Where to Stay in Malta for Families and Groups of Six

A whole townhouse vs. a row of hotel rooms

For two adults travelling alone, a hotel room is simple. For six people — two families, a multi-generation trip, or a group of friends — the maths changes quickly. To keep everyone under one roof, a hotel usually means three separate rooms, often not adjoining, sometimes not even on the same floor. You pay three times for breakfast, you have nowhere communal to gather in the evening, and the children are down the corridor rather than in the next room.

A whole house flips that. You share a kitchen and a living space, so there is somewhere to regroup after a long day, somewhere to feed fussy small children on their own schedule, and a place to sit up with a glass of wine once they are asleep. Self-catering also takes real pressure off the budget: Malta's supermarkets and the morning bread vans make breakfasts and packed lunches easy, and you are not beholden to restaurant opening hours with hungry kids in tow. For groups who actually want to spend the holiday together, rather than reconvening in a lobby each morning, a single property tends to win on both cost and sanity.

Why the Three Cities suit families and groups

Most first-time visitors base themselves in Sliema or St Julian's, which are busy, bright and built for nightlife. The Three Cities — Senglea (Isla), Birgu (Vittoriosa) and Cospicua (Bormla) — sit directly across the Grand Harbour from Valletta and offer something quieter and, we'd argue, more characterful. These are lived-in, historic towns rather than a resort strip, which means narrow honey-coloured streets, real neighbourhood life, and a waterfront marina that children love to wander along in the early evening.

The pace is the selling point. After a day of museums and sun, coming home to a calm corner of Malta — where the loudest thing at night is usually the church bells — is a genuine relief for parents. The marina restaurants are an easy, low-stress dinner option: along the Birgu waterfront you'll find places such as Terrone (Mediterranean seafood, listed in the Michelin Guide) and the more casual Don Berto, while on the Senglea side Marina Restaurant and Enchanté sit right on the water. Il-Pirata is another local option in Senglea worth a look. None of this requires a car — and for days out, Valletta is a short hop across the harbour, which brings us to the part children remember most.

A kid-friendly outing: the harbour crossing to Valletta

The single best thing about staying here with children is the harbour crossing. Rather than a long bus ride, you can take a boat across the Grand Harbour — and to a six-year-old, that is an adventure, not a commute.

The Valletta Ferry (Valletta Ferry Services) runs between the Cottonera/Three Cities side and Valletta's Lascaris Wharf in roughly ten minutes, with departures around every half-hour. As a guide, an adult day single is about €3.00 and a child single around €1.00, with day returns roughly €5.00 adult and €1.50 child; a night-service tariff applies from about 19:30. A valid return ticket also includes free same-day use of the Barrakka Lift, which whisks you straight up into Valletta's Upper Barrakka Gardens — a small treat in itself. Hours run later in summer than in winter, so it's worth checking the current timetable and fares on the official site before you set off.

For a more memorable five-minute crossing, the traditional dgħajsa water taxi — Malta's brightly painted harbour boat — leaves from the same Valletta waterfront and lands near Birgu. It runs on demand rather than to a schedule (the boatman sets off once a few passengers have boarded), and you pay in cash, typically around €3 per person. Many boatmen will also do a short harbour tour, usually around €8 a head, arranged on the spot — a lovely, low-cost way to see Fort St Angelo and the creeks from the water. For the full rundown on times, prices and which boat suits which trip, see our guide to the Valletta ferry and dgħajsa water taxi.

Getting here and getting around with a group

Malta International Airport is only about 7 km away — roughly a 15-minute drive in light traffic, a little longer at peak times. For a group of six with luggage, the simplest option is the official airport taxi: prepay a fixed fare at the Malta Taxi booth in the arrivals hall, then hand your ticket to the driver at the rank outside. Fares to the Three Cities are indicative rather than fixed in stone, but budget somewhere in the region of €16–€27 depending on which town and which service; confirm the current zone fare at the booth. Ride-hailing apps (Bolt, eCabs and Uber all operate in Malta) can be cheaper off-peak, with pickup at the designated ride-share area, though prices surge on busy nights. For families needing child seats or a guaranteed meet-and-greet, a pre-booked private transfer from around €29 is worth the certainty.

Once you're settled, you may barely need transport — the ferry handles Valletta beautifully. For the rest of the island, public buses are cheap and easy: routes 1, 2, 3 and 4 link the Three Cities to Valletta, with Senglea served primarily by route 1. A single fare is €2.00 in winter and €2.50 in summer, and every ticket is valid for two hours with free transfers, so changing buses costs nothing extra within that window. For a group using buses several times a day, the Explore Adult 7-Day card at €25 (children's 7-day at €7, under-4s free) is the standout value. We've covered the full picture — routes, the airport connection and travel cards — in our guide to getting to and around the Three Cities.

What to see nearby

You won't run short of things to do within walking distance. The Inquisitor's Palace in Birgu — one of very few surviving palaces of its kind in Europe — is open daily, roughly 9:00 to 17:00 (last admission 16:30), with adult tickets around €6 and reduced rates for children and seniors. It's an atmospheric, slightly spooky stop that older children tend to enjoy.

A note on the Malta Maritime Museum, also in Birgu: it has been under major restoration since 2020 and has not fully reopened. For now, only a single immersive exhibition, An Island at the Crossroads, is open to visitors, so don't plan on the full collection — check Heritage Malta's site for current opening hours and ticket prices before you go.

Beyond that, the Senglea and Birgu marinas, the gardens at Senglea Point with their famous Gardjola watchtower overlooking the harbour, and an easy ferry day in Valletta will more than fill a week. The waterfront promenade is flat and pram-friendly, which makes evening strolls with little ones genuinely pleasant.

An honest word on stairs and access

One thing we always flag before guests book: the Three Cities are old, and so are their houses. These are traditional 16th-century streets built long before lifts, and many homes here — including ours — are arranged over more than one level with internal staircases. That suits most families and groups perfectly well, but if anyone in your party has limited mobility, uses a wheelchair, or simply can't manage stairs comfortably, please tell us before you book rather than after. The towns themselves also have their share of slopes and steps down toward the water.

We'd rather have an honest conversation up front and make sure the place genuinely fits your group than have you arrive to a surprise. If a traditional townhouse base in Senglea sounds right for your family or group of six, take a look at our townhouse and send us an enquiry with your dates and a little about who's travelling — we're always happy to talk through whether it'll work for you before you commit.