at by independent travellers and loved by parents, and in Malta both camps are half right. It all comes down to how often you’ll eat away from the hotel. Before giving my view, I looked at what the Malta Tourism Authority’s own figures say, because they go a long way to explaining why the wristband sells.

Why the maths can work

According to the MTA’s research on 2025 spending, the average British visitor got through €412 while on the island, leaving aside whatever was paid before flying out. Of that, €233 went on food and drink, 56.6%, against a six-market average of 53.3%. So the part of the holiday an all-inclusive deal covers is by far the biggest part of what you’d otherwise spend on the island.

The MTA also lists all-inclusive, along with bed and breakfast and half board, among the things visitors pay for within their packages. If you’re buying that way, look for the ATOL certificate, as I explain in Malta holiday packages.

Where you’ll find it

The hotel register doesn’t say which board each hotel offers, so I can’t give you a trustworthy list of wristband hotels. What it does show is where the big resorts are, which is where all-inclusive makes sense. Mellieħa has the largest hotels in the country, with a median of 240 rooms. St Paul’s Bay, home to Buġibba and Qawra, has 37 mid-range hotels with a median of 108 rooms. St Julian’s has the big five-stars. Every one of the nine hotels with 400-plus rooms sits in those three areas or in Valletta.

For a family beach week I’d start with hotels in Mellieħa, near the sand at Għadira, and compare them with Qawra, where the aquarium is next door. In Valletta, where the median hotel has 28 rooms, all-inclusive barely makes sense.

When I’d give it a miss

If your trip is about sights and day trips, the sums flip. You’ll spend your days in Valletta, Mdina or Gozo and eat out most of the time, paying twice for the same meal. In that case breakfast or half board suits me better, with dinner at the hotel and lunch wherever you happen to be. The same goes for a stag or hen group in St Julian’s who’ll be out every night.

You’d also miss part of the point of coming. Maltese food, from pastizzi to rabbit stew, is found outside the hotel gates, and I cover it in Maltese food.

What about Gozo?

On Gozo, all-inclusive fits even less. The island’s 20 licensed hotels share 941 rooms, and the MTA says only 12.3% of its international tourists in 2024 came on a package. Nearly half of those staying only on Gozo used flats, farmhouses or villas with their own kitchens. If you want Gozo with meals sorted, I’d look for half board at a hotel in Marsalforn or Xlendi, or take a farmhouse and use the village restaurants. More in my guide to Gozo hotels.

Season and value

Between July and September 2024 the islands’ hotels were close to 84% full, and between January and March they dropped to 51.3%. With the big resorts half empty in winter, that’s when there’s most room to find a good-value meal plan, although it’s also when you’ll use the pool least. October half-term strikes me as the sweet spot for an all-inclusive week with children. The Met Office at Malta airport gives a normal sea temperature of 24°C for October, and hotel occupancy from October to December 2024 was 61.7%, well below the summer peak.

What I’d check before paying

Every hotel writes its own all-inclusive rules, and they vary a lot. Before booking, I’d read the hotel’s own website for bar and restaurant hours, whether drinks are local only or include branded spirits, whether à la carte restaurants carry a supplement, and whether sunbeds cost extra. And I’d budget for the environmental contribution, which the MTA keeps apart from the room price and which comes to €1.50 a day for each adult, up to €22.50.

My summary is simple. With young children and a week by the pool in the north, all-inclusive buys peace of mind and quite possibly saves money. For anything else, bed and breakfast or half board, and get out and eat.