10 Days in Malta: Valletta, the Temples, Mdina and Gozo

Land at Malta International Airport (MLA) in Luqa, the airport for this itinerary. Valletta is a short ride north: the TD4 Airport Direct bus serves Valletta every 30 minutes, and taxis wait outside arrivals. Leave the car for now; you will not need one in the capital.

Check in and take an easy first walk through Valletta. The city is a compact grid on a peninsula, so you cannot get lost for long. Head to the Upper Barrakka Gardens, the arcaded terrace above the Grand Harbour, for the first view across to the Three Cities you will visit on day 3.

Wander down Republic Street and Merchants Street as the shops close and the cafes fill. For a light first dinner, start with a plate of bigilla, the bean dip, and Maltese ftira bread, or pick up warm pastizzi from a pastizzeria for a cheap snack.

Start early at St John's Co-Cathedral, the church of the Knights of St John, whose plain exterior hides a gilded Baroque interior and a marble floor of knights' tombstones. Its oratory holds Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John. Dress modestly and arrive at opening to beat the tour groups.

A few streets away, the Grandmaster's Palace shows the state rooms and armoury of the Order. Then walk to the tip of the peninsula and Fort St Elmo, the star-shaped fort that held out in the Great Siege of 1565 and now houses the National War Museum. If you prefer prehistory, swap one of these for the National Museum of Archaeology on Republic Street, a good primer for the temples later in the week.

Return to the Upper Barrakka Gardens for sunset over the harbour, then eat in one of the steep side streets running down to the water. Try bragioli, beef olives braised in a tomato sauce, or a slice of timpana, the baked macaroni pie.

Take the ferry from below Valletta across the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities, or a traditional dghajsa water taxi if one is waiting at the landing. In Birgu (Vittoriosa), climb Fort St Angelo, the Knights' headquarters during the Great Siege, for views straight back at Valletta's walls.

Walk the narrow lanes of Birgu to the Inquisitor's Palace, the seat of the Inquisition in Malta, then cross to Senglea (Isla) and its small garden lookout at the tip of the point. This is a deliberately slow day: stop for coffee on the marina and let the afternoon go.

Take a Grand Harbour cruise in the late afternoon if the sea is calm; the creeks, forts and dockyards make more sense from the water. Eat on the Birgu waterfront or go back to Valletta. Check the dates of Birgufest, and check the programme, in case it falls during your stay.

Today is fixed by your Hal Saflieni Hypogeum booking in Paola, a short bus or taxi ride from Valletta. This underground Neolithic burial complex, cut into the rock over several levels, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is visited in small guided groups. Within walking distance are the Tarxien Temples, with carved spirals and the lower half of a large stone figure. Do whichever fits around your Hypogeum time.

Head southeast to Marsaxlokk, the fishing village whose harbour fills with painted luzzu boats, each with an eye on the bow. Have a long seafood lunch on the waterfront; in autumn look for lampuki pie, made with the local dorado (lampuki). In the warmer months, walk or take a short ride to St Peter's Pool, a flat rock shelf with deep, clear water for a swim.

Return to Valletta for a quiet evening. If you still have energy, the bastion walk along the Marsamxett side looks across to Sliema as the lights come on. Try aljotta, the garlicky fish soup, if you did not have it at lunch.

Collect your hire car and drive southwest to the Blue Grotto at Wied iz-Zurrieq. Small boats leave from the inlet to visit the sea caves, and the colours are best on a sunny morning. Boats do not run when the sea is rough, so check before you set off.

A few minutes along the coast are Hagar Qim and Mnajdra (Ħaġar Qim), two megalithic temples on a headland above the sea, part of the UNESCO-listed Megalithic Temples of Malta and now covered by protective shelters. A footpath links the two; Mnajdra sits lower down towards the water. Then drive inland and up to Dingli Cliffs, the high southwestern edge of the island, for an easy clifftop walk.

Stay at Dingli for the sunset over the open sea and the islet of Filfla, then drive back to Valletta for dinner. Order stuffat tal-fenek, the slow-cooked rabbit stew that is a Maltese staple.

