To ask you to tell me about Malta...

It's worth a visit if you haven't been. Nice weather, beautiful coastline, Mdina and Valetta are lovely and full of history/culture. We found the Blue Lagoon very touristy and had become a bit tacky. Same as everywhere, nice historical bits and tacky tourist bits.

Lots of influences from Italy and UK. Everyone speaks English, it's easy to get around the island on local buses.

For us the one thing that let it down was the food. Glad I went but seen it now so would try somewhere else next time unless I saw a great deal!

I had a week a few years ago, with some terrible weather - the tail end of a rare Mediterranean hurricane. I also lost my kindle on day 1, so that definitely affected my experience.

I did not enjoy it. I found food expensive and not interesting. Beaches not great. Lots of historical sites which I probably would have enjoyed at a different time but not in that wind. I enjoyed both Sardinia and Ischia a lot more.

What a terribly important opinion it was definitely resurrecting a three year old thread to share.

I've been back again since I posted 3 years ago and it was fabulous again. Managed to get into the Hypogeum this time, repeated some of the major ancient sites and found new ones and new museums. Had 7 and 9 year d DC with us this time and found plenty to amuse them too at some of the child friendly museums we wouldn't have gone to otherwise.

I heard it called the arsehole of the Mediterranean!

It depends what you're interested in. I think sometimes people go expecting it to be similar to say some of the Greek islands or the Balearics and are then disappointed to find it isn't. There is absolutely loads of fascinating history which is primarily what we went for, and the hotel we stayed in had very good watersports facilities which we also enjoyed. But the coast is very rocky, and when we went there were fairly strong winds and the sea was pretty choppy. We might just have been unlucky with the weather of course but it wouldn't have been a good choice for someone wanting safe sea bathing when we were there and there seemed to be very little sand. The few beaches that we saw were extremely crowded.
We really enjoyed it and would definitely go back as there's so many historical sites and we couldn't do them justice in a week. But I think there are far better places if you want a family beach holiday, especially for anyone with small children.

Really didn't like it, our taxi driver from the airport described it as like a 3rd World country so that was a great start! Thought it was run down and yes to the pp that mentioned the stray cats!

Yep, fair point

Boring. My mother stayed there for a while. I found it pretty boring with not much to do. Definitely not somewhere I'd go on holiday.

Yeah Paris is the other armpit.

I went as a student in the 90s and hated it. Valletta and Gozo were nice, but the rest awful. I was harassed by local men in the street and didn't feel safe. It was a long time ago, and I hope it's changed, but I would never go back.

I met my dh there, so I'm biased!
My Dad and Step Mum went out there every year for the whole summer so I have been many times.
Things I love:
The history, Valletta, M'dina, the amazing religious festivals (I'm not religious) with the utterly terrifying firework displays. Blue lagoon (take a boat but go EARLY or late else it's packed)

The sea is clear, and wonderful for snorkling or just paddling and spotting fish. Beaches are rocky except for a few places (Golden sands is nice ) We usually stay in Qawra which is quiet but the buses run everywhere.

They love children and are one of the few places left it feels, that still like the British!

Things I dislike:St Julian's... tacky tourist area.Driving there. Never again... they do drive in the shade !

I grew up there so am probably biased, but I love it. Valletta is my favourite part, just a beautiful historic city with so much to see and so many lovely cafes and restaurants to sit outside in the evening.

Mdina was used as a set in Game of Thrones, it is a medieval walled city and is so atmospheric in the evening as the sun sets.

Hal Saflieni, Mnajdra and Ggantija are UNESCO world heritage sites, again cannot believe people have visited them and not been impressed - much more extensive than Stonehenge.

There are sandy beaches, like Little Armier Bay. If you go to Mellieha/Golden Bay in high season then yes it will be pretty busy, just as Bournemouth beach is in summer. We pick a hotel with a good pool and private access to the sea (via steps from the rocks), and our kids are more than happy with that (all day every day).

Better beaches and quieter island life on Gozo - which is very similar to going to a quiet Greek Island.

St Julian’s is a shithole and always has been, I agree you should stay well clear of it. It’s been overdeveloped and is a cheap AI destination so you get a lot of drunks. Whoever upthread said Blackpool had it about right. But it is very easy to avoid.

Maltese people love children - DS had a massive fuss made of him everywhere we went, special teddy-shaped pizzas in one place (definitely not on the menu), free ice pop in another, huge fuss of him made by the horse cab drivers (got to feed a horse himself). Museum attendants bending down to ask him about his dinosaur toys. All completely unprompted and lovely.

