Malta itinerary in 7 days

Malta is an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea consisting of three islands. The largest island is also called Malta, immediately followed by Gozo and finally the smallest which is Comino. This state is very touristy both for its many historical sites and its beautiful beaches, but there is no shortage of nightlife, especially in the neighbourhoods around the capital Valletta. To best visit the main attractions of the Maltese archipelago one week may be enough, so here is the Malta in a Week itinerary!
SEE ALSO: What you must see in Malta

Day 1: Valletta

Photo by John Haslam. We set off from the capital Valletta. In the morning, a hearty breakfast of croissants, cakes and an excellent coffee for the modest price of €3.00 at the Museum café. This café is located right in the historic centre. Immediately afterwards, head to St John's Cathedral, Malta's ancient and immense Baroque church, and take some time to visit and admire it in all its beauty. After visiting the cathedral, continue straight on to Fort St. Elmo, the fortress that separates the old town from the sea, now home to the Police Academy and the National War Museum.

For lunch, we recommend a quick stop at Noni, a restaurant in the centre of Valletta offering Mediterranean as well as European cuisine at affordable prices. Immediately afterwards, leave the old town and head for the Barrakka Gardens and the Herbert Ganado Gardens, located just a few metres apart, where you can take a nice walk in the greenery and spend a few hours of tranquillity.

Dine on seafood at BISTRO 516, a seafront restaurant with a cosy but not too formal ambience, excellent quality and generous portions at very low prices. After dinner, enjoy a stroll along the Valletta promenade, made atmospheric by the multiple harbour lights.
SEE ALSO: What to see in Valletta in a day

At a glance:

• Distance travelled: 4.1 km

• Places visited: St John's Cathedral (€6.00), St Elmo Fort and National War Museum (€10.00), Barrakka Gardens (free), Herbert Ganado Gardens (free), Waterfront (free)

• Daily expense: approx. €60.00

• Card, tickets and recommended tours: Sightseeing bus tour of Malta Walking tour of Valletta's medieval sites Valletta: 3-hour walking tour

• Where to eat: Lunch at Noni(Get directions), Dinner at BISTRO 516(Get directions)

Day 2: Blue Grotto and Sliema

The second day will be dedicated to the resorts of Crendi and Sliema .
Once you reach Crendi, make a quick stop at the Grotta Bar to enjoy a good coffee and breakfast, all for less than €2.00. Afterwards, head to the famous and renowned Blue Grotto and start your excursion by wandering among the rocks and the intense colours of the sea.

Have a good, light lunch at Congreve Channel where you can choose from rich sandwiches or Maltese specialities and seafood cuisine for a total of about €15.00.
After lunch, take the bus to the Temple of Menaidra, not far from where you are, and visit this fascinating archaeological site dating back to prehistoric times.

Once back from Crendi, you can spend the evening in one of Malta's liveliest neighbourhoods: Sliema. First of all, we suggest dinner at an excellent restaurant, Ta' Kris, where you can enjoy excellent Maltese cuisine, choosing between meat or fish, for around €20. Immediately afterwards, enjoy Malta's nightlife among the myriad of clubs you will find in Sliema.

In summary:

• Distance travelled: 21.5 km

• Places visited: Blue Cave (excursions from €25.00), Menaidra Temple (€10.00), Sliema (free)

• Daily expenditure: around €80.00

• Card, tickets and recommended tours: Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk Sunday market

• Where to eat: Lunch at Congreve Channel(Get directions), Dinner at Ta' Kris(Get directions)

Day 3: Rabat, Mdina and St Julian's

Photos of R Muscat. On the third day we travel to Rabat, Mdina and St Julian's.
You reach Rabat, but before you start visiting this new location, stop at the Chalk Café to enjoy an excellent cappuccino and a nice piece of cake from the house, at a cost of €4.50. This café is located in close proximity to the site you are going to visit, the Catacombs of St Paul. It usually takes 2 hours or so to visit everything, including the underground rooms and tunnels.

Before continuing on to Mdina, stop for lunch halfway between the two locations. This time, we suggest the Toffee & Co restaurant for a fresh, quick and light lunch that will allow you to continue your tour effortlessly, and above all, quite inexpensively. When you have finished lunch, walk towards Mdina and in a few minutes you will have arrived in the old town, passing through the Mdina Gate. Here you will find St Paul' s Cathedral and the Cathedral Museum, of which we suggest a visit that will take about an hour.

