Valletta is Europe’s smallest capital — genuinely under one square kilometer — and it somehow has over 320 monuments inside it. Which sounds exhausting but is actually just wonderful, because it means you turn a corner and there’s another stunning baroque church, another harbor view, another tiny wine bar that’s been there since the 1700s. It rewards wandering.

You fly into Malta International Airport (MLA), which is a 15-minute taxi ride from Valletta. Land, check in, take a breath. The city will meet you at whatever pace you bring to it.

The Phoenicia Malta

Seven acres of private gardens right at the gates of the old city. Forbes four-star, Michelin Key, Leading Hotels of the World 2025 Remarkable Experiences Award — this hotel is collecting accolades like I collect linen sets, and it deserves every one of them. The rooftop pool overlooking the Grand Harbour is genuinely one of the most beautiful spots I’ve come across. The front door opens directly onto Valletta. Stay here.

What to Do

Upon Arrival

• Drop bags, put on walking sandals, and wander Valletta with no plan
• Explore limestone streets, colorful balconies, cafés, gelato, and golden hour photos

St. John’s Co-Cathedral

• Book timed entry ahead of time — this sells out
• Plain outside, ornate Baroque interior + Caravaggio paintings

Upper Barrakka Gardens

• Go at sunset for views over the Grand Harbour
• One of the best photo spots in Valletta

Harbour Cruise (Luzzu Boat)

• Traditional Maltese wooden fishing boat
• See Valletta fortifications from the water (about 2 hours)

Mdina – Day Trip

• Go in the afternoon and stay for sunset — medieval walled city
• Walk the quiet streets, visit the cathedral, dinner at De Mondion (book ahead)

Where to Eat

• Grain at the Rosselli AX Privilege , a 16th-century palazzo converted into a boutique hotel with one of Malta’s most celebrated restaurants inside. The duplex suites have double-height ceilings and internal spiral staircases. I’m not staying there, but I’m definitely eating there.
• Malta has seven of Michelin Star Resturants most are within walking distance of your hotel. ION Harbour, Under Grain, and Noni are all in Valletta. Three days, three dinners. Do the math.

This is the day everyone will ask you about.

Comino is a tiny island between Malta and Gozo with almost no permanent residents and water so turquoise it genuinely looks like someone turned up the saturation in post. The Blue Lagoon is famous — deservedly so — and it gets crowded with day boats in the late morning. Which is exactly why you’re not taking a day boat.

Sail out of Valletta as the morning light hits the fortifications from the water — and I promise you this is a better shot than anything you’ve taken from land. Reach the Blue Lagoon early, anchor away from the main pier, and have the crystal water largely to yourselves. Swim, snorkel, float, do absolutely nothing. It all counts.

From Comino, cross to Gozo and dock at Mgarr Harbour for a waterside lunch. Order whatever is freshest. Linger. Sail back to Malta in the late afternoon with the light going golden.

Gozo is Malta’s quieter, greener, more rugged sister island, and the energy is completely different. Where Valletta is polished and vibrant, Gozo is countryside and cliffs and ancient stones and the kind of quiet that actually quiets you. The ferry from Malta takes about 25 minutes and is free going over (you only pay on the return, which feels like a fun little gift).

• Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz – Multiple pools including indoor. Award-winning spa. Private beach club. Outstanding breakfast that people in reviews describe with the kind of reverence usually reserved for religious experiences. Dedicate one full day to the Aquadasein Spa. Book your treatments before you arrive. I’m talking thalassotherapy, a massage, the whole afternoon between the pool and a sun lounger.
• Take a small boat from the Inland Sea through a natural tunnel carved into the cliffs and out into the open Mediterranean. It takes fifteen minutes. It costs almost nothing. It’s one of the best fifteen minutes of the whole trip.
• Victoria Citadel – Gozo’s fortified hilltop capital, with walls you can walk and views over the entire island. Beautiful cathedral inside. Little restaurants in the piazza that will keep you there longer than planned. This is a morning, lunch included.
• Ramla Bay – Gozo’s best beach! It has red-golden sand, clear water and is genuinely uncrowded. Bring a book. No schedule. This is a non-schedule day.
• The Ġgantija Temples – These were built around 3,600 BC. That’s older than Stonehenge. Older than the pyramids. The oldest free-standing stone structures on earth are on this small island that most people have never heard of. You got to see it! 

Day seven is catamaran day.

Virtu Ferries runs a high-speed catamaran from Valletta to Pozzallo, Sicily — 1 hour and 45 minutes across the Mediterranean. Book your tickets a few weeks ahead; foot passenger fares start around €72 each way. From Pozzallo, it’s a 45-minute private transfer to Ragusa Ibla. Book the private transfer. I cannot stress this enough. Sicilian roads are beautiful and chaotic and you are on vacation. This is not the moment.

Locanda Don Serafino

This boutique hotel is literally carved into the rock of Ragusa Ibla. The cave rooms have cool stone walls and the kind of atmospheric lighting that makes everything feel more romantic and interesting than it probably is. The hotel manages valet parking so you never have to deal with the restricted old city streets. And the sister restaurant — Ristorante Don Serafino, one Michelin star — is where you’re eating the first night. Reserve before you leave home. Actually, reserve right now.

