The best time to visit Malta is May to June and September to early October. The weather is warm, the sea is swimmable and the island is calmer than in midsummer. But the best month for you depends on what you want to do, so this page shows the numbers behind the answer and lets you compare every month.
Plan your Malta dates
Pick what matters and a date. You get the typical weather, sea temperature, monthly visitor numbers and flight prices for that day, how it compares with a better week nearby, and the best two weeks of the year for you.
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Weather: average of the last 10 years around each date. Sea temperature: monthly average of 2023–2025. Both from Open-Meteo.com. Visitor numbers: monthly estimates from the Malta National Statistics Office. The scores are our own calculation. None of this is a forecast.
The planner uses ten years of weather records for every day of the year, our regular flight checks and our events guide. Below it you will find today’s conditions, how this week compares with a normal year, and the month-by-month table. We explain how the scores work at the end of the page.
The short answer
- Swimming and beach days: June to September. The sea is warmest from July to September, at about 27°C.
- Sightseeing and walking: April, May, June and October. The days are mild and the sites are easier to enjoy than in the August heat.
- Fewer people and lower prices: November to March, with the trade-off of cooler weather, more rain and a cold sea.
- Best balance overall: June and September. July scores highest on weather but is one of the busiest months. May and October suit you if you prefer cooler days.
Malta right now
The outlined day looks best for being outside: warm, dry and calm. Wind in km/h.
Last two months and the week ahead
Best days in the last 53 days: 30 Oct (23°C, dry), 29 Oct (22°C, dry), 27 Oct (24°C, dry).
Forecast and current conditions: Google Weather. Sea temperature, weather history and normals (10-year average for weather): Open-Meteo.com. Comfort means 22–29°C, no rain and light wind.
Ferry weather risk: Gozo and Valletta
Strong wind and rough sea sometimes delay or cancel the Gozo ferry and the Valletta harbour ferries. This is a forecast-based risk indicator for the next seven days. It is not the operator’s service status, so always check the operator before you travel.
Ferry weather risk Experimental
Risk of delays or cancellations based on forecast. Not the operator's status. Thresholds are experimental and not validated.
The forecast data is more than 6 hours old, so no risk is shown. Check the operator directly.
Gozo ChannelĊirkewwa – Mġarr
waves 3.9 m
waves 2.9 m
waves 0.7 m
waves 0.3 m
waves 0.4 m
waves 0.3 m
waves 0.3 m
Today: High. Wind up to 39 km/h from WNW (a direction this route is exposed to), waves up to 3.9 m.
Operator's website: schedules and noticesValletta ferrySliema / Gżira – Valletta
waves 3.2 m
waves 2.4 m
waves 0.7 m
waves 0.4 m
waves 0.5 m
waves 0.5 m
waves 0.5 m
Today: High. Wind up to 29 km/h from W, waves up to 3.2 m.
Operator's website: schedules and noticesWind (daily maximum 06:00–22:00, with direction it blows from) and wave height come from Open-Meteo.com forecasts for a point near each route. Waves are modelled for open water and may not match conditions inside a harbour. Forecast data fetched 2 Nov, 11:02 Malta time. A day is shown as Unavailable if its forecast is missing or the data is more than 6 hours old. A forecast risk is not a cancellation and not a guarantee of service.
Best months for what you want to do
These four cards are calculated from the table below, so they will move as the data changes.
Best all-round
Weather and visitor numbers together
- June28°C
- September28°C
- July30°C
Best for swimming
Warm air and sea, few rainy days
- Julysea 27°C
- Augustsea 27°C
- Septembersea 27°C
Best for sightseeing and walking
Comfortable days, little rain
- May22°C
- June28°C
- April19°C
Quieter and cheaper (with decent weather)
Fewer visitors
- February16°C
- November21°C
- March17°C
Malta month by month
Malta month by month
Green rows are the three best all-round months. Weather is the average of the last ten years.
