How Many Days In Malta? Why 4 Days Is The Perfect Length
Planning on visiting Malta but not sure how long for? Read on to find out!
Malta is a perfect European destination for a lot of tourists, but figuring out how many days you should visit this island country is not straightforward.
I visited Malta back in April 2024 for 4 days and in my opinion it is the perfect length of time to see all of the major tourist highlights.
So I’ve curated this blog post to share my experience and pass on my advice on the best things to do and places to visit in this small country that is full of fascinating history, beautiful nature, lively cities and so much more.
⌚ Short on Time? Here are My Top Malta Tour Recommendations:
✅ The Original Valletta Walking Tour
✅ Blue Lagoon, Beaches and Bays Catamaran Sailing Tour
✅ Highlights of Malta & Mdina Full Day Tour with Lunch
How Many Days Should You Spend In Malta?
As mentioned, in my opinion 4 days is the ideal amount of days you should spend in Malta. A shorter holiday wouldn’t be enough time to visit all the top tourist sites, while longer than 4 days isn’t really necessary.
If you only visit the country for 2-3 days then you will be very limited and rushed to cram in as many activities as possible.
5-7 days in Malta is a good choice however, especially if you want to spend a couple of days relaxing on one of the country’s many top quality beaches and this length of time is more suitable for families.
The Perfect 4 Day Itinerary for Malta
So having decided that 4 days is perfect for visiting Malta, let’s see what my perfect 4 day itinerary for Malta looks like.
This is pretty close to the same itinerary that I curated for myself during my trip, so it’s very much based on first hand experience:
Day 1: Valletta & the Three Cities
Valletta is Malta’s capital and is the perfect place to start your trip. I fell in love with this place, especially it’s many mazy streets and lovely architecture.
There’s plenty of things to do and see here, I highly recommend a visit to St. John’s Co-Cathedral which is a stunning place, as well as the peaceful Upper-Barrack Gardens.
There are countless top quality bars, restaurants and shops of all sorts in Valletta and you can easily spend half a day exploring the centre.
I also suggest catching a ferry across to the famous ‘Three Cities‘ just opposite Valletta.
The ferry across to Birgu (also known as ‘Vittoriosa‘) only takes around 15 minutes, and I found this city to be a delightful place.
Quieter than Valletta, it is famous for it’s harbour waterfront and is full of historical places worth exploring.
👉 Pro Tip: If you have time to visit just one site in Birgu, then I recommend Fort St. Angelo. This is the oldest fort in Malta and the views here of Birgu and Valletta are breathtakingly beautiful.
Day 2: Ħaġar Qim Temple & Blue Grotto
For day 2 in Malta, I headed to the south of the island for a bit of history and nature.
Hagar Qim Temple is an astonishing archaeological site that is thousands of years old and is an absolute must visit place if you love ancient history as much as I do.
There are two temple sites you can visit and I was totally dumbstruck with the precision and mastery of the temples; it’s an awe inspiring place that will leave you pondering who created these sites and for what purpose.
Just a short 20 minute walk from the temple site is another must visit place in Malta; the Blue Grotto caves. This is a popular nature site on the island where you can visit several sea caves on a boat trip which is a fun experience.
The rock formations of the caves are stunning to see up close and was a personal highlight of my trip.
Day 3: Medieval City of Mdina & Catacombs
Another popular tourist destination in Malta is the gorgeous medieval city of Mdina.
Sitting on top of a hill in the centre of the island, Mdina (which means: ‘fortified place‘ and is also known as ‘the silent city‘) is full of churches, palaces, narrow streets and very pretty architecture.
It’s a lovely place to stroll around and explore for a couple of hours at least. And just a 15 minute walk from Mdina is another tourist site I highly recommend visiting: St. Paul’s Catacombs.
This underground complex was a Roman burial site and is a mind blowing place to explore. Although well lit up, it can be a dark and claustrophobic experience (and a bit spooky to be honest) but I absolutely loved exploring this site!
Day 4: Ferry Trip to Gozo
For my final day in Malta I took a ferry ride to the country’s smaller sister island of Gozo. This island is a lot smaller and quieter than the mainland but I found it to be just as interesting.
The capital city of Victoria is a nice place with a lot of historical sites to visit such as the Citadel and St. George’s Basilica, and there are lots of restaurants here too.
I took a City Sightseeing Gozo Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour in Gozo which travels all around the island and visited some top sites such as:
- Dwejra Bay: this area has stunning scenery of rocky cliffs that you can explore and awesome views of the Mediterranean sea.
- Ġgantija Temples: this is another very impressive archaeological site of temples that are believed to be older than the pyramids of Egypt!
- Ramla Bay: This is often cited to be the best beach not just in Gozo but also Malta too – with stunning reddish sands that stretches to about 400 metres in total.
👉 Pro Tip: Catch a fast ferry from Valletta to Gozo rather than from Ċirkewwa in the north. Although tickets are more expensive from Valletta, it saves you from travelling to the north of Malta.
The ferry ride is available throughout the day both from and to Valletta and I found it to be a really pleasant and quick trip, taking about 45 minutes with lots of seats available.
Best Malta Tours
The truth is that there are so many top tours to do in Malta that it’s hard to choose which ones to do. So let’s take a look at 3 of my top tour recommendations:
The Original Valletta Walking Tour
⭐Rating: 5/5 stars (1,625 reviews) | ⌚ Duration: 3 hrs | ✅ Book it here!
I always think that a walking tour of a capital city is the perfect way to get to understand it’s history and culture and this is certainly the case wit this popular walking tour of Valletta.
