Three Cities guided tour including harbour boat tour
Description
Discover the Grand Harbour area opposite Valletta known as the Three Cities – Vittoriosa, Cospicua and Senglea, where the Knights of St. John first settled in 1530. Driving past Cospicua we reach Vittoriosa for a guided walking tour through the narrow streets in the shade of historic buildings, including the first auberges of the various langues of the Order. At the Vittoriosa waterfront we take a typical harbour boat (dghajsa) for a tour of the colourful harbour creeks. From the Senglea Garden, situated at the tip of the peninsula, enjoy a stunning 360° view of the Grand Harbour, including the impressive Fort Sant Angelo from where Grand Master La Valette led the defence of the island during the Great Siege of 1565.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Guided walk through the narrow streets of Vittoriosa in the shade of historic buildings, including the first auberges of the various langues of the Order. At the Vittoriosa waterfront we take a typical harbour boat (dghajsa) for a tour of the colourful harbour creeks.
From the Senglea Garden, situated at the tip of the peninsula, enjoy a stunning 360° view of the Grand Harbour, including the impressive Fort Sant Angelo from where Grand Master La Valette led the defence of the island during the Great Siege of 1565.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
If you are staying in one of the listed hotels/ports we will confirm the scheduled pick up time for your pick up point. If you are NOT staying in one of the listed hotels please confirm your exact accommodation name and exact address and we will confirm the nearest pick up location and time on the island of Malta.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(96)
This was an excellent well organized tour from pick up to drop off. Knowledgeable, engaging guide that struck the all important balance between talking and looking! Lovely boat trip, manageable group size and built in comfort stops given the heat. Most enjoyable, many thanks.
Interesting for those who have little time as it provides a quick overview. However, I would like it to cover more places within one of the three cities.
Lots of walking but a great tour. Dominic was easy to understand and follow. Very informative and educational tour
Experience to do to be able to orient yourself in the three cities. The guide was very good at explaining the history and customs of the city.
Very interesting and informative tour. Guide was very knowledgeable. A vast area covered by foot and boat.
Well organised with a great guide- Mirabelle and most interesting . Malta i a must. The people make you feel most welcome.
Confusion over meeting point (given multiple changes) so had to contact provider. Large group (40) limited motorbility of some slowed the group. Motorised boat trip was an 'add on' with an uncommunicative boatman. Information no provided regarding end of tour arrangements. Met up with other groups where chaotic allocation was made for minibuses to various hotels. Had we been told this whilst down in cin the harbour we wouldn't have climbed up to the buses, we came back down to walk back to Birgu rather than wait for a disorganised lift.
We were disappointed with the tour guide. In spite of her having a microphone and speaker, most people could NOT hear what she was saying. If you were more than 2 m away you did not hear what she said. We were told to 'move closer' to hear. Hard to do with a group of 40+ people. When she stopped to talk, she did not wait for the group to gather round before starting to talk. In fact, she was talking while people were still getting off the bus. People left the tour early because they couldn't hear what was being said by the guide - group members were disgruntled and we shared our thoughts with each other . Stories about Maltese family/student life were not relevant to this tour. The small boat tour in the Grand Harbour was the highlight of the entire tour.
A boat tour of the Three Cities is one of those quintessential Malta experiences and definitely worth doing. Our tour began with a guided walk down to the Grand Harbour, followed by a short break before boarding the boats. From the water, you get a great perspective of the cities. I had worried the ride might be turbulent, but the water was calm and the ride smooth. One downside is that once you’re on the boats, the group is split into smaller groups of six, separate from our guide. The quality of the experience then depends on the boat operator. I noticed one operator engaging their group, but ours was silent throughout—so it felt more like a boat ride than a tour. That said, our main guide, Josephine, was informative, energetic, and really made the overall experience worthwhile.
Fabulous tour with a very informative guide. Elizabeth was very knowledgeable, and kept everyone engaged
