What's your experience of Malta?

[ISayHey]

I'm looking at going to Malta in a few months, depending on the circumstances.

I'm really looking for somewhere warm, nice scenery, nice beaches, good food. My partner wants to go to Malta.
There are other places we'd consider too.
What's your experience of Malta?
Would you recommend it?

[HundredMilesAnHour]

I found it dull and actually changed flights so I could come home earlier. On the plus side, the weather was good and there's some fascinating history. I found the food very disappointing (after years for a Maltese friend telling me how amazing it was).

[StarryStarrySocks]

I wouldn't recommend it if you want nice beaches, most of them are stoney not sandy. Spent a week there and enjoyed exploring but wouldn't rush back.

[drpet49]

Nice, but I agree with the other poster, found it a bit dull and lacking. One week is plenty. I wouldn’t go back.

[MikeHat]

I didn't think they had beaches, just rock?

[DramaAlpaca]

It's many years since I was there and I have no desire to go back. I was young then and found it full of leery men

The history of the place is interesting, but the beaches aren't great and as a pp said the food was disappointing.

[Bodgers]

I love it! But as pp said, it’s not known for its beaches. I’d advise getting a hotel in or near Valetta with a pool (e.g. Grand Excelsior or Phoenicia) - as Valetta and surrounding areas are where the most interesting culture and best restaurants are (other parts of the island have a bit of a Benidorm vibe). If you want recommendations on things to do there, feel free to msg me directly

[TipseyTorvey]

I spent two weeks in Gozo a few years back but a) we're divers and it's a really brilliant diving island and b) it was pre kids. We loved it, the locals were totally laid back and there was loads to see and do between dives. Beautiful island, I'm not sure I'd go there now with kids that would want water parks and exciting playgrounds as it's very natural and rustic.

[mummabubs]

I went 10 years ago for a week in order to attend a friend's wedding. I stayed in Sliema. The hotel was nice, but the beach was rocky and as others have said, it's a small island with not a great deal to do or see. It was a nice week of sun but I wouldn't personally return as apart from sunbathing and reading books there wasn't much to do.

[kindlekeeper]

No beaches. Valletta is fabulous, as are a few other towns. Otherwise very built up. Food great. Lots to see but not a beach holiday.

[CliftonGreenYork]

We went last year end really enjoyed it. Spent first week in Malta in botique hotel and then second week in a villa on Gozo. Food was great (similar to Italian) and great value. Lots of history and beautiful buildings. Great swimming spots but not great beaches.

[allthegoodusernameshavegone]

I was in my 20s and found it dull, lots & lots of elderly brits, (I’d probably love it now)!

[MrsFin]

Malta is lovely but it's not great for kids.
Good food at Marsaxlokk. Gozo is also lovely. You can get there cheaply on the ferry in about 30 mins, on foot or with a car.

[trunumber]

Pretty but boring

[ISayHey]

Thanks for all your replies.
Really glad I posted on here. Didn't realise there weren't many sandy beaches.
The pictures online look really lovely and it looks like it's warm for most of the year.
Looking for a chilled, relaxing holiday and to do a bit of site seeing.

It sounds like from most of your replies that the history and culture etc is interesting.
And food is always a focus for me on holiday. I love trying all the different cuisines etc.
Think I'll have more of a think about it before going ahead and booking.

[BarbaraofSeville]

Lots of historical cultural stuff, easily spend at least a couple of days wandering around Valetta, also Mdina, few other bits, not much in the way of beaches, but there's a couple and you can do a boat trip to Comino which has a lovely beachy area. There's also a few on Gozo, which also has a few historical sites that would fill a couple of days.

Excellent watersports, especially diving, we've been a few times and still not seen much of what's on offer and there's so many great dives there's plenty where we'd do the same dive again.

The food is pretty good, lots of Italian influence so great pizza and pasta, some more high end places too. Also plenty of seafood as you'd expect.

