Gozo (full day)
Travel by coach and ferry (25-minute sailing) to Gozo for an island tour. First stop is Dwejra Point, where you can see the Azure Window, a remarkable rock formation.
You also visit the pilgrimage centre of Ta’Pinu, where a large neo-Romanesque church marks the spot where a peasant woman heard the voice of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1883.
In the afternoon you visit Victoria, the capital of Gozo, where you enjoy an included audio-visual show.
Gozo is a very small island, and the import of new coaches is strictly limited by local regulations, to avoid congestion. The coaches used for excursions on Gozo may be of a lower standard than those normally used on Maltese excursions.
In the Footsteps of the Knights and Harbour Cruise (three-quarter-day)
A day to experience the majesty and history of Valletta, with visits to two of the island’s most popular tourist attractions.
The tour begins with a cruise around the Grand Harbour, taking you into every creek of the harbour and giving you a detailed commentary of the history of Valletta and the Three Cities.
This is followed by a guided tour of the Hospital of the Knights of St John. Work started here in 1574 and it was considered to be one of the best hospitals in Europe. In 1676, the then Grand Master founded the school of Anatomy and Surgery, which was the forerunner of the Medical school at Malta University.
The excursion concludes with a 45-minute viewing of the audio-visual Malta Experience.
A snack lunch is included within the price of this excursion.
Mosta and Mdina (half day)
You start this trip with a visit to Mosta, where the Church of St Mary has one of the largest domes in the world. This church narrowly escaped destruction during the Second World War, when it was hit during a service by a bomb that failed to explode.
You continue through Rabat to Mdina, the former capital of Malta, a beautiful city of honey-coloured stone. Mdina still stands within its hilltop ramparts built by the Knights of St John, and at its heart is the Cathedral of St Paul, standing on the spot where St Paul converted the Roman governor, Publius, to Christianity.
St Paul’s Catacombs and Roman Domus (half day)
Your first stop on this tour is St Paul’s Church, which was built in 1575 over the grotto from which St Paul once preached. Next, you visit St Paul’s Catacombs, an extraordinary labyrinth of narrow passages and the largest complex of its kind in Rabat.
You also see Domus Romana, the Roman house found just outside the walls of the Mdina. The building dates from the time of the Roman republic in the 1 st century BC and during the course of its excavation, some exceptionally fine mosaic work was uncovered, along with a selection of artefacts that are now displayed in the museum.
Times of Malta (full day)
This tour takes you to Vittoriosa, visiting the ‘Malta at War’ museum, an air raid shelter, Fort Rinella and the Nissen huts in Ta Qali.
On your return, you enjoy a scenic drive through Girgenti and past the Dingli Cliffs on the south-western coast of the island.