To spend your evening, we suggest another of Malta's most festive neighbourhoods, St Julian's, where you can choose from the many parties offered by the various venues. But first, of course, you need to fill your belly properly! For dinner we would like to recommend the restaurant Parthenope, a great choice for delicious fish dishes or a good pizza made properly, in a modern ambience with affordable prices for everyone!

In summary:

• Distance travelled: 17.8 km

• Places visited: St Paul's Catacombs (free), St Paul's Cathedral and Cathedral Museum (€10.00), St' Julian's (free)

• Daily expense: approx €55.00

• Card, tickets and recommended tours: Full tour of Valletta and Mdina Mdina : island tour with lunch 2-hour walking tour of Mdina Old Town 4-hour night tour of Mosta and Medina

• Where to eat: Lunch at Toffee & Co (Get directions), Dinner at Parthenope(Get directions)

Day 4: Mellieha

Photo by Wusel007. For day four, we travel to Mellieha, a location in the north of the island.
But first let yourself be delighted by the Spiaggia d'Oro (Golden Beach ) cafeteria with its wide selection of cakes and sweets or one of the many breakfast menus, for an average cost of €5.00. The cafeteria is located right next to Golden Bay, a wide and beautiful beach where we suggest you spend the morning enjoying the sea and relaxing.

For lunch, stop at one of the restaurants near Golden Bay. Here we recommend theApple's Eye Restaurant, a modern little restaurant where you can enjoy excellent meat or fish dishes, or very filling sandwiches and rotisserie, all on a large terrace overlooking the sea for about €18.00.
After lunch, move on to Popeye Village, which is only 15 minutes away, and visit what was once the set of a famous film, now transformed into a theme park with boat rides on offer!

After your visit to Popeye Village move on to Mellieha Bay, on the opposite coast. For dinner, we recommend you try Munchies, a restaurant on the beach serving Mediterranean dishes where you can enjoy your dinner with an atmospheric sea view for only €20. After dinner, enjoy your evening in Mellieha Bay by choosing one of the clubs you will find on the waterfront!

At a glance:

• Distance travelled: 6.8 km

• Places visited: Golden Bay (free), Popeye Village (€12.50), Mellieha Bay (free)

• Daily expenditure: about €70.00

• Where to eat: Lunch at Apple's Eye Restaurant(Get directions), Dinner at Munchies(Get directions)

Day 5: Marsaxlokk, Tarscen and Gezira

Source: wikimedia commons The fifth day will be dedicated to visiting Marsaxlokk, Tarscen and Gezira.
Before starting the day's tour, you cannot miss breakfast at one of the best cafés in the area, Costa Coffee, with its varied choice of tempting cakes and a variety of coffees for all tastes, for only €5.00.
Immediately afterwards, start visiting the small fishing village of Marsaxlokk with its typical colourful little boats, now a symbol of Malta that you will have often seen in pictures!

After visiting Marsaxlokk, move on to Tarscen, where you will find theHypogeum of Hal Saflieni, which you will visit after a nice quick lunch at Maxims Pastizzeria. Here you can stuff yourself to your heart's content with the many variations of the famous Maltese pastizzi, a puff pastry preparation with different fillings, at a cost of €1.00 each. Now that your belly is full and satisfied enough, you can continue with a visit to the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum and explore this ancient underground structure.

After a day of walking around the village and the historical site, the idea may be to have an after-dinner drink at a quiet place. For this we suggest Gezira, a populated but less lively neighbourhood than Sliema and St' Julian. For dinner, we recommend Cafe Jubilee, a pub offering appetisers and finger food as well as first and second courses. The portions are generous and the prices moderate! Here you can stay and spend the rest of the evening enjoying typical beers and excellent cocktails.

In summary:

• Distance travelled: 47.3 km

• Places visited: Marsaxlokk fishing village (free), Hal Saflieni Hypogeum (€35.00 online, €50.00 on site), Gezira (free)

• Daily expenditure: about €60.00

• Where to eat: Lunch at Maxims Pastizzeria(Get directions), Dinner at Cafe Jubilee(Get directions)

Day 6: Gozo

It's time to change location and visit Gozo, Malta's second largest island! Start with a morning of relaxing on the beach, but first have breakfast at Rose's Bar with a good coffee, croissant or toast, for just over €2.00. At Rose's Bar you are already on the beautiful beach of Ramla Bay where you can spend your morning hours in no hurry!

