Malta with Kids: A Real 5-Day Family Itinerary (Valletta, Gozo & More)
This Malta with kids itinerary covers everything I actually did on a 6-day family trip, not just the highlights reel. Malta might not be the first destination that comes to mind for a family holiday, but after spending six days exploring the island with my 10 month old, it quickly became one of my favourite places in Europe.
In fact, Malta is woven into my family’s story. I first visited when my daughter was just 10 months old, and during that trip I got engaged on the balcony of my suite at Lands End Hotel, a one bedroom apartment-style stay overlooking Valletta, with the sparkling Mediterranean stretching out behind us.
What stood out most was how genuinely welcoming the Maltese people were towards families. Everywhere I went, from waterfront cafés in Marsaxlokk to restaurants in Valletta and Sliema, people stopped to smile at my daughter, chat with her, and make her feel welcome. As a parent, there’s nothing better than travelling somewhere that doesn’t just tolerate kids but actively embraces them.
I also loved how easy Malta was to explore with a young child. The main island is compact enough that you can see a lot without spending hours in the car. One day I was wandering Valletta’s historic streets, the next I was admiring the colourful fishing boats of Marsaxlokk, taking in the stunning views at the Blue Grotto, or exploring the quieter corners of the Three Cities. Even a day trip to Gozo was simple and stress-free.
In this itinerary, I’ll share exactly how I spent my time exploring Valletta, Sliema, Marsaxlokk, the Blue Grotto, the Three Cities and Gozo, along with practical tips for visiting Malta with a young child. If you’re looking for a Mediterranean destination that’s easy to navigate, packed with history and culture, and incredibly family-friendly, Malta might just be the perfect fit.
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Malta with Kids Itinerary: Trip Details at a Glance
Here’s the quick-reference version of this Malta with kids itinerary, if you just want the logistics before diving into each day.
- When we travelled: Autumn (Sep-Nov), which kept the heat manageable, though the hop on hop off bus day still proved it’s never fully cool enough to make an hourly bus wait fun with a baby
- Who travelled: Me, my partner, and our 10 month old
- Total trip length: 6-7 days spent in Malta, with the 5 days below covering the main sightseeing and the rest spent easing in and out either side. We visited Malta as part of a bigger Europe trip covering Puglia, Rome and Zurich.
How to Get to Malta
Before you can follow this Malta with kids itinerary day by day, you’ll need to actually get there.
Malta has just one airport, Malta International Airport (MLA), so there’s no need to overthink which one to book into. Before flying in, I spent three nights in Zurich and used one of those days for a trip to Basel, which I’ve written up separately if you’re building in a Switzerland stop of your own on the way.
I flew into Malta from Zurich on Air Malta and cannot rate them highly enough for travelling with a baby. They gave us priority boarding so we could get settled into our seats before the main boarding call, which made a world of difference compared to wrestling a pram and a baby through a crowded gate queue.
From the airport, Sliema is about 10km away, roughly a 20 minute drive. A taxi is the easiest option with a baby in tow, the fixed fare is around 20 euros per car, so there’s no need to negotiate or worry about being overcharged.
We were able to arrange a private driver so we could ensure our 10 month old had a car seat, rather than being sat on our laps. I definitely recommend this if you’re a parent who prioritises car safety; it just takes the stress out of transferring from the airport.
If you’re on a tighter budget, the TD3 Airport Direct bus runs every half hour and will get you to Sliema for a few euros, though factor in extra time and patience if you’ve got a pram and bags to wrangle on board. Worth noting Uber doesn’t operate in Malta, so it’s taxi or bus rather than anything app based.
The Perfect Accommodation for a Malta With Kids Itinerary
Picking the right base was one of the easier decisions in this whole Malta with kids itinerary.
Sliema was the perfect base, and I’d pick it again without hesitation. It puts you right near the ferry terminal, which ended up being the best decision I didn’t even know I was making, since the ferry became my main way of getting around for the whole trip. Sliema is also spoiled for choice when it comes to restaurants, cafes and grocery stores. It was a great base to explore Malta with kids in tow.
