Prehistoric Temples and Highlights of the South Full-Day Tour
Overview
This tour is ideal for those guests who want to visit Malta’s southern region and experience some of its most interesting highlights in just one day, carefully designed to make your day a truly memorable one.
Inclusions
- Hotel pick-up & drop-off (from your Hotel or a very close meeting point to your accommodation)
- All transportation in airconditioned vehicles
- Licenced tour guide
- Tourist lunch including a glass of wine
- Admission to all sites included in the itinerary
- Entry/Admission - Hagar Qim Temples
- Entry/Admission - The Limestone Heritage Park & Gardens
- Entry/Admission - Ghar Dalam Cave and Museum
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: The Limestone Heritage Park & Gardens, Mons. M. Azzopardi Street, Siggiewi, Island of Malta SGW 2050 Malta
Located in the traditional Maltese village of Siġġiewi, The Limestone Heritage Park & Gardens is a unique and innovative attraction which highlights the beauty of the Maltese stone and its incredible 22 million years of history, relish the opportunity to immerse yourselves in the islands’ eclectic history, through an engaging audio-visual presentation and a very informative audio guided walk-through, this attraction offers an immense insight into the islands’ compelling history and broad culture.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Hagar Qim Temples, Hagar Qim Street, Qrendi, Island of Malta QRD 2501 Malta
From here we will proceed to visit the megalithic temples complex of Ħaġar Qim, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, the complex is located on the southern edge of the island on a hilltop overlooking the sea and the islet of Filfa, these temples are amongst the most ancient religious sites on Earth and are described by the World Heritage Sites committee as “unique architectural masterpieces”, dating back to c. 3600-3200 BC they are over 5000 years old, pre-dating the pyramids of Egypt by approximately 1000 years!
The site consists of a central building and the remains of at least two more structures. The large forecourt and the monumental façade of the central structure follow the pattern typical of Maltese Prehistoric Temples. Along the external wall, one may find some of the largest megaliths used in the building of these structures, such as a 5.2 meters high stone and a huge megalith estimated to weigh close to 20 tonnes.
Duration: 1 hour 5 minutes
Stop At: Blue Grotto (Il-Hnejja), Coast Rd Qrendi, Zurrieq, Island of Malta Malta
Our next stop is Żurrieq Valley where we will visit the magnificent Blue Grotto and appreciate the fantastic scenery and breath-taking views surrounding the entire site. The Blue Grotto is a complex of seven caves found along the southern coast of the island, this complex comprises of a massive and very impressive main arch, which is approximately 30 meters in height, as well as a system of 6 other caves, amongst which you will find the Honeymoon Cave, the Cat’s Cave, and the beautiful Reflection Cave.
Featured in numerous movies shot in Malta, owing to its natural beauty, enchanting structure, and perfect location, such as Cutthroat Island (1995), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) & Troy (2004), this extremely popular site attracts many visitors each year, with many opting to see the amazing grotto up-close, weather permitting you will also have the time and opportunity to visit the grotto and caves by taking one of the boat trips (boat trip is not included in the price).
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
Stop At: Marsaxlokk, Marsaxlokk, Island of Malta
Our next stop is at the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk. The village is the largest fishing harbour in Malta, and has been so since antiquity, today the greater part of fish sold on the islands are caught by fishermen coming from this village. Traditional “luzzu’s” (brightly coloured traditional fishing boats) and larger fishing vessels line the sheltered harbour in a colourful display that has been the subject of countless photoshoots.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Marsaxlokk Open Market, 79 Xatt is-Sajjieda, Marsaxlokk, Malta
Marsaxlokk is also popular for its many delightful restaurants and nice cafés huddled along its entire promenade and for it’s charming and large open-air market, selling a vast assortment of food and a wide array of durable goods, such as fish, locally produced honey and fruit jams, traditional sweets and other delicacies, local wines and liquors, souvenirs, clothes, shoes, traditional lacework and crafts, custom jewellery, accessories and many more.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Ghar Dalam Cave and Museum, Ghar Dalam Road, Birzebbuga, Island of Malta BBG 9014 Malta
We end our tour with a visit to Għar Dalam Cave; Malta’s oldest prehistoric site, dating back to c. 5200 BC, Għar Dalam (meaning Cave of Darkness) is a 144-metre-long phreatic tube and cave, or cul-de-sac, located in the outskirts of the village of Birżebbuġa.
The cave contains the bone remains of animals that were stranded and subsequently became extinct in Malta at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, such as the dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, giant swan, deer, and bear, which have not lived on the Maltese islands for thousands of years. It is also here that the earliest evidence of human settlement in Malta, some 7, 400 years ago, was discovered. Due to its paleontological and archaeological significance this site is viewed as one of Malta's most important national monuments.
Duration: 1 hour 5 minutes
Stop At: Malta, Malta
A tourist lunch including a glass of wine is included during one of our stops.
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: The Limestone Heritage Park & Gardens, Mons. M. Azzopardi Street, Siggiewi, Island of Malta SGW 2050 Malta
Located in the traditional Maltese village of Siġġiewi, The Limestone Heritage Park & Gardens is a unique and innovative attraction which highlights the beauty of the Maltese stone and its incredible 22 million years of history, relish the opportunity to immerse yourselves in the islands’ eclectic history, through an engaging audio-visual presentation and a very informative audio guided walk-through, this attraction offers an immense insight into the islands’ compelling history and broad culture.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Hagar Qim Temples, Hagar Qim Street, Qrendi, Island of Malta QRD 2501 Malta
From here we will proceed to visit the megalithic temples complex of Ħaġar Qim, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, the complex is located on the southern edge of the island on a hilltop overlooking the sea and the islet of Filfa, these temples are amongst the most ancient religious sites on Earth and are described by the World Heritage Sites committee as “unique architectural masterpieces”, dating back to c. 3600-3200 BC they are over 5000 years old, pre-dating the pyramids of Egypt by approximately 1000 years!
