Escorted holidays to Malta and Gozo
Malta fits an improbable amount into an island seventeen miles long. Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, the Knights of St John, Napoleon and the Royal Navy all left something behind, and a good deal of it is still standing in honey-coloured limestone above the Grand Harbour.
Our Maltese holiday travels by air and stays in one hotel for the week, which keeps the pace sensible. Valletta and the Three Cities are covered on foot, Mdina and Mosta inland, and there is a ferry across to Gozo. Maltese and English are both official languages, so very little feels awkward.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Malta Tours
More than you might expect for two small places. Valletta is built on a ridge, so several streets drop away in flights of shallow steps, and Mdina's lanes are cobbled and uneven. Both walking tours are taken at an unhurried pace with stops, but comfortable shoes matter and there is little shade at midday. If you have any concerns about standing or stairs, ask us before you book and we will talk you through the day.
Yes. On The Secrets of Malta the quoted price is per person sharing a double or twin room, and a single supplement of £220 applies for sole occupancy. Solo travellers are common on our holidays and the fixed-hotel format makes joining a group easy, as everyone eats breakfast in the same place and sets off together. Ask us for current availability of single rooms on the departure you are considering.
The holiday includes seven nights with breakfast at the AX Odycy, along with a Maltese snack and one lunch. A half-board upgrade is available, so do let us know when you enquire and we will confirm the current cost. Plenty of guests prefer to stay on breakfast and eat out, since Malta has a good spread of restaurants and prices are reasonable by British standards.
Valletta, Mdina and the Three Cities
Valletta was built from scratch by the Knights of St John after the Great Siege of 1565, laid out on a grid across a peninsula so narrow you can walk from one harbour to the other in ten minutes. It is a city of steps, shuttered balconies and sudden views down to the water, best seen on foot with someone who can explain what you are looking at. Our Valletta walking tour does exactly that.
Across the Grand Harbour sit the Three Cities — Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua — older than Valletta and quieter, with fishing boats moored below the fortifications. Inland, Mdina was the capital until the Knights arrived and moved the centre of gravity to the coast. It is walled, largely traffic-free and known as the Silent City for good reason. Nearby Mosta has the great domed church whose roof was pierced by a bomb in 1942 that failed to explode during Mass.
Maltese food, pastizzi and kinnie
Maltese cooking sits somewhere between Sicily and North Africa, with a British accent it never quite lost. Rabbit stewed slowly in red wine and garlic is the national dish. Look out too for ftira, the flat sourdough loaf loaded with tuna, capers and tomato, and lampuki pie when the dorado are running in autumn.
The everyday snack is the pastizz — a diamond of flaky pastry filled with ricotta or mushy peas, sold hot from small hatches for small change. It is traditionally washed down with kinnie, a bittersweet soft drink made with oranges and wormwood that divides opinion on first sip. Our holiday includes a Maltese snack of two pastizzi and a kinnie so you can decide for yourself, plus lunch on the day of the Gozo excursion.
