Malta runs on two timetables. Sites, museums and many restaurants keep summer hours from about April to the end of September. Shorter winter hours apply the rest of the year.
Nobody puts it on a poster, so it catches people out.
Sites and museums close earlier
Heritage Malta sites drop their closing time in winter, and last entry is usually 30 minutes before that.
A site that took late visitors at 6pm in August will turn you away at 4pm in January.
The switch happens around the start of October and again in April, but the exact date moves each year.
Places that shut completely
Seaside restaurants, beach kiosks and boat operators often close from November to March.
- The Comino boats stop running to a timetable and go weather-dependent.
- Kiosks at Għajn Tuffieħa and Golden Bay board up.
- Parts of Buġibba and Qawra empty out almost completely.
Village bars and town restaurants stay open all year. So does everything in Valletta.
February is the quietest month
Many family-run places take their own holiday in February, when there is least trade.
There is no pattern to it and no notice. If you are here then, phone ahead rather than walking across town.
Carnival week is the exception. Everything opens for it.
What does not change
- Buses run the same routes all year, though fares drop to the winter rate.
- Supermarkets and pharmacies keep their hours.
- Churches keep the same two shifts, shut around midday.
- The bastions, gardens and every beach have no opening time at all.
The Gozo ferry runs all year too, on a thinner night timetable.
How to check before you go
Heritage Malta publishes current hours for every site it runs, and those are the ones that change most.
For a restaurant, the reliable check is a phone call. Opening hours listed on Google are often the summer ones left up all winter.
