10 Days in Malta: A Day-by-Day Itinerary for Malta, Gozo and Comino

Keep the second Valletta day for the National Museum of Archaeology, which holds the material from Malta's prehistoric temple sites and makes the temples on Day 6 far easier to read. The combination of cathedral and museum in one day is too much for most people, which is why the plan splits them. Check current hours and prices with the museum itself before you travel.

Use the rest of the day for the parts of the city that reward wandering: the auberges of the knights' langues, the side streets dropping towards the bastions, and the view from the top of the grid down to the harbour. If you are considering a shorter version of the trip, our 3 days in Malta guide shows what fits when Valletta gets a single day.

Because Valletta is compact, the temptation is to cram. Resist it: ten days gives you the licence to sit in a square with a coffee and watch the city work, and the walking is uncannily hilly for such a small place. Keep the evening free and go back out after the day crowds thin.

Mdina is the walled former capital in the centre of the island, entered through the main gate and best walked without a plan: the lanes are narrow, the buildings are Baroque and cars are largely kept out. From the bastion edge you can see a wide sweep of the island, which makes the trip worthwhile even for travellers with little interest in architecture, and the quiet is the point of the place.

Rabat sits immediately outside the Mdina walls and holds two stops worth your afternoon: St Paul's Catacombs, the underground early Christian burial complex, and the Domus Romana, a Roman townhouse with mosaic floors. Check the current ticket price and opening times before you travel.

Take the bus from Valletta rather than driving if you can, because parking around Mdina's gate is limited and the approach roads are steep. Eat lunch in Rabat rather than inside Mdina, where the options are fewer and pricier. Buses run frequently enough that you need not fix a return time in advance.

The Three Cities sit across the Grand Harbour from Valletta: Birgu (Vittoriosa), Senglea (L-Isla) and Cospicua (Bormla). The quickest and most enjoyable approach is the short passenger ferry from the Valletta waterfront, which lands you in Birgu within minutes and saves the long way round by road. From the landing point you walk into the Collachio, the grid of lanes the knights used before Valletta existed.

Give Birgu a morning for the Fort St Angelo headland, the Inquisitor's Palace and the waterfront, then walk or take a short bus ride round to Senglea for the Vedette and the harbour views back towards Valletta's bastions. Cospicua is the working town of the three and repays a pass-through rather than a stop. Our 4 days in Malta plan shows how these three fit a shorter trip.

Finish with an early dinner in Birgu's square and take the ferry back across as the light goes. It is one of the best-value half-days on the island, and the crossing itself is a sightseeing trip.

Head south to Marsaxlokk, the fishing village built round a bay full of the painted boats the Maltese call luzzijiet, and eat seafood on the waterfront. The Sunday fish market is the busiest morning of the week here, so confirm the day before relying on it. Weekday mornings are calmer and easier for photographs.

Then drive or take the bus west to Wied iż-Żurrieq, where the small boats run out beneath the cliffs to the Blue Grotto, a group of sea caves known for the colour of the water and the limestone around them. A guide to the area lists nine caves and notes the viewing point above the inlet. Boats do not run in all conditions, so ask at the jetty on the day rather than booking blind.

Allow time for the viewpoint even if you skip the boat, because the cliffs and the islet of Filfla on the horizon are the reason people come. Our one week in Malta itinerary covers a compressed version of this southern loop if you are cutting days.

The temple sites are the reason Malta's prehistory matters, and Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra on the south coast can be seen in a single visit because they sit within the same archaeological park, a short walk apart down towards the sea. Book a slot in advance if the operator allows it and go early: the sites are exposed with almost no shade, and the walk between the two is longer than it looks on a map. Carry water and a hat.

Ġgantija, on Gozo above Xagħra, is the other great temple complex and is best visited on one of your Gozo days rather than as a day trip from the main island. Check current prices and hours at the site before you go. Our 5 days in Malta guide gives a shorter version for anyone trimming the temples to one visit.

The practical rule for both sites is to be there when they open and to be gone by early afternoon, when the stone radiates heat and the coach groups arrive. If you are travelling with someone who finds heat difficult, split the temples across two mornings rather than doubling up.

The car ferry to Gozo leaves from Ċirkewwa at the northern tip of Malta and lands at Mġarr on Gozo; in summer the queue for the crossing can swallow an hour of your morning, so start early and do not book a fixed-time appointment on the other side. If you are staying on Gozo for a couple of nights, the crossing stress disappears entirely.

From Mġarr, drive or take the bus up to Victoria, Gozo's capital, which visitors also call Rabat. The Citadel, the Ċittadella, sits on the hill at its centre and holds the cathedral, museums and the best views on the island. Confirm opening arrangements on arrival.

Eat lunch in Victoria rather than at the ferry port, where the options are thinner and the prices higher. If you are travelling by bus, plan the return around a mid-afternoon departure from Mġarr so you are not queuing in the dark.

The second Gozo day belongs to the north and west of the island. Start at Ġgantija above Xagħra, then drop into Xagħra itself for its square and the lanes around it, and continue west to Għarb, a village of stone houses and a Baroque parish church that rewards a slow hour on foot. This is the part of Gozo most day-trippers skip, which is exactly why it is worth a day of its own.

If you are based on Gozo for these nights, you can do the whole loop without touching the ferry, which is the strongest argument for splitting the stay. If you are based on the main island, take the car across on the ferry for these two days so you are not chained to a bus timetable in the villages, where services are thin.

Return via Victoria for dinner in the evening, or stay in Xagħra if you want an early night before the Comino boat the following day. Our guide to whether Malta is worth visiting puts the case for the smaller island in context for anyone deciding how to divide ten days.

Comino sits between Malta and Gozo and is reached by boat trips from both islands, most of them heading for the Blue Lagoon, the sheltered inlet of pale water on its western side. Operators set their own prices and schedules, so compare a couple before you commit. Boats fill in high season, so book a day or two ahead rather than turning up at the jetty.

Comino itself is small: a walk up to the Santa Marija Tower and along the coastal path takes an hour or two and gets you away from the crowd at the lagoon. Take water, because the island's facilities are limited and the sun is unforgiving on the rock. The Blue Lagoon is busiest in peak season, so arrive early if you want space on the rock.

Finish the day back on the main island with a quiet evening in Sliema or St Julian's, where the promenade gives you a walk and a meal without the crush. Our 2 days in Malta page is useful if you are slotting a short city break around this longer trip.

Keep the final day for something small and close: a last walk through Valletta's side streets, a coffee in a square, or a return to the Upper Barrakka Gardens if the light was wrong earlier in the week. Do not schedule a temple visit or a Gozo crossing on departure day, because the ferry queue and the road traffic can wipe out your buffer. Malta International Airport is a short drive from Valletta and Sliema, but allow for check-in and the drive in the heat.

If you are flying late, leave your bags at your accommodation and spend the morning on the Sliema promenade rather than trekking back into the city with luggage. Our itinerary hub pulls the day plans together if you want to reshuffle the order.