Escaping the UK winter for the Mediterranean is a dream for many, but with rising rents and island inflation, what is the true cost of living in Malta today? After spending the last seven weeks sheltering on this beautiful rock, we have tracked every penny to find out if a winter in Malta is still a smart financial escape or an expensive mistake.
In this honest guide, we reveal the reality of the Malta ‘Island Tax’ by comparing our weekly supermarket shop against UK prices, our time in Spain, and our recent winter in Antalya, Türkiye. From living in a €500k apartment overlooking Valletta to finding the best free historical sights, this is the ultimate breakdown of our Mediterranean budget.
Refined Financial Insights:
The £52/Night Apartment: How we afford to live in a half-a-million Euro property with panoramic harbour views.
The Supermarket Trolley Test: A real-world grocery comparison at Welbee’s—Malta vs Spain, Türkiye, and the UK.
The Free Open-Air Museum: Why you don’t need to spend a fortune to be entertained amongst Malta’s golden fortifications.
The 50% Off Dining Hack: Our top three money-saving apps to eat out for less and navigate the island without a rental car.
The Schengen Countdown: The reality of the 90-day rule and our next steps as we pack our bags for Bari, Italy.
Complete your Malta Research:
Valletta – World’s Most Unique Capital: https://youtu.be/bF5ul7hyiC0
Malta Vs Gozo: https://youtu.be/DwYbOY7kCPg
Best of the Malta Coast 2026: https://youtu.be/-y939C6JNnA
Mdina, Malta: How We Got an Ancient City All to Ourselves: https://youtu.be/vAflo-1teIA
Original Soundtrack by Adam
All music is original, composed and produced by Adam (PhD in direct audio-visual relationships) to capture the cinematic atmosphere of our Mediterranean winter.
Who are The Floating Nomads?
We are Rick and Adam, The Floating Nomads. We sold the house, quit the 9 to 5 and now live a life of constant slow travel by train, ferry and water. When not on our UK narrowboat, Serenissima, we live abroad for months at a time. Whether spending 200+ days in Malta (and Venice) or travelling from Buxton to Brazil without flying (as seen on CNN), we share the practical maths of life on the move.
Our films combine Rick’s marketing strategy with Adam’s music PhD to capture the authentic atmosphere of every destination we visit.
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New Films: Every Friday evening (UK time).
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Subscribe and join us onboard and abroad.
@TheFloatingNomads
CHAPTERS:
0:00 – Intro
1:00 – The Free Open-Air Museum
6:43 – The Price of a Pint (and Cocktails)
10:23 – The Supermarket Trolley Test
18:52 – Malta vs UK vs Spain vs Türkiye
20:25 – The £52/Night Apartment
23:05 – Our Top 3 Money-Saving Apps
25:17 – The Water Reality
28:49 – The Schengen Problem & What’s Next
#Malta #CostOfLiving #WinterSun #DigitalNomad #TheFloatingNomads
29 Comments
Sounds like Turkey, might be the best for your Dollar !
I would definitely love to go to Malta, for the history, religious and general history, and it just looks like a great place to go.
Turkey, yes, for the Culture and History.
(And, Turkish Bears.😂❤🌈)
Well done! Maltese wine is amazing and since it doesn't really get exported, one needs to go there to try it 🙂 I hope you also tried Maltese/Gozitan cheeses, the tiny round ones. They are delicious and I haven't seen them anywhere else. Ferry from Bari to Bar? 😉
Buying local seasonal foods always seems like the best way to win on price. Living on an island myself, I know how expensive things can get; a lot of English visitors are shocked by the prices here in Ireland. That Maltese bread looked really nice, toasted with marmite makes it even better!
The sale price of the apartment you’re staying in is definitely beyond sensible, but I suppose if someone can buy one of those huge flashy boats, the price probably isn’t much of an issue. So, I guess Malta won’t be my next move.
Ric clearly loves a bargain when shopping – when he doesn't have to haggle for it 🙂
Interesting that Malta has the same recycling system as here though we get 15c to cash in at the supermarket. And really, there’s nothing quite like sitting beside the sea and watching the waves roll in. Looking forwards to Spring in Paris…. well even a few days.
