Friendly little Malta and her smaller sister Gozo, offer a particularly pleasant blend of walking and sightseeing. This may at first seem surprising as this tiny country is only about the size of the Isle of Wight in the U.K. yet it has over ten times the population! Despite this there are some very attractive island walking opportunities, and landscapes with some of the most stunning views in the Mediterranean: with dramatic cliffs plunging into waves, rocky scrublands full of flowers in spring, limestone pavements on hilltops and even hidden little valleys. On some of the walks you'll come across mysterious, prehistoric sites, cave chapels and the secluded palaces of the Maltese Knights.

We offer a range of walks from the three bases that we use on the islands: Valletta (Malta), Xlendi (Gozo) and Buggiba (Malta). These include coastal cliffs, inland historical sites and there is even a walk around the historical city of Valletta. The distances between the three centers are not great and you can cheaply take the local buses or if you are quite burdened with baggage, local taxis, which can be easily set up by the hotels for when you want to leave. Baggage transfers are thus not included on this tour. There are some recommended walks in the route notes, but there are plenty of others to choose from using the extra route book provided; so you can walk to suit your mood or the weather. Some walks you can start directly from the hotels, on most however, you will need to take either the public buses or maybe a taxi. Nearly all walks are on bus routes around the islands and it is reassuring that there are fairly low levels of traffic in the countryside in general.

Having arrived in Valletta, you will have time to walk round this historical city, perhaps you would like to take a ferry across the harbour to view the impressive fortifications. Next you catch the ferry to Gozo where you spend two nights at beautiful Xlendi Bay: often the location of amazing sunsets. Walks from here take you out to bays across golden limestone plateaus and you could tramp around the citadel at Victoria (Rabat). Back on the mainland, you will stay in Bugibba in St. Paul.s Bay, the place where the great man was shipwrecked (for the second time). Walks around here trace ancient paths past watch towers to more delightful coastal bays.

Malta is a busy place for tourism throughout the year and we do not claim that your hotels are in the quietest corners of the island; the idea is that you will be at the heart of the place, but will still be able to make the most of convenient bus routes as well as have access to a range of restaurants and the sea.

Travel Information

Flights:  The full package price of the holiday is based upon  flights London Gatwick to Malta (Luqa Airport )  with  GB Airways. If you book Land Only, there are daily flights  with Air Malta from London and weekly or twice weekly flights  from  various  regional airports  (Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow) but these  may not necessary be throughout the year. Bookings can be made on www.airmalta.com, and special offers are sometimes available.

Otherwise there will be charter flights during the main  holiday period or take the new Ryan Air  service   from  London Luton. www.ryanair.com note that flights may not be daily.

Arrival:  It is about 20 mins  and  €15 in a taxi  from luqa Airport to the  first hotel in Valletta. You can arrive  anytime on  the first  day, but note that  your room may not be available until the afternoon. In this  case  the reception will look after your bags  so that you can  have a look around and maybe have a spot of lunch.

End of Tour: The tour ends after breakfast on day 8 in Buggiba. You will need to take a taxi or bus back to the airport from St. Paul’s Bay, around €25. This journey takes  30 -  40 mins, depending on traffic levels.

Transport: Buses, taxis and ferries are not included on this  tour, but  are reasonably priced on Malta.

Season: Throughout the year except July and August.

 See the climate chart at bottom of dossier! Obviously the summer months are too hot, but October, November, and February to May, are all nice months to travel with perfect walking temperatures and low levels of rainfall. December / January can be quite wet and cold, especially with sea winds. Of course it can rain anytime throughout the Spring and you should be prepared for this! In terms of natural beauty, flowers and green hues, February-May are definitely the  prettiest months.  Towards the end of May, the landscape  starts to go brown  and then is scorched over summer. Autumn  walking is nice,  the scenery has more golden-  brown hues and flavours.

Level of Difficulty

Grade: Easy to Moderate. There are some hills, some fairly steep but short ascents & descents and some paths with rough gravel , stony and occasionally rocky surfaces.

Fitness: High standards of fitness are not necessary but clients should be able to walk comfortably for up to 6 hours a day in hot sun on dusty or stony tracks.

Waymarking: Negligible It is necessary to follow the route descriptions provided together with the maps. 

General Information

Rooms: The type of room depends upon availability when you book. Rooms are however, all ensuite. In Valletta we try to book sea view rooms. In Gozo and at Buggiba, our rooms are based upon non sea facing Balcony bedrooms.  We can request sea view balcony rooms but there is in this case a price supplement of the sterling equivalent of €11 per room, per day.