Hated it. A lot of litter, a lot of expats. Think a boring, dirty Benidorm without nice beaches. We went to Gozo in the end which was fine. But I absolutely would never return to Malta.
Any of the Canary Islands or even better the Greek islands, or Sardinia, would be a better alternative ime

I found it interesting but wouldn't go back. We went pre-kids and did all the ancient sites, snorkelling, ferry over to Gozo. We enjoyed it all. None of it particularly small child friendly. The history of the place is really interesting and there are lots of different influences as it is an island at a cross roads. But I've seen what I want to see of that and there are much nicer places for a beach holiday.

Yes sadly

Wasn't that keen !!!!!!

Loved it! We stayed in Melliha which does have a beach - nothing amazing but it's sand, and it's a very sweet village. Medina was beautiful, Valetta lovely, Gozo amazing. We didn't go anywhere near club/bar life so avoided that bit of it completely. St Julian's looked very pretty in the sun on the bus but never stopped!

It is a bit run down but the people are so friendly, it's easy to get around and the history and buildings are wonderful. We went as a young couple about 15 years ago though so not sure what it would be like with a baby.

Ever so slightly dramatic, it’s hardly Everest! There’s a free shuttle bus why didn’t you use that?

Travel round on the orange buses. Take a day trip to Gozo. Walk around Valletta (very hilly) and Mdina. Maltese food is not one of the world's great cuisines but seafood is good and plentiful.

I’m half-Maltese - do the blue lagoon by boat! Day trip to Gozo is worth it. Valletta is lovely. The hypogeum is incredibly fascinating. The churches are beautiful, try and look up festival days for when you’re there as the parades and fireworks displays are a big part of life. The buses are free too!

The food is gorgeous - try swordfish and octopus, and the national dish of rabbit stew. Get the imqaret pastries (say “mm-ah-ret”), especially front the kiosks outside valletta. And you have to try Kinnie at least once (I’m a fiend for it).

The people are very religious but are mostly friendly and speak English. The phrase “grazi hafna” will win you points.

It is a very odd, interesting mix of West and Arab culture like nowhere else in the world, and they still have cultural behaviour like shooting and trapping birds which a lot of Brits don’t like. Avoid Paceville unless you like clubs. St Julian’s isn’t touristy anyway but it’s always busy even at night (have family there and you get used to tuning out the noise but still).

Hated it. Valetta was ok but our resort was dirty, the food was a bit naff, and I'm not a fussy eater, and just strip bars everywhere.

I would 100% say I've been to more armpitty places than Malta.... hello London and Paris

We love Malta, but I'm not sure how great it would be with small children. A PP said road rules are minimal - they definitely aren't and hire cars have easily recognisable number plates so are possibly more easy to pull over. There are strict speed limits and you will be fined if caught speeding. I describe Maltese drivers as slow Italian boy racers. Nobody goes particularly fast but they don't hang around either, particularly at roundabouts. You will need to be prepared to zoom out as soon as you see a space. Roads are generally in poor repair, but those that have been done up are great. There really aren't many beaches, the north of the island is best for those. It really is worth hiring a car if you're planning on exploring. Buses are good and frequent, but the island is only 11 miles long (smaller than the Isle of Wight) so you can get everywhere in the island by car. You can also take the car on the ferry to Gozo. It is worth looking for car hire before you go - last time we went we were met at the airport and given our car keys, and we just dropped them off on our return. We used a cheap car hire company - not Hertz or one of the big ones. It can be very windy - it is a small island in a big sea! Just seen your DD is tiny, so you shouldn't have any problems keeping her entertained. Not sure about changing facilities... Public toilets usually have a fierce lady keeping guard over the toilet paper and she will need to be paid. Toilets in cafes, shops etc. are fine - just normal. You will be able to buy nappies etc. when you are there - but be aware that antihistamines have to be prescribed! I got some horrendous mosquito bites and they came up really badly - I was horrified when a very nice pharmacist told me they weren't allowed to sell them to me. She did let me have them in the end. Have a lovely time!

We went during Covid as Malta was on the green list at the time. Loved Valletta and the Three Cities but didn't bother with the resorts as I'd heard mixed reviews. We went to Gozo instead and stayed in San Lawrenz at the far end of the island which was nice. It's not a destination we'd ever considered before but were pleasantly surprised with the two locations where we stayed.

Timesawastin - I take it you never walked up into Valletta from the little harbour where the Sliema boat docks then ? 😱
It was horrendously steep and I don’t actually know how I made it up, even my DH thought it was bad, ditto coming back from the fort on the headland up into Valletta, ditto the walk from the harbour to the Malta at war museum at Birgu. Even the walk from the bus stop outside Mdina was a challenge for me.

It’s put me off going back.

"They" being who exactly? Honestly there are some people who are determined to see the worst in everything.