If you prefer more traditional luxury: San Giorgio Palace Hotel is your pick — beautiful views, excellent service, classic five-star setup.

• Ragusa Ibla is a UNESCO World Heritage city built on a limestone ridge with a valley below it, all sweeping baroque staircases and ornate churches and piazzas that haven’t changed in three centuries. By every account, it’s one of the most cinematic places you’ll ever stand in. Get lost on purpose. The whole point is to feel it before you know it.
• Dinner at Ristorante Don Serafino – The dining room is carved into the rock. The tasting menu is exceptional. The wine list is Sicilian and serious. One Michelin star and genuinely one of the best dinners of the whole trip.
• Day trip to Noto

  Forty minutes south and often called the most beautiful Baroque town in the world — which is a bold claim until you’re standing on Corso Vittorio Emanuele and realize it might just be true. The whole city was rebuilt in one architectural style after a 1693 earthquake, all in warm honey-coloured stone, all perfectly proportioned. It’s genuinely stunning.

  Also: the granita here is life-changing. Get pistachio. This is not a suggestion.

  Want to stay a night? Il San Corrado di Noto has 4.9 stars from 155 reviews, a 100-metre infinity pool (yes, you read that right), private villa suites, and a beach club. If there is a more luxurious way to experience this corner of Sicily I have not found it.

Hire a private driver from Ragusa to Taormina — about 2.5 hours, and the coastal road coming in is extraordinary. You come around a bend and suddenly there’s this clifftop town sitting above impossibly blue water with Mount Etna rising dramatically behind it like it was placed there for effect. It kind of was.

• San Domenico Palace, A Four Seasons Hotel – A 15th-century Dominican monastery that is now one of the most spectacular hotels in Italy. The infinity pool overlooking the sea with Etna in the background is one of the great hotel pools in the world — I will not be taking questions. The monastery cloister is stunning. You’re walking distance to everything. This is the full luxury experience and it earns every penny.
• The alternative: Villa Sant’Andrea, A Belmond Hotel – the hotel sits directly on the water below Taormina with a private beach, boat excursions, completely different vibe (beachfront vs. clifftop). If you can swing one night at each, that’s genuinely the move. Two completely different versions of the same magical place.

• Corso Umberto

Walk the whole thing. Boutiques, ceramics, lemon-scented everything, terraces with views that make you stop mid-sentence. End at the Ancient Greek Theatre — 2,300 years old, with Mount Etna perfectly framed behind the stage like the world’s greatest set designer was involved. Sit there for a while. It deserves it.

• A private boat day from Isola Bella

Charter a boat from the beach below Taormina. Sail the coastline, swim hidden coves, circle Isola Bella — a tiny private nature island that floats about 50 metres from the shore and looks like it was invented for Instagram. This is sailing day number two. It holds up.

• Mount Etna — guided half day, your last morning

Europe’s highest and most active volcano. You take a cable car to 2,500 metres and walk across solidified lava fields that look like another planet. It is cold up there even in spring — pack a layer — and it is completely, utterly unlike anything else on this trip. You’ll be back in Taormina by early afternoon.

From Taormina, 45 minutes to Catania airport. Fly home. Feel like yourself again, but better.

The Logistics

Getting there from the US: Fly into Malta (MLA) via one connection — London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris all have excellent onward options. Delta flies seasonal nonstop from JFK to Malta in summer. From Atlanta, London (British Airways or Virgin Atlantic) or Frankfurt (Lufthansa) are your smoothest bets. Budget 14–15 hours total travel time each way.

Malta → Sicily: Virtu Ferries catamaran, Valletta to Pozzallo, 1hr 45min, multiple daily sailings. Book ahead in spring and summer. There are also short flights Malta → Catania if you’d rather fly.

Getting around: Taxis and private transfers in Malta (the island is genuinely tiny). Private drivers for city-to-city transfers in Sicily. Small rental cars for day trips from your base — totally manageable locally, much less manageable on the main transfer routes where you’re tired and relying on Google Maps.

Visas: US citizens, no visa needed in Malta or Italy for under 90 days. Valid passport required.

What to pack: Linen everything. One nice dinner outfit per destination because these restaurants reward it. Good walking sandals that can handle cobblestones (there are so many cobblestones). A light layer for Etna even in summer. Your swimsuit every single day without exception.

Book before you go: St. John’s Co-Cathedral timed entry. Michelin restaurant reservations — weeks in advance in peak season, I’m not joking. Private charter boats. Kempinski spa treatments. The Etna guided tour. The catamaran. These are not things you figure out when you get there.

Why It Works

The structure of this trip is the thing I’m most proud of.

You never go backwards. Every day moves forward. The sailing day on Day 4 is secretly also your scenic transfer to Gozo, so what could have been a boring ferry ride becomes the highlight of the week. The catamaran to Sicily does the same thing. You end on a volcano. Nobody ends their trip on a volcano. You will.

And it’s slow. Deliberately, unapologetically slow. You have two nights everywhere. You have a full spa day built in. You have a day on the water with nothing scheduled. You have long lunches that become dinner because nobody wanted to leave.

That’s the trip. Not the monuments you checked off — the lunch that turned into dinner. The conversation that happened because you weren’t rushing anywhere. The light on the harbour at 7pm when you finally stopped walking and just looked.

Go. You’ll thank me.