Malta Sightseeing Bus Tour: Explore Malta’s History with Optional Harbour Cruise

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Discover Malta’s rich history and iconic sights on a hop-on hop-off bus tour. Optional harbour cruise offers stunning views of Valletta’s fortifications.

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

North Route (Route)

Operating Schedule: Departures from Stop N1 at 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:30pm. Operates every day

1. Topaz Hotel
Bugibba (Topaz Hotel/ Pebbles Hotel)

2. Bugibba
Pebbles Hotel

3. Bugibba
Seastrips Outlet

4. Bugibba
Bugibba Centre (Opposite HSBC)

5. Bugibba
Bugibba (Santana Hotel)

6. Malta National Aquarium
Malta National Aquarium

7. QAWRA Palace Resort & SPA
Qawra Palace Hotel (Bus Stop opposite Hotel)

8. Qawra Point Beach
Qawra Seafront (Opposite CitySightseeing Outlet)

9. Bella Vista Hotel Malta
Bellavista Hotel

10. Car Rental Office
ITS Roundabout (Radisson & Corinthia Hotels Roundabout)

11. Ninou’s Grill & Cocktails
St. George’s Bay (CitySightseeing Route Stage)

12. The Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta
Westin Dragonara

13. 31 Vjal Portomaso
Hilton Roundabout

14. 6 St George’s Road
Spinola Bay

15. Antik
Balluta Bay (opposite Balluta Church)

16. Chalet
Sliema Seafront (Opposite Prelune Hotel)

17. VFS Sliema
Sliema Ferries

18. 1 Triq Sir Frederick C. Ponsonby
Opposite Bayview Hotel (City Sightseeing Outlet)

19. Publiju
Valletta City Centre

20. 31 Xatt Lascaris
Valletta Waterfront Terminus (Change for South Route)

21. Strickland
San Anton Gardens

22. VCR9+868
Ta’ Qali Crafts Village

23. Malta Aviation Museum
Ta’ Qali Aviation Museum

24. 291a Triq Il-Kbira
Mosta Church

25. Mdina Gate
Mdina Main Gate

26. W8PW+4HQ
Golden Bay

Points of Interest

Blue Grotto (Il-Hnejja)
Mosta Rotunda
Tarxien Temples
Mdina Old City
Marsaxlokk Bay
Mdina Glass
City Sightseeing Malta
The Malta Experience
Malta National Aquarium
Malta Falconry Centre
Malta Classic Car Collection Museum
Ta’ Qali
Valletta Waterfront
Mediterraneo Marine Park
Mdina
Sliema

What's Included

Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour covering 2 routes
On-board audio commentary available in several languages + free headphones
Discount booklet with offers on dining, shopping, and attractions
Optional Hop On Hop Off Harbour Cruise

What's Not Included

Gratuities
Food and drinks, unless specified. Lunch is not included.
Hotel pick-up and drop-off

Additional Information

Experience Malta aboard this City Sightseeing bus & harbour cruise tour! Malta boasts more than 7,000 years of history & is brimming with places of interest. This Hop-on Hop-off tour covers some of the most iconic and stunning sights. Starting your tour at one of the many pick up points in the North or South of the island, explore the Malta at your own leisure. To make your Malta experience perfect, we’ve included a Harbour Cruise, taking you around the harbour in Valletta with its spectacular military fortifications, hopping off to visit the Esplora Interactive Science Museum (admission not included). Please note this is only applicable for the bus & harbour cruise ticket.

