Mdina, Dingli Cliffs and San Anton Gardens Half-Day Guided Tour
Description
Join us on this fascinating half-day guided tour of Mdina, Dingli Cliffs, and San Anton Botanical Gardens, carefully designed to make your experience truly memorable. You start by visiting the ancient Medieval city of Mdina, renowned for its opulent palaces and fortifications, medieval and baroque architecture, and ancient heritage, this majestic city; also known as Città Vecchia (The Old City) or Città Notabile (The Noble City) is unquestionably one of the island's most evocative destinations. During this half-day tour, you will also visit Dingli Cliffs, at around 253 meters above sea level these cliffs represent the highest point of the Maltese islands, they propose a majestic sight with truly breathtaking views. You will end your tour with a visit to the gorgeous Botanical Gardens of San Anton which were built in the early 17th century by Grand Master Antoine de Paule.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You start by visiting the ancient Medieval city of Mdina, renowned for its opulent palaces & fortifications, medieval & baroque architecture, and ancient heritage, this majestic city; also known as Città Vecchia (The Old City) or Città Notabile (The Noble City) is unquestionably one of the island's most evocative destinations. Serving as the island's capital city from antiquity till the medieval period, Mdina is truly an enchanting city! a stroll through its narrow streets, which have not changed much in the last 1000 years, is a must for anyone visiting the Maltese islands. It is undoubtedly one of Europe’s finest examples of an ancient walled/fortified city, explore this historic city with an experienced local guide and delve into the rich past of the city as you explore its medieval streets. Take a journey back in time admiring the magnificent palazzos & churches in the city’s unique mix of medieval & baroque styles, as well as the spectacular panoramas from the high bastion walls.
Leaving Mdina through the ‘Greeks Gate’ you will proceed to Dingli Cliffs, located off the village of Dingli on Malta’s western coast, at around 253 metres above sea-level, these cliffs represent the highest point of the Maltese islands. The cliffs propose a majestic sight; the views overlooking the terraced fields underneath and the panorama of the vast open seas with the uninhabited small island of Filfla on its backdrop, are truly breath-taking! Given their impressive height the cliffs can be considered as natural forts, since no attacker can approach the island from the west. Perched on the edge, marking the highest point on the Maltese islands is a gorgeous tiny chapel built in 1646, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.
You will end your tour with a visit to the San Anton Botanical Gardens, located in the village of Attard these beautiful gardens were built in the early 17th century by Grand Master Antoine de Paule to complement his summer residence; San Anton Palace, which is located at the perimeter of the gardens and which today serves as the residence of the Maltese President. Open to the public since 1882 the gardens have several pathways surrounded by fountains and ponds which are inhabited by families of ducks, swans, peacocks, peahens and turtles and encompass a large variety of trees and flowers from around the world, including a variety of palm trees, cypress, jacarandas, araucarias and other exotic plants, some of them over three centuries old.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
9:45 AM 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. Your pick-up time can be any time between 8:30 AM and 9:15 AM, depending on where you are staying. If your pick-up location is a hotel, please wait outside near the main entrance. Do not wait in the lobby or inside the hotel. When the guide or driver arrives, they will have a list of names and will ask those waiting outside for identification. They will not enter the hotel to look for guests. Transportation will not wait for late arrivals. If you miss your morning pick-up, you will not be able to join the tour later. Once the tour has started, it cannot be interrupted to accommodate latecomers.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- 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. Your pick-up time can be anytime between 8:30 AM and 9:15 AM, depending on where you are staying.
- 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 tour in Spanish will be conducted by either a Spanish-speaking guide (subject to availability) or an English-speaking guide together with a Spanish-speaking host serving as a translator.
- The provider reserves the right to change the order of the visits without any prior notice.
- Not recommended for travellers with mobility impairments
Reviews(11)
Definitely worth a visit to Mdina. We had a very good guide who showed and explained all the main things to be seen and worth learning about. Spectacular views from Dingli cliffs as it was part of the tour. If interested in plants and trees, one can spot spe yes from far and wide which were brought to Malta.
Clear informative knowledgeable guide. Excellent 1/2 day tour and superbly driven - just a great experience
Very organised pick up and drop off. Interesting tour of San Anton gardens, Dingli cliffs and Mdina (in that order). We chose not to go back on the tourbus and stayed to explore the nearby Rabat area - the tourguide gave lots of useful advice regarding this.
The tour was brilliant. Maria was a super friendly and informative guide, and helped make for the perfect trip along the Dingli cliffs, and through the old gardens and winding streets of Mdina!! I’d definitely recommend to anyone visiting Malta! Pick up was also super easy and worked great!
I would just preface this to say that you will spend a fair bit of time at the start and end in a coach, switching coaches and making stops at several hotels. I think it would be helpful to be clearer that this isn’t a smaller size coach/minibus tour but a larger operation. That said, it was still very well worth it to see the gardens (don’t miss the turtles in the fountain!), the viewpoint at the cliffs and finally a tour round Mdina - with some free time included. Our guide Maria was informative and clear to understand. The ticket price is good value too, as an Uber from Mdina one-way alone is around €15!
4 hour bus tour if Malta. 3 stops. Great communication and info before the tour about the meeting point and time. Walking tour of Mdina was great with guide. Dingli cliffs were cliffs - but a great view. Overall a great tour with great guide.
The tour was made at a rush with a guide who did not speak French perfectly. Very disappointed, but this group tour was not made for us.
We had the lovely Elizabeth as our guide, who was very informative, with a good sense of humour. The coach was air-conditioned, clean and comfortable. We learnt a lot about the places we visited and the history of the 'naughty knights'. You wouldn't get such an insight going without a guide. We had just enough time at the gardens, cliffs, and Mdina. Not too long a trip, so suitable for children and teens. My 12 year old said it was 'alright', which is high praise! Well worth the money.
Terrible weather, tour guide was a nice lady and very friendly but unfortunately due to the rubbish conditions everything felt rushed.
Unfortunately, the weather is something beyond our control, and there isn’t much we can do about it. We have sunny days and rainy days like everybody else in the world, and it was unfortunate that it rained a lot during your tour. As you mentioned, the guide was friendly and did her best despite the conditions. A bit of appreciation for the effort put in by both the guide and the team under such circumstances would certainly be valued. Thank you for the 2-star review given to us when what you're actually reviewing is the weather. May I remind you that it is you who chose the date and that we offer free cancellation up to 24 hours prior to the experience. We work on guaranteed departures, rain or shine, to ensure we don’t disappoint anyone with last-minute cancellations, especially since many of our guests are here for a short time—sometimes even just for a day, such as all the cruise liner arrivals—and may not be able to reschedule. Therefore, everyone can check the forecast and decide whether to reschedule or cancel if the weather is not suitable for them.
The old town of Mdina was the best part of the tour. I wish more time was allocated to it. Good tour guide.