I chose the Lands End Hotel in Sliema for the incredible view of Valetta from the balcony. When travelling with kids, there’s a lot of post-bedtime hours spent in the hotel and when you have a balcony overlooking the historic city all lit up at night, then it makes those hours well worthwhile. Lands End also has a great pool which overlooks Valetta and the harbour, which was also perfect to cool off after a busy day of sight seeing.
I splashed out on the one bedroom suite rather than a standard room, and it was worth every extra dollar. Having a separate living area meant I could put my daughter down to sleep in the portacot in the lounge room, then close the door and still have the bedroom or balcony to ourselves for the evening. It’s a decision I’d make again every time, and I’ve written more on why separate sleep spaces make such a difference when travelling with a baby if you’re weighing up the same thing for your own trip.
Day 1: The Ferry to Valletta with a Baby (and My First Real Pram Regret)
The ferry across to Valletta takes about ten minutes and is genuinely one of the highlights of the whole trip. Cheap, quick, gorgeous views, and a baby who thought it was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Valletta itself is stunning and also, I will say it plainly, not built with prams in mind. The city is basically a grid of hills and steps, and I lost count of how many times I had to fold the pram up, wedge a baby onto one hip, a nappy bag on the other shoulder, and climb like I was training for something. If you’re tackling Valletta with a baby or a pram, go in knowing there’s some lifting involved, and maybe skip the extra coffee that morning.
Inside the walls, I made a beeline for St John’s Co-Cathedral. Nothing really prepares you for how over the top beautiful the inside is after such a plain looking front door. Worth every bit of the carrying-a-baby-up-stairs effort to get there. Art lovers will want to spend some time here to see Caravaggio’s famous Beheading of John the Baptist, which is on full display.
From there, I wandered the laneways for a while, which is honestly one of my favourite ways to spend time in Valletta with a baby. No itinerary pressure, just narrow golden stone streets, coloured balconies overhead, and enough shade in the right spots to keep a baby happy without needing to duck into anything.
This eventually led us to Casa Rocca Piccola, a 16th century noble house that’s still lived in by the family today. It’s a fascinating glimpse into Maltese aristocratic life, and it also has its own air raid shelters dug out beneath the house from WWII, which meant another tag team moment, one of us toured the house and shelters while the other stayed up top with the baby. Worth knowing in advance if you’re travelling as a pair and want to see all of it.
I finished the day up at the Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta’s highest point and easily one of the best views over the Grand Harbour you’ll find anywhere in the city. If you can time it for noon or 4pm, the Saluting Battery fires its gun salute right below the gardens, which was a genuine highlight for my daughter even if it did make her jump the first time. There’s also a lift (paid) down to the waterfront from here if your legs (or your pram-pushing arms) have had enough for the day.
Also, somewhere between the cathedral and the pram wrangling, we discovered ricotta pastizzi, and my 10 month old was obsessed. Flaky, cheap, and apparently a certified baby favourite, so don’t leave Malta without letting your littlest one try one.
Day 2: The Three Cities and the War Tunnels
A short hop from Valletta (another ferry, obviously, because at this point I was fully converted) gets you to the Three Cities: Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. Quieter than Valletta, fewer crowds, and a nice change of pace with a baby in tow.
This is also where the war tunnels are, and we ended up tag teaming this one rather than going in together. Not exactly stroller friendly or baby appropriate, so one of us went down into the tunnels while the other stayed up top strolling around and enjoying an ice cream with the baby.
It worked well as a system and meant neither of us missed out, so if you’re travelling as a pair, I’d plan on doing the same rather than trying to bring a baby down with you. The tunnels themselves are genuinely affecting, standing in those narrow shelters thinking about families hiding there during the bombing raids puts the whole island in a different light.
Day 3: Day Trip to Gozo with Kids
Gozo deserves its own full day, no question, and it’s one of the easiest, most baby-friendly days of the whole trip since the pace is so much gentler than the capital. Gozo is best accessed by ferry and I definitely recommend taking the stress out of the day by buying ferry tickets in advance. Kids 3 and under travel for free, but they still require a free base ticket to board.