North Route: Operates every day
North Route: Departures from Stop N1 at 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:30pm
Tour duration - 210 minutes
South Route: Operates every day
South Route: Departures from Stop S10 at 9:05am, 10:05am, 11:05am, 12:05pm, 1:05pm and 2:05pm
Tour duration - 180 minutes
1-Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour + Harbour Cruise: Bus ticket is valid for 1 calendar day. Harbour Cruise can be used within 3 days of voucher activation
2-Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour + Harbour Cruise: Bus ticket is valid for 2 calendar days but they don’t need to be used on consecutive days. Can be used within 5 days of first activation. Harbour Cruise can be used within 5 days of voucher activation
Mobile vouchers must be redeemed at Sliema Ferries (Stop 17) or Valletta Waterfront Terminus (Stop 20). Paper vouchers can be redeemed at any of the bus stops
Harbour Cruise:- Main embarkation point: Sliema Ferries. Departure times from Sliema Ferries: 10:30, 12:30 and 14:45. Stops include: Esplora (Kalkara) and Sliema Ferries. Customers may hop on and off the cruise at any of the stopping points however, timetables change regularly so they will need to check locally for the latest timetable and stop off times.
Note: Please be aware that boarding on the cruises is on a first come first served basis so we recommend arriving apx. 15 minutes before departure time to have the best chance of securing a place on the cruise.
Vouchers are valid for 12 months giving great flexibility should you need to change your date of travel.
Please review us! Your feedback is hugely valuable to fellow travellers and helps us to offer a better service
Please note times and frequencies are subject to change at any time so please check locally for the latest information

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

2.2

(519 Ratings)

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1 star

Ohura

Sep 17, 2024

There is a lot of room for improvement - The tours themselves are fine. There is a north and a south tour. The southern tour takes ça 3 hours and the northern tour a good 2 hours. The bus is not clean, seats worn and the headphone ports partially broken, very annoying. Very uncomfortable bus. The headphones, cheap plastic and do not work or after several attempts. The information is short and concise, but there are several sights the bus passes, however there is no information. Transferred from the final destination of the tour to the starting point was well organized.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Spiritarthearta

Sep 7, 2024

HOP ON HOP OFF MALTA SERVICE I SEE MALTA - We booked the tickets online, not zi recommend. There were several difficulties with our Premium Pass. However, a nice employee of the I See Malta Service named Joseph was able to help us. He works on the Valetta Waterfront. Very competent staff. After these initial difficulties, the problems could then be fixed. We are very grateful for that. Booking Referral I see Malta tours online is therefore advisable, saving time and nerves. Otherwise, the buses are unfortunately not air-conditioned, this can of course get a little warmer in summer temperatures. All in all, however, the Premium Pass is in our opinion the best choice if you want to see something of Malta! One has many admissions for the main sights included as well as all bus tours and boat tours of the I See Malta group for 7 days:)

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Jasmined529

Sep 5, 2024

Use another hop on/off bus option in Malta - This is the worst hop on/ hop off bus option to select in Malta. It does not run as often as the others (the others come about every 30 minutes) and it does not run as late as other hop on / hop off busses. I'm unsure how much the other busses cost, but it's worth it to use another bus option. This was the worst and other busses passed us while we were waiting for this bus company. Also, it feels like this company caters to people on cruises which is frustrating because you end up waiting for a long time near the cruise ship dock.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Cathy

Aug 23, 2024

Abandoned in Mdina - We tried to do the Noth route and planned stops at the temples and the aquarium. I booked and paid online. We joined the tour after 9am on Sliema sea front and all went well for over an hour. Commentary was fine, no hassle. The bus suddenly stopped in Mdina and the driver said he was going back to Valletta. We were all dumped at the side of the road and told to wait on the next bus in the heat. We asked how long that would be, and the driver said not long. We waited 45 minutes but the heat was a killer and there was no sign of another bus. We sorted ourselves out with a tour round Mdina, an Uber to the Aquarium and then an Uber back to our hotel. We had a good enough day but we never should have had to Uber it. We never seen another bus on that route the whole time we were on it. We had paid for a tour and it didn't happen to the extent it should have. We are self sufficient enough to move on and sort ourselves out, but others were not plus we didn't actually get what we paid for. Bring chucked off the bus and just told to wait with no bus for 45 minutes and no knowledge of when the next one is coming is not ok.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Janpat057

