Malta sightseeing passes: which to buy, and when to buy none

Plenty of people search for a «Malta Pass» expecting a single card, like those in other European capitals, that bundles museums, transport and discounts. In Malta that doesn’t exist, or at least I haven’t found it in any official source. What you get instead are several passes from different bodies, and choosing well between them can save you money or cost you it. This is how I’d weigh them up.

The Heritage Malta Multisite Pass

This is the main pass and the only one close to a proper sightseeing card. It’s sold by Heritage Malta, the state agency that runs almost all the museums and archaeological sites, and it opens 25 of its sites, the Citadel visitor centre on Gozo and the Malta National Aquarium. An adult pays €60, seniors and students €45 and children €30, and it’s valid for 30 days after you first use it. For a family of two adults and two 6-to-17-year-olds it’s €130.

What it leaves out matters as much as what it covers. It isn’t valid for the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum or Underground Valletta, the two sites that must be pre-booked and are paid for separately. Nor does it cover St John’s Co-Cathedral, which has its own foundation.

When does it really pay off?

My sums are in the second table. Six major sites bought separately, the Grandmaster’s Palace, St Elmo, MUŻA, Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, St Angelo and Ġgantija, add up to €62. In other words, the pass starts to earn its keep around the sixth site, and every extra visit, whether the aquarium or a small museum, is a straight saving. With three or four museums, you’re out of pocket.

That’s why I’d suggest it for a stay of a week or more that takes in Gozo, for people keen on archaeology and history. For a weekend in Valletta, I’d pay on the door. All the prices are in museums in Malta.

Area combos, the option I’d actually use

For a short trip, I think the combos are the better buy. On Gozo, the Discover Gozo Combo Ticket costs €13 and covers Ġgantija, Ta’ Kola Windmill, the Citadel visitor centre, the Old Prison and the Gran Castello Historic House, valid for 30 days. Ġgantija with Ta’ Kola alone is €10. If you’re only visiting the Citadel, a €5 combo covers the Gran Castello, the Old Prison and the visitor centre.

In Rabat, the €14 combo includes the Domvs Romana, the Natural History Museum in Mdina and St Paul’s Catacombs, which come to €17 bought separately. Heritage Malta also has small combos elsewhere, such as Skorba with Ta’ Ħaġrat or Kordin III with Tarxien, plus half-price Tarxien tickets bought at the Tarxien desk on showing a Hypogeum ticket.

The Wirt Artna pass, for wartime Malta

The Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, a volunteer organisation, runs its own Heritage Pass. For €50 per person or €95 per family, and for one week from first use, it gives one entry to each of its sites. These are the Lascaris War Rooms, the Saluting Battery, the War HQ Tunnels, the Malta Time Gun Museum, the Malta at War Museum, Fort Rinella, St Peter’s Galleries and St Thomas Tower.

If the Second World War is your thing, I’d call it the best-rounded pass in Malta. Lascaris, the battery, the tunnels, Malta at War and Fort Rinella alone come to €68 bought separately, so you’re already €18 up.

And for getting around?

Malta Public Transport sells the Explore Flex, with unlimited bus travel for four days at €21 or seven days at €27, including night routes and the Airport Direct. It takes add-ons, such as the Gozo fast ferry or the hop-on hop-off bus. If you won’t travel much, or you’re in a group, the 12-journey card at €19 can be shared. I compare them all in buses in Malta.