Our Malta journey encompasses the stunning limestone landscapes of the main island and of Gozo, featuring all three UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Hypogeum, the megalithic temples of Malta that predate Stonehenge, and the historic fortified cities of Valletta and Mdina with their remarkable archaeological museums, palaces, auberges of the Knights of St. John, and mighty forts.
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Price Excludes
On our expert-led tours, you will be accompanied by a local distinguished archaeologist to tour Malta’s astonishing archaeological sites, and you will travel with our delightful tour leaders who guide you throughout the tour. You’ll be informed and excited by the knowledge and passion of our experts, and you will love the warmth of our local tour leaders.
We are guided through Malta’s archaeological sites by eminent archaeologists from the University of Malta. Our experts are current in their scholarship and experts on the sites we visit – most of them have excavated these very sites!
Malta has over 300 days of sunshine, and wearing a T-shirt between March and November is common! We take advantage of the warm shoulder seasons to explore the spectacular UNESCO World Heritage sites, fortified hill towns, the main city of Valletta, and the nearby island of Gozo. We spend time on the water and relax by the pool, as well as ramble through narrow alleyways and Malta’s stunning coastal landscapes.
We design our experiences to avoid the crowds and the summer heatwaves and give you time to get lost in the moment. We don’t overschedule or set a frenetic pace – there’s free time for daydreaming on your balcony, admiring the baroque architecture of your restored palace accommodation, reading a book by the pool, or setting off to explore your surroundings. You will see and taste Malta, but you will also have time to reflect and just “be” in Malta, experiencing whatever comes your way.
With a maximum of only 12 guests, we’re a happy company of explorers who have fun each day on tour socializing over unforgettable wine and food, and discussing the many “wow” moments we’ve experienced together. We come home at night to Malta’s capital city and our boutique accommodation that shows off the very best of Malta’s rich history.
Our tour begins in Valletta, Malta.
After your private transfer from the airport to the hotel, we warmly welcome you to Malta and head out to Sliema to board a cruise of the two harbors and main creeks of Malta, followed by a wonderful local dinner with wine.
Meals: D
Overnight: Valletta
After breakfast at our hotel, our tour guide leads us on a walking tour of Malta’s fortified main city, Valletta.
We spend the day in Valletta, walking its narrow, hilly, and cobblestoned streets. It’s hard to imagine a small island with more layers of ancient, religious, and maritime history than Malta. Valletta is a treasure trove of historic sites and the final headquarters of the Knights of St. John.
We visit the maritime fortresses, the mighty walls of the city, the Palace of the Grandmaster of the Knights and the major Inns of the Knights (known as Auberges in Malta), the major museums, the astonishing Co-Cathedral of St John, the Upper Baraka Gardens and the Saluting Battery, and much more.
The evening is free for you to eat dinner by the Mediterranean.
Meals: B, L
Overnight: Valletta
After breakfast at our hotel, we travel by minibus to the car ferry in the north of Malta to make the short crossing to Gozo Island. Here we begin at the Temples of the Giantess, the Ġgantija Archaeological Park.
We head next to the capital of Gozo to explore the Gozo Museum of Archaeology. This is followed by a traditional Gozo lunch at a charming restaurant and a tour of the city of Vittoriosa.
We travel back to Valletta and eat at a lovely traditional restaurant near our hotel
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Valletta
After breakfast at our hotel, we set out to see the first of our three prehistoric temple complexes. We are accompanied today by a renowned expert archaeologist from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Malta.
We stop at the small site of the Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples, before heading to our highlight of the day, the Ħaġar Qim and Mnejdra Archaeological Park.
We drive next to the impossibly charming Marsaxlokk Harbour for a seafood lunch by the water and admire the colorful traditional fishing boats.
Returning to Valletta, the afternoon and evening is yours to explore or relax.
Meals: B, L
Overnight: Valletta
After breakfast at our hotel, we take a guided tour of the Lascaris War Rooms and War HQ Tunnels.
We then cross the Grand Harbor by small traditional boats (dgħajjes) to the Three Cities to explore the maritime and military history of Malta.
On our guided walking tour of Vittoriosa, we’ll stop at the Malta at War Museum, before heading back in time to the medieval Inquisitor’s Palace. We’ll view its ethnographic museum, prison cells, and torture chamber.
We’ll hop on small boats between Vittoriosa and Senglea for a harborside lunch before resuming our exploration of medieval Malta on Vittoriosa.
We’ll tour the Maritime Museum (if open) and then walk a little further to the tip of Vittoriosa, with spectacular views of Valletta across the Grand Harbor. We’ll explore the forbidding Fort St Angelo, the headquarters of the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, de la Vallette, during the Great Siege against the Ottomans.
Finally, it’s time to turn toward the fortified hill city of Mdina to walk its beautiful streets as dusk falls and the Instagrammers leave the streets for us to ramble and photograph.
We’ll eat a magnificent Maltese dinner here before returning to our hotel in Valletta.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Valletta
Today is a free day for you to spend at your leisure. You can hang out by the pool, choose from the many boat tours to the Blue Lagoon at Comino Island, or shop and use the spa.
If you’re interested in food, wine, and sailing, we can recommend a walking food tour of Valletta and lunch and wine tasting at a local winery as an optional extra experience – still leaving you some free time in the afternoon and evening!
Meals: B
Overnight: Valletta
We like to save the best for last. After breakfast, we travel to the suburb of Paolo, to see the very well preserved Ħal Tarxien Prehistoric Complex. This UNESCO World Heritage Site dates to approximately 3400 BC.
And then it’s on to the astonishing Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a unique prehistoric monument only for an underground tour you will never forget. Abandoned and undiscovered for almost 4000 years, the Hypogeum is a necropolis built entirely below the ground and is one of the world’s oldest structures – older than Stonehenge, and older than the Pyramids. It was in use from 4000 BC.
Its three levels were left covered over when the island’s inhabitants abandoned the island. Almost 4000 years later, it was discovered when builders were digging a cistern for a new house in the suburb of Paolo. The shaft they created is now a ventilation shaft for the Hypogeum.
If you love archaeology, ancient civilizations, and mysteries, the Hypogeum will give you goose bumps! Only 10 people can tour the Hypogeum at one time, and our day is structured around the availability of tour tickets.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Valletta
After our last breakfast together, our lovely driver returns us to Malta airport.
If you’d like to stay on in Malta, we’ll be happy to help you make reservations to extend your stay until we see you next time, when we hope you’ll come on tour with us again.
Meals: B
Internationally renowned Malta-based Welsh archaeologist, Dr Huw S. Groucutt, specializes in the intersection of climate change and human prehistory. He currently digs at two sites in Malta and is a lecturer in Mediterranean prehistory. Trained at Sheffield (BA Archaeology, MSc Palaeoanthropology) and Oxford (DPhil Archaeological Science), he investigates how environmental shifts influenced human evolution and cultural development.
His research uses stone tool analysis to understand human adaptations across the Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, and Northern Africa. With fieldwork experience spanning Malta, Arabia, and Senegal, Dr Groucutt explores how prehistoric communities responded to environmental challenges throughout the Quaternary period.
Our small group guided tours are physically active! Clambering around archaeological sites, castles, acropoli, and fortresses is an essential part of the Take Me To Europe tour experience, and stairs are everywhere in Europe! On our Malta tours, you will need to be able to:
