Malta 7-Day Itinerary: Valletta, the North Coast, Comino and Gozo

Land at Malta International Airport (MLA) and take Airport Direct bus TD4 to Valletta or TD3 to Sliema, or a taxi. After dropping your bags, start at St John's Co-Cathedral, whose oratory holds Caravaggio's Beheading of St John the Baptist. It is a working church, so check visiting days before you plan around it.

Walk to the Upper Barrakka Gardens for the Grand Harbour view and the Saluting Battery firings at 12:00 and 16:00, Monday to Saturday (as of November 2026; check holiday closures), then on to the Grandmaster's Palace and down to Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum. Snack on pastizzi between stops.

Walk the quieter streets at dusk, then eat in Valletta. A plate of bigilla and Maltese bread followed by stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew) is a good first dinner. If you are staying in Sliema, the short Valletta ferry or a bus gets you back.

Take the harbour ferry from Valletta to the Three Cities. In Birgu (Vittoriosa), visit Fort St Angelo, the Knights' base during the Great Siege of 1565, and the Inquisitor's Palace. Only if your Hypogeum slot leaves time, walk round the creek to Senglea for the lookout at the tip of the point.

A short bus or taxi ride takes you to Paola for your timed slot at the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, the underground prehistoric burial site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. Then walk to the nearby Tarxien Temples. If you missed out on Hypogeum tickets, the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta, which displays finds from the temples, is a good substitute.

In the warmer months, take a Grand Harbour cruise to see the fortifications from the water. Dinner near your base: try bragioli (beef olives) and finish with imqaret.

Collect your hire car and drive south-west to Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. The two temple complexes are over 5,000 years old, sit about 500 metres apart along a footpath above the sea, and form part of the Megalithic Temples of Malta World Heritage listing. At Mnajdra, the southern temple's doorway is aligned with sunrise at the spring and autumn equinoxes.

A few minutes down the road, boats leave Wied iz-Zurrieq for the Blue Grotto and nearby sea caves when the sea is calm; when it is not, the roadside viewpoint above is a fair substitute. Drive on to Marsaxlokk for a late fish lunch by the harbour full of luzzu boats, or a bowl of aljotta.

From late May to October, swim at St Peter's Pool on the Delimara peninsula, a rock shelf with deep, clear water and no sand; stay out when the sea is rough. If you have time, walk part of the coast in the Xrobb l-Ghagin Nature Park on the same headland. Drive back to your base for dinner.

Drive inland to the Mosta Rotunda, the parish church with a huge dome, and then up to Mdina. Park outside the walls, which are closed to most traffic, and walk to St Paul's Cathedral and the bastion walls for views across the island.

See the mosaics at the Domus Romana and the underground burial passages of the St Paul's Catacombs in Rabat, with lunch in Rabat of ftira or timpana. Afterwards drive south to Buskett Gardens, a rare patch of woodland on the island, for a shady walk.

Finish at Dingli Cliffs for sunset, a few minutes from Buskett, on the south-west coast. Drive back to your base for a last dinner by the harbour.

Check out and drive north to Mellieha, allowing time for traffic from Valletta. Stop at the Ghadira Nature Reserve behind Mellieha Bay, a wetland managed by BirdLife Malta (check its opening days before you go), then climb the ridge to the Red Tower (St Agatha's Tower) for the view to Comino and Gozo.

In summer, spend the afternoon on the sand at Golden Bay or its quieter neighbour Ghajn Tuffieha, reached by a long flight of steps. Families may prefer Popeye Village, the film set built in Anchor Bay. Out of season, walk part of the cliff paths in the Majjistral Nature and History Park above the bays instead.

Stay for sunset over the sea from the headland north of Golden Bay, which faces west. Then head to Mellieha village for dinner; in autumn look for lampuki pie, made with the dorado fish caught in season.

May to October: drive the few minutes to Cirkewwa and take an early boat to Comino. You need your pre-booked Blue Lagoon time slot (free, through the Malta Tourism Authority system) before you arrive. Swim or snorkel in the Blue Lagoon before the midday crowds, then walk a short way to the quieter Santa Marija Bay. November to April: skip Comino, unless boat availability and sea conditions suit your plans; take a morning walk along the coast near Mellieha instead.

Back at Cirkewwa, drive onto the Gozo Channel ferry to Mgarr, a crossing of about 25 minutes. On Gozo, check the closing time before heading up to Xaghra and the Ggantija Temples, built in the Late Neolithic period and part of the Megalithic Temples World Heritage listing, with a visitor centre that explains the site.

In summer, drop down from Xaghra to Ramla Bay for its red sand in the late afternoon. Check into your Gozo accommodation, then eat in Victoria or Xlendi; ask for a plate with gbejniet, the small sheep's milk cheeses the island is known for.

Start early at the Cittadella in Victoria, the fortified hilltop citadel at the heart of Gozo, for its cathedral and views across the island. Drive west past the Ta' Pinu Basilica, standing on its own in open country, to Dwejra, with the Inland Sea and Fungus Rock.

Have lunch in Victoria or at Xlendi Bay, then drive to Mgarr for the ferry back to Cirkewwa. Your Gozo Channel ticket is validated at Mgarr before you board. From Cirkewwa, allow a generous road-transfer buffer to MLA, plus time to return the car.

If your flight is the next morning, spend the last night near the airport or back in Valletta or Sliema, and finish with a walk along the waterfront and a final round of pastizzi. For an evening flight, aim to be on a ferry from Mgarr by early afternoon.