I guess Albania (Durrës) 😊 love your vlogs !
Thanks again for yet another video.. I'm sure you clever nomads are already aware, but just incase there is a schengen calculator I download from google, just makes it easier to calculate.
Lovely video…just one question that struck me…if they're a member of the Euro zone…why does that mean they don't need a Stock Exchange to buy and sell stocks and shares…🍷🍷
Excellent, I think Visit Malta should be sponsoring you. You sell Malta well. Keep up the great work!
Amazing. My husband and I are moving to Spain and will spend a couple summer months on our Narrowboat. Hope we can meet up. Love Malta and turkey both but visa was easier to Spain being a US citizen. Love the videos. Keep them coming
I was oriented towards Turkey since ~1980 and have travelled there several times, including language courses which brought me to B1 (orta bir) in 1997. But since travelling less by plane and more with my car+caravan combination, plus the developments in Turkey going rather backwards instead of becoming more progressive, I have reoriented towards Spain and visited there for a couple of times. It's a fantastic and varied destination and a lot closer than Turkey, especially far less borders to cross from Germany. I'm going to extend my Spanish, which currently is at par with my Turkish and soon will be better. I've been to Malta some years ago and liked it, but it's just too small to stay there for longer, and a caravan makes longer journeys cheaper, but taking the caravan to Malta is not an option.
So, it's Spain for me, just a little bit more expensive than Turkey, but this price difference comes back due to shorter travel distance.
Another great episode, wishing you a swift and easy travel day over to Bari, and looking forward to seeing it!
That toast looks amazing. What is the hot drink?
Oh wait, never mind, lol. You explained it next…😅
What a great 7-weeks, thank you so much for sharing your travels!
Hi guys… Malta looks fabulous 👌 BTW Australia is a non shengan option ❤
Hope to see back again in Malta.
Fab vlog as always 🎉
Another great video. I have been to Malta many times but not in recent years. I stayed in Sliema usually but visited Valletta many times. The people there are so friendly and as you say English is very widely spoken. (Geoff)
Are you not tempted to apply for a personalised Tallinja card?? Free buses and harbour ferries are a game changer
Thanks guys for another informative vlog. Really enjoyed going along with you. Rob…
twistees are awesome. Try the baco's, they make your pee smell of bacon
Absolutely fabulous presentation thank you
The university you spoke about, Richard said it was a high school even though it may say university. At least when he was there it was a high school. Things change all the time. Who knows 🤣
Thank both of you for a wonderful video!!!
Since brexit all UK products seem to have considerably increased in price and I think most people here are looking for alternative options. Most people also choose to shop from Lidl since they do offer competitive prices and high quality fruit and vegetables (which can be very expensive to buy). Welbees is probably one of the more expensive supermarkets to shop at, and the comparison with other countries was quite shocking. Cost of living here since COVID has (like everywhere else) has really been felt, especially since we import the majority of things we consume
I love your videos, you really make them interesting with the information that you include. Can't wait to see what you think of Bari, I've just booked to go there in June. I would be interested to know on a future video, roughly how much time you spend working when you're on your travels, sorry if you have covered it previously, I'm a fairly recent subscriber. Many thanks, Julia
Ive been living in malta for the last 20 yrs,and the cost of living is on par with the uk.fricking expensive.(unless you work for a gaming company)im a 58yr old joiner,and wages are very low compaired to uk.
Love your videos happy days in malta be there soon please next time go to The Strand to Tonys bar wont be disapionted and in valletta the classy cordina cafe beautiful thanks again
These comparisons are really helpful to sun-chasers or even people who are exploring warm places to retire to.
Wellbees is the most expensive supermarket on the island. Unless you want lots of British options, you’d find much better prices at Lidl.
Just FYI: the "american university" isn't a real university, it's a scam an old prime minister set up to launder money that only teaches one course.
Also the water IS drinkable. It just has high hardness which is the same as any mountain watershed.