Malta in March, a spring that starts with wind

March is when Malta changes gear. Museums stretch their hours, the days get lighter and the airport starts to climb, though not yet at full spring pace. Here’s what weather to expect, which festivals fall this month and why March 2027 is a special one.

March weather, spring with caveats

March’s norm is a 14.1°C (57°F) average, with an average high of 17.4°C (63°F), 39.7 mm of rain and 224.7 hours of sunshine. The sea, on the other hand, is at its lowest, 15.3°C (60°F). That’s why March gives you pleasant afternoons and cool evenings, especially in the wind, which averages 9.5 knots.

It’s a month of extremes. March 2022 was the coldest since 1987, averaging 12.4°C with a low of 6°C on the 11th. Two years later, March 2024 was dry and warm, at 15.8°C with only 8.8 mm of rain and 263.7 hours of sunshine. On Easter Sunday that year, 31 March, it reached 27.9°C (82°F). The March record is 33.5°C, from 2001, and the all-time March low is 2.2°C, from 1949.

Dust, wind and the odd shower

Saharan dust already shows up in March. On 26 March 2024, a low stretching from western Europe to Algeria whipped up desert sand and left the day with barely an hour of sunshine. Rain, as ever in Malta, comes in bursts. March 2023 brought only 3 mm, while March 2026 had 46.2 mm, above the norm. A normal March has about two thunderstorms and one foggy day.

With that in mind, I’d do outdoor sights in the morning and keep a museum for the afternoon. Clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March, as across the EU and on the same day as in Britain (more on time in Malta), so from then on you gain an extra hour of evening light.

What to pack for March

With average highs of 17°C and lows that dropped to 6°C in 2022, March calls for layers. I’d take light long sleeves, a jumper for the evenings and a windproof jacket, and leave the swimming kit at home unless you’re a year-round sea swimmer used to British waters. Sunglasses are worth packing too, since 224 hours of sunshine is a lot of glare off pale limestone. If you’re heading for the Dingli cliffs or the Gozo coast, check the Met Office’s wind warnings first, because the paths there are exposed and the gusts in March can top 40 knots, as the 42-knot gust of 4 March 2024 showed.

Festivals and dates in March

19 March is a public holiday for St Joseph, and the 31st, Freedom Day, is a national holiday. It commemorates the day in 1979 when the last British military base on the island closed, a date with obvious resonance for British visitors. In 2026 Heritage Malta held «Freedom Day and Regatta» that day at Fort St Angelo. On Gozo, the parish of Kerċem honours St Gregory with a procession from Victoria on 12 March, and the Annunciation chapel in the Lunzjata valley has its feast on the 25th.

From 19 to 22 March 2026 Heritage Malta ran the spring equinox at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra. It’s the kind of event worth an early alarm, and it’s worth checking its 2027 calendar once published. March 2026 also saw the start of the Malta Biennale, which ran until May across several sites on the island.

Easter 2027 falls in March

This is what makes 2027 different. Good Friday is on 26 March, a public holiday, and every Heritage Malta museum closes that day. The days before bring processions in the villages. In 2026, for instance, the Met Office issued a special forecast for the Our Lady of Sorrows pilgrimages on 27 March and for Palm Sunday, when some localities held the first Good Friday processions. It’s all covered in Easter in Malta. Families on school timetables should check how their Easter break lines up with these dates.

Longer hours and a still-quiet airport

In 2026 Heritage Malta’s summer hours began on 1 March, with the main sites open 09:00 to 19:00. The 2027 timetable hasn’t been published yet. And if the Grandmaster’s Palace is on your list, avoid the morning of Wednesday 17 March 2027, when its ceremonial rooms are closed to visitors before 13:30.

The airport handled 725,134 passengers in March 2025, well up on February but far from the summer months. March is also one of the busy months for English language schools, with 9.6% of 2025’s students. The bus is still on the winter fare, €2 a ticket. If you’d rather have more warmth, see Malta in April, and if you want even fewer people, Malta in February.