Baths: it is not normal for your room to have a bath, the main reason being that it takes up a lot of space, some hotels/guesthouses may have a separate room in the house where a bath is available to guests, but in the main it is showers.

Breakfasts: in Malta usually consist of tea/ coffee, juices  and breads; bread rolls, cereals , ham and cheese  -  a ‘heavy ‘ continental! If you want more for breakfast then we would suggest you purchase some food the night before. It is important for you to tell us if you have any dietary requirements when you book your holiday so that we can inform everyone that you are staying with.

Single Supplements:  are payable on most of our tours. The single supplement guarantees the privacy of your own room, however, rooms can at times be small and in some places may not enjoy the same facilities as double/twin rooms.  On some of our trips it is possible to reduce the cost of the single supplement if you happen to be a 3^rd person travelling, or have chosen a date when other clients are booked.

Language: Most people in Malta speak good English, but Maltese is also a  language in its own right  and it  would be polite to learn a few  words or phrases.

Luggage:  There are no baggage transfers involved in this tour. Please make sure that you are not overburdened by your bags as you will be  making movements  on  buses, taxis and ferries. At each hotel there are lifts, but if you need some help to take it up to your room please politely ask at reception.

Accommodation & Meals

Accommodation is on a bed and breakfast basis in 2,3 and 4 star hotels. Note that the actual grading may depend upon the availability of the hotels at the time of booking. Below we describe our normal hotels.

q       Nights 1 & 2: These are spent in the capital city of Valletta, in a quiet and comfortable 2 star town hotel in the heart of the city.  This has been a family run place since 1930, and is one of the oldest hotels in Malta. It has a superb location, having some of the best views of the island, overlooking the magnificent Grand harbour. The hotel is situated 5 mins walk from the main bus terminus, banks, museums, shops etc. The restaurant has a terrace also overlooking the harbour. Nevertheless, the hotel is in a very quiet location. There are comfortably furnished guest bedrooms, each room has an ensuite bathroom or shower. When it is warm enough, you can bask in quiet comfort on the roof-top sundeck, where you can enjoy a snack or a tall, cool drink as you tan; for the evening take it easy in the lounge bar and restaurant where they boast a delightful choice of Maltese food accompanied by the finest wines.

q       Night 3 & 4: On Gozo two nights are spent in a 4* hotel situated right on the sea front of picturesque Xlendi Bay, just three metres away from the clear blue Mediterranean Sea. It is in a convenient position close to restaurants, bars and shops. Most of the bedrooms have balconies with scenic views. All bedrooms are fully airconditioned and are en suite. There is also a rooftop spa and sun deck with full waiter service.

q       Night 5, 6 & 7:  You then spend three nights in the heart of Bugibba, in St. Paul.s Bay, one of the most popular holiday resorts in Malta, our hotel is just about one hundred metres away from the sea. It is within easy reach of Bugibba’.s shopping centre, beach, cinema, restaurants and bars and is especially conveniently close to the scheduled service bus stop, to get to and from the walks.

Included in the tour price

Flights from UK (if booked full package), 7 nights accommodation with breakfast; maps, route notes, guide book.

Outline Itinerary

q       Day 1:  Arrive Malta Luqa Airport, transfer to first hotel. The hotel is within the citadel and If you have time, explore the ancient  fortifications. Good restaurants around in the harbour  area, or you may prefer to  use the hotel with its  roof top panorama.

q       Day 2:  Depending upon your mood you could do several  walks today: the 5 km Valletta Heritage Trail is more than the sum of its  distance, as there is so much to see on this walk when you journey around  the city walls and  visit the main streets. Founded in 1566  by the Knights  of St. John, Valletta  was  mainly constructed in only 3 years and today there is an impressive  legacy of battlements , complex fortifications and  ornate  city buildings. After lunch you could  continue out the  suburbs  and go to the Rinella Fort where you can see the 100 ton Armstrong Gun…claimed to be the largest  cannon in the World! A longer walk is to take the  bus to Marsascala and  walk to Birzebbuga (17 km/10.5 miles). This is a walk of  successive headlands and bays with constantly changing scenery, passing promontories, , old forts and chapels and batteries. Perhaps the main attraction is the  pretty harbour at Marsaxlokk with its little bobbing fishing  boats called ’ Luzzu’. Another idea is to get the bus to Siggiewi  and walk to Dingli, (10km / 6 miles) taking in the highest cliffs of Malta  (253metres), beautiful seascapes and old chapels.