| Month | Swimming | Sightseeing | Day / night | Sea | Rain days | Sun h/day | Daylight | Visitors (monthly) | Flights from | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15° / 12°C | 17°C | 8.4 | 8.6 | 10.0 h | 235,772 Jan 2026 | Choose your city | 5 | ||
| February | 16° / 11°C | 16°C | 5.9 | 9.5 | 10.9 h | 249,139 Feb 2026 | Choose your city | 1 | ||
| March | 17° / 12°C | 16°C | 7.2 | 10.4 | 11.9 h | 321,652 Mar 2026 | Choose your city | 1 | ||
| April | 19° / 14°C | 17°C | 4.4 | 11 | 13.1 h | 409,403 Apr 2026 | Choose your city | 1 | ||
| May | 22° / 17°C | 19°C | 3.6 | 12.4 | 14.1 h | 457,636 May 2026 | Choose your city | 1 | ||
| June Top | 28° / 21°C | 24°C | 1.2 | 13.6 | 14.6 h | 458,223 Jun 2026 | Choose your city | – | ||
| July Top | 30° / 23°C | 27°C | 0.4 | 13.9 | 14.4 h | 489,494 Jul 2026 | Choose your city | – | ||
| August | 30° / 24°C | 27°C | 1.2 | 12.5 | 13.5 h | 539,655 Aug 2026 | Choose your city | – | ||
| September Top | 28° / 23°C | 27°C | 4.4 | 11.2 | 12.4 h | 393,848 Sep 2025 | Choose your city | – | ||
| October | 24° / 20°C | 24°C | 6.6 | 9.7 | 11.3 h | 417,103 Oct 2025 | Choose your city | – | ||
| November Now | 21° / 17°C | 22°C | 10.9 | 8.4 | 10.3 h | 304,620 Nov 2025 | Choose your city | 35 | ||
| December | 17° / 14°C | 19°C | 9.1 | 8.1 | 9.7 h | 225,104 Dec 2025 | Choose your city | 9 |
Swimming score: daytime air temperature 45%, sea temperature 35%, dry days 20%. Sightseeing score: comfortable daytime temperature (18–26°C) 60%, dry days 40%. Both run from 0 to 100 and are our own estimate.
Rain days are days with at least 1 mm. Sea temperature is the average of 2023–2025 (Open-Meteo.com marine data). None of this is a forecast.
Monthly visitor arrivals indicate seasonal tourism levels. They do not measure crowds at a specific place or on a particular day.
Visitor numbers are estimates of inbound tourists for each calendar month, from the Malta National Statistics Office (newest published figure for each month, shown with its month and year). They are used in the all-round and the quiet-and-cheaper scores.
"Flights from" is the cheapest one-way fare we found to Malta that month from the city you choose above the planner, checked every day or two. A dash means we found no fare for that month and city. Flight prices are not part of the all-round score. They are used only in the quiet-and-cheaper score, and only when we found a fare for at least six of the twelve months from your city. Fares change, and the cheapest seat is often gone by the time you book.
Events are the number of events listed in our Malta events guide for that month, for the next time it comes around.
How to choose
If you want to swim
Malta is not a long-sandy-beach destination, and much of the coast is rock you enter by ladder, so the water temperature matters. On average the sea is about 24°C in June, reaches about 27°C in July and August, and is still about 27°C in September. October is still pleasant at roughly 24°C, with a higher chance of rain. If you can choose, September is the sweet spot: warm water, shorter queues than August. For beaches worth the trip, see our Malta beaches guide.
If you want to see the sights
Valletta, Mdina and the Three Cities are best when it is not too hot, because you spend most of the day walking on stone streets with little shade. April, May, June and October suit that well. In July and August plan sightseeing for the morning and the evening, and leave the middle of the day for the sea. Our first-time visitor guide has a simple route.
If you want it cheaper and quieter
Flights and hotels are cheapest from November to March, apart from the Christmas period. The island is quiet, and the weather is mild compared with northern Europe, but expect wind, some rainy days and a sea too cold for most people. It is a good time for culture, walks along the cliffs and the Carnival in February.
If you are travelling with children
June and September are usually the easiest: warm water, long days and less extreme heat than July and August. Shallow sandy bays such as Mellieħa Bay work well for young children.
