anitas

We will be arriving by curise ship. Unfortunately, we only have one day 8-5 for touring. What do you suggest? Should we rent a car and drive around to see the sights? Or staying in one town and exploring?

Neopolitan

While I'm not an experienced cruise ship person, I believe that the experts with the cruise line will offer you a package that covers a lot more than you will ever be able to do on your own. To see the most, and not worry about missing your ship (transporation on Malta is quirky at best), I'd suggest you take a package they offer.
We spent five days there (or was it six) and missed a lot of what we wanted to see.

flybob

Why not get a private car with a driver that will take you to all the best places and be most helpful. IF you go on a package you will be always waiting for someone. We did this an d it was fantastic, The driver spoke with knowledge and could not have been more helpful.
There are several companies that can organise this. One that might be able to help is EC Meetings, they are not a tour company but a conference organiser who arranges these sorts of tours for the Partner Programme.
http://www.ecmeetings.com/
Good luck

KayF

We had 10 days on Malta and 5 days on Gozo and I would suggest just spending your day in Valletta. It is full of history, charming and atmospheric (and steep!) streets and lots to see and do. We noticed a lot of cruise ships coming in while we were there and they all seemed to offer the organised day tour which would make the most of your time but probably wouldn't leave any time just for sitting in a cafe and people watching, if that's your thing.

Valletta is quite small and very walkable, with everything within the city walls reasonably close together. If you get tired, you can always catch a horse and buggy that are around for tourists to ride on.

If you search under my name - just click on it - you'll come up with our trip report with some ideas for Valletta.

Kay

Debs

Agree with Kay about spending your brief time in Malta in Valletta. It's quite walkable and there are numerous places to stop for lunch. You could always wander over to the Upper/Lower Barracca gardens for even more beautiful views of the Mediterranean. For a city the size of Valletta, it offers numerous museums and churches. If you want to venture a bit, head over to Sliema and walk along the promenade. This is a nice area for shopping and eating, although doesn't have the historical offerings that Valletta does. I woundn't suggest renting a car, however. IMHO, you'd spend more time trying to find your way to places than actually being anywhere.
ENJOY!

abram

We did a self-guided historical walking tour of Valletta, which included The Grandmaster's Palace, Manoel Theater, the Siege of Malta, St. John's Co-Cathedral, the Malta Experience, the Upper Barrakka Gardens, Casa Rocca Piccola, and St. Paul's Shipwreck Church. It pretty much took the whole day.