7 days in Malta, Gozo and Comino

Why 7 days is the complete Malta experience

Seven days is the trip that first-timers wish they’d booked after they come back from 4 or 5. You have enough time to slow down in Valletta (two nights’ worth of exploration without rushing), to do the Three Cities properly rather than on a sprint, to spend two nights in Gozo and actually understand why people prefer it to the main island, and to time the Blue Lagoon right rather than hit it at peak chaos.

This itinerary requires no car on Malta and uses the Gozo ferry + taxis or an organised tour on the smaller island. You are based in Sliema for the Malta nights and Xlendi (Gozo) for two nights.

This is for: first-timers who want to see everything once, couples who want culture and scenery in roughly equal measure, anyone doing a “one big Malta trip” rather than a quick weekend.

It is NOT ideal for: families with very young children (see 7-day family itinerary), divers (see 7-day diving itinerary), luxury travellers (see 7-day luxury itinerary), or anyone who wants maximum beach time.

At a glance

Day	Base	Focus
1	Sliema	Valletta: walking, St John’s, Upper Barrakka
2	Sliema	Three Cities, harbour cruise
3	Sliema	Mdina, Rabat, Dingli Cliffs
4	Sliema	Marsaxlokk (Sunday), Blue Grotto, south coast
5	Gozo (Xlendi)	Ferry, Citadella, Ġgantija, salt pans
6	Gozo (Xlendi)	Dwejra, Ramla Bay, Xlendi cliffs walk
7	Malta (Comino)	Blue Lagoon, return to Sliema/Valletta

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Day 1 — Valletta: the capital and its harbours

Morning

Arrive by Sliema-Valletta ferry (€1.50, 5 minutes). Start at the Valletta Waterfront — limestone walls, superyachts, the sea — then climb through the baroque city gate. Valletta is the smallest capital in the EU and entirely walkable.

The morning is for orientation: City Gate, Republic Street (don’t linger, it’s the tourist strip), St George’s Square (the main piazza), and then into the side streets where the real city lives. St Lucia Street, Old Bakery Street, Archbishop Street.

[ Valletta 3-hour walking tour ] gives you the history in the right order — essential if you want to understand why these streets are arranged the way they are.

Afternoon

St John’s Co-Cathedral — non-negotiable. The floor alone (stone tombs of 375 Knights, each more elaborately carved than the last) is worth the €15 ticket. The Caravaggio room requires a separate ticket within the ticket. Book ahead in peak season. [ Combined city tour and St John’s entry ] handles the queue and the context.

Upper Barrakka Gardens: do not miss the 4pm cannon salute. Stand at the balustrade — the view over Grand Harbour is the defining Malta image.

Evening

Walk Strait Street after 7pm — the former British military red-light district, now one of the more interesting bar and restaurant streets in the city. Legligin Wine Bar for Maltese wines and small plates. Rubino for full Maltese cooking (rabbit, bragioli, timpana). Budget €35-45 per head.

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Day 2 — The Three Cities

Morning

Take the Valletta-Three Cities ferry from Valletta waterfront (€2.65 return, 10 minutes to Senglea). This is one of the great short boat rides — Grand Harbour from the water, Valletta rising behind you, the Three Cities in front.

The Three Cities — Birgu (Vittoriosa), Senglea, Cospicua — predate Valletta. The Knights lived here from 1530 until they built Valletta in 1566. The fortifications, churches, and palazzi are all still here, and unlike Valletta, there are real Maltese families living in them.

[ Three Cities walking tour with Inquisitor’s Palace ] — start here. The Inquisitor’s Palace in Birgu is one of the few surviving Inquisition courts in the world, and it is genuinely unsettling in a way that museums rarely manage.

[ Fort St Angelo e-ticket with audio tour ] — the fortification that held during the Great Siege of 1565, when roughly 700 Knights and 8,000 Maltese infantry held off an Ottoman force of 40,000 for 4 months. The ramparts give you the harbour perspective the Knights had.

Afternoon

Walk Birgu’s main street — Triq il-Majjistral — for lunch. There are honest trattoria-style restaurants here that serve Maltese staples (hobż biż-żejt, pastizzi, rabbit stew) without tourist pricing. The Birgu Wharf waterfront below Fort St Angelo is the superyacht marina — extraordinary contrast.

[ Sliema-Valletta-Three Cities scenic cruise ] from the afternoon departure gives you the entire Grand Harbour circuit in 90 minutes from the water — a good way to end a day that’s been spent walking the fortifications from land.

Evening

Return to Sliema by ferry and bus, or Bolt from Birgu (€12-15).

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Day 3 — Mdina, Rabat, and the western escarpment

Morning

Bus 52 from Sliema to Mdina: 45-50 minutes. Arrive before 10am for the quiet. Mdina is the medieval capital of Malta — 270 residents, 900-year-old walls, streets so narrow they don’t need names. It is genuinely quiet in the early morning and genuinely busy by 11am. Time it right.

