Half Day Tour in Marsaxlokk Village, Market, Blue Grotto & Qrendi
Description
Explore the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk and its traditional Sunday open market, travel to Zurrieq Valley to visit the marvellous Blue Grotto where you can also take an optional boat trip to the caves, end your tour with a walk at Qrendi, one of Malta’s unspoilt traditional villages.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We start our tour with a visit to the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk. This gorgeous 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.
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. This is the perfect location to spend a Sunday morning, enjoying a stroll in the unique settings of this quaint village where you can rub your shoulders with the locals, experience the Maltese way of life and admire the lovely sea views while browsing the market, looking for ‘that’ perfect deal!
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).
We end our tour with a visit to Qrendi, one of Malta’s unspoilt traditional villages, our guide will help you explore this peaceful and charming typical Maltese village. While small and compact with a population of just 2,700 persons, it is at the same time bursting with interesting attractions, from the main square to the hub of the village, with its parish church and band club, you will be led through a maze of winding narrow streets that all have a story to be told.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
9:30 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 8:15 AM and 9:00 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
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- 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 8:15 AM and 9:00 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 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 market at Marsaxlokk might be closed on public holidays falling on a Sunday and on other rare occasions as determined by the local council of the village. When this happens, the visit to the Marsaxlokk fishing village will be carried out normally, but if the market is closed, we will visit a different market.
- Although we usually visit Qrendi for our village walk, the provider reserves the right to change the location to another typical Maltese village, when this happens, we always make sure that the tour will retain the same appeal, charm, and value of the original programme/itinerary.
- The tour operator reserves the right to change the order of the visits without any prior notice.
- Not recommended for travellers with mobility impairments
Reviews(12)
Very knowledgeable, fiendly and helpful Tour Guide. Timings were well communicated and we all got the most out of the tour
Good tour but not fantastic- would have preferred more time in two of three stops. IMO the small village didn’t bring a lot to tour
While the tour guide did her best, the reality is that there were so many people in the fishing village that it was difficult to walk. At the Grotto it was similar. There were busloads of tourists and we weren’t able to see much.
Always use Viator never had a problem, pick up didn’t arrive, rang number to be told we’d missed the tour after waiting at the pickup point for half an hour and being early. Lady was rude and arrogant said nothing she could do. We have always received a WhatsApp or email the day before with contact details of driver/guide we received nothing. The rude lady said she had tried to ring us and had a call log which she was going to send us, we received nothing, no call log and we had no missed calls. Unacceptable when we where in the correct place, we took photos of the pickup point so this would provide evidence that we where in the correct place at the correct time. We travelled all the way from mellieha left at 0700 to ensure we would be at the meeting point in plenty of time!!!( we also have the bus tickets to prove our timings)Very disappointed and won’t be using Viator again.
Your version of events would be more convincing if it bore any resemblance to reality. Three separate emails were sent with your pickup details. Three phone calls were also made on the morning of the tour—all unanswered. The call logs and correspondence have already been provided to Viator, which is precisely why your refund request was not accepted. The instructions on your ticket were clear and straightforward. The rest of the group managed just fine and went on to enjoy the tour. That tends to happen when instructions are actually read and followed. Our operator explained the situation clearly, but you chose not to listen, responding instead with a dismissive and aggressive tone and directing offensive language at the assistant, including telling them to “f**k off.” That says far more about you than it does about our operator. And finally, travelling across the island from Mellieħa to a pickup point in Valletta—despite multiple pickup options being available in Mellieħa at the time of booking—simply does not make sense and, somewhat unsurprisingly, speaks for itself. Missing the tour is unfortunate. Inventing a narrative to avoid taking responsibility is less so.
Great guide, really informative.😁 we thought the driver was great too, good site seeing helpful as well.
Lovely guide, but the group was huge. A lot of time spent transferring from one but to another in a meeting
An agent booked this trip for me which caused some issues. They chose a pickup point far from where I was staying. I saw Robert Abrigo & Sons agent at the airport and was able to change the pickup point to close to where I was staying. However, that caused another issue and I missed the trip. I called the company to see what could be done and the MOST RUDE lady answered. She screamed at me, interrupted me multiple times (and then screamed some more if I interrupted her). Unfortunately they would not re-book the tour (I could have still joined, I called about 15 minutes after missing the pick up) but they would not work with me. It was very sad, and I think the company caters to cruise passengers as they only do trips on certain days so if you miss...too bad. The worst was the RUDE agent, and this company should be ashamed to have such a person working for them. I would NOT recommend this company.
The original pickup location was selected by your booking agent, not by our company. Once you informed us of the inconvenience, we promptly arranged a new pickup point closer to your accommodation to help you out and provided all the necessary details about the new pickup location (U Bistrot Restaurant, St. Julian's) along with your updated pickup time. Unfortunately, even though you had all the necessary information, you arrived late and did not reach the agreed pickup location (U Bistrot Restaurant in St. Julian’s) at the scheduled time, which resulted in missing the tour. Our tours operate on fixed schedules to ensure a smooth experience for all guests, and once the pickup window has passed, it is not possible to join the group, something which is also specified on your ticket. Allowing delays would disrupt the itinerary and negatively impact the experience of all participants. It is not our responsibility to ensure your punctuality; it is the client’s obligation to be on time for their scheduled pickup. Regarding your call with our team, we maintain high standards of professionalism and courtesy. However, during the conversation, our agent was subjected to disrespectful language and accusations, including claims that the agreed pickup location (U Bistrot Restaurant in St. Julian’s: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eBftMFnbHUeuFqxu6) did not exist … We do not tolerate disrespectful behaviour toward our staff, and we kindly ask all guests to communicate respectfully. Respect is not a one-way street—our team is here to assist and resolve issues, and we expect the same courtesy in return. When someone is actively trying to help you, it is important to engage constructively rather than place blame for circumstances beyond our control or make unfounded claims. It is also not our responsibility if you did not have an internet connection to verify the location details provided, or if your agent included their phone number and email address instead of yours on the booking they made on your behalf—these are issues unrelated to our services and outside the scope of our responsibility. While we take pride in delivering the best service possible, working in the service industry does not mean we will tolerate entitlement, disrespect, or rudeness toward our team.
The pickup for the tour was prompt. We were driven to a different location and divided in groups according to language. We started at the Blue Grotto due to the weather. After arriving we had to buy tickets (which would be nice to have included ahead of time) and stand in line for the boat ride. Beautiful view, water, and well worth the ride. Luckily, we were one of the last groups to go due to the wind and weather. Next we went to Qrendi. We didn't spend much time there due to the delay in leaving Blue Grotto. Personally, I could've skipped it and spent more time at Marsaxlokk. We had about 80 minutes to explore the area and market which didn't feel rushed. Rita was a good guide and full of information. This ran longer due to delays, but I was back at my hotel around 3pm so not too bad.
I did this trip in January and it was exactly what it said on the tin. There was plenty of time at each stop. We didn’t get to go in a boat at the grotto, but this didn’t matter. The only thing that let it down (that wasn’t the tours fault) was grown adults arguing because they didn’t sit back in the same seat as when they got off at the first stop. Utterly embarrassing. The market does get very busy, so be warned (I went out of season and it was HEAVING!)
A great guided tour with a very knowledgeable guide (Ian) great stops. Remember to bring cash for the blue grotto. The guide kept us informed all through the trip and ensured we all stayed together.
