Malta

I used Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, but my trip was too long ago to offer specific recommendations.
How long will you be there? If you have enough time to stay on Gozo as well as on Malta, I do recommend that though.
Be sure to book the Hypogeum if it is of interest to you. (I missed it and it stings years later because this is one place I am unlikely to go to again--just due to geography; it was fine.)

We spent 10 days there in late April/early May. As for where to stay, Valletta is the absolute center of the bus system, with at least one direct route past almost every worthwhile spot on the island. We stayed at Domus Zamitello, a nice but not luxurious hotel with the perfect location just inside the city gate, with a lovely terrace overlooking Valletta's main drag. I absolutely agree about the Hypogeum; it was the highlight. We got our tickets five months in advance, which was not too early. If you're into pre-historic sites, the Tarxien temple is within walking distance of the Hypogeum, and Hagar Quim was definitely worth the bus ride. There are also medieval sites on the main island, Mdina and Birgu (check whether Mdina's medieval festival is going on while you're there); sites related to the Knights of Malta, mostly in Valletta; lots of nature (Dingli Cliffs, Gozo, etc), and of course water, it is an island after all -- we took a ride on the edge of the Mediterranean from Marsaxxlok on a boat that was way too small. You may be a week too late for the annual International Fireworks Festival, but check next year to make sure. And you will want to check out whether any Festas are going on while you're there. Just about every parish has one, and we were there during the Parish of St Publius' festa. Rough guide is excellent, as is Bradt travel guide. Lonely Planet has unfortunately changed, and is little more than a guide for where to take the best instagram pictures these days. As for tours, we had some group tours. The one I would recommend is the Valletta Street Food Walking tour by City Walking Tours.

I stayed at Osborne Hotel in Valletta when I went in 2023, and thought it was a good choice. Seemed like a great value, location was good--a short stroll to the heart of town, etc. A number of the larger international chain hotels are in the St. Julian's neighborhood, which I found to be worth avoiding. I know it isn't Maltese, but I had good pizza at a restaurant called Casa Sotto in Valletta.

In terms of the big to-do's, obviously check out the St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, and as mentioned earlier be sure to have reservations booked well ahead if you want to see the Hypogeum. (I failed to make reservations, and missed out on it, as well). I'd recommend a tour if you want to see Mdina. I went on my own, and while fun to walk around and explore, I felt like I was probably missing out on a lot by not having a guide. The public bus system is cheap and easy to use and connects most anywhere you'd want to go on the island, though it might take a while. The roads are nearly all of the 'single lane in each direction' variety from what I saw, and add in traffic, so the island has a reputation as being stressful for rental car drivers. I believe it.

We spent 12 days on Malta and Gozo in September-October 2023. Fascinating place. For a history buff, it's like you've died and gone to heaven. But it also gets plenty of low-end "package" tourism, with lots of UK folks flocking for some fun-in-the-sun, sittting in expat pubs watching football. And LOTS of huge cruise ships. Despite that, I loved the place and found it amazing. I came to think of it as "British Sicily" or "Beyond Italy", a bit chaotic and crazy (showing the influence of neighboring North Africa) but rewarding if you are willing to look past some of the evident rot and insanity.

I think Malta is very easy to do on your own. The only "tour"-like activities we did were 1) the hypogeum (yes, book tickets many months in advance, since they only let in a small number of people each day), and 2) to see Comino (the little, third island, and a textbook example of how over-tourism can absolutely destroy a beautiful place) - I knew Comino would be a complete cluster (and it was). To beat the crowds, we hired a private motorboat to pick us up on Gozo early morning (like 7 am) and go wherever we wanted, so we got there and had some time to enjoy the place before the circus arrived. Without the people, the place was lovely for a few hours.

We rented a car. A car is worse than useless in the city, but to get out and get around to the far corners of the islands and be efficient with your time, I think a car is advisable. Yes, the bus system is OK, but you will burn many hours going that way, with a car, you will see so much more (you will make better use of your time). But yes, driving in Malta is not for the faint of heart, it's pretty much the wild west at times.

For accoms, we found the pickings were slim. In Valletta proper, we found just a handful of places that looked good, which were expensive. Many (most?) tourists stay in St Julian's (which to me had all the charm of a a bus station in Las Vegas), Sliema is also popular (and similarly repulsive to us). We found a pretty cool BnB in the "Three Cities" which we loved (note: There aren't "three" of them, more like 4 or 5 depending on how you count; each seems to have at least two completely different names which are used interchangeably, so it invites confusion; and they're not actually separate cities, just old neighborhoods with highly vertical real estate) - don't expect it to make any sense. We liked staying there.

Gozo is beautiful, try to spend some time there too (we split our stay, about 8-9 days on Malta proper, about 3-4 days on Gozo).

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was quite cool and interesting. Glad we went. The Bradt Guide is awesome.

A few photos here if you are curious. Hope that helps.