Sep 28, 2024

Stay clear of hop on hop off sightseeing buses! - Keep clear of "sightseeing" buses absolutely terrible! We got on the bus at Spinola bay for the North route ( blue line) no room on top deck, really hot day. 10 minutes or so into the journey the bus stopped, the driver got off and had conversations with other staff on the roadside leaving the passengers cooking inside the bus! An older man asked if he could open a window at the back, he was told "no! " finally we set off again only to pullover again when a man got on the bus ( no uniform) and shouted at a passenger to sit on a seat ( there were no seats) he didn't apologise, he then told 2 young women to "wait"right in their faces as they were getting off. He was rude and intimidating, he then told us all to show him our tickets. Finally we got to Mdina ( which was lovely! ) but the bus journey isn't a sightseeing tour as you'd think, headphones didn't work, no-one to point out the sights. The local buses are soooo much better and cheaper too! It cost us 56 euros for that tour, it would have been € 10 on the local buses and the drivers more helpful. Like other reviews have said, once they have your money they couldn't care less!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Niamh_f

Sep 5, 2024

Terrible - Terrible it’s the worst hop on and off we ever did. Very little commentary on board and a lot of stopping and starting

Review provided by Viator

Garrett_k

Aug 28, 2024

Don't use. - Waiting around 30 minutes for the first bus and then being told to get off and wait for another bus in about an hour was unacceptable for our limited time trip. Apparently there are multiple hop on hop off busses that pick up and drop off from the same locations using similar colors and route colors. Most other passengers were confused as well as to what was going on. We ended up catching an Uber which was way better. The drivers weren't very helpful either.

Review provided by Viator

Daineo

Aug 18, 2024

Use Bolt, not jolt from hell - The routes are far too long with very few places worth stopping at. Red route - fishing village was average at best. Caves were beautiful, however you’ll have to pay an extra €10 per person to take a small boat to them, no swimming possible. Blue Route - Madeira was amazing and well worth the visit, but don’t do it with a tour!!! Best option is using bolt. For example, €12.70 from St Julian’s Bay to Madera for 4 passengers, and took 15mins. Compared to over €60 and over an hr to go on tour. On blue route be prepared for a mass boarding at Valetta where the day cruise passengers board. If you absolutely must go on one of these terrible tours (busy beyond comprehension with only 1 bus an hr) take the red route for better scenery. AVOID…use bolt and stay clear of the rip off local taxis who wanted to charge over €50 for same €12.70 trip…and the locals driving is absolutely terrifying (running red lights, sitting in two lanes, just don’t care!).

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Viejaytata

Aug 17, 2024

Most horrible excursion in life - Lousy experience, we spent almost half an hour in the sun waiting for it to fill up to get more money regardless of the ones we had already paid. The lousy tour, they don't tell you. nothing about the monuments and important sites, the bus goes fast and no. you could enjoy the city and more than half a tour is on the outskirts in thawed fields, I will never repeat

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Karen_m

Jul 24, 2024

Did not sign up for Mr Toads wild ride! - I am normally a fan of Hop On Hop Off buses. Have taken over 13 in different cities. But this was by far the worst experience. Where to start! No signage on route for pick up. No online schedule. No way to understand when or where the buses will drop off or pick up. Stops were made and skipped based on the printed schedule they give you on the bus. Handed out schedules showed stops and times but they did not stop at the hotel, and after waiting 60 minutes in day 2 for the pick up, we gave up and did our own thing. Second they could not handle apps. They need a printed ticket and I could not download until the morning of but not way to print. You could not board any bus with the app. You had to go to one of two locations to redeem the deem tickets. Third- sound was poor. Had to change seats four times to find one that worked and there were huge gaps of nothing. There were times we travel between two stops where there was nothing. Music or general history is good. Malta has rich history and they lost the chance to tell it. Fourth- the buses! Oh my they were old and in poor shape. No AC, no WiFi and so loud with bus noises it made it hard to hear. So sound was hit or miss but worsened by the noise of the bus. Driver had to shout stops - for those upstairs we could not hear, and as stated no clear signage or map on stops. The buses are so old you felt every bump. My joints felt it. The driver drove very fast and had to slammed on the breaks a lot- sending us flying. Most of the buses will add some covering upstairs - at least first five rows under a cover. Nope! We baked in the heat wave Malta was experience. Really disappointed as these give us a layout of the area, give us idea of what to see next. We just was wanted it to end

Review provided by Viator

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up to 15 guests

1 Adult