Malta in June

[AdriannaP]

I am hoping/trying/attempting to meet my DP in June during half term. I thought of Malta as it might open for Brits and could open for their country too and travel from their country is easy.

I have never been and know nothing about Malta. We are 4 adults and 1 DC and need an apartment/airbnb or nice Hotel ideally with access to pool and not too far from the sea. Also within walking distance of shops/restaurants/cafés. My stepdad gets bored easily and likes to stroll around a town.
Any suggestions? Thanks!!

wouldnt go to malta ever again but we had particularly bad weather. valletta is ok, so would suggest an apartment within reach. we stayed in sliema which was ok...not talking posh here but if hadnt flooded would have been ok

we had apartments overlooking the bay above a shopping centre. had a lovely swimming pool

Thanks @dreamingofsun!

We stayed at the AX Victoria Hotel in Sliema in 2019. It’s a lovely hotel with a rooftop swimming pool and within easy walking distance of shops/bars/restaurants and the waterfront. You can catch the ferry across to Valletta and book a boat trip to the Blue Lagoon and an addition, the bus service around the island is cheap and reliable. I’m pleased I went and highly recommend the hotel but I was generally underwhelmed by Malta and wouldn’t return. The people were friendly and the food was good but it just wasn’t for me.

We stayed at the gillereau harbour in St. Paul’s. It’s shaped like a cruise ship, has a pool and looks out over St. Paul’s bay. My DD was living in Malta the time with her Maltese boyfriend, so we got the full guided tour of the island including all the off the beaten track “gems”

Being honest, the best part was the day trip we took to Sicily.

I think Malta is getting a bit of a hard knock on this post! It gets a lot of senior tourists and we did pass through a couple of resort towns which if we’d stayed in them I’d have been negative too. Away from those, it does genuinely have a lot to offer. Valletta is really attractive and has a lot of crusading history and old architecture. We spent 2 nights in Silema and it did nothing for me - really built up. Mdina is gorgeous, another old crusading city in the middle of the island. We stayed up in Ramla Bay after our days in Silema, pretty remote but near the Gozo ferry and easy to get buses from to the different parts of the island. If we went again, I would stay in Valletta I think.

Thanks @SJaneS49 even with a child would you recommend Valletta? Does it have beaches?

valetta has no beaches. it is over the other side of the harbour from sliema. it has lots of old buildings which are quite interesting and bars and restaurants. its not somewhere i would take kids. it also has loads of people when the cruise ships come in. i did quite like valetta and we went for a lovely boat ride round the bays. there are loads of old churches to visit and the people looking after them are lovely.

I think that depends on where you usually take your kids @dreamingofsun. Ours goes on lots of city breaks and we would absolutely take her to Valletta. But as you say, no beaches. There were beaches in Ramla Bay but thanks to it being jellyfish season (we went end of May/early June) we didn’t go in the water.

We stayed here in October 2019.

www.solanahotel.com/

Lovely clean, spacious, well equipped rooms. Amazing spa, decent restaurant and great staff. Handy bus stops down the road and some nice authentic restaurants too.

It's a bit out of the way but the buses are plentiful and dirt cheap or you could hire a car (although I wouldn't recommend it). It's also handy for getting the ferry over to Gozo which is beautiful.

Wow, I thought Malta was amazing! I stayed away from the tourist resort areas though - so not really walking distance to anything apart from the local village shop - and used buses to take day trips. There was no shortage of things to see! But I don't know how it would be with kids - if you want organised activities, beach/pool etc.

We are going with a 5 year old and definitely want a beach holiday not a city break.

I loved Malta, it has some brilliant archaeological sites, including fascinating underground complexes.

@NotImpossible don’t want any organised activities, just beach and swimming pool, a town with shops and restaurants for strolling around. Not taking buses or taxis ideally.

It’s not our dream holiday location but probably one of two countries in Europe where we can meet my family.

I would hold off booking for the moment. Malta may well be on the green list but currently they’re only letting in Brits who have had both vaccine doses.

If you do go I second the AX Victoria. I have family there and it’s a bit U.K. abroad but fine for a no frills break

Malta will let people in with negative covid tests from certain countries. The list has not been announced yet, but UK is very likely to be on it.

But yes we are not booking yet. Thanks for the Hotel recommendation.

Oh that’s good to know. We have Spain booked for June but if it’s not on the green list we will probably switch to Malta in that case

Malta resident here. Considering what you’ve said you are looking for check out the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa. It’s at the north end of Malta, next to two Sandy beaches, a town with shops and restaurants is within walking distance and it has a pool.

Malta is a tiny country, you can drive from one end to the other in about an hour and in the summer it gets CRAZY busy and will be especially so this year as they’re promoting themselves heavily to UK tourists. The beaches here are far smaller than the rest of Europe with only a handful of sandy ones. Jellyfish aside, the sea is lovely and warm from June through to October! The government are saying we’ll have to wear face masks on the beach this summer which won’t be pleasant in 35 degree heat.

It’s not the most child friendly of places although there is a small acquarium that your 5 year old might enjoy. As a country it’s quite run down in parts plus a hell of a lot of construction going on. Not to put you off coming and obviously some time in the sun is probably better than none after months of COVID, just be aware that the photos you see online are just small snapshots which frankly look quite different to the real Malta.

Thank you @scintilla87 the Hotel looks lovely. My little one will be very entertained with a pool and beach and most importantly seeing her grandparents again. We miss them lots and hope we can reunite in Malta!
Shame about the mask wearing, science is very clear that transmission at beaches is very very low.

I really like Malta but if beaches are important to you then I wouldn’t really recommend it. There are a few sandy ones but although it’s an island it isn’t really a beach type place. People I know who have gone expecting a beach holiday have all been disappointed.

@Dramstam we don’t have many options in June. My DP live in a different European country and this country won’t be on the green list. Therefore they probably also can’t travel to many other countries and for people traveling from UK it’s probably Malta, Portugal or Gibraltar. We don’t like Dubai and we won’t fly long haul as it’s only one week and I am pregnant.

I was wondering what a strange feet up the 4 adults and one child was for meetings your Dap then realised you meant parents not partner .
Personally I'd go with Portugal for a more child friendly beach holiday

Yes :-) my DH, DD and my parents who live in a different country. We are probably not allowed to travel to their country.
@midnightstar66 Portugal is difficult for my parents as not good flight connections (or only from airports 3-4 hours away).

Just going to add that Nellie's, where the Solana is, is in the one area of Malta where there's a sandy beach.

I all honesty it's not that spectacular (although we went in October and the weather was freakishly rubbish) but it's easy enough to get to on foot or by bus and has a few nice cafes etc.

Gozo also has a sandy beach with lots of fascinating tiny lizards and some great ice cream vans en route!

Nellie's?! Mellieha