[ Guided walking tour of Mdina ] covers the cathedral, the Palazzo Vilhena, the main streets, and the bastions with their views over the entire island. [ Mdina at sunset small group tour ] is an alternative if you’d rather have the morning free.

Afternoon

10 minutes’ walk downhill to Rabat. Lunch at Crystal Palace pastizzeria (best pastizzi in Malta, €0.40 each). Then the catacombs: [ St Paul’s Catacombs and Domvs Romana combo ] — €10, never crowded, genuinely interesting.

Taxi or Bolt to Dingli Cliffs (10 minutes, €8): 253m above sea level, no railings, no entrance fee, extraordinary views. Then the Buskett Gardens 5 minutes further south — the only remaining woodland in Malta, cool and quiet in summer.

Return to Sliema by bus 55 then 52 (1 hour) or Bolt direct (€15-18).

Honest tip: Skip the Mdina horse carriage. €60 for 30 minutes, the horses work in heat, and walking covers the same ground more completely.

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Day 4 — Marsaxlokk and the Blue Grotto

Start this day on Sunday to catch the Marsaxlokk fish market (6am-1pm). If your schedule doesn’t allow it, swap days 3 and 4 to align with a Sunday.

Morning

Bus 81 from Valletta to Marsaxlokk (40 minutes, €2). Arrive before 10am for the market — fresh fish from the morning boats, vegetables, local honey, and tourist crafts in a much smaller section. The luzzu boats (traditional Maltese fishing boats painted with the Eye of Osiris) line the harbour in front of the market.

[ Blue Grotto and Sunday Marsaxlokk market guided tour ] handles the transport and gives you both stops in one organised trip.

Lunch in Marsaxlokk: walk away from the front-row restaurants (tourist prices, €25-30 for fish) to the backstreets. Taverna del Porto or any place with a chalkboard menu in Maltese — you’ll pay €18-22 for a proper fish lunch.

Afternoon

Blue Grotto is 15 minutes by bus from Marsaxlokk or 20 minutes by car. The boat trips from Wied iż-Żurrieq into the sea caves take 25 minutes, €8 per person. The caves turn the water electric blue — not CGI, just refraction. Boats don’t run in rough weather. [ Blue Grotto sea caves boat tour from Sliema ] is an alternative departure if you prefer to leave from Sliema.

Evening

Return to Sliema and pack for Gozo tomorrow. Use this evening to re-explore Valletta’s seafront or try Ta’Kris restaurant in Sliema for honest Maltese home cooking at restaurant prices.

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Day 5 — Arriving in Gozo: Citadella and Ġgantija

Morning

Bus 41 or 221 from Sliema to Cirkewwa (55-65 minutes, depart by 8:30am). Ferry to Mġarr: 25 minutes, departs every 45-60 minutes. You pay €4.65 return at the Gozo end.

Taxi from Mġarr to Victoria (the Gozo capital): 10 minutes, €8. The Citadella rises above Victoria on a fortified hilltop — cathedral, museum, and ramparts with views of almost the entire island. [ Victoria/Gozo walking tour ] (2 hours) covers both the Citadella and the Victoria back streets.

Afternoon

Ġgantija temples in Xaghra: UNESCO World Heritage, older than the Pyramids at 5,500+ years old. These are among the oldest freestanding structures in the world. [ Malta to Gozo day trip including Ġgantija temples ] covers transport and a guided visit if you want context.

The Xaghra salt pans at Marsalforn: 20 minutes by taxi, still actively worked by local families, photogenic and free.

Evening

Check into Xlendi — a sheltered bay on the south-west coast, the most atmospheric village on Gozo for a night stay. Trabuxu Bistro or Il-Kartell for dinner (local rabbit, grilled lampuki fish, local wine). Budget €30-40 per head.

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Day 6 — Gozo’s wild west

Morning

Hire a taxi or join an organised tour (ask at your accommodation) to Dwejra on the west coast. The Azure Window arch collapsed in 2017 but the Inland Sea lagoon — connected to the open sea through a rock tunnel — is one of the strangest landscapes in the Mediterranean. [ Gozo full-day tour with Ġgantija, salt pans and Dwejra ] is the best single organised option for this region.

The Blue Hole dive site is adjacent — one of the top 10 dive sites in the world for certified divers. Even non-divers can snorkel the edge.

Afternoon

Ramla Bay on the north coast of Gozo: the only proper sandy beach on the island, red-gold sand, crystal water. 25 minutes from Dwejra by taxi. Calypso Cave above the bay has Gozo’s version of the Odyssey myth — Calypso allegedly detained Odysseus here for 7 years.

Xlendi cliffs walk in the late afternoon (departing from your hotel): 30-minute walk south along the cliffside path, extraordinary views, zero crowds.

