Mdina and Rabat Walking Tour inc. Catacombs and St. Paul's Grotto
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Mdina, Malta
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Malta’s ancient capital is best explored on a walking tour, but large group tours can be crowded and impersonal. This guided smaller group tour of Rabat and Mdina is limited to just 25 participants, ensuring plenty of time to take in the highlights, including the Wignacourt Museum, Catacombs, and St. Paul's Grotto, with a local guide to provide enriching commentary.
- Explore Malta’s ancient capital on a guided walking tour
- Learn more about the city and its landmarks than you could on your own
- Stroll around the medieval fortifications and see the Greeks Gate
- Group tour limited to 25 people offers a more personal experience
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Mdina GateVCM3+V9W, Mdina, Malta
Meeting point: Outside Mdina gate. The guide will be on the right hand side, next to the children's playing field. Look out for the yellow umbrella.
End point
- VCP2+7MF Greek's Gate, Mdina, Malta
Itinerary
Meet your guide and small group of up to 25 people in central Mdina near the Mdina Main Gate. After learning a little bit about the city, which has been inhabited since the Bronze Age and was the island capital up until the 16th-century, set out on a walking tour of the city’s highlights.
Walk through the streets of Rabat, and pass some of the area’s top churches and convents. Follow your guide to the Wignacourt Museum to visit the Catacombs, WWII shelters, and St. Paul’s Grotto.
Then stroll through the streets of Mdina, past palaces, churches, and convents. Then, hear more about Mdina’s fascinating history as you explore the city’s medieval fortifications, including the imposing Greeks Gate.
Your tour ends in central Mdina.
Walk through the streets of Rabat, and pass some of the area’s top churches and convents. Follow your guide to the Wignacourt Museum to visit the Catacombs, WWII shelters, and St. Paul’s Grotto.
Then stroll through the streets of Mdina, past palaces, churches, and convents. Then, hear more about Mdina’s fascinating history as you explore the city’s medieval fortifications, including the imposing Greeks Gate.
Your tour ends in central Mdina.
1
Mdina Main Gate - Baroque gateway
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Rabat
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Wignacourt Museum
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Mdina
1 hour 25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Mdina Old City
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- The catacombs, WWII shelters, and St. Paul's Grotto are underground, so visitors should expect a number of stairs.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 539 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
Our tour guide Ian was incredibly friendly and so knowledgeable. We were enthralled from the first few minutes. We appreciated to stop to take photos and get some ice cream.
I would highly recommend this excursion, but be sure to wear comfortable shoes as some people in our group did not. There’s quite a bit of standing versus walking, so be prepared for that.
Great information from Matthew. Very enjoyable and interesting. Not too short, not too long. Of the 4 tours we did here in Malta, this was by far the best!
Our guide, Wayne Galea, was very good. He led our tour with enthusiasm and energy. Interesting, knowledgeable and informative.
The experience was very informative about the history of the region and the city. We covered quite a lot of ground and visited many sites. Nadia was an excellent host and was very knowledgeable about Mdina, Rabat and the history.
What an amazing place Mdina walled city is. Incredible history and the fact that people are still living within its walls, descendents of previous owners. Wayne brought the whole city alive. His talks were comprehensive and lively. Being a local, he brought to life what life was and is like. He continued on to Rabat, a younger city and we concluded with the catacombs and their incredible story. Wayne was an excellent guide, being a local, he knows all the stories. He certainly brought the cities alive for me.
Knowledgeable guide and we appreciated the history. We were fine, but some people were surprised at the small spaces in the catacombs and the uneven steps. It was fine, but the description should include this so people can know what is expected.
Matthew gave an interesting tour that blended history and personal accounts which brought the history of Mdina and Rabat alive. Mdina and Rabat are wonderful places to visit whilst in Malta. Definitely a tour to experience.
We had Ian Duncan who was so knowledgeable. He gave all the background upfront and summarised the Maltese history brilliantly.really set us up for the following days.
Made all the difference. Thank you
Very good guide (forgot name - Mateo?) - interesting historical bits of information. He was very knowledgeable. At end it would have brought useful to hold up umbrella so we could follow better. Overall great.
This was the perfect introduction to Rabat and Mdina! Gordon was a fantastic guide!
He started our tour with a nice run down of what we were going to see and the order we were going to see it which was really nice and helped us focus on what he was saying. And he was so considerate! He really watched out for the whole group, making sure we watched out for traffic (and watched our heads in the catacombs) and helped out the lady in the wheelchair to get the most out of her tour. Just so very kind and welcoming.
And his knowledge of the area! If we had wandered around by ourselves, we would have never noticed even a fraction of the things he pointed out and gave us the history about. He really brought the area alive with the history he shared with us.
This was a great walking tour. Our guide Wayne was excellent. Although he was a trainee he was very knowledgeable and passionate and this came out in abundance. We gained a lot of knowledge that we wouldn’t have if we had walked round on our own. The only thing that could have been better was the weather at the end of the tour so we had to just rush off.
The guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Going into the catacombs was cool. Loved walking underground through history!
Good pacing. Informative and entertaining guide. Beautiful little towns best seen with explanations.
Our tour guide Wayne Galea gave was excellent and very informative tour, would recommend - 5 stars 😊
This a wonderful way to see and learn about the rich history of Rbat and Medina. Our tour guide Gordon was a wealth of knowledge, funny, engaging. A must tour if you interested in understanding the country.
Very knowledgeable and fun in the Mdina our tour guide was charismatic and knowledgeable. Would highly
Very informative experience. Wayne Galea was very knowledgeable. It gets very hot so be prepared to have water, umbrella. Even if you don’t, there’s a quick stop to grab drinks and food.