Malta by season
Spring (March to May)
The island is greenest after the winter rain, and wildflowers cover the countryside in March and April. Daytime highs climb from about 17°C in March to 22°C in May. The sea is still cool, so spring is for walking and sightseeing rather than swimming. Easter brings processions and a busier week for hotels.
Summer (June to August)
Hot, dry and bright. Highs average about 28°C in June and 30°C in July and August, and the busiest weeks are in the middle of summer. Village feasts (festas) with music and fireworks happen almost every weekend. Book accommodation and boat trips early.
Autumn (September to November)
September still has a very warm sea, about 27°C on average, and fewer visitors than August. October is still warm but brings more showers, often short ones followed by sunshine. November is more changeable: some soft, sunny days and some grey, windy ones.
Winter (December to February)
Mild but not beach weather: about 15 to 17°C by day, with rain and wind on some days. It is the quietest and cheapest season, with Christmas lights, nativity scenes in the churches and the Valletta Carnival in February.
What changes from year to year
Averages tell you what is typical, but the island changes from week to week. Festivals, concerts, Easter, Carnival and public holidays move around, and a long weekend can make a quiet month busy. Our events guide lists what is coming up, and the “Events” column above counts what we have listed for each month. For a plan for the next few days, see things to do in Malta this weekend.
Visitor numbers: the latest figures
Official statistics are published monthly, a few weeks after the month ends, so these are not live numbers.
How we work this out
- Weather: daily highs, lows, rain and wind for the last ten full years in central Malta, averaged by month. Data from Open-Meteo.com.
- Planner: for the date you pick, it uses the typical weather around that day (three days either side, ten years), the typical sea temperature, the monthly visitor numbers and, if you choose a city to fly from, the cheapest fare found for that month. The best two weeks are the 14-day stretch with the highest average score for the goal you chose.
- Swimming score: daytime air temperature (45%), sea temperature (35%) and dry days (20%).
- Sightseeing score: comfortable daytime temperature, 18 to 26°C (60%), and dry days (40%).
- Visitor numbers: official monthly estimates of inbound tourists from the Malta National Statistics Office, one figure for each calendar month. They show the seasonal level of tourism, not how crowded a particular place or day will be. If fewer than 12 months are loaded, they are left out of the scores.
- Flights: the cheapest one-way fare found for each month from the city you choose, checked every day or two. We do not find a fare for every month and city, so a dash means none was found. Prices are shown in the table and the planner, and used only in the quiet-and-cheaper score.
- All-round score: weather (70%) and visitor numbers (20%), re-based to 100%. Flight prices are not part of it, because they depend on where you fly from. If the visitor numbers are not loaded, that part is left out and the weather counts in full, so nothing is estimated. Quiet and cheaper score: visitor numbers and, if you choose a city and we found fares for at least six of the twelve months from there, that city’s flight prices.
These scores are our own estimate, not an official rating. Weights are our choice, and your priorities may differ. Some links on this page are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best month to visit Malta?
For most people it is June or September: warm, mostly dry, with a sea you can swim in. May and October are good if you prefer cooler days and fewer visitors.
What is the cheapest month to visit Malta?
Generally November to March, outside the Christmas holidays. Flights and accommodation are usually lowest then, but the weather is cooler and wetter. The Flights column in the table shows the lowest fare we have found for each month.
What is the hottest month in Malta?
July and August, with average daytime highs around 30°C. Some years bring hotter spells.
Can you swim in Malta in October?
Yes. The sea averages about 24°C in October, though the weather is less settled than in September.
Is Malta worth visiting in winter?
Yes, if you want culture, walking and a break from colder weather. It is mild, quiet and cheaper, but not a beach holiday: the sea is about 16 to 19°C.
When is the rainy season in Malta?
From October to January, with the most rainy days in November and December. Summer is almost dry.
When is Malta busiest?
July and August, with Easter and the weeks around some festivals also busy. Valletta can feel crowded on days when cruise ships are in port.
How many days do you need in Malta?
Three days covers Valletta, Mdina and a beach day. Five to seven days gives you time for Gozo and Comino without rushing.