The ferry over feels like a mini adventure in itself, though fair warning, it can get properly bumpy depending on conditions, so if you or anyone in your crew is prone to seasickness, sort yourself out before you board rather than halfway across.
From the port, we hopped on a local bus to the main town, and it turned into one of those moments that still makes me laugh and wince at the same time. The driver slammed on the brakes out of nowhere and everyone on board went lurching forward. My daughter was asleep in her pram at the time, strapped in and protected, but I genuinely shudder to think what would have happened if I’d been holding her loose in my arms instead. If you’re catching local buses with a baby in Malta or Gozo, it’s worth keeping them secured in the pram or carrier rather than free in your lap, just in case.
Once I’d recovered from that, I headed straight for the Cittadella in Victoria, Gozo’s fortified old capital sitting up on a hill with views across the whole island. It’s an easy way to get a feel for Gozo’s history without needing a packed itinerary, and there are lifts installed around the site now, which made getting a pram up to the bastions far less of a mission than Valletta’s endless steps. Budget a couple of hours to wander the walls and take in the views before heading back down into Victoria itself.
Down in Victoria, don’t miss It-Tokk, also known as Independence Square, where there’s a daily open-air market. It’s a nice, easy wander after the Cittadella, picking through local crafts and produce stalls at a pace a baby can handle without too much complaining.
It was still, overall, the one day on the whole trip where I actually felt like I could breathe a bit, pram included, since Gozo’s a lot kinder to wheels than Valletta ever was.
Day 4: Half Day in Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk was the perfect low-key half day on its own, no need to pair it with anything else. The fishing boats lined up along the harbour in all their red, yellow and blue glory make for the kind of photos that look like you tried way harder than you did.
If you can time it for the Sunday market, even better, but honestly any day there is a nice slow wander with a happy, well-fed baby and, in my case, a slightly relieved mum, since by this point in the trip a slower day was exactly what we needed.
Stopping for a seafood lunch is a must, before making the trek back to Sliema.
Day 5: Half Day at the Blue Grotto
The Blue Grotto was always on the list for this trip, a dedicated half day rather than something squeezed in alongside anything else. If I’m honest, putting a baby on a tiny boat bobbing in and out of sea caves was not my most considered parenting decision.
There’s no pram involved here, obviously, just a life jacket that definitely wasn’t designed for someone that small, and a lot of hoping everyone stays seated. The water is that impossible turquoise you see in the photos, and it really is worth the mild heart palpitations, but if you’re more risk averse than I was that day, it’s worth checking conditions and sizing up whether it’s right for your family before you go.
Keeping it to a half day rather than pairing it with somewhere else meant we weren’t rushing a baby through the boat trip just to fit in a second stop.
What I Don’t Recommend: The Hop On Hop Off Bus
Not everything in this Malta with kids itinerary worked out, and the hop on hop off bus is the clearest example.
If you’re weighing up how to get around, let me save you the trouble: skip the hop on hop off bus, especially with a baby. The frequency was only about once an hour, which sounds fine until you’re standing in Malta’s heat with a melting baby waiting for it to turn up.
Once I was actually on it, my 10 month old screamed the entire way from Sliema to Marsaxlokk, and there is nowhere to go and nothing to do on a bus that’s stuck in its route when that happens. Stick to the ferries where you can, and save the driving or a taxi for the legs the ferries don’t cover.
Where to Eat in Malta with Kids
No Malta with kids itinerary is complete without covering where to actually eat.
Kings Own Band Club, Valletta
A proper local find in the middle of Valletta, and a good one to know about if you’re mid-sightseeing and need somewhere relaxed to refuel with a baby in tow. Band clubs are such a Maltese institution and this one does the job nicely as a no-fuss, family-friendly stop.
Ta’ Kris
Another solid option worth building into the itinerary, easy enough to fit in around a day of ferries and pram wrangling without needing to plan too far ahead. Plenty of local favourites like Maltese-style raviola filled with ricotta, bragioli or rabbit stew to try and very baby friendly.