Another popular activity is to  take the  ferry across  Marsamxett harbour to appreciate the sheer scale of the Valletta  fortifications.

q       Day 3:  Take a taxi or bus with your baggage  to Buggiba  for the ferry to the sleepy island of Gozo. (ferry price €5). There is a ferry every half, to  three quarters of an hour  during the  day  depending upon the season. Then short taxi or longer  bus service to your hotel in Xlendi  Bay. You could, if you wish spend the morning in Valletta and then take the (seasonal)  ferry  from Floriana (below Valletta) to  Mgarr (Gozo) - This is usually a daily service -  and then take the taxi as above.

If you travel over in the morning, you should have enough  time  for a  good walk on Gozo.

The classic walk is perhaps  the cliff walk from Sannat - San Lawrenz  (15.5km / 9.5 miles) , but as this passes  through  Xlendi Bay enroute,  walkers might like to save 4.5km by starting direct from the hotel and perhaps  walk to Sannat along the coast later on . The walk to San Lawrenz follows terraced paths, minor roads and some times on rock, and some care needs to be taken. It goes to the beautiful Dwejra Bay, Fungus  Rock, The Azure Window and the so called, ‘Inland Sea.’ One can imagine that this will be a picturesque stroll.

q       Day 4:  Examples of walks today include: Gharb – Marsalforn (13 km / 8 miles).  An interesting route inland to the sea along farm tracks and country roads, with  paths up to little Corraline Limestone capped hills; including the pilgrimage  site of  Ta’Pinu, the Victorian Lighthouse on Gordon’s Hill, and the pretty harbour at Marsalforn. On the return bus ride, have a look round the attractive Capital of Gozo: Victoria (also called Rabat).

Walk Around Comino: (8km  / 5 Miles) If the weather is reasonable and thus the ferries to this island are running from Mgarr, this is  a good walk, but note  some of the cliff walking is quite  rugged and needs care! You start and finish at the beautiful Blue Lagoon which does get packed with visitors so an early start is advisable!

q       Day 5: Spend some more time  doing another walk  on Gozo. Or  catch  bus / take taxi  back in the morning to Mgarr (Gozo)  and across the sea to St. Paul’s Bay. This is where the  great man  of  biblical fame  was  ship wrecked  for the  second time. Then check in or leave  luggage at  your  hotel  for walks  Walk  from Mgarr (Malta)  to Ghadira (16 km / 10 miles). This is claimed to be one of the most scenic and dramatic walks on the islands, taking in some great  limestone cliffs. Views of the walk stretch   along the  coast to the  southern cliffs  of Gozo. This is the walk where you will have the opportunity to visit  ‘Sweethaven’ the  little  artificial  village  created  wholly  for the  1980 ‘Popeye’ movie. There is also the beautiful circular cove called ‘Ic – Cumnija’ that you pass towards the end of the day.

q       Day 6:  The Marfa Ridge Circuit (14km / 8.75 miles) is a classic  walk undertaken from Ghadira , about 10km away  from  Buggiba. The walk is a circuit right around a broad limestone  ridge  and you  get  great views in places over to the islands of Gozo  and Comino.  This is pleasant stroll involving tracks , minor roads and  cliff paths, taking in the  serene ‘Paradise Bay.’ If it is a weekend,  you can finish  by visiting the Ghadira Nature Reserve, run by ‘ Bird Life Malta.’

q       Day 7: Rabat – Dingli – Rabat (12km / 7.5 miles) Had enough of coastal routes? Then try this one around the ancient city of Rabat (Malta), a name hat reflects the time when the Moors occupied  the Islands. There is an attractive circuitous route from Rabat  to Dingli, on quiet country roads , tracks and paths., giving you a good perspective of  the domed St. Paul’s Church from many angles. After you have returned from Rabat, you can do  another  couple of miles on the ‘Rabat Medina Heritage Trail.’ The medina is the walled heart of this  town which used to be the Maltese capital as it was  easily defended and a long way inland.

q       Day 8: Tour finishes  in Bugidda after breakfast take bus or taxi to the airport (approx. €25 by taxi). It takes about 40 mins to get  to the airport, depending upon traffic levels for departure. If you have an evening flight, you could of course do another walk!

Extra nights

Recommended anywhere on this tour! There are many more  walks that you can do! Details and prices on request.