Now that you've relaxed enough, enjoy a light, sea-view, low-cost seafood lunch at Il-Kcina tar-Ramla, also on Ramla Bay beach, and get ready to spend the hottest hours of the day in the cool ambience of nearby Ninu's Cave, a cave with stalactites and natural formations that will leave you speechless. Also be sure to visit the Temples of Ggantija: even older than Stonehenge, the Temples of Ggantija are another UNESCO site you'll find in Malta. According to legend, these colossal temples were built by giants.
Once your visit is over, head back to the beach to relax, but this time at Ghajn Barrani Bay, another beautiful beach near where you are.

For dinner, head to Gozo Harbour where, of all the places and restaurants on offer, we suggest Country Terrace, a cosy Mediterranean restaurant with a panoramic terrace, for a good dinner at average Maltese prices. After dinner, take a nice walk along the harbour and then stop for a drink in one of the cocktail bars you will come across on the way.

In summary:

• Distance travelled: 13.1 km

• Places visited: Ramla Bay (free), Ninu's Cave (free), Ggantija Temples (€9.00), Ghajn Barrani Bay (free), harbour (free)

• Daily expenditure: approx. €65.00

• Recommended cards, tickets and tours: Gozo : 1-day jeep tour, lunch and speedboat ride Day tour to Gozo Island From Malta: 1-day quad bike tour to Gozo with lunch Cruise and tour to Gozo and the Blue Lagoon

• Where to eat: Lunch at Il-Kcina tar-Ramla (Get directions), Dinner at Country Terrace(Get directions)

Day 7: Comino

Photo by Mycatkins. To make your trip to Malta more complete, you can't miss a day on the last of the three islands, Comino! It's going to be a busy day, so before you set off to explore Comino stop for breakfast at Good To Go, the café you'll find in Malta harbour, where for €2.00 you'll enjoy a good coffee and croissant.
When you reach the island, start your excursion in the clear waters of the Blue Lagoon and then move on to the nearby Crystal Lagoon.

After your tour of the lagoons, stop for lunch at the Blue Lagoon Kiosk, a kiosk offering sandwiches, flatbreads, hot-dogs and more starting at €3.00.
Afterwards, head to St Mary's Tower and from there continue towards the beach to Lantern Point. From both points, enjoy the beautiful view!

When you're back on the island of Malta, we recommend going for dinner at a small and cosy restaurant in the centre of Valletta, the Legligin. Here you can enjoy a Mediterranean-style set menu for €25.00. After dinner, to spend your last night on the island, choose the neighbourhood you liked best during this long week and return there to celebrate this rich trip!

In summary:

• Distance travelled: 38.1 km

• Places visited: Blue Lagoon (free), Crystal Lagoon (free), St Mary's Tower (free), Lantern Point (free)

• Daily expense: approx. €50.00

• Card, tickets and recommended tours: Gozo, Comino, Blue Lagoon and Sea Caves: 1 day tour Comino: Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon and Sea Caves Maltam Gozo & Comino: tour of the three islands

• Where to eat: Lunch at Blue Lagoon Kiosk(Get directions), Dinner at Legligin(Get directions)

How much does a week in Malta cost

NB: The costs expressed in the table above are per person.

Malta is not an expensive destination, but neither is it as cheap as people say. Clearly, much depends on the time of year you visit, but in the height of summer, hotel and B&B costs soar. In addition, almost all attractions are chargeable, and if you want to add a few boat excursions between caves and islands, a few hundred euro goes away without hardly noticing.
If you book in advance and settle for shared accommodation, hostels or campsites, the cost can be cut down quite a bit, but if you are looking for all the comforts and don't want to miss out on any of the attractions, Malta can become quite expensive.

• Cheap flights: from €56.00 - check out the offers

• Where to stay: Hotels and b&b's from €45.00 per room - see deals

• Card, tickets and recommended tours: 1 day sightseeing bus tour to Mosta, Crafts Village, Mdina, Valletta 3 cities tour of Malta with wine tasting

• Total cost of 7 days including flight: from €500,00 per person

Before you go: useful tips

• When to visit Malta: April to October - more info on when to go to Malta: climate, best time and tips

• How to get there: via Malta International Airport(flights from €29.98 - see offers), from which you can reach Valletta in 20 minutes by city transport for about €3.00 and by various shuttle buses for about €6.00(private transfer from airport to hotel from €16.00)

• Where to stay: the liveliest neighbourhoods are Sliema and St Julian's while the areas closest to the beaches are Mellieha, St Paul's Bay and Gozo - Hotels and b&b's from €41.00 per room - see offers.

• Gettingaround: City buses that travel around the island (€2.00 return) and ferries to Gozo and Comino (€5.00 return) - more info on getting around Malta: costs and tips