Can You Drink Tap Water in Malta? Safety, Taste and What Locals Do

Can you drink tap water in Malta?

The water reaching your accommodation is safe to drink. Malta produces its potable supply by desalinating seawater and treating it before pumping it into the distribution network, and the end product is fit for consumption. That settles the health question for most visitors: you will not fall ill from drinking it, and using it to brush your teeth or rinse food is normal practice.

What you will notice is the flavour. All the salt has been removed, yet the water still has an odd, faintly metallic taste, and that is the main reason people in Malta reach for alternatives rather than a tap.

Where Malta's tap water comes from and how it is treated

Malta has no rivers or lakes and no reservoirs of the kind you would see in Britain or Ireland, so the island makes its own drinking water. Seawater is drawn from deep shore wells sunk into Coralline Limestone and passed through reverse osmosis, which strips out salt, silt and organic material. The plants sit at Ċirkewwa in the north, Pembroke near St Julian's, and Għar Lapsi on the south coast, and their output feeds the same network that supplies taps across the islands.

Treatment does not stop at filtration. The water is disinfected with chlorine and remineralised with lime before it is pumped out, which is why the supply is safe but still tastes unlike the soft water many visitors are used to. The island is one of the most water-stressed countries in the EU, and its drinking water is a blend of desalinated seawater and groundwater, so the exact mix in your glass can vary.

Is it safe for teeth, coffee and pasta?

Brushing your teeth with it is fine, and so is making tea or coffee and boiling pasta. Many households in Malta use boiled tap water for everyday cooking and hot drinks without worrying about it, and there is no reason to treat the kitchen tap as off-limits. If the aftertaste bothers you in a hot drink, a filter jug handles most of it.

The one health claim worth dismissing is the kidney-stone worry. The idea that long-term tap water drinking raises the risk is a common perception rather than an established medical finding, so treat it as something people say rather than a reason to avoid the water.

Why it tastes metallic even though the salt is removed

Reverse osmosis removes the salt but leaves water that is low in the minerals you taste in a familiar glass of tap water, and the added chlorine and lime shift the flavour further. The result is the strange, slightly metallic backnote visitors describe.

If you are sensitive to taste, the practical answer is to filter the water rather than debate the chemistry. A household purifier jug filled from the tap removes most of the taste at low cost, which is why jugs and in-line filter units are so common in Maltese kitchens.

What people in Malta actually do: bottled water, purifier jugs and household filters

Most residents mix their sources. Large six-packs of bottled water and home delivery of bigger bottles are widespread, and many households alternate between bottled water and a jug filter filled from the tap. A purifier jug is the inexpensive fix most often used to strip out the taste, and it is a sensible option for a self-catering stay of a week or more.

Some homes go further with their own reverse-osmosis units under the sink, which double-treat the mains supply. That is overkill for a holiday rental, but it explains why the water in some kitchens tastes perfectly ordinary while the water in a hotel bathroom does not.

Bottled water and refill habits: what to plan for your trip

For a short break, buy a multipack from a supermarket or mini-market on day one and refill a bottle from the tap for excursions. Bottled water is convenient but carries the obvious cost of plastic waste, so if you are buying it, make the effort to recycle properly. Tap water in the middle of the night on a hot evening is perfectly fine to drink, taste aside.

You do not need to budget much for drinking water, and our Malta tips cover the practical side of a trip. If you are working out spending across the week, the relevant currency in Malta is the euro, so plan your money around that before you shop.

Who should be more careful and when to switch to bottled

Travellers with a sensitive palate, or anyone who dislikes chlorinated water at home, will enjoy their trip more if they plan on filtering or buying bottles from the start. The same goes for households with young children who drink a lot of water without noticing an aftertaste.

If you are staying somewhere with a kettle rather than a filter, boil the tap water for tea and keep a chilled bottle in the fridge. That single habit solves most of the complaints about the taste without buying anything.

Should you drink the tap water or buy bottles?

Drink the tap water. It is safe, it is in every bathroom and kitchen on the islands, and it costs nothing. Treat the taste as the only real question: if the metallic note bothers you, pick up a water purifier jug or a multipack on your first day and use tap water for cooking and hot drinks.