• Fawwara
  • Mgarr ix-Xini
  • Ramla l-Hamra
  • Ta' Ghammar & Ta' Pinu shrine
  • Dingli Cliffs
  • Dingli village and parish church
  • Tal-Kus, Xewkija
  • Xlendi
  • Thyme garigue
  • Mgarr harbour
  • Honoq bay
  • Maltese cliffs
  • Imgiebah area
  • Mgarr ix-Xini
  • Hondoq ir-Rummien
  • Clay slopes
  • Ta Riefnu
  • San Blas
  • Xewkija
  • The flora
  • Chadwick Lakes
  • Ghar Lapsi
  • Zebbug
  • Mistra rocks

MALTA NATURE TOURS

MaltaNatureTours.com is specializes in organising walking and trekking tours in the best countryside areas in Malta and Gozo that are rich in biodiversity. The selected tour leaders are graduated in environmental science, botany and agriculture and are fluent in English.

uxury Travel Guide Europe Winner 2017

 

 

Comments and Feedback Form
 

It would be greatly appreciated if you can leave some comments about your experience in one of our tours. Fields marked with * are obligatory and you can press tab to move from filed to the next. This will help to improve anyting which could have been better. You may also wish to rate us from Trip Advisor. Thank you for your time.

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Comments on our Tours published on the Times of Malta (2006)

Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2016

The photo guys from Austria

We had a wonderful time at the Buskett/Dingli tour and now we have a big problem to organise all the photos we have taken. We were really fond of the goats and sheep we saw near girgenti (reminded me of Lebanon) and the mystical parallel grooves in rock are very interesting. One thing we did not like was the dust from the building quarry during our walk, but at least it was only for a few minutes.

Feb 2016


Samantha, Jolene and Kevin, London

We really enjoyed this sunny day at Mistra and Selmun situated in the northern coast of Malta. The walk included a variety of wildlife, natural views and landscapes and peace which you won't find in the urban areas of Malta. A different tour from the rest which we enjoyed and learnt a lot. It's a pity to see Fort Campbell in that pity state, without any UK bias! Highly recommended and thank you!

Mar 2016


John and Alex, Dublin

We booked this private nature walk to have ample time to photograph maltese wildlife and it suited us very well. The price was reasonable for a private tour and we had most of our photos identified to species level on the spot by the expert guide. He also helped us after the tour was over. We saved lot of time if we had been on our, probably we would not find our way and we would missed that super picnic lunch.

Apr 2016


Andrew and Rob, Canada

We had such a wonderful time on the Buskett and Dingli Coastal Cliff tour. It was great to see a different and unique part of Malta not often visited by tourists. The wooded area of Buskett was a reprieve from the heat and the bustle of the city; many varieties of wildlife to see here. The scenic views of the Dingli Coastal Cliffs were beautiful and a pleasure to view. Thank-you for a great experience!

Oct 2016


Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2015

Richard and Mirka

We highly recommend Malta Nature Tours for outdoor walks in Malta. Everything was organised to our satisfaction and the Maltese bread offered in this tour was great. We have seen some cute wild pinkish orchids and some fields covered were entirely covered yellow by a particular wild sorrel. The only minus was that the car was a bit too small for my 6-foot wife, but as I saw that's normal for Malta.

Feb 2015


Adrian, Zoe, Marc, Fiona, UK

Many thanks for this outdoor tour along the nouth western [ed. should be southern western] cliffs of Malta. We had arranged a tailor made walk from our Radisson hotel at Golden Bay and walked to the Ghadira nature reserve, Paradise Bay and Cirkewwa where we took the ferry to Gozo for two nights at my relatives. It's incredible to find many wild flowers at this time of the year and the views over the coastal cliffs with huge boulders and landslides were amazing. The wind was a bit nasty sometimes, but you can't have it all! Highly recommended esp. for the communication and arrangements with the guide for our weird plan to walk from the hotel to the Ferry!.

Mar 2015


Arno, Stepana Svoboda and family, Czechia

Full points for this fantastic tour at Selmun and Mistra (St. Pauls bay area). We realised how much we are out of shape when we climbed the steep path towards Selmun and was a turning point for us to start doing some exercise and (try) to follow a more healthy living. We do not regret this walk. I didn't know that Malta was mentioned in the bible through Saint Paul visit.

