Five days in Malta: three on the main island, two between Gozo and Comino

Five days is the length I enjoy planning most in Malta, because it’s the first at which all three islands fit. The trick isn’t what you add to the four-day plan but where you sleep. Spend the last two nights on Gozo and Comino stops being an outing of bus, boat and clock-watching, and becomes a crossing of a quarter of an hour.

Three days for the main island

For the first three days I borrow the structure of my Malta 4 day itinerary. Valletta on day one, while St John’s is open, so never a Sunday. The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, the Tarxien Temples and Birgu on day two. Day three starts early at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, followed by Rabat, Mdina and sunset at Dingli. Three nights in Valletta or Sliema cover it without moving beds. If you can stretch to seven, I’d add a night in Mellieħa for the north, as in my Malta 7 day itinerary.

Switching base, the best decision of the trip

On the morning of day four I’d take the boat to Gozo with my luggage. From Valletta, the fast ferry saves you the long bus to Ċirkewwa; if you’ve been staying around Mellieħa or Buġibba, the Ċirkewwa ferry is the obvious choice. On the island, drop your bags and do the Citadel in Victoria, Ġgantija and the walk down to Ramla, or the west with Dwejra if you’ve crossed with a car. If you’d like a different order, I’ve scored each spot in things to do in Gozo.

Victoria is where I’d sleep, as it’s the hub of Gozo’s buses. If you’d rather be by the water, Mġarr has the advantage that the Comino boats leave from its own harbour.

How does Comino fit into day five?

This is the bit most people get wrong. Since May 2025 the Blue Lagoon has required a free timed landing pass from the MTA’s portal, and without it you can’t step ashore. There are three slots a day, the morning one until 13:00, the afternoon until 17:30 and the sunset one until 22:00, with no more than 4,000 people at once. In summer 2024, before the system, numbers reached 12,000. Passes open two months in advance, and same-day bookings work if there’s space left.

My advice is the morning slot and the first boat out of Mġarr. Going by the crossing times on visitgozo.com, it’s about a quarter of an hour from Mġarr and over half an hour from Ċirkewwa, so staying on the smaller island puts you there before the Malta boats. The pass doesn’t include transport, and the portal asks you to check that your operator is registered to run to the lagoon. Operators and crossings are covered in my guide to the Comino ferry.

What I’d do after the lagoon

At midday, when the slot ends, I’d follow the island’s paths to Santa Marija Bay, which the Ministry for Gozo describes as a peaceful sandy beach with shallow water, good for young children. St Mary’s Tower, which Grand Master Wignacourt had built in 1618 some 80 metres above the sea, has no opening hours published by VisitMalta or the Ministry for Gozo, so I’d expect to admire it from the path. Bring water, snacks and sun cream, exactly as the Ministry itself suggests.

Five days without a car

You can do this whole plan without a car. On Gozo, from Mġarr harbour, routes 301 and 303 run to Victoria and the 322 climbs to Marsalforn via Qala and Nadur, according to Malta Public Transport. Where you’ll miss a car most is the west of the island. If you do want one there, I’d bring it over on the Ċirkewwa ferry, where a car and driver pay €15.70 for the round trip, and first check that your hire insurance covers the crossing and your time on Gozo. Driving is on the left, which will feel like home. With small children, remember the Hypogeum doesn’t admit ages 1 to 5.

If the sea doesn’t cooperate

Comino depends on the weather, and the booking portal’s terms leave weather cancellations to the visitor or their boat operator. That’s why I put it at the end of the trip, with Gozo as plan B. If no boat goes that day, western Gozo, with Dwejra, the Xwejni salt pans or Ta’ Pinu Basilica, easily fills the time, and the next morning there’s the ferry back to Malta, paid at Mġarr.