Check out of Valletta and drive inland. Stop at the Mosta Rotunda, the parish church with an enormous dome that dominates the town, then continue to Mdina, the walled former capital on a ridge in the centre of the island. Park outside the gate and walk in: cars are restricted inside the walls.

Visit St Paul's Cathedral, walk the quiet lanes to the bastion for views across Malta, then cross into Rabat. The Domus Romana keeps mosaic floors from a Roman town house, and St Paul's Catacombs are, in Heritage Malta's words, the earliest and largest archaeological evidence of Christianity in Malta.

Drive north to Mellieha, your base for two nights, a hilltop town above the long sandy beach of Mellieha Bay. Dinner is simple: a village restaurant with kapunata, the Maltese take on ratatouille, and grilled fish or rabbit.

Late spring to early autumn: drive the short way to Cirkewwa and take a boat to Comino for the Blue Lagoon, the clear, shallow channel between Comino and its islet. Since 2025, landing at the Blue Lagoon requires a free time-slot booking, capped at 4,000 people at any one time; book before you buy the boat ticket. See the Comino and Blue Lagoon guide.

Winter, or a rough sea: do not plan around Comino. Boats run far less often in the cooler months and are cancelled in bad weather. Instead walk the coast of the Majjistral Nature and History Park north of Golden Bay.

On Comino, walk away from the crowds to St Mary's Tower or the quieter Santa Marija Bay, or join a Comino boat trip around the caves. On the Malta option, spend the afternoon on the sand at Golden Bay or the steps-down beach at Ghajn Tuffieha Bay (Għajn Tuffieħa). Either way, keep the afternoon slow.

Golden Bay faces west, so it catches the sunset. Watch it from the sand or the headland, then go back to Mellieha for dinner. The dessert to try is imqaret, fried date-filled pastries, often sold at stalls.

Drive to Cirkewwa and take the Gozo Channel car ferry to Mgarr, a crossing of about 25 minutes. Buy tickets online or at the Gozo booths; validation is in Gozo before the return journey. On Gozo, head straight to Victoria (Rabat) and the Cittadella, the fortified hilltop old town with its cathedral and walls that look out over the whole island.

Drive west to Dwejra Bay and the Inland Sea, where small boats run from the enclosed lagoon through a cave tunnel to the open sea when the weather allows. The famous Azure Window arch no longer stands, but the cliffs, Fungus Rock and the Inland Sea remain. On the way back, stop at Ta' Pinu Basilica, which stands alone in the fields near Gharb.

Settle into your Gozo base for two nights. Order a Gozo starter plate with gbejniet, the small local sheep's cheeses, fresh or peppered, and Gozitan ftira for dinner.

Drive to Xaghra for the Ggantija Temples, two Late Neolithic temple structures that Heritage Malta dates to between 3,800 and 2,000 BC, built from huge blocks on a plateau above the valley. The ticket also covers Ta' Kola Windmill in the village. Allow a morning and do not rush.

Go down to Ramla Bay, Gozo's red-sand beach backed by dunes, for a swim and a long lunch. This is the slow half of the day. If you would rather move, a section of cycling in Gozo or a short walk along the valley above the bay suits the quieter roads here.

Watch the evening light from the Cittadella walls or have dinner by the water in Xlendi or Marsalforn. Finish with qaghaq tal-ghasel, the treacle rings sold in bakeries.

Have a slow last morning on Gozo. Xlendi Bay is a narrow inlet a few minutes from Victoria with a waterfront for coffee and a swim only when conditions permit, an easy final swim if your flight is in the evening.

Drive to Mgarr and take the ferry back to Cirkewwa; validate your return ticket here, buying it at the Gozo booths if you have not bought online. From Cirkewwa to Malta International Airport requires a road transfer that can be delayed by traffic, so allow plenty of margin to refuel and return the car.

Fly home from MLA. If your flight is the next morning, spend the last night near the airport or in Valletta rather than on Gozo, so the ferry is not part of your departure day.