Mar 2015


Jane, Samantha, Angele, Rebecca from Viriginia, US

We wanted to see most of Gozo and we did it thanks to a private tour from Malta Nature tours and the brave guide who organised this. In 7 hours we managed to visit the Azure Window, Ggantija, Red sandy beach and the cave on the cliffs above, Imgarr-Xini, TaCenc Cliffs, Ta' Pinu Church, the Salt Pans and also had time for a delicious ice cream (for just 1.20Eur!!)from the touristic village of Xlendi. We arrived three minutes before the ferry departed and sprinted to make it just in time. We had so much fun and all this only for 45Euro.

May 2015


Charles Pennington, UK

A great walk was organised for us in Gozo along the west and northern cliffs up to Marsalforn with spectacular views, cool breeze and calming sounds of waves. Pity we were not in the peak for flowering, but all our walk was accompanied by some sort of small Narcissus and pale wild Saffron. Being over 60, we found this guided walk was very safe and educational and it was appreciated that there was no rush against time, in fact we ended half an hour later than expected (sorry for that!). Now we miss this tour, the pasta and our holiday at Gozo in our grey autumn weather.

Nov 2015


Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2014

Ronald, Pattie and kids, Ireland

Thank you for this wonderful excursion in the green countryside of Malta. Except sightings of occasional rubbish piles and ruble, we enjoyed it all and everything was well organised, especially the pickup and transport from our remote guesthouse in Zurrieq. We went for the Selmun tour and learnt lot of interesting things.

Jan 2014


Luleå family, Sweden

We went to the Chadwick lakes tour and really enjoyed the walk. While we were not impressed by the lakes compared to ours here in Sweden, we were amazed by the tombs and cavities in limestone rock and the wonderful wild flowers we have seen in small pockets of soil over rock. The views over Dwejra wall was great and the lunch was superb. Ten points. The only negative was the traffic faced in the afternoon.

Feb 2014


Ralf Peeters, Belgium

A lovely break from the rainy and hectic life of Brussels. Many of our company staff who came to Malta ranked this tour as their favourite during our first visit to Malta. Highly recommended and many thanks for the discount. We look forward to the next visit.

Apr 2014


Alex and Leslie, UK

We booked the Buskett and Dingli tour which consisted of a 8km walk in different natural areas. We visited at least 5 different highlights along our walk and I was truly impressed by the large troglodites cave which at one time more than 100 people dwelled in it. The weather was perfect (we should have brought some T-shirts with us) and I grateful to Steve for the correspondence after the tour replying our questions. Great experience.

Apr 2014


Van de Berg, Netherlands

A warm little island with a wonderful countryside already in beginning of May, which according the tour leader this is already beyond the peak of wild plants, where in our country they are still dormant. It's so nice to walk in warm sunny day in nature and those pyramid orchids were just a delight.

May 2014


Liza Brooke, US

An unexpected pleasant outdoor tour in winter for our Xmas holiday from the states. I will never forget when it rained heavily for 15minutes and found shelter in rock-built hide in the middle of nowhere.

May 2014


Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2013

Roger, Linda, Mark and Stacey UK

We took a break from the city attractions of Malta and went for the Mgarr ix-Xini walk in Gozo. Your island is blessed to have such sunny days in winter. The walk was fantastic and the guide knew everything we asked. The route was circular so we had not walked the same path on our way back. It was adorned with spectacular views close to the coast and the unfinished fortifications of Shambray. We have been to a small shingle bay at the mouth of a rocky valley (i wished to have a little swim, but the water was too cold), an old defence tower and walked through an olive grove with plenty of wild flowers. I and my friend will try another nature tour when we are back to Malta as it was above our expectations and reasonably cheap.

Mar 2013


Katia, Germany

What a lovely day we had at Gozo thanks to the well-organised tour-leader. We have been to a number of new sites that are pretty away from the normal touristic route. We loved the Mgarr ix-Xini and the Azure Window, but most the Sanap Cliffs. Such a marvelous view!! But also Mixta Cave was a place we would have never been without Steve. Thanks again for that lovely day. With regards the Dingli and Buskett Tour, I can say that the Buskett Garden is such a nice area and so different to the rest of Malta. We learnt so much about the endemic plants. Also Dingli Cliffs are always worth to be visited. It's a recommendable trip. I also opted for the Mistra tour which was a very nice walk along the coast along Mistra Bay. We saw a lot of different flowers, buildings from Punic times. Even the british ruins from world war II were very interesting. We saw a lot of places and things we didn't see on our other holidays in Malta.

