Malta gets walked by tourists the wrong way: a shuffle along Valletta's Republic Street, a selfie at the Blue Lagoon, then back to the hotel pool. The islands reward a different kind of visitor entirely — one willing to put on proper shoes and follow the clifftops west from Dingli, or trace the old British defence line across the middle of Malta on a quiet Tuesday morning when the rock is cool and the view stretches to Sicily on a clear day. These are not strenuous mountains. They are limestone plateaux, coastal paths and ridge walks that almost anyone in reasonable health can manage, and they are mostly free.
This guide covers the named walking routes, realistic distances and times, what to carry, and — equally importantly — what is not worth the effort. Bus numbers and fares are included throughout so you can plan without hiring a car. Prices are current as of September 2025.
The honest answer is October to May. September is technically still summer on the islands — temperatures regularly hit 32°C by midday, and the rock radiates heat long after the sun drops. If you are visiting in July or August and want to walk, start before 8am and be back at somewhere shaded with a cold drink by 11am at the latest. A coffee at a village bar will set you back around €1.50–€2.50; at a tourist café, expect €3.00 or more for the same thing.
October through to early December is the sweet spot. The sea is still warm enough to swim after a coastal walk — see our snorkelling guide for the best spots to combine the two — the light is extraordinary, and the paths are not crowded. January and February bring rain and occasional strong wind, particularly on the Gozo cliffs, but also the most dramatic skies. March to May is excellent: wildflowers on the garigue, temperatures in the low twenties, and long evenings to recover in.
Whatever month you visit, avoid walking the exposed clifftop sections on days when the Xlokk is blowing. That warm, dusty southeast wind comes without much warning and makes the Victoria Lines ridge genuinely unpleasant.
The Malta Tourism Authority has waymarked a series of walking routes across both islands. Details are on visitmalta.com, where you can download route maps. What follows is an honest assessment of the main ones.
Dingli Cliffs to Wied iż-Żurrieq — roughly 9–10 km one way, allow 2.5 to 3 hours at a comfortable pace. This is the best sustained walk on Malta. The path runs along the top of the highest point on the island (around 253 metres above sea level) with sheer drops to the sea on one side and terraced farmland on the other. The village of Dingli itself is unremarkable, but the clifftop path heading south towards Żurrieq is worth every step. Take bus 201 from Valletta to Rabat (Mdina), then bus 52 toward Dingli — single fare is €2.50 in summer. From Wied iż-Żurrieq, bus 71 runs back toward Żurrieq and onward connections. Check publictransport.com.mt for current timetables before you go.
Tas-Silġ to Marsaxlokk — around 4 km, roughly 60–75 minutes. A gentler walk that combines an archaeological site with a harbour village. Tas-Silġ is a multi-period sanctuary site with Neolithic, Phoenician, Roman and Byzantine layers — remarkably little-visited. The walk drops down to Marsaxlokk Bay, where the painted luzzu fishing boats are the real thing rather than a tourist prop. Buses 81 and 85 run from Valletta to Marsaxlokk, with route 81 operating daily.
Wied il-Għajn (Marsaskala) to St Thomas Bay — 3–4 km coastal, about 50–60 minutes. Rocky coastline, seasonal fishermen's huts (għorof), and the chance of a swim at the end. Not dramatic, but pleasant and manageable in heat because the path is low and close to the water.
Comino — the interior path from the Blue Lagoon to St Mary's Tower is around 3 km and takes about 45 minutes. The island has no resident population to speak of, and in summer it is aggressively crowded at the lagoon end. The tower end is quieter. This is more of a stroll than a walk. For more on the water itself, see our diving guide.
The Victoria Lines are the most historically interesting walking route on Malta, and also the most underrated. Built by the British at the end of the nineteenth century, the fortified wall runs roughly 12 km across the width of the island from Fomm ir-Riħ Bay on the west coast to Madliena on the east, following the natural Great Fault escarpment. The idea was to protect the harbour area in the south from invasion from the north. It was never seriously tested in battle.
You are not committed to walking all 12 km. The section from Mosta to Naxxar along the ridge gives you the best views and the strongest sense of the wall's scale in under 2 hours. The escarpment falls away sharply to the north — on a clear morning you can see across to Gozo. The path is largely well-defined along the ridge and passes several surviving bastions, gun emplacements and the remains of Victoria Lines infrastructure.
