Gay Malta Cultural Tour

Day 1: Arrive in Malta

Today everyone arrives in Malta and a private transfer will be provided from the airport to the first hotel. Therefore, this evening we will enjoy a welcome dinner to celebrate our arrival.

Day 2: Exploring Valetta – the Capital City

After our breakfast, we get to explore the famous Baroque capital recognized in 2018 as the European Capital of Culture. Everywhere we look today behind these city gates, there will be historic architecture and culture juxtaposed with contemporary life.

Then, overlooking the Grand Harbor is The Upper Barrakka Gardens. As you stand on the terrace, breathe in deeply as you take in the panoramic view of the Mediterranean’s only natural harbor, framed by the Three Cities.

Later we will visit The Manoel Theater, one of Europe’s oldest working venues. This Baroque gem of a theater has stunning acoustics plus a packed calendar featuring regional and world performances, in both English and Maltese.

Today’s lunch will be at the Museum Cafe, which has been around since 1921. A historical restaurant, it serves samples of Maltese food. The local guide will assist you in making great choices and explaining how things are made.

The afternoon will be spent at Valletta’s National Library, one of the most venerable treasures of the Maltese Islands. This famous library has collections spanning back centuries to the medieval ages. A National Library Librarian joins us for this leg of our tour today and will describe some of the great treasures in these collections as we explore the building.

The day will wrap up with a ride on a traditional Maltese dghajsa! Enjoy the beautiful skyline of Malta’s capital city and the Three Cities area as you journey around the natural Grand Harbour of Malta.

Day 3: Artisan Trail

Today’s excursion will be a visit to the salt pans, for an exclusive sea sale harvesting experience. This is a time-honored tradition passed down through the same families, for generations.

Lunch today will be a fantastic fish lunch in the village of Marsaxlokk, Malta’s chief fishing village plus a prime spot to watch the brightly painted fishing boats. We’ll be launching at one of Marsaxlokk’s finest restaurants. Later today, enjoy some bocci with the locals or just enjoy the entertainment.

This evening we will enter the Old Captial City of Mdina and enjoy the medieval city at night. If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you will recognize the main gates immediately. Tonight we dine at Fork & Cork, situated in Saqqajja Hill Rabat.

Day 4: Foodie Day!

Enjoy a late start today, as we met up mid-morning for our day. We will have the opportunity to visit a small rustic farm to see how the prized Maltese cheese called gbejna, is made. Gbejna is
typically prepared and served in two forms, fresh and dried, though it can also be cured in salt or covered in pepper. Fresh
gbejna tastes like fresh milk and is normally sold in its own whey. To make it, the cheeselets are dried outdoors in special
boxes made with screens that allow the wind in while simultaneously shielding the cheese from bugs.

Next, we will enjoy a pastizzi-making experience. Enjoy the unique opportunity to learn how to make the coveted pastizzi snack (a meal for some). After watching a demonstration, get in there and try out your newfound skill set.

Direct from the farmers and straight to your plate. Enjoy a wonderful farmer’s lunch coupled with an exploration of an olive grove/small farm. You’ll be in one of the most rural areas of Malta – in your own little oasis to enjoy a delectable array of food
products and local wine.

Last but not least, weaving is one of the world’s oldest trades, and its simple process of interlocking two distinct sets of yarn or thread at right angles to create a piece of cloth is so perfect, it hasn’t changed in over 9,000 years. Here in Malta, the first known piece of weaving discovered dates back to around 800BC, to the time when the Phoenicians ruled the island. As with many other crafts, we embraced it and 3,000 years later, we still produce fabrics and cloths using this ancient method.

Day 5: Caverns and Temples

After a tasty breakfast this morning, our transportation arrives to help us time-travel back some 5500 years as we visit the Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temple sites. In 1839, excavation started on these religious sites, and scholars then and since theorize that they were built to worship a type of fertility deity (something we don’t hear about too much these days), but these two temples in Malta are dated to 1000 years preceding the pyramids at Giza and Stonehenge.

Later today, we will also enjoy a boat ride through the famous Blue Grotto. This is a series of sea caverns that showcase the area’s beautiful waters and the interplay of dark and light. It’s a refreshing excursion!

After lunch, we will jump on a boat that takes us on a 25-minute crossing, from North Malta to the island of Gozo, the second-largest island in the archipelago. If you’ve read Homer’s Odyssey, you’ll know that Gozo has a long association with Ogygia, the island home of the nymph, Calypso.

Day 6: Gozo Island 

There is really no better way to experience the island of Gozo than on a Quad Bike. So enjoy a ride along less-traveled roads to discover unbelievable beauty and tranquility. We will enjoy a deliciously prepared picnic lunch at one of our stops. Our stop will be Wied I-Gasri, the Ghari Valley. It’s a marvelous place for a country walk or for a dip in the sea. View the Xwejni Salt Pans, Fungus Rock and Dwejra Bay.

We will enjoy a tasty dinner at the water’s edge this evening. Xlendi Bay provides the perfect backdrop to an evening dining experience. So enjoy a stroll along the bay and take it all in.

Day 7: Sailing the Mediterranean

This is our private catamaran day. After breakfast, we’ll board our vessel for a day of swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing.  We’ll have lunch onboard and in the evening we’ll have our farewell dinner, a special village feast.

Day 8: Depart Malta

Today we depart from our hotel to the airport. We trust you had an amazing time in the Maltese Islands and will leave you with a lifetime of fond memories and new friends.