May 2013


This year tours operated only in March and May.

Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2012

Neil, Sandra and Dylan, UK

It was a fantastic tour, well-organised tour in a very beautiful country with many wild plants even in the small cracks of rock. The views of Selmun were fantastic and I particularly found the battered barrack interesting, despite fouled by trash. I suggest that Fort Campbell shall be restored as it can offer a high touristic site. The walking pace was right and stop on demands was greatly appreciated.

Jan 2012


Elise and Arlyene, Belgium

Despite some showers, the walk was excellent and had most of our flowers identified for out photobook. We emailed Steve for the identification of some few more photos back in Brussels and he gave us the answers very quick. We really liked the water stream and its small cascades and then a walk along the Victoria wall. The lunch was superb.

Mar 2012


The Deutsch group, (Berlin)

I highly recommend this tours, with several themes packed in and well explained by the tour leader. It is not the standard walk along the pathway, but we had some adventure fun climbing down those rock-hewn stairs and a very climb to Selmun Palace. The wild Iris were fantastic, and I captures some great photos despite we could not o beside them. The only thing I do not like in Malta is the wind (or maybe we were just unlucky during our stay!>

Mar 2012


Garcia and Navarro (Spain)

Despite Malta and Spain are not that far away, the biodiversity is very different. The garrigue and maquis were at a glance the same and while a number of species are common, a good number were new to us. I liked the tour because it was private and we could spend as much time as we wanted to take photos of the Maltese species. The smell of the Maltese Flea Bane was really impressive, pity it was not in flower.>

Apr 2012


Tina and David (UK)

What a lovely day we had at Gozo thanks to the well-organised tour-leader. We have been at this hilly island few years ago, and I was in doubt if we would see other interesting sites, but we trusted Steve. We have been to a number of new sites that are pretty away from the normal touristic route and so we could enjoy these natural spots in peace and without that sense of rush. Next time we opt for a picnic, because the lunch took an hour plus, though I have to admit that it was delicious and there was such a nice view over Comino! It was a miracle that we were the last three cars to fit in the ferry. Transport from hotel to Malta and back, for a total of 10hours at rather cheap price.

May 2012


Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2011

Charlotte and Julien / France

We really enjoyed this tour and the many information provided by Steve. He really knows his stuff well and explained us a lot about Malta's nature. Moreover, Steve is very nice and friendly and made the tour very pleasant. The tour was instructive and Steve did care about each person's physical capabilities. We highly recommend a tour with him!

May 2011


Sandra, Matilda and Heather / Scotland

Despite in our sounded 60s, we have enjoyed this nature excursion very much, thanks to the knowledge of Steven, the well organised track, and the fact we were a very small group and thus personal attention and stops-on-demand were possible for us. I will not forget easily the fragrance of the Maltese fleabane. We also think that the price was very reasonable and well spent for us. We will definitely book a dfferent tour, maybe the one in Gozo. Highly recommended behalf of us.

Apr 2011


Steff Steinwant / Austria

thank you for 2 real interesting Orchid Tours on the end of March 2011. We enjoyed it very much, especially the new variety Ophrys bombyliflora parviflora; it looks real cute :-) I will soon post some pics on Facebook... Greetings from Vienna, Austria - Steff

Mar 2011


Chris and Anne Jones / Chester, UK

Steve, you looked after us so well and we were amazed by the wild flowers and the scenery on our exploration of a beautiful part of Gozo. It was a pleasure to be shown this by such a knowledgeable person. Not only botany but geology, history, and local traditions. Without your tour, we would never get so much from Mgarr.

Feb 2011


Rob, Jo, Fred & Cath - (Viv's visitors) / Coventry, England

We have now had the pleasure of enjoying two 'tours' with Steve and on both occasions we found them to be both well organised and informative. Steve's local geographic, as well as his botanical knowledge seems limitless. We will certainly look at the possibility of joining him again for another tour next time we visit Malta.