Evening

Final dinner in Gozo. [ Victoria sunset walking food and drink tour ] ends perfectly as a final Gozo evening — 2-3 hours of the Citadella at sunset with local food and wine included.

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Day 7 — Comino and the Blue Lagoon

Morning

Return to Malta by ferry (Mġarr to Cirkewwa, 25 minutes). From Mġarr port, boats to Comino run from June through September — check schedules in advance for shoulder season. [ Mellieha boat tour to Gozo, Comino and Blue Lagoon ] can be booked in advance if the direct Comino ferry is limited.

Comino and the Blue Lagoon: arrive before 10am to beat the main boat arrivals from Sliema (they start arriving around 11am). The lagoon is genuinely beautiful — shallow turquoise water over sand — and the Santa Marija Bay on the other side of the island is even quieter.

Honest tip: In July-August, Blue Lagoon between noon and 3pm is overcrowded to the point of not being enjoyable. The food stalls sell hot dogs at €8. Plan accordingly — go early or late.

[ Blue Lagoon evening catamaran cruise ] is the alternative for arriving after 5pm when the crowds have left — often the best Comino experience available.

Afternoon

Return ferry from Comino to Malta and bus or Bolt back to Sliema/your hotel. Last evening in Malta: sunset from the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta (ferry over from Sliema), or [ the dghajsa sunset gondola tour ] around the harbour — the perfect final Malta experience.

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What this itinerary skips (and why)

Popeye Village: A film-set theme park. Fine for families with young children, not necessary for any other profile on a 7-day trip when there are better things competing for the time.

Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples: One of Malta’s most significant UNESCO sites and we didn’t include it. That’s a genuine omission — if prehistoric temples interest you, slot a morning at Hagar Qim into day 4 before or instead of the Blue Grotto. See 5-day history buff itinerary for a Malta itinerary built around archaeological sites.

St Julian’s and Paceville: The main nightlife district. Perfectly fine if that’s your scene, but Strait Street in Valletta does a better evening than Paceville for almost any age group above 22.

Harbour cruises: We included the Three Cities ferry and mentioned options, but didn’t fill a whole day with boat tours. [ The 3-islands cruise from Sliema ] is worth knowing about if you want a day at sea.

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How to adapt this itinerary

• Shorter version: See 5-day Malta and Gozo itinerary — loses Marsaxlokk and one Gozo day.
• With a car: See 7-day with car itinerary — unlocks the full south coast, hidden Gozo coves, and Hagar Qim.
• With kids: See 7-day family itinerary — Mellieha base, Popeye Village, Aquarium, family boat trips.
• On a budget: See 5-day budget Malta itinerary for cost structure to apply here.
• Romantic: See 4-day romantic Malta itinerary — focused on sunset experiences and intimate dining.

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Practical info

• Best time: April-May or September-October. July-August works but plan around heat (start early, rest 12pm-3pm) and book Comino early morning.
• Getting around: Tallinja 7-day Explore Card €21. Sliema-Valletta ferry €1.50. Cirkewwa-Mġarr Gozo ferry €4.65 return. Valletta-Three Cities ferry €2.65 return.
• Accommodation: Sliema 3* B&B €70-90/night (nights 1-4 and 7). Xlendi guesthouse €65-80/night (nights 5-6).
• Currency: EUR throughout. Cards accepted in Valletta, Sliema, Victoria. Carry cash for Gozo villages and Marsaxlokk market.

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Frequently asked questions about a 7-day Malta itinerary

Is 7 days too long for Malta?

No. Malta, Gozo and Comino together are three distinct islands with enough content to fill 7 days without padding. The issue with shorter trips is that you rush everything. Seven days lets you actually sit somewhere and watch the light change.

Should I base myself in Sliema or Valletta for 7 days?

Sliema for convenience and value. Valletta for atmosphere. If budget allows, split: 2 nights in Valletta at the start for immersion, then move to Sliema for the remaining Malta nights. Valletta hotels are 30-40% more expensive for equivalent quality.

How much should I budget for 7 days in Malta?

For mid-range: roughly €100-150 per person per day, including accommodation (€70-90 B&B), food (€40-50 meals + snacks), transport (€5-10 buses + ferries), and one main activity per day (€15-50). Total 7 days: approximately €700-1,050 per person, not including flights.

Do I need to book the Blue Lagoon in advance?

You don’t need to book access to Comino itself (it’s an island, you just take a boat). But the boat tours fill up quickly in July-August. Book your Comino boat or cruise at least 2-3 days ahead in peak season. Early morning departure (before 9:30am) is strongly recommended.

Is Gozo worth two nights?

Yes, if you want to experience it properly rather than just tick it off. One night is the minimum — you need to wake up on Gozo in the morning when the tour boats have left and see what the island is actually like. Two nights is ideal for the west coast, Dwejra, and Ramla Bay without rushing.

Last reviewed: 2026-04-20