Malta/Sicily Day 3: Malta Sightseeing

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Today is the last day of our pre-trip, and in the afternoon we will board the Sea Cloud II.

We boarded a small bus, traveling to the south side of Malta’s main island. We were scheduled to take a boat into the Blue Grotto there, but weather conditions didn’t permit that, so we instead stopped to take pictures from the shore. We then traveled on to an archaeological site near the coast. There we visited two megalithic temple complexes, Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra. The temples are said to be among the oldest examples (~3600 BCE) in the world. The stones from which the temples were constructed are enormous, revealing considerable sophistication in their construction. Various artifacts found in the area also give insight into the lives of people at that time.

From there, we drove to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, where we had a delicious lunch at Harbour by Johann. I had pre-ordered the red snapper, and what I got was a whole red snapper (apparently traditional) to eat, expertly barbecued. Kenna had several large prawns in a tomato sauce.

On the way back to Valletta, we stopped at Għar Dalam, an underground excavation. In a cave, they have been able to uncover successive layers of archeological history, ranging from pottery to multiple layers of animal habitation such as dwarf elephants, species of hippopotamus, and other long-extinct animals.

We then returned to Valletta to board the Sea Cloud II. After passing through the usual security formalities, we were welcomed aboard by the ship’s officers and quickly found our cabin for the trip. The Sea Cloud II is a gorgeous yet modern tall ship, built to follow the style of the Sea Cloud that was owned by Merriwether Post in the 1930s. It does an excellent job of merging that style with modern amenities like WiFi, air conditioning, and an automatic espresso machine.

Soon after, Dave and Jan knocked on the door of our cabin, and we toured each other’s cabins. We had the usual safety and lifeboat briefings, followed by a cocktail reception and buffet dinner as we sailed out of Valletta harbor as the sun set. We will have a very comfortable home for the rest of our tour.

This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.