Malta Carnival 2027: Dates, Valletta Tickets and Nadur Guide

Short answer: Malta Carnival 2027 runs from Friday 5 to Tuesday 9 February 2027, ending the day before Ash Wednesday (10 February). The main events are in Valletta, on St George’s Square and Republic Street, with the float finale in Floriana, while Gozo’s wild, unofficial carnival happens in Nadur. General access is free; seats in the St George’s Square arena are ticketed (in 2026 they cost €5–€17 for standard admission). The full 2027 programme had not been published when we checked in October 2026, so use the 2026 programme below as a guide to what happens when.

Carnival is the biggest street party of the Maltese winter. For five days in February, Valletta fills with huge illuminated floats, competing dance companies in sequins and feathers, brass bands, grotesque papier-mâché masks and kids in costume. In Gozo, Nadur does its own thing: no committee, no programme, just a village full of masked people until late at night. It’s a group plan by nature. You need someone to hold your spot on Republic Street, someone to find the bus home, and someone who agrees to dress up with you.

Here’s what we know about 2027, what happened in 2026, prices, where to stand, and how to get home without spending an hour in a queue.

Malta Carnival 2027 dates

Carnival always ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, which moves with Easter. In 2027, Easter Sunday is 28 March, so Ash Wednesday is 10 February and the main carnival days are Friday 5 to Tuesday 9 February 2027. Festivals Malta, which organises the national carnival, lists Carnival for 5–9 February 2027; times and the detailed programme were still to be announced in October 2026.

Last verified October 2026. Times and prices for 2027 are not yet published.

For everything else on in the first months of 2027, see our Malta events calendar. Carnival is not a public holiday in Malta; if you want to plan long weekends around it, our list of Malta public holidays 2027 shows which days are off.

What happened at Carnival 2026 (a guide for 2027)

The 2026 national programme gives a good idea of the rhythm. Carnival 2026 ran from Friday 13 to Tuesday 17 February, and the programme said general access to carnival is free, while select areas, such as the arena in St George’s Square, are paid.

• Carnival exhibition: free, in the atrium of Spazju Kreattiv at St James Cavalier, Valletta, for about a month around carnival.
• Ħamrun and Santa Venera: Carnival by Night on the Saturday the weekend before, from 18:00, and a band and costume parade along St Joseph High Street on the Sunday from 10:00. Both free.
• Valletta, Friday: afternoon programme with competitive dances and floats, 17:00–20:30.
• Valletta, Saturday and Sunday: morning and afternoon programmes in St George’s Square with dance companies, King Carnival and the triumphal floats. The Sunday afternoon defile (14:30–18:30) was the longest session of the weekend.
• Il-Qarċilla: free performances of the traditional carnival farce on Ordnance Street, Valletta, on Saturday and Sunday at 14:30, 16:00 and 17:30.
• Monday: a morning dance show with local dance schools and guests from Gozo, and in the evening a parade of all the floats around Valletta, 17:00–20:30.
• Tuesday: a full competitive dancing programme in St George’s Square, then the Grand Finale float exhibition along St Anne Street, Floriana, from 18:00 to 22:30, free.

Tickets: what’s free and what you pay for

You can see a lot of carnival for free: the floats travel along Republic Street and the main roads around Valletta, the Floriana finale is free, and so are Il-Qarċilla, the exhibition and the Ħamrun events. What you pay for is a seat in the St George’s Square arena, where the dance competitions happen. In 2026, prices depended on the session:

Source: Festivals Malta 2026 programme. Tickets for St George’s Square were released closer to the date, so 2027 tickets will most likely go on sale in January. Prices may change.

Valletta carnival: how to do it well

• Pick one big session, not all of them. The Sunday afternoon defile and the Monday evening float parade are the most spectacular. A Saturday morning is calmer and cheap.
• Arrive early for the street. The best free spots along Republic Street fill up well before the floats start moving. Bring something to sit on.
• Agree a meeting point. Messages can be slow in the crowds, and you won’t hear your phone. Pick a landmark, such as the Triton Fountain outside City Gate or a café you all know, and a time to regroup.
• Dress up, at least a little. A mask, a wig, face paint. Half of Malta does, and it makes the day.
• Eat early. Restaurants and cafés in Valletta are packed at peak times. Book a table for after the parade, or eat before you go in.
• Stay for the evening. When the parade ends, Valletta’s bars fill up. Our Valletta nightlife guide has the wine bars and Strait Street spots for afterwards.

Nadur: Gozo’s spontaneous carnival

Nadur’s carnival is the opposite of Valletta’s. There’s no official committee and no fixed programme: people from all over Malta and Gozo turn up in homemade costumes and masks, and the village becomes one big street party, mostly at night. It’s darker in tone, too: grotesque masks, satire and plenty of mischief. Victoria (Rabat), Gozo’s capital, has a more organised carnival with floats as well. For bars to try on the island after the parades, see our Gozo nightlife guide.

