Malta with a 3-yo in mid-July...

[AndImFeelingSoBohemianLikeYou]

I am going to Malta with my 3-yo DD in mid-July (I didn't choose the dates! It's partly a work thing. Seems crazy to choose to go somewhere hot in the middle of summer!)

We'll be staying in Valletta/St George's Bay. Does anyone know of any nice places to go? Any good, affordable child-friendly restaurants or places for lunch and dinner?

What's a must-see Malta thing? I know about the prehistoric temples and am quite keen on visiting them.

How is public transport? Would a taxi be better? The hotel has a taxi service for the airport so presumably they could also arrange a taxi for other trips? What do they usually charge?

What's the food like? I'm guessing Mediterranean, but is there anything we absolutely should try?

Are the beaches public ie can we just go to the beach and settle down for a few hours?

Any other general advice? Things not to do in order not to offend the locals?

Ta very much in advance!

i went in July as a teenager, sorry not much help for you. BUT I loved it. Maltese people we met very sociable and chatty to children in cafes and restaurants. Evenings were great. when I was there we saw a big religious parade through town, great sight and celebration and I'm not religious!

Ages since I've been to Malta but:
Buses are a great way to get around
There a very few beaches (sandy ones)
The people very friendly
The War Museum & St John Co Cathedral in Valetta are really good

That's surprising that there are few beaches. I was hoping for a way for DD to play by the seaside, maybe have a splash.
I think we will be slightly too early for the big religious celebration.

Good to know about the buses, will see if I can find some timetable and route info.

There are one or two sandy beaches - St Julians Bay is one. The others are pebbly/rocky.

Ooh, thank you. I think St Julian's bay is where we will be.

I went to Malta with my DD last August- she was 3.5 then. It was really hot (high 30s) but wasn't really a problem as she's good with heat, there's not all that much shade though. We stayed at Mellieha & theres alovely sandy beach in the bay, although thats not that near Valletta.

We did the sightseeing bus, but they were dreadful with pick up points & left us for hours at one of the points- wouldn't really recommend with a 3 year old. Buses around the island were very cheap, but Aviva had just taken over them last year so were very unreliable as they were just working out the routes. I'm sure they will have sorted this out by now though.

Hope you have a great time- we really enjoyed it & everyone's really friendly.

Thank you, that's great to know! Encouraging that a couple of people have described the locals as friendly.

DD is not great with heat, and neither am I, so no idea why I thought this would be a good idea!

mellieha is sandy. Golden bay. St Julians is busy. I wouldnt rely on buses tbh

i love malta

the locals are really friendly and everyone speaks english. Ive never met an unfriendly maltese person

That's good to know, thanks! Will investigate buses, but perhaps it'll have to be taxis to the places that are further away.