Malta Without a Car: Your Ultimate 5 Day Itinerary

Malta is a beautiful country in the south of Europe. With amazing coastal scenery, historical cities and sights, and plenty of sunny weather, it’s the perfect travel destination. Here’s how you can explore Malta without a car, with your ultimate 5 day itinerary.

Malta is a stunning country. It’s a small island but it’s packed with gorgeous scenery, interesting historical sights, cute towns and cities, and great food. It’s easy to get around the island without a car, as there’s great public transport. So here’s your ultimate guide to 5 days in Malta without a car.

When is the best time of year to visit Malta and where should I stay?

Malta enjoys plenty of warm, sunny weather throughout the year. It can get super hot in the summer months of July and August. So if you want to spend most of your holiday relaxing by the pool, then you might enjoy visiting in the summer. However, my favourite time to visit Malta is the spring or autumn. In April to June, or September to October. At these times of the year, you can enjoy lovely weather and sunshine but more manageable temperatures for getting out and exploring the island. To fully enjoy exploring Malta without a car, I recommend visiting in spring or autumn.

To easily explore the top sights in Malta without a car, it’s best to stay in or near the capital city, Valletta. Valletta has excellent bus links around the island. If you’d rather not stay in the capital, then nearby Sliema is also a good choice. Sliema also has great bus connections around the island, as well as a good selection of restaurants and waterfront walks.

Keep reading for your ultimate 5 day itinerary for exploring Malta without a car.

Day 1: Valletta

On your first day in Malta, I recommend spending the day in the capital city, Valletta. It’s a great city with interesting history, and a great introduction to Maltese culture. It’s also a great place to try some traditional Maltese food.

Ferry from Sliema to Valletta

If you’re staying in Sliema, you can get the ferry from Sliema over to Valletta. It’s a short ferry trip that only takes about 20 minutes, but the views are lovely. Even if you’re not staying in Sliema, I recommend taking this ferry just to enjoy the views. You can buy tickets at the ferry platform and get on the next available ferry.

The views across the water in Sliema are lovely. And the views towards Valletta are just stunning.

Exploring Valletta’s streets

One of my favourite things to do in Valletta is walk around the streets. The honey-coloured streets are really pretty. A lot are narrow and on a hill, so as you walk past it feels like you get a glimpse into the lives and houses of the people who live in Valletta. Some of the streets are wider and bustling with activity, with a selection of shops, cafes and restaurants.

St John’s Co-Cathedral

The cathedral in Valletta is honestly one of the most impressive cathedrals I’ve seen in Europe. St John’s Co-Cathedral is so ornate and decorated, it’s really amazing. You might need to queue for a while to buy your ticket to go inside, but it’s definitely worth the wait.

There’s so much detail in the cathedral, you can walk around for ages. Even the floor is colourful and decorated. St John’s Co-Cathedral is one of my favourite sights in Valletta.

Lunch: Pastizzi and Gelato

After visiting the cathedral, you can get some Maltese food for lunch. A great option for a light lunch is pastizzi. These small, flaky pastries are traditionally filled with either pea puree or ricotta. They’re really nice. You can find pastizzi in lots of bakeries and cafes around Valletta, but I really liked the bakery called Malta Pastizzi in Valletta.

After eating several (or more…) pastizzi, you can get some gelato. There’s a gelato shop called Amorino in the centre of Valletta that does amazing gelato. As well as tasting delicious with a great selection of flavours, the gelato here also looks amazing. You can get the gelato shaped like a flower, with the petals made out of different flavours of gelato. And a macaron on top as well. It looks amazing and tastes even better.

Grand Masters Palace

After eating lunch, I recommend visiting the Grand Masters Palace. This famous palace is a great place to learn about Malta’s history. It was built between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was an important religious and legislative palace in Malta’s history.

The courtyard of the Grand Master’s Palace is really nice, with pretty flowers. And the inside rooms are even better, with decorative ceilings and state rooms. It really feels like stepping back into the time when Malta was ruled by these Grand Masters.

The armoury is another really interesting room in the palace. You can learn more about the Crusader knights and the weapons they used hundreds of years ago. There’s also the Throne Room which is fascinating.

Upper Barrakka Gardens and the Saluting Battery

For the best views in Valletta, head to the Upper Barrakka Gardens. It’s a short uphill walk from the centre of Valletta, but the views are worth it. It’s free to get into the upper gardens, and you get the most stunning views across the water towards Birgu. I loved seeing all the yachts and big boats in the water.

On the lower level of these gardens is the Saluting Battery. Here, there’s a row of cannons which dates back to the 16th century. You can get close to the cannons if you want, but you’ll have to pay a small entrance fee. If you’d prefer, you can just look down on the canons and the Saluting Battery from the upper gardens while you enjoy the green space.

Twice a day, a canon is fired. It’s worth trying to time your visit to see one of the canons get fired – although it can get busy at these times so get there early if you want to guarantee yourself a spot with a good view. The canon makes a huge noise when it goes off – it’s really impressive. And it’s a good chance to try to take a well-timed photo of the canon.

Dinner in Valletta

For dinner in Valletta, there’s a good choice of restaurants serving traditional Maltese food. I recommend La Pira Maltese Kitchen. It’s a good mid-budget restaurant that offers a great choice of Maltese food. And it has a good amount of seating outdoors, so you can enjoy the warm evening weather and sit outside.

My favourite dish here is the pulled rabbit pasta. Rabbit meat is a traditional Maltese favourite, and it’s great either as rabbit stew or in a pasta dish. I really enjoyed the pulled rabbit pasta.

If you’re not sure about eating rabbit, you could try the Gnocchi with traditional Maltese sausage. And have some Kinnie to drink with your meal – it’s a Maltese non-alcoholic fizzy drink, flavoured with orange and herbs.