Jan 2011


Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2010

Karl Renz and family / Deutschland

We came 'unexpected' to Malta in November after winning 2 tickets and I was afraid that there is not much to see in this out-of-season period. Apart Valletta and Mdina, the nature walk provided by Steve was a beautiful surprise, because while in Munich nature is dying away, in Malta it is the start. The weather was warm and sunny (in November) and the Mista tour was perfect in all senses - views, info, biodiversity, excercise and a careful good guide. For the very first time my children enjoyed a tour thanks also to the fact that it was flexible and stopped often for them to take photos, rest or play around. My wife was impressed by the size and taste of the bread included in the tour. I look foward to visit Malta again some time in Spring when the nature is at its peak. Very satisfied all of us.

November 2010


Team "birthday present" from France/Germany/Switzerland/Ireland

With a few friends we did the botanical research tour. It was really a great experience. The guide was really kind, friendly and he knew a lot ! It was really flexible and relaxed, the guide adapted the tour completely on our request and demands. Beautiful views, precise explications, interesting stories......just great :) Thanks

April 2010


Ekaterina Rostova, Russian living for a while in Malta

I and my family chosen this tour and it was very interesting and beautiful. It was surprising that there are a good number of plants which are common or almost similar in Moscow. I really like the fragrance of the Maltese plant fleabane and the thyme, while the orkids are so strange beautiful plants. This guided nature walk had a bit of everything, and our kids enjoyed it a lot and had one of their longest sleeps at night that I remeber of! My husband liked a lot to see the river-like water and waterfalls over the walls and the speciel vegetation that grew at the sides of the water and under the trees. A special tour that you are really in touch with nature and well explained by the leader.

February 2010


Dr Jan Cerovsky, President Emeritus Planta Europa, Honorary Member of IUCN

Mz wife Jarmila and me visited Malta in March 2010 with the intention to observe the local flora and vegetation, orchids in particular. Our plan would not be a success, if we had not establish a contact with Steve Vella. Steve is an outstanding expert in botany and conservation. He was as kind as to guide us during two whole-day tours: one through the main island, one to Gozo. We admired his competence and ejoyed the friendship of him. We also had the possibility to visit some amazing cultural monuments. We will keep the knowledge and impressions gained. I intend also to write some article about the plants in Malta for some of the Czech biological/conservation journals. Many thanks to Steve!

March 2010


Anthony Hamilton, UK

I am Anthony Hamilton, a professional botanist who has retired from the post of Senior Lecturer in Plant Sciences at the University of East London (U.K.). I have also been involved in writing and publishing various publications (books and articles) principally about Mediterranean plants, including Walks and Flowers of Gibraltar, Andalusian Flowers and Countryside and the Gladiolus accounts of Flora Europaea (Vol.V) and Flora of Turkey (Vol.8).

I took one of the tours organised by Steve Vella in April 2010 who introduced me to the floras of Malta and Gozo.

I was particularly impressed, as a professional, by the enormous depth of knowledge of Steve Vella and particularly by his photographic memory as to exactly where he'd found a plant several years before !

He showed me very competently around the islands and he was very patient in answering questions, particularly persistent and fiddly ones, as I tried to elicit the finer points. Nothing was too much trouble for him.

Had I not had Steve as I guide, I would never have learned as much as I did.

I am certainly coming back to Malta for another session as soon as time allows.

June 2010


Selected Tourists' Feedback - 2009

Bill Barlow, United Kingdom

Thank you for all the patience you have taken with me and all the plant identifications. I was amazed about the biodiversity of the islands. It was not difficult to book a second tour from you during my 2 week stay on the islands after the excellent tour you have given me in Buskett / Fauwara / Dingli area. Hopefully we meet again next year.


Trish and James, Canada

A very well-guided tour which kept our camera and mind busy all way long. The scenes were marvelous and we are happy to have numerous great nature-related photos in our album, with plants and butterflies being labeled. Without you we could never achieve this. Well done steven - a highly recommended tour in Malta.


Julian and Erica. USA

We selected the private Gozo tour to stay on our own and that was a great idea. We could travel wherever we liked to and stay as long as we wished without any rush. The huge cave over the beach was impressive. The guide did an excellent job and offered for free overtime hours since we were enjoying Gozo so much. Tips well deserved Steven, thank you for making another unforgettable day in our honeymoon trip in Malta and Italy. PS- I just hated to see those men catching birds in small cages - so cruel practice.