Access is straightforward. Bus 51 and 52 from Valletta reach Mosta (fare €2.50 in summer). There is no entry fee for the Victoria Lines themselves — the fortifications are open land. Bring water. There is little to buy on the ridge, and the nearest village shop requires a descent that you will regret on the way back.
The full route from Fomm ir-Riħ to Madliena in a single day is achievable (allow 4–5 hours walking time, plus stops) but requires logistics: the western end in particular is not easily reached by bus, and the eastern terminus at Madliena is a taxi or a long wait. Most walkers do it in sections on separate days.
Gozo is smaller, quieter, and in many ways better for walking than Malta. The coast is more dramatic — Dwejra on the west, the cliffs above Xlendi and Munxar, and the long northern stretch from Marsalforn toward Qbajjar and beyond are all worth the effort. The interior of the island, around the Ramla Valley and the area south of Victoria, is good agricultural walking with a human scale that Malta's main island has largely lost.
Getting there: the Gozo Channel ferry from Ċirkewwa costs around €4.65 return for a foot passenger. Bus 41 from Valletta runs to Ċirkewwa — summer fare €2.50. Journey time from Valletta is roughly 75 minutes by bus, plus the 25-minute crossing. Plan the day accordingly: the first ferry is early, but if you miss the last crossing you are staying on Gozo whether you planned to or not. Full timetables are on gozochannel.com.
Dwejra to Xlendi — approximately 7–8 km, 2 to 2.5 hours. The path follows the south-west coast of Gozo above dramatic sea inlets. The Azure Window collapsed in 2017, so that particular landmark is gone, but the Fungus Rock viewpoint and the Inland Sea remain worth seeing. The walk finishes above Xlendi Bay, where you can get a lunch main at a local restaurant for around €10–20. Avoid this section if there is any swell from the south-west: the path comes close to the cliff edge in places.
Marsalforn Bay to Reqqa Point — around 4 km one way, just over an hour. The salt pans at Xwejni are still worked, and the coastal path above them is one of the quietest walks on either island. The rock pools below are worth a look for anyone with snorkelling gear; the water is accessible at several points with care.
Gozo's bus network is limited and timetables outside Victoria (Rabat) are infrequent. Taxis and rideshare apps work on the island, but cycling or hiring a small car for €18–28 per day makes Gozo walking trips considerably more flexible.
This sounds obvious until you meet someone on the Dingli path in flip-flops at 1pm in August with an empty water bottle and no hat. It happens regularly.
Not everything promoted as a walk in Malta is worth your time.
The Mdina 'heritage trail' signposted in the ditch outside the city walls is a short loop that takes about 25 minutes and shows you almost nothing of the landscape. Mdina itself is worth an hour inside the walls, but this particular circuit, sometimes packaged as a walking experience, is not.
Organised coach-and-walk day trips from Sliema and St Julian's tend to cover very short distances — often 2 km or less — between coach pickups, with the walking used primarily as a way to connect paid attractions. You will move slowly, stop often and pay for the privilege. If you can read a bus timetable, you don't need them.
The Marsaxlokk Sunday market walk is promoted by several tour companies as a cultural walking experience. The market exists and is genuine, but the walk to it from anywhere meaningful is along a busy road with no footpath. Take bus 81 from Valletta and save your legs for somewhere they are actually useful.
Coastal paths immediately north of St George's Bay in St Julian's — what looks on a map like a coastal promenade is, in reality, a stretch of road, construction hoardings, and hotel service areas. It is not unpleasant, but it is not a coastal walk in any meaningful sense.
Any walk you are told takes twenty minutes that involves finding a specific path near a Gozo village — without a named person who has walked it recently, or a clear offline map with the path confirmed, add at least forty minutes and a contingency plan. Locals give directions in landmarks that were accurate ten years ago.
Not for the Dingli cliffs, Victoria Lines or Marsaxlokk routes — buses reach all of them. A car helps significantly on Gozo, where bus frequency outside Victoria is low.
A single journey costs €2.50 in summer (14 June–18 October). A 7-day unlimited Explore Card costs €25 if you plan to use buses heavily.
Around €4.65 return. Check the current timetable at gozochannel.com before you travel — the last crossing matters.
Yes. The fortifications are open land and there is no entry fee for the path or the surviving bastions.
October to May. Summer walking is possible but must start before 8am on exposed routes. July and August clifftop walks after 10am are genuinely inadvisable.
Individual local guides who specialise in natural history or archaeology can add real value on routes like Tas-Silġ. Generic coach-based 'walking tours' from the main resorts are generally not worth the money.