This was one of the worst tours we have ever taken! The guide was talking way too much and in a low volume- no bathroom or water breaks. Spent over an hour in a world war two shelter musuem in a stuffy underground w short ceilings and i hit my head to stone and had a mild concussion- they didnt even infrom my friend and the musuem had ice packs and said it happens often! Others on tour told me they also didnt enjoy it. No time to talk pictures even. While i appreciate history and culture, guide talked about death a lot & it was such a waste of time and money….
Response from Host, Sep 2026
We are very sorry that you did not enjoy the tour and that you hurt your head during the visit. However, we feel it is important to clarify some points, particularly regarding how the incident was handled.
For safety, our guide warns the group twice about the low ceilings and uneven floors: once before descending into the shelters and again before approaching the catacombs. These are centuries-old underground spaces which were never originally designed for modern-day visitors.
After you hit your head, the guide stopped to assist you and spent considerable time away from the group to ensure you were okay. There happened to be a doctor on the tour, and our guide specifically brought the doctor to see you. He also offered to call for further assistance, which you declined as you were travelling that evening. After completing the tour, the guide returned to check on you again, at which point you confirmed that everything was fine.
The guide was aware that you were travelling with a friend. When he informed the group that he was going upstairs from the grotto to assist you, your friend remained with the group. There may simply have been a misunderstanding, or your friend may not have heard the announcement.
Regarding the other concerns, the guide discusses volume at the beginning of every tour and regularly checks with the group throughout regarding both pace and audibility. The underground section, including the shelters, catacombs and grotto, takes approximately 45 minutes, rather than over an hour.
As for the references to death, the catacombs are ancient burial places, so death and burial practices are naturally an important part of explaining their history and purpose. We appreciate that this subject matter may not appeal to everyone.
We are genuinely sorry that the tour was not the experience you had hoped for. However, we also believe it is important to acknowledge that the guide took the incident seriously, interrupted his duties to assist you, sought medical help from a doctor who was present, offered further assistance, and personally returned to check on you again afterwards.
Good tour — informative but probably 30 minutes of wasted description and too much extended stopping without a water break
Excellent guide, very knowledgeable and kept it very interesting.
Really brought the history to life!
Wayne was a very knowledgeable guide, we really got a glimpse into the history of Rabat and Mdina. I would definitely like to come back to both places.
The guide provides a lot of very interesting information along the tour. The underground access is quite limited, but very interesting. Whilst it was a nice break from the heat underground, the humidity was much higher so be prepared with water as needed in the summer.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your review! We are glad that you enjoyed your Mdina and Rabat walking tour.
DOUGLAS was our guide today & to say he was FANTASTIC is an understatement. Absolutely brilliant tour. So interesting about Malta's history we learnt so much today. The catacombs visit with the wartime bunkers was beyond excellent & a sombre insight into the plight of the Maltese people during the war. However I have to say Douglas really made this tour with his wit and thorough knowledge. An extremely hot day he made sure we were shaded and worked at a speed which was good for everyone. Thoughly recommend & if you get Douglas as your guide you have hit the jackpot. Thankyou Douglas for a wonderful day.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your kind review! Glad you enjoyed your Mdina and Rabat walking tour with Douglas. We hope to see you on one of our other tours.
Our guide was a true master of history. So much information. Very accommodating on a very hot day. Thank you for a wonderful experience.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your kind review! Glad you enjoyed your Mdina tour.
Despite the ridiculously hot weather during week of our visit, we had a great time on our tour with our guide, Carmel. He was super informative about the history of Mdina. Rabat and the catacombs with plenty of humor worked in. We’d highly recommend to everyone.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your review and recommendation! We are glad you enjoyed the Mdina and Rabat tour with Carmel.
Fascinating and beautiful walking tour of two cities that have maintained their older world aesthetic (though Mdina was rebuilt after WWII). St. Julian by contrast is very modern and touristy.
The history of St. Paul in the area was interesting/special to me, a Catholic.
I enjoyed this tour. But beware in summer it can be blazingly hot. I did this in 103°F and drank 4 bottles of water on the tour.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your kind review and recommendation! We are glad that you enjoyed your Mdina and Rabat walking tour with Colour my Travel and that you found it interesting! See you next time!
Very easy to find and great tour. Good humor and story telling. Was very hot and tour guide found as much shade as possible.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Indeed Douglas is awesome! Thank you for your excellent review, we are glad that you enjoyed the tour and we hope to see you another time!
Our guide was lovely, well informed and he passionately shared his knowledge about Malta. He answered our questions and he was patient and polite. It was a lovely experience. One I would do again,if I come back to Malta. So much information! I am excited to go back to England and share all the information with my class,who are learning about the Romans.
Amazing,simply amazing.
Thank you.
This was an excellent tour and Douglas, our tour guide was really knowledgeable. The group was quite large but everything was easy to follow and well delivered. We saw all the sites we had hoped to and learnt a lot about the area/ buildings and history.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your wonderful review! We are glad to hear that Dominic's knowledge, humour, and engaging style made your experience for the Mdina and Rabat walking tour so memorable, and that he was able to answer all your questions along the way. We will be sure to share your kind words with him and hope to welcome you back on another Colour My Travel tour soon!
Excellent guide who took the time to answer questions throughly, keep us in the shade and out of traffic. Clearly communicated to the group - extremely knowledgeable and open to learning even more! Info we were sharing about the Brazilian / Portuguese connections with Malta.
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