Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua
A Three Cities tour Malta guides run takes you to Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua, the three fortified cities on the Grand Harbour, where the Knights of St John made Vittoriosa their capital in 1530. Below are the two ways to do it, at $45 and $22 per person: a guided tour with a boat ride, or a cruise, and what each price covers.
Quick answer
The short answer. For a Three Cities tour Malta has two listings worth your money. Book the guided tour at $45 per person: 4 hours with pick-up, a live guide in five languages, a walk through Vittoriosa and Senglea and a ride on a traditional wooden boat. Short on time, or not keen on walking? The 90-minute cruise from Sliema at $22 per person shows the Three Cities from the water.
The guided tour
Four hours, a live guide and a boat ride: the Three Cities tour Malta offers for the streets as well as the water.
The $45 per person listing is the Three Fortified Cities tour with a boat trip, rated 4.5 from 3,043 reviews. It lasts 4 hours and starts with a pick-up from your hotel or the closest meeting point, somewhere between 8:15 and 9:15 am, depending on where you stay. Guides speak English, Spanish, French, German or Italian.
The Three Cities are Vittoriosa (also called Birgu), Senglea and Cospicua. Vittoriosa is the oldest and existed before the Middle Ages; the Order of the Knights of St John founded Senglea in the 16th century and Cospicua in the 17th. When the Order arrived in 1530, it chose Vittoriosa as the capital of Malta instead of Mdina.
It is a 3 cities walking tour Malta guides run with a boat ride in the middle, and the walking happens in two of the three. Cospicua, the largest, you see on a panoramic drive. If you want churches, piazzas and old fortifications at street level, this is the Three Cities tour Malta visitors book with a guide.
The route
How a Three Cities tour Malta guides lead runs, in the order the listing gives it.
The tour opens with a panoramic drive past Cospicua, a double-fortified harbour city and the largest of the three. This part is seen from the road, not on foot.
Inhabited since the time of the Phoenicians, today’s city dates from the Knights. Your guide leads you through its narrow streets, past historic buildings, churches and squares.
At the Vittoriosa waterfront you board a frejgatina, a small carvel-built Maltese fishing boat, for a ride around the colourful harbour creeks.
The tour ends in Senglea, named after Grand Master Claude de la Sengle. Its title, Civitas Invicta, comes from resisting the Ottoman invasion in the Great Siege of 1565.
From the gardens at the tip of the Senglea peninsula, you get a 360° view of the Grand Harbour, Fort Sant Angelo included.
Two listings, side by side
Of the two, the 3 cities tour Malta travellers have reviewed most is the guided one, with 3,043 reviews. Both prices are per person; lengths are the live listing figures.
| Tour | Price | What the price covers | How you get around | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided tour with a boat ride | $45 per person | Pick-up, a live guide, the walk and the boat ride | By road, on foot, then a small wooden boat | 4 hours |
| Scenic cruise from Sliema | $22 per person | A 90-minute cruise with commentary in English and German | A 20-metre catamaran, no walking | 1.5 hours |
By water only
Short on time? A Three Cities tour Malta can also be done from the water.
At $22 per person, the second listing never goes ashore. It is a 90-minute cruise from Sliema Ferries on an air-conditioned 20-metre catamaran, rated 4.3 from 1,088 reviews. The boat sails through Marsamxett Harbour and the Grand Harbour on either side of Valletta, past forts, battlements and the creeks around Valletta and the Three Cities.
Commentary in English and German tells the stories of the Great Sieges of 1565 and 1942 and the landmarks you pass. The cruise listing is marked wheelchair accessible; the guided tour listing does not say so. If all you want is a 3 cities boat tour Malta sells this one for less than half the price of the guided tour.
Before you go
The small print of each Three Cities tour Malta listing, worth reading before you book.
The time on your ticket is the approximate start, not the pick-up. Contact the operator at least a few days ahead to confirm where and when you are collected.
The tour runs in the language you book, but at times the commentary may come from a guide working in two languages.
If poor weather stops the boat trip, the group spends more time visiting the three cities instead.
You board at Sliema Ferries, on the promenade side of Triq ix-Xatt: look for the red boat or ask at the red ticket kiosks. If weather cancels it, reschedule or get a full refund.
Not on the route
A Three Cities tour Malta operators run this way stays in the Three Cities and the harbour creeks: Valletta is not named in the route of the guided tour. For the capital on foot, see our Valletta walking tours guide; for longer cruises around both harbours, see our harbour cruises guide.
Our verdict
Book the guided tour. As a three city tour Malta operators sell with pick-up, a live guide and a boat ride in one booking, the $45 per person listing covers the most: two cities on foot, a third from the road and the creeks by traditional boat, rated 4.5 from 3,043 reviews.
Short on time, or not one for long walks? The cruise at $22 per person shows the Three Cities and both harbours from the water in 90 minutes.
Book direct
The two Three Cities listings first, then two days at sea from our main list. Every price here is per person.
★ 4.5 · 3,043 reviews
★ 4.3 · 1,088 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2,285 reviews
★ 4.7 · 7,634 reviews
Pair it with a boat trip
After a Three Cities tour Malta has a longer day on the water to offer. Our top pick, the boat and bus day to Gozo and Comino, costs $50 per person for 7.5 hours: a boat from Sliema to Gozo, a bus to Victoria and a stop at the Blue Lagoon. Compare it with the other ten in our list of boat trips.
Common questions
The guided 3 city tour Malta listing lasts 4 hours, with pick-up between 8:15 and 9:15 am, depending on where you stay. The cruise from Sliema takes 90 minutes.
Yes, the guided tour includes pick-up from your hotel or the closest meeting point. Contact the operator at least a few days before to confirm the place and time. For the cruise, you make your own way to Sliema Ferries.
No. Vittoriosa and Senglea are on foot, but Cospicua, the largest of the three, is a panoramic drive. The tour ends in Senglea, with the view of the Grand Harbour from Gardjola Gardens.
On a Three Cities tour Malta weather can cancel the boat part: if it cannot run, the group spends more time in the cities. If weather cancels the cruise, you can move it to another date or get a full refund.
Yes, in two ways. The guided tour includes a ride on a traditional frejgatina around the harbour creeks. The cruise from Sliema, at $22 per person, spends 90 minutes on the water, through the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour.
Go deeper
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Gozo by quad and buggyQuad, buggy and UTV days on Gozo with a boat ride: length, lunch and what each price covers.
Harbour cruisesCruises around Malta's harbours and creeks and past the Three Cities from Sliema: length and price.
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From Sliema: Gozo, Comino & The Blue Lagoon Boat & Bus Tour
★ 4.4 · 2,285 reviews · 7.5 hours