Getting there is the challenge. In 2025, Gozo Highspeed added late-night sailings on the last three carnival nights (from Mġarr at 22:45 back to Valletta), and Malta Public Transport ran shuttle buses from Mġarr to Nadur timed with the ferries, plus late routes from Nadur around 01:00. Similar arrangements are usually announced in the weeks before carnival, so check Gozo Channel, Gozo Highspeed and Malta Public Transport closer to the date. If you’d rather not race the last ferry, book a night in Gozo and make it a weekend.

Carnival traditions in two minutes

• King Carnival (Re tal-Karnival): the giant float that leads the parade and opens the festivities. Every edition has its own King Carnival design.
• Triumphal and company floats: enormous, lit-up floats built over months by local carnival groups, competing in sections. The night parades are when the lights really show.
• Dance companies: groups of dancers in matching costumes who compete in the arena in St George’s Square, in sections from A to D.
• Grotesque masks: oversized papier-mâché heads, often satirical, that walk with the traditional carnival bands.
• Il-Qarċilla: a traditional comic farce performed during carnival, part of the free programme in Valletta in 2026.
• Prinjolata: the carnival sweet you’ll see in pastry shops across Malta in February: a dome of sponge, cream, chocolate and pine nuts. Buy one to share; it’s very rich.

Costume ideas on a budget

You don’t need a professional costume. Most people in the crowd go for something simple and fun, and in Nadur the more homemade, the better.

• Group theme: agree on one idea for the whole group (all pirates, all the same colour, all one film). It looks better in photos and makes it easier to find each other in the crowd.
• Masks and face paint: masks, wigs and face paint are sold in Malta’s party and toy shops in the weeks before carnival. Buy early; the good ones go.
• Layers: February evenings in Malta can be cool and windy, especially by the sea. Plan a costume you can wear over a jumper.
• Comfortable shoes: you’ll stand and walk for hours on stone streets.

Carnival with kids

The morning sessions are the most family-friendly: in 2026, Saturday morning arena entry was €5 for standard admission and free for concessions, and the Monday morning dance show was €5. Children love the floats, the confetti and dressing up, and Republic Street in daylight is far less crushed than the evening parades. Agree a lost-child meeting point, write your phone number on a sticker inside their costume, and leave before the evening crowds build.

Getting there and home

Don’t drive: roads around Valletta are busy or closed for the parades, and parking nearby is hopeless. Take the bus to the Valletta terminus, or the ferry from Sliema (€3.00 by day, €3.50 from 19:30, winter timetable until 31 May). The Floriana finale is a short walk from the bus terminus. After the evening parades, buses are crowded; leave a few minutes before the end, or wait an hour and have dinner. For late nights, check the night routes and times in our night bus guide: night fares are €3.00, free with a personalised tallinja card.

Carnival with people you don’t know yet

Carnival is one of the easiest days of the year to join a group. The atmosphere is open, people are in costume, and conversation starts by itself on a crowded street. If you’re new to Malta, put the plan out early: “Sunday carnival in Valletta, meeting at the Triton Fountain at 13:30, pay your own arena ticket or just watch from Republic Street.” If you’re on your own, our guide to things to do alone in Malta has tips for walking into a crowd solo.

Frequently asked questions

When is Malta Carnival 2027?

Malta Carnival 2027 runs from Friday 5 to Tuesday 9 February 2027. It ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (10 February 2027). The detailed programme and times had not been published in October 2026.

Where is the main carnival in Malta?

The national carnival is centred on St George’s Square and Republic Street in Valletta, with the float finale on St Anne Street in Floriana. Gozo’s best-known carnival is the spontaneous one in Nadur.

Is Malta Carnival free?

General access is free, including watching floats on the streets of Valletta and the Floriana finale. Seats in the St George’s Square arena are paid; in 2026 standard tickets cost €5 to €17 depending on the session, with concessions and a Gold area.

What is Nadur carnival?

Nadur carnival in Gozo is a spontaneous carnival with no official committee or programme. People come in homemade costumes and masks, and the village becomes a night-time street party during carnival weekend.

How do I get to Nadur carnival from Malta?

Take the ferry to Mġarr, Gozo, then a bus or taxi to Nadur. In 2025, extra late-night ferries and shuttle buses ran on the last carnival nights; check Gozo Channel, Gozo Highspeed and Malta Public Transport for 2027 arrangements.

Is carnival a public holiday in Malta?

No. Carnival days are not public holidays, so many people take a day off or go at the weekend.

Start planning now

February comes round fast. Put the dates in your calendar, decide whether you’re a Valletta-arena person or a Nadur-at-midnight person, and pick your crew. The costume can wait until January.