Hanna Stenberg, Germany

The nature of Malta is fantastic, and this tour highlights it very well. Money well spent compared to other tours I taken on the islands. The combination of a half-day tour in the morning at Chadwick Lakes and a deserved lunch at the nearby old 0city of Mdina worked really well.


Mario Meyer, Switzerland

A great experience for my family. Kids got very excited and happy to see and photograph the lizards. I liked the scenes over the cliffs , while my wife is now busy with the seeds she got during the walk.


Veronique Wisdon, USA

A very well organised tour with lots of information given about the wild plants and historic sites we met along the tour in Selmoon. I really liked the fact that the tour was relaxed with no feeling of rush as in other tours I have taken. The views were incredible and the fresh air was delightful. Thank you for offering this walk - I have passed your contact cards to my friends and relatives here in Chicago.


Tourists' Feedback - 2008

Robin, The netherlands

I will never forget this walk in the countryside of Malta. In one day I have seen plenty of spectacular wild flowers (the daffodil was my best), beautiful coastal areas some 100m above sea level, learnt some history of the Maltese islands, seen a World War II embankment, got a nice tan, and probably lost some weight! Congratulations to Malta Nature Tours.

Emilie & Jonas, Germany

A superb tour in nature giving us a good break from shopping, museums and city walks. What stands out was that the pace of the tour was easy and with plenty of time to relax and have breaks on demand, that is no rush for time. 12 points for the tour leader.

Anna and Yuri, Moscow

The private tour in Gozo was the best day for our Honeymoon vacation in Malta. Affordable, relaxing and friendly escort leader. Pity it could not be extended to 2 days. I will tell my friends how interesting Malta is.

US Science Academy Group

Steve, you really showed us wonderful sites in Malta and gozo, and were amazed by the natural highlights of your country. We pass a good word about your service at the Academy for future services. Well done.

Stevea Diaconescu, Romania

It was very nice touring Gozo with the two of you. Thanks for giving me time to have a short swim during the tour.


Catherine and John, UK

What I liked most about this tour, apart the beautiful natural sites, was the fact that the group was small and so the tour was quite flexible according to our likings. We ended the tour nearly 1 hour later and the guide was still explaining and smiling. Well done!!


Tourists' Feedback - 2007

Dean Gugler and Fleur-Ange Lamothe, Canada

Read their letter on Sunday Times of Malta: [click here]

Capricorn, The netherlands

I really enjoyed this tour, observing all these flowers with detailed explanations from the expert tour leader. Despite a bit long, time flied quickly because there is always something new to see, and if not there are some interesting flower to keep our ears listening. The scenery was spectacular most of the way. Pity we got dull clouds at the end.

Olaf and Niklas, Stockholm

Malta is really nice, and this selected area is probably one of the best on the islands. What made the tour superior from others was the tour leader who knows a little of everything and a lot on wild flowers and geography. He also helped me to take some great photos from his keen knowledge on photography and kept us all motivated with his cheerful and explorative manner. There should be more different tours when I come next year!

Patricia Johnson, UK

If I was rich I would buy a farm house in Mistra as I really liked the views and landscape+seascape. I did not know that there are so much different flowers on a small island, including one named for my country (England). The up-slope was quite tough, but rewarded by the views and daffodil fragrance.

Jeremy and Susan, Ireland

This was an enjoyable tour mostly because there was no time pressure. The tour leader gave us enough time to take our photos, have small rests and remove some thistles from our socks. We had to finish at 4:30 but we took till 5:15 due the numerous breaks, mostly because of me and my wife. Despite that, the guide and the rest of the tourists where not angry at us and felt as one big group of friends. The restaurant was great - pity we could not stay more!

Karl & Anna Struber, Austria

I was skeptical about this walk, but my wife carried me with her. It turned out to be the best day of our holiday, thanks also to the fine weather. It made me feel young again and not fond to go back to snowy Austria. The guy organising the walk was very involving to make the best for all the group.


Svetlana, Moscow

While moscow is snow, Malta is full of flowers and warm sun. I got nice red skin from this beautiful walk. Pity I could not understand much English as the guide was full of information to us.