I'd look at spending a few days near Valetta and then maybe some time on Gozo too, and you can visit Comino from either island.

[ISayHey]

@BarbaraofSeville

Yes that sounds good to me as we are really into the historical culture when we go to places. And pasta & seafood are my favourite!

I've looked at Valletta and Gozo and they both look really good. I think it's definitely worth going and seeing how it is, even if we decide to go only once.
We would be looking at going for a week or maybe 10 days.

[kindlekeeper]

It will be very, very hot. I’ve been loads of times and couldn’t any sightseeing in the summer

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

We went there some years ago when our children were younger. (5 & 10) Absolutely loved it - the temples are brilliant , the hypogeum is one of the most extraordinary places I've ever been in (book before you go to Malta) and Valetta is lovely. One of the best foreign holidays we've had.

[pigeonhole]

We went there several years ago in January so it was pretty cold but not as cold as the (UK) , it depends on what you like , we like historical places of interest and old buildings, museums and galleries which were in abundance, easy to ride around by bus , can shut down quite early into the evening , food was fairly British , a couple of beaches were Sandy others mostly rocky , we enjoyed it and will defiantly go back but probably not everyone's cup of bovril

[Northernsoullover]

I've never been but I was about to say I know many people who have and when asked how there holiday was it was always 'nice but I don't think I'd go back' but I see that people have already said that .
To be honest though at this stage of the pandemic I'd be happy to give it a whirl.

[LawnFever]

I went years ago, I remember it being ridiculously hot but quite dull, not that much happening at all.

Not somewhere I’d rush to go back to, think it was cheap!

[MintyCedric]

We went to Melieha in October 2019.

The weather was a bit disappointing but we were tied with dates and I'm not into very hot weather anyway.

We stayed at the Solana Hotel which was beautiful. Fantastic spa, lovely staff, good food and cheap cocktails!

We went to a couple of nearly restaurants, one quite formal where we had traditional Maltese food, the other more casual where we had Maltese pizza which was amazing. Also did Hard Rock (our holiday tradition) in Valletta which was fine although if you're not a fan of stray kittens joining you for titbits you might not be so keen.

We were able to walk down to the one sandy beach on the island which wasn't spectacular but that was partly down to the weather...it had everything you'd need and frequent cheap buses back up to the hotel (v. steep walk otherwise).

The buses are ridiculously cheap, albeit a bit hairy! We had a really lovely day out (the one sunny one) in Gozo which was stunning.

In short it was a mixed bag but I would definitely go back, ideally at a better time of year so we could go snorkelling and get around the island a bit more.

The one place I would avoid is St Julians. We got the impression it was supposed to be the trendy, smart hub of the island but thought it was an absolute dump.

[Turdibacious]

I love Malta, been several times. The sandy beaches tend to be in the northern part of the island, around St Paul's Bay, Bugibba and Mellieha. We found the weather too hot in July but went back in February and it was just right for us, but we're not sun worshippers.

There's loads of history to explore which we love, but if that's not your thing I can see it might be a bit boring.

The bus service is great (certainly compared to a lot of UK), frequent, cheap and you can get almost anywhere on the island but buses are often packed, so be prepared to stand, if you get a seat it's a bonus.

There are loads of Timeshare touts but you can play that to your advantage and get a couple of hours in a nice air-conditioned hotel with soft drinks provided and free sightseeing bus/boat vouchers and a bottle of local vino. Just keep your credit card firmly in your pocket.

Food is generally pizza/pasta but there are nice restaurants serving local specialities like seafood and rabbit but they do tend to be more expensive.

To sum up it's definitely more of a relaxing destination than a fun one.

[BarbaraofSeville]

We've never been pestered by timeshare touts anywhere and have been to Malta loads, plus Tenerife etc.

I like to think it's for another reason than we don't look like we could afford to buy one, such as we're strong minded enough to never fall for the spiel.

[Ellmau]

Hot. Very very hot.

Lots of interesting historical sites. I recommend visiting Mdina.