The site consists of a central building and the remains of at least two more structures. The large forecourt and the monumental façade of the central structure follow the pattern typical of Maltese Prehistoric Temples. Along the external wall, one may find some of the largest megaliths used in the building of these structures, such as a 5.2 meters high stone and a huge megalith estimated to weigh close to 20 tonnes.
Duration: 1 hour 5 minutes
Stop At: Blue Grotto (Il-Hnejja), Coast Rd Qrendi, Zurrieq, Island of Malta Malta
Our next stop is Żurrieq Valley where we will visit the magnificent Blue Grotto and appreciate the fantastic scenery and breath-taking views surrounding the entire site. The Blue Grotto is a complex of seven caves found along the southern coast of the island, this complex comprises of a massive and very impressive main arch, which is approximately 30 meters in height, as well as a system of 6 other caves, amongst which you will find the Honeymoon Cave, the Cat’s Cave, and the beautiful Reflection Cave.
Featured in numerous movies shot in Malta, owing to its natural beauty, enchanting structure, and perfect location, such as Cutthroat Island (1995), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) & Troy (2004), this extremely popular site attracts many visitors each year, with many opting to see the amazing grotto up-close, weather permitting you will also have the time and opportunity to visit the grotto and caves by taking one of the boat trips (boat trip is not included in the price).
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
Stop At: Marsaxlokk, Marsaxlokk, Island of Malta
Our next stop is at the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk. The village is the largest fishing harbour in Malta, and has been so since antiquity, today the greater part of fish sold on the islands are caught by fishermen coming from this village. Traditional “luzzu’s” (brightly coloured traditional fishing boats) and larger fishing vessels line the sheltered harbour in a colourful display that has been the subject of countless photoshoots.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Marsaxlokk Open Market, 79 Xatt is-Sajjieda, Marsaxlokk, Malta
Marsaxlokk is also popular for its many delightful restaurants and nice cafés huddled along its entire promenade and for it’s charming and large open-air market, selling a vast assortment of food and a wide array of durable goods, such as fish, locally produced honey and fruit jams, traditional sweets and other delicacies, local wines and liquors, souvenirs, clothes, shoes, traditional lacework and crafts, custom jewellery, accessories and many more.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Ghar Dalam Cave and Museum, Ghar Dalam Road, Birzebbuga, Island of Malta BBG 9014 Malta
We end our tour with a visit to Għar Dalam Cave; Malta’s oldest prehistoric site, dating back to c. 5200 BC, Għar Dalam (meaning Cave of Darkness) is a 144-metre-long phreatic tube and cave, or cul-de-sac, located in the outskirts of the village of Birżebbuġa.
The cave contains the bone remains of animals that were stranded and subsequently became extinct in Malta at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, such as the dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, giant swan, deer, and bear, which have not lived on the Maltese islands for thousands of years. It is also here that the earliest evidence of human settlement in Malta, some 7, 400 years ago, was discovered. Due to its paleontological and archaeological significance this site is viewed as one of Malta's most important national monuments.
Duration: 1 hour 5 minutes
Stop At: Malta, Malta
A tourist lunch including a glass of wine is included during one of our stops.
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- The time shown on the website or on your ticket is the approximate start time of the activity and not the time when you will be picked up from your Hotel (or closest meeting point). At least a few days before the date of your activity, you need to make sure to contact the tour operator to confirm your pick-up location and pick-up time.
- The tour will be guided in the language you have booked, however please note that at times, depending on operational circumstances, the commentary might be provided by a multilingual guide (limited to a maximum of 2 languages).
- The boat trip at the Blue Grotto is optional (to be paid on location), and it’s always subject to favourable weather conditions. The fee for the boat trip is around €10 for adults and €5 for children (the fee can change without any prior notice).
- The provider reserves the right to change the order of the visits without any prior notice.
- Not recommended for travellers with mobility impairments
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 52 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
Christina_V
August 2023
Very well organized, with a really qualified tour guide. Everything was in the right time. Five stars for sure!!!
Very well organized, with a really qualified tour guide. Everything was in the right time. Five stars for sure!!!Y5734OQalisonm
February 2023
The places, amazing. Our tour guide, Bernadette, more than amazing. Overall a great experience, not to be missed if you are in Malta.
The places, amazing. Our tour guide, Bernadette, more than amazing. Overall a great experience, not to be missed if you are in Malta.kathleenpI9536KH
October 2023
Very interesting site and good comments. Add more free time to visit the first UNESCO site completely. Trip to the caves is a most if you don't have the chance to go to GOZO and not very expensive ( 10Eu) ... Very good lunch and wine. Staff very competent. More free time in the fisherman village ...
Very interesting site and good comments. Add more free time to visit the first UNESCO site completely. Trip to the caves is a most if you don't have the chance to go to GOZO and not very expensive ( 10Eu) ... Very good lunch and wine. Staff very competent. More free time in the fisherman village would be appreciated to walk along the port and spare time in the market. ( we had only 20 minutes) Very good if you want a good view of Malta in only one tour.