Hey travel besties! I’m back from DLT MALTA and I have all the tea! If you don’t know already, DLT Malta is a music and party festival hosted by the UK based company, Days Like ThIs (DLT). DLT curates events all over the world but their festival in Malta is one of their most successful events, thrown annually. The festival combines my favorite elements of a festival: music, scenic views, international guests and unique party experiences, all in one! Below, in true Travel Jawn fashion, I give you my tips and tidbits on all things DLT Malta! Drop a comment below and let me know if you went this year or are planning to go next year! Check out my socials below for video proof that DLT Malta is a vibe!

dlt for the Small boys?

If you’re looking for Detty December treatment, think again bookie, but it’s not exactly why you think. It’s not because the men aren’t hospitable, they’ll buy you a shot or a drink, and give you a seat, if they have a section. But I will say, there’s less energy from men trying to impress women.
The way DLT Malta is set up, quite refreshingly actually, is that there’s less focus on section culture and status and more focus on fun and vibes. I had an all-access band and at times, I found myself in GA because the vibes were amazing or the views were better!
There’s opportunities to get sections but they go quickly, long before arriving to Malta, and are usually booked by groups (travel groups, bachelorette parties, etc.).

Pretty privilege

No surprise here! Pretty privilege works! Sprinkle a tad bit of kindness and you will go far with navigating through DLT Malta. There was a TikTok trend awhile back that highlighted girl roles in friendship groups while out and it couldn’t be more true (the section securer, the hype woman, the twerker, etc.).

VIP is totally worth it

VIP was 100% worth it! From the ease of getting into events, the separate entrance lines, sections, views from the sections, access to some add-on events, you will definitely get your money’s worth!

WHERE TO STAY

Where should you stay in Malta? I would suggest St. Julian’s or St. Paul’s Bay, if you want to be somewhat near the events but still want to be around things and restaurants in Malta.
Hot take, or not, but I don’t think staying at Bora Bora is worth it. I’m not a host hotel girly, because it’s usually a lesser quality hotel, for one and being around party vibes day and night gets exhausting! .
I didn’t see or hear of any real perks of staying at the host hotel, besides being with other attendees, but that could change.

USA! USA! USA!

Let’s be clear, the vast majority of attendees are from the U.K., simply due to convenience and lower cost of travel, but the Americans were outsideeee! In discussion with the organizers, an upwards of 28% of attendees were from the U.S. this year, and via my own amateur investigative journalism, I concur lol. All regions were accounted for: East coast, Midwest, Down south and the West coast.
I think the intrigue of Malta, allure of meeting people from outside of the U.S. and being be able to party and be exposed to different vibes has Americans’ interest peaked. Could there be more Americans at DLT in the future?

Pack alcohol

Bring your alcohol with you from home or buy duty-free from a country outside of Malta. Why? Because the selection of alcohol is limited and the amount it costs in Malta is even more ridiculous! $100 for a 750ml bottle of Don Julio Blanco is mad!

the Entertainers, entertained

I’ve established that I’ve been to many festivals in the past. I’ve been subjected to artists canceling day of, and in droves, or artists being extremely late, sets and stage presence were trash, or sound quality was messed up during the entire performance and on and on. Can you tell I’ve suffered?! But not in Malta.
The stage, the crowd setup, the sound, the DJ intermissions were all done pretty well. No festival is perfect, so don’t think there weren’t ANY hiccups.
The musical acts this year were: Asake, Shallipoppi, Latto, BNXN, Valiant, Mariah the Scientist. Not going to lie, Mariah the Scientist was not it for me, but I’m happy she performed at Uno Malta because I, and the rest of the bunch who weren’t interested, had fun in the Amapiano/Afrobeats room hosted by Jerk x Jollof. No shade to her, because she definitely has fans but in my mind, I didn’t think she was a good fit for a night party performance.

DJs did their thing

Clap for yourselves! Afrobeats, Amapiano, Hip Hop, and R&B were in heavy rotation. Minus a few interesting transition choices, I think the different rooms provided great vibes. If you preferred one genre of music over the other, there was a time and place for that, and overall, the selections of DJs was great.
Once you heard a string of R&B songs back to back, just know that was the cue to bounce, party done!

Well oiled machine

I can’t lie, out of all the festivals I’ve been to, on 3 different continents, DLT got it! Bravo team! The communication, the social media engagement, the starting and ending time of events, they were on it. Hopefully, you’ve never been subjected to performers coming on stage at 3am in Accra, iykyk,

The add-ons

DLT Malta isn’t all inclusive. Majority of the festival is included in your ticket: daily day and/or night parties and events at Armier Beach and Uno Malta.
The add-ons this year were: boat parties (co-hosted with Jerk x Jollof), bottomless brunch, and pool parties at Bora Bora (one co-hosted with SIKA)..
Now, do I think there should have been more events included in the package…no. The capacity of attendees for the add-on events were limited and I think that’s fair. Just having the options for other organized activities was a great add-on, that usually happens at all festivals.
I do think there’s definitely room for more collaborations, activations and events that can go on simultaneously, so less people feel left out.

Put DLT notifications on

A lot of people’s feelings were hurt, including mine, when they missed out on boat tickets or Bora Bora pool party tickets! The best advice I can give is, once you know you’re going, put DLT notifications on and/or join their WhatsApp community chat and book those add-ons when they 1st drop!
Instagram notifications were clutch but the WhatsApp community notifications were the goat!

Bigger and better

I’m excited to see where DLT Malta goes! This festival has the potential to go so far. But with growth, comes the need for quality control, and I hope it remains the well oiled machine it was this year.
I’d like to see more global influence within the festival through activations, events, music acts, and attendees.
Creative marketing was tea. I enjoyed the visuals, marketing and communication from DLT and I know they have more up their sleeve.

Malta is a gem

ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR MALTA! What an unexpected gem of an island! It was a busy island, filled with sites and excursions in each corner.
The population of Malta is so diverse, with most of it made up of the working class. I met people from Italy, Ghana, Pakistan, and so on.
The architecture is phenomenal, a blend or European, Roman, modern and a touch of Arabian culture. However, there is a lot of construction currently going on, so while taking in its beauty, the site of cranes and ongoing construction sucked.
Would I visit Malta on its own? Probably not, only because I've seen most of it now and of how far it is from the U.S. But I would definitely add it on to a multi-country trip to like Italy, Tunisia, Turkey or Greece. You can see all of Malta in 5-7 days, if you take your time.
If you’re coming for DLT, fly in the day before at least, and leave late on the Monday or Tuesday after the festival, if you want time to explore, trust me!

Make it a euro summer trip

If you have the time, make it a Euro summer trip by adding on another European destination!
I visited Portugal after Malta and other people I know visited Spain, Greece and Turkey. It’s definitely doable if you plan right. See my post A Beginner’s Guide to Euro Summer, for tips on planning your best Euro summer!