Malta Carnival: giant floats in Valletta and after-dark mischief in Nadur

Maltese carnival has two very different faces, and it’s worth knowing both before you decide where to spend it. One is official, in Valletta, with enormous floats, dance troupes and a meticulous programme. The other is in Gozo, in Nadur, and is exactly the opposite. Here are the 2027 dates and what to expect from each.

Carnival 2027 dates

Festivals Malta, the public agency that runs it, has already announced the dates. Il-Karnival ta’ Malta will take place from 5 to 9 February 2027, in Valletta, Floriana and other localities. The programme and tickets aren’t confirmed yet. In 2026 it ran from 13 to 17 February.

Both editions finish on a Tuesday, just before Ash Wednesday. In 2027 Ash Wednesday falls on 10 February, by my calculation from Easter, which fits the organiser’s dates.

Valletta carnival, on a grand scale

This is the official carnival and by far the biggest. Festivals Malta presents it as one of Malta’s oldest traditions, with huge floats, grotesque masks and choreographed dancing. visitmalta fills in the atmosphere, with brightly coloured floats perched on lorries, children in costume everywhere and, at night, Paceville full of revellers still in fancy dress.

The 2026 programme shows how it’s spread out. It opened in late January with a costume exhibition, followed by Carnival by Night on 7 February and a band and costume parade in Ħamrun on the 8th. The five main days had morning and afternoon programmes, Il-Qarċilla in the streets of Valletta on the Saturday and Sunday, and a grand finale on the Tuesday. The organisers also publish the list of King Carnival and the triumphal floats, the stars of the parade. For getting around the capital, see Valletta, and for Floriana, the second stage, Floriana.

Heritage Malta joins in with carnival mask workshops at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Birgu, which in 2026 ran in February.

Nadur, the carnival I find most interesting

In Gozo, the Ministry says carnival centres on Victoria, but the famous one is in Nadur. There it’s spontaneous and satirical, gets going after sunset and has no programme, something the Ministry itself stresses. visitmalta sums it up in two words, macabre and funny. It’s a carnival made by the villagers, full of satire and dark humour, a world away from Valletta’s organised parade.

For me that contrast is the best thing about Maltese carnival. If you can, give one night to Nadur. The village, with its basilica high on the hill, is on Nadur.

Carnival weather

Carnival falls in the depths of winter, and you can tell. February averages 12.6°C (55°F) according to the Meteorological Office. In 2026 the Met Office kept a red wind warning in place until 06:00 on 13 February, the first day of festivities, and in 2024 the carnival weekend passed without a single hour of sunshine, with hail. It isn’t like that every year, but pack a warm layer and a waterproof. More on the month in Malta in February.

How I’d do both

I’d stay in Valletta for the main days and cross to Gozo one afternoon for the Nadur night. The Gozo Channel ferry leaves from Ċirkewwa, takes no reservations and charges €4.65 per person for the round trip, paid when you come back. What I wouldn’t do is rely on the last bus back from Nadur, so a night in Gozo seems the sensible choice. The rest of the year’s highlights are on events in Malta.

For a British visitor, carnival week is also a quiet time to come. It’s firmly low season, the flight is short and the one-hour time difference means no jet lag for the children. I have no official source for February hotel prices, so I won’t quote any, but the airport handled 560,553 passengers in February 2025, barely half its August figure.

A second carnival, in summer

Festivals Malta also runs Il-Karnival tas-Sajf, the summer carnival, to bring February’s atmosphere to the coast. In 2026 it ran from 21 to 23 August, free, with floats and dancing along the Buġibba and Marsaskala promenades. A handy way to see the floats if you’re travelling in the school holidays.

One last treat. The carnival sweet is the prinjolata, which Gozo’s Ministry names as the typical cake of the season. If you’re there for carnival, look for it in the pastry shops.