On this 3 hour tour guided tour you’ll visit ten of the most famous places and landmarks in this UNESCO listed city, visiting and learning its history. There are 12 stops on the tour in total and here are just a few of the highlights:
- Pjazza Teatru Rjal – famous ruins in the centre of the city.
- Our Lady of Victories Church – the first church that was built in Valletta.
- Upper Barrakka Gardens – the best views of the three cities can be seen from this gorgeous spot.
- St. John’s Co-Cathedral – please note that this will be a pass by of the building only.
- The Grand Master’s Palace – here you’ll get to learn about why this palace is so important to the city of Valletta. Again, this is only a pass-by of the location, but you’ll learn all there is to know about this famous palace!
⭐ Check out Bryan’s top review of this Walking Tour of Valletta:
“We had a fabulous walking tour with Matthew. He is so passionate about sharing his knowledge about this beautiful country and its people. Highly recommend you do this tour before anything else in Valletta.”
➡️ Book a ticket for this Walking Tour of Valletta here
Blue Lagoon, Beaches and Bays Catamaran Sailing Tour
⭐Rating: 4.5/5 (984 reviews) | ⌚Duration: 4-6 hours | ✅ Book it here!
Sailing tours around Malta and nearby island Comino are hugely popular with tourists and this sailing tour is one of the best available.
Over a 4-6 hour period, you’ll get to visit several amazing bays and beaches (depending on the time of year). including the following:
- Blue Lagoon – this is one of the most popular tourist spots you can visit in Malta, featuring the most turquoise waters you’ll ever see!
- Crystal Lagoon – arguably the best snorkelling spot around Camino island.
- Ghajn Tuffieha Bay – one of the most top rated sandy beaches in Malta.
- Popeye Village – this is the actual film location of the live action movie!
You’ll get to do this all from the comfort of a large and spacious catamaran boat and you’ll have plenty of time to go swimming or snorkelling at these spots and more, as well as relaxing on the boat and soaking up the rays!
⭐ Check out Emma’s top review of this Catamaran tour of Malta:
“The most beautiful boat, staff and food. I would 100% recommend to anyone visiting Malta. It was the most memorable day. Everything was perfect. Thanks to all of the staff.”
➡️Book a ticket for this Catamaran Sailing Tour here
Highlights of Malta & Mdina Full Day Tour with Lunch
⭐Rating: 4.3/5 (1111 reviews) | ⌚ Duration: 8 hours | ✅ Book it here!
If you’re looking for a full day tour of Malta that includes visiting some of the most interesting tourist destinations that the island has to offer, then this is the perfect tour for you.
Lasting a full day up to 8 hours, this whistle stop guided tour of the island will take you to the following amazing destinations:
- The ancient medieval city of Mdina – which is over 1,000 years old!
- St. Cataldus Catacombs in Rabat – one of the earliest examples of Christianity in Malta.
- Impressive coastal views at Dingli cliffs on the western side of the island.
- San Anton Botanical Gardens – beautiful gardens that date back to the 17th century.
- Ta’ Qali Craft Village – see ancient glassblowing techniques being perfected.
- Mosta Rotunda – Malta’s largest church.
⭐Check out Monique’s top rated review of this tour of Malta:
“We enjoyed it and saw a lot. Our guide John told us a lot about the history, culture and the country of Malta until the last second of the day trip. Highly recommended!!”
➡️ Book a ticket for Highlights of Malta & Mdina Tour here
Malta FAQs
Still not convinced about visiting Malta? Let’s answer some of the most commonly asked questions about this awesome island country:
When is the best time to visit Malta?
Of course the summer months is the peak season in Malta and the best time to visit in terms of weather. But this is a very busy period for tourists and flights/accommodation prices are at a premium.
Instead, I would suggest visiting either in the spring or autumn months, when the island is slightly quieter and prices will be cheaper.
I visited Malta in the last week of April and although places like Valletta and Mdina were still crowded with tourists, it was a fairly cheap trip and the weather was pleasant enough and not too hot.
Is a week too long for visiting Malta?
As previously mentioned, in my opinion, no, a week in Malta is not necessarily too long.
By the end of 7 days you will most likely be struggling for fresh activities to do and places to visit, but that means you’ll definitely have enough time to see the best that it has to offer.
A week is perfect if you’re travelling with a family and plan to stay at a beach resort and relax for a few days, but you’ll still have enough time to visit the best tourist attractions.
Is 3 days too short for visiting Malta?
Yes, as stated earlier in this post I think 3 days isn’t really enough time to see and do everything that Malta has to offer.
In just 3 days you’ll be really rushed visiting the top tourist sites and won’t have time to fully appreciate the country and it’s culture and history.
Conclusion: How Many Days In Malta?
So that concludes everything you need to know about how many days you should visit Malta for.
I honestly think that 4 days is just about the perfect amount of time to visit the most interesting cities in Malta such as Valletta, Birgu and Mdina as well as seeing historical temples, nature sites and more.
I found Malta to be a very beautiful island with an interesting mix of activities to do and places to explore – I’m sure you’ll love it too!
You may also enjoy this blog post about Malta:
➡️ Where To Stay In Malta Without A Car – A Travel Expert’s Advice
➡️ Planning your trip? Here are my favourite resources:
🏨 Accommodation: I recommend using Booking.com
🚙 Rental Car: Use Discover Cars for the best car rental prices
❤️ Travel Insurance: I recommend using Visitors Coverage
✈️ Flights: Use Kiwi.com for the best prices on flights