Da Marina Italian Restaurant, St Julian’s Bay
This one’s worth knowing about for the budget alone: kids eat free, seven nights a week. For a trip that already involves carrying a pram up every hill in Valletta, not having to think too hard about the dinner bill is its own small win. St Julian’s Bay also makes for a nice change of scene if you’re staying in Sliema and want a short trip somewhere a little livelier for the evening.
And of course, no eating section would be complete without another mention of the ricotta pastizzi. Cheap, flaky, and apparently a guaranteed hit with a 10 month old, they’re worth tracking down more than once.
My Honest Tips for Malta with Kids
If you take nothing else from this Malta with kids itinerary, let it be these.
- Valletta is beautiful but it is steps and hills from the second you walk in, so budget extra time and patience for carrying everything
- The ferries are brilliant and genuinely one of the best parts of travelling between Sliema, Valletta and the Three Cities with kids, though the Gozo crossing can be bumpy so plan ahead if anyone gets seasick
- Skip the hop on hop off bus with young kids, the infrequent timetable and heat make it a rough ride (mine went from calm baby to full meltdown in one trip)
- The war tunnels aren’t baby friendly, so if you’re a twosome, consider tag teaming it like we did, one goes in while the other strolls and grabs an ice cream
- The Blue Grotto boat trip is magic but worth thinking through if you’ve got a very young baby, there’s no pram and minimal safety gear sized for infants
- Gozo is far more pram friendly than Malta’s capital, so let that be your “easy day” in the itinerary
- Ricotta pastizzi are a certified baby approved snack, don’t leave without trying one
- Sliema as a base gives you the view, the ferry access, and an easy reset at the end of a big day out
Malta with Kids FAQs
A few more things worth knowing before you put your own Malta with kids itinerary together.
How many days do you need in Malta with a baby or toddler?
Five full days covers the main highlights comfortably at a baby-friendly pace: Valletta, the Three Cities and war tunnels, Gozo, and the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk combined. I’d build in 6-7 days total so you’ve got a buffer either side for travel days and at least one slower morning.
Is Valletta pram friendly?
Honestly, not really. Valletta is full of steps and hills, so go in expecting to fold the pram up and carry both it and the baby at points. A carrier as backup is worth packing even if the pram is your main plan.
Is the Blue Grotto safe for babies?
It’s not something I’d call out as officially baby safe, the boats are small, the life jackets aren’t really sized for infants, and there’s no pram access. I did it with my 10 month old and it was fine, but it’s worth weighing up for your own comfort level and checking conditions on the day before deciding.
What’s the best way to get around Malta with kids?
Ferries, hands down. They’re quick, scenic and easy with a pram between Sliema, Valletta and the Three Cities. I’d actively avoid the hop on hop off bus with a baby, the hourly frequency and heat made for a rough trip.
Is Gozo worth a day trip with a baby?
Yes, and it’s the easiest day of the whole itinerary pram-wise. The ferry crossing can get bumpy though, so plan ahead if anyone in your group is prone to seasickness.
Can I breastfeed in public in Malta?
I didn’t run into any issues breastfeeding out and about, and it’s generally accepted practice across Malta the same as most of Europe. That said, I always found it easier to have a cafe or quieter corner in mind for longer feeds, especially in busier spots like Valletta where seating can be tight.
Are there baby change tables or parents’ rooms in Malta?
They exist but aren’t guaranteed everywhere, especially in older buildings and smaller cafes around Valletta and the Three Cities. Shopping centres and bigger supermarkets are your most reliable bet for a proper change table, so I’d factor that into the day’s route rather than assuming every stop will have one.
Where can I buy nappies and baby food in Malta?
Supermarkets are your best bet, chains like Lidl, Pavi and Greens stock the usual nappy brands and jarred or pouched baby food, and pharmacies are a solid backup if you’re after something specific or run out mid-sightseeing. I’d stock up when you pass a bigger supermarket rather than relying on finding one near Valletta’s old town, since the choice gets slimmer the deeper into the sightseeing areas you go.
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