There is almost no wilderness in Malta and a great deal of coast. The middle of the island is small and farmed and quickly crossed. Everything worth walking for is where the rock meets the sea. You can get to most of it on a bus.
Where to walk
Dingli Cliffs
This is the highest point in Malta and it drops straight into the sea. The path along the top is flat and easy, the view is huge, and there is nothing between you and Africa.
Come for sunset. It is the one view here that everybody agrees on. It costs a bus fare.
Free things worth doingBook a jeep safari
Coastal paths
The paths above Selmun, Mistra and the northern bays stay quiet when the beaches below them are packed. Gozo is better still: the coast walk around Dwejra, Xlendi and the Sanap cliffs is the best day on foot in the country.
Comino empties out completely once the day boats leave. It takes about an hour to walk over to Santa Marija bay and the towers.
Walking in Gozo
The Victoria Lines
A Victorian defensive wall runs most of the way across the island along a natural fault line. You can walk long stretches of it through countryside that almost no visitor sees.
Wied il-Ghasel below Mosta is a deep valley with a chapel cut into the rock. It is one of the few walks that stays green in high summer.
Getting to the start
Come between October and April
Malta is brown and hard through the summer and turns green around November. The best walking months are October to April, which happens to be when most visitors are somewhere else.
There is no shade on any of these routes and no water once you leave a village. Between June and September, go early or late and carry more water than you think you need.
Month by month
The limestone throws heat back up at you as well as holding it, so an open path in August is hotter than the forecast suggests. None of these walks has shade or water along the way. Tell someone where you are going if you are walking alone.
What changes with the season
You get the best walking of the year, and the island is green.
- The countryside is green from February to April and burnt brown by June, so put the walking days early in the trip.
- The sea does not really warm up until May. Treat a beach day as a coast day and you will not be disappointed.
- Holy Week moves every year and changes opening hours across a lot of towns. Check the dates before you fix a day to Valletta.
Everything is open and everything is busy. The heat sets the timetable.
- The midday heat limits you more than the distance does. Start early, stop between one and four, then go out again in the evening.
- The Blue Lagoon needs a slot booked in advance. It is free, but it is not optional.
- Beaches fill from mid-morning, and the northern buses fill with them. A full bus will drive straight past your stop.
The sea is still warm and the crowds have gone. Many people prefer October for that reason.
- The water lags the air by about a month, so swimming is still on the table through October.
- The Valletta harbour ferries switch to their winter timetable on 1 November, and the last crossing comes earlier than people expect.
- Rain returns in November. Keep one flexible day rather than booking every morning.
Swap the beach days for walking days and the itineraries still work.
- The sea is too cold for most people, so every beach day in these routes becomes a coast walk instead.
- Comino boats run to a reduced service or stop altogether, so treat the Blue Lagoon as a summer plan.
- The sites and the museums are almost empty in winter, so this is a good time to walk round them.