Valletta · Month comparison

December vs September

September ranks #1 overall vs December at #9. The other golden window: sea still warm, heat easing, prices dropping, crowds manageable again.

Valletta December — Mdina's medieval cobblestones with a horse carriage, the Silent City at its most peaceful in the quiet winter

December

#9 of 12 months

Strong option

The wettest month of the year, but Valletta's Christmas lights and empty streets offer a genuinely different side of Malta.

  • Budget prices — the lowest accommodation rates of the year, excluding the Christmas week itself
  • Valletta and Mdina decorated for Christmas and virtually tourist-free — an unusually atmospheric combination
Valletta September — Gozo's Ramla Bay seen through Tal-Mixta Cave opening, the red-sand beach and green terraced hills of the quieter island

September

#1 of 12 months

Best match

The other golden window: sea still warm, heat easing, prices dropping, crowds manageable again.

  • Sea at 25°C — the best swimming month if you want warm water without the summer madness
  • Temperatures drop from 32°C to 29°C: warm but no longer punishing, and sightseeing in Valletta becomes pleasant again
FactorDecemberSeptember
Weather score
4
9
Value score
9
6
Crowd score
9
6
Events score
5
6
Atmosphere
4
9
Avg high temp16°C29°C
Monthly rain90mm21mm
Daily sunshine4hrs8hrs

December trade-offs

  • December is Malta's wettest month (90mm) and has the fewest sunshine hours (4 per day) — plan indoor alternatives
  • Christmas week spikes prices and sees some domestic tourism, particularly in Mdina and Valletta
  • Limited beach or outdoor culture; Malta's main appeal in December is purely cultural and historical

September trade-offs

  • Still busy early in the month — the first two weeks of September retain much of August's tourist volume
  • First light rainfall returns (21mm), though the month is still very dry overall
  • Flight prices remain elevated through most of September from Northern European holiday routes
Scores compare months within Valletta. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →