Malta is small enough that a day trip means a full day somewhere rather than a long drive to a short visit. The ones worth paying for are the ones where transport is the actual problem.
The days worth buying
Gozo
These trips involve a ferry and a drive at both ends, so an organised trip is often worth the money. You lose the flexibility and gain the logistics.
If you would rather do it alone, the ferry is turn-up-and-go and buses meet every sailing.
Gozo tours
Comino and the Blue Lagoon
You can only get there by boat, and in July and August it is the most crowded thing on the islands. A trip that leaves early or late is a completely different day from one that arrives at eleven.
You still need the free pre-booked slot, whoever takes you.
Blue Lagoon trips
How many pickups before yours
A full-day trip that collects from eight hotels before yours is two hours shorter than it looks on the description.
Neither the group size nor the pickup order is usually volunteered. Both decide what the day is like.
Are tours worth it here
The trips people take
- Gozo
- The most popular, and the one where a trip earns its money: it removes the ferry queue, the driving and the timing. A full day, and still not enough for the island.
- Comino and the Blue Lagoon
- Boat-only, so a trip is the mechanism rather than a convenience. Timing matters more than operator.
- The south and Marsaxlokk
- Usually combined with the Blue Grotto and the temples. Reachable by bus if you would rather do it yourself.
- Valletta and the Three Cities
- Sold as a day trip, but easy to do independently on the ferries.
- Sicily
- Possible in a day by fast catamaran, and mostly travel. Better over two or three nights. See getting to Sicily.
Hotel pickup on a Maltese day trip often means a coach collecting from a long list of hotels in sequence. An eight o’clock pickup can mean arriving at the first real stop after ten. Ask how many stops precede yours.