Tell me about MALTA

[princesspadam]

So we've ditched Portugal in favour of something completely new.

So if anyone is a Malta fan I'd love to know what you love about it? Best food? Where you stay? And expected weather in September?

We have no kids with us, like eating out and bars not clubs or Brit rubbish

Thanks

I found malta not nice. Valetta and Mdina were interesting. The weathers gorgeous. There's a lot of deprivation right on top of luxury developments.

I stayed in the hilton malta, loved it and would go back but outside the hotel and the immediate one street area /the small marina below, it was horrible.

Food is quite reasonable I found.

A boat trip to Gozo would be nice but we were having too much lazy pool fun to bother.

Thanks @ZenNudist
What area was it? And what about it didn't you like?
This will be a lazy pool holiday so that's ok for us

I really didn't like it, apart from Valetta. But we were out and about. Found it half finished and a bit sketchy.

Have a friend who goes frequently for work and he says it has got dodgier and sketchier in recent years.

Went in January, stayed in Valetta. Agree it's a bit scruffy in parts but we enjoyed it. Got around on local buses, good variety of food, loads of interesting history.

We are just going to lie by the pool and want somewhere to go out in the evening

Malta has a lot of organised crime. Its become a haven for certain types to wash their money and corruption is pretty rife.
Ordinary Maltese are quite poor and there's a heck of a lot of resentment building.
I'd stick to Valetta. Don't go to St Julians which is a party town for Italians. Gozo is nice, but boring. There's only one beach in Sliema, the rest of the island is rocky.

Overall, its alright for a few days but not for a holiday type of holiday.

I know Malta well and i wouldn't say it was deprived at all. In fact i would say the Maltese have a good level of living standards.

For a couple, I think it is great especially if you want to do other things rather than the beach everyday.

Assuming you want more than a beach area.
Here are my tips

• care hire is cheap, Maltese driver mad, parking can be tough, but we always hire a care. Bolt and Uber cheap and plentiful
• Food- you can find cheaper local restaurants to more expensive chic ones. Lots of choice. Not as cheap as it once was.

Good places to stay
Valetta - I would love to stay in one of the boutique hotels. Very central buses to everywhere, probably best if you don't want to get a car. If I had all the money in the world I would like to stay at the Phenicia.
Sliema - up market area, make sure your hotel has a carpark if you are hiring a car.
St. Julian's - another nice area, the Hilton is there but also look at the Corinthina hotels.

I would not choose to stay north of the Island, very nice for a visit.

Places to see
Mdina
Go to Gozo for a day
Swim off the rocks at St Peter's Pool (Marsaxlokk, you need a car or taxi)
Eat harbourside in Marsaxlokk.
Valetta is beautiful by day and night, enjoy pastizzi and coffee in the morning. Lots of historical things to see in Valetta.
Dhingi Cliffs
Vittoriosa, visit the church, walk round the little square and have lunch over looking the yacht marina. Take the boat back to Valetta.

Just take the car and see where it takes you.
It is a loud, busy and dusty island, don't expect pristine beaches, most swimming if off the rocks. September is perfect, sea will be lovely and warm.

We loved Malta! We stayed in St Julian’s and that was beautiful area. We also stayed in Mehliea but that is more for family, which we didn’t have at the time! But if we were to go again definitely stay there! We did t stay in Valletta as we weren’t there for too long!
we also found it cheaper than Italy, as we also went there but definitely prefer Malta.
for us, it’s just too far to travel!! But persuade husband to take us again

Agree with the other posters. It's not that nice tbh. Ok in parts, but you really have to look hard. Much nicer places to go.

Oh my such polarised views on Malta!!!

We won't be hiring a car

We've been to lots of places but have never tried Malta which is why we thought it would be a nice change

I love Malta and used to live there, but it wouldn’t be my top spot for a lazy by the pool and dinner in the evening holiday. A previous poster called it ‘unfinished’ and I think that’s a very fitting word. Valletta is a charming city and St Julian’s is fun to see but the hotels, pool clubs and dinner spots are often missing that polished finish that you would want for a pool holiday. I found it hard to find nice quality food (in supermarkets & restaurants) until I learned tips from locals or went to dinner at locals houses.

We stayed with Maltese friends in May (Sliema). First time for us. We swam and ate a lot. Had one of the best meals of my life in Mdina (which is pretty) at a place called De Mondian- Michelin star, maltese tasting menu and flight of wine. We did the museums and sites/ galleries on our own. The Caravaggio in St Johns Cathedral is worth a look and the Cathedral itself is awesome. We liked Fort St Elmo and the Grandmaster's palace. My favourite visit was to a former closed nunnery which had correction cells for wayward girls- chilling (https://mysteriumfidei.mt) . The Nuns never left the convent and were buried onsite.We pottered around on ferries and used Uber which was cheap. Valetta has a nice vibe.
I think we will go back next year, if asked, and look at the Neolithic sites.
There were quite a few touristy bits but we didn't go there.

Avoid St Julians

Valetta was nice

I probably won't go back to Malta

St J was very built up and commercial

Had a proper 'strip'

Felt like Tenerife....Italy's answer to Las Americas or Benidorm

We went a few years ago, & got bored as we had seen & done everything worth doing in the first week.
We didn't need a car, the buses were frequent & reliable.

We went to Malta for the first time in March.

It was a lovely holiday, but we aren't really staying by a pool people. We found the ancient temples very interesting, plus visited various interesting cathedrals, plus some fortresses including Mdina. The town of Mdina had also been decorated for a saints day with beautiful lights. The main city on Gozo also had a great fortress. We got the fast ferry on foot from Valetta.

The coastline did seem quite rocky but that was okay because it was only about 18 degrees air temperature so we only ventured into the sea once.

We managed to get some really nice food - it was an interesting mixture of British/Italian/North African + some specific Maltese specialities. Busy bees is a set of about 4 cafes that did some amazing pistachio croissants and lots of other tasty cakes etc.

As a family of 4 it was pretty much as cheap to get a taxi as 4 bus tickets - we used Bolt as it seemed extremely efficient and reasonably priced.

Stayed in Valletta, which was quite interesting, trip to Gozo ditto, travelled around by the famous old buses which was fun and a bit hair-raising at times. Marsaxlokk (sp?) had a lovely harbour with traditional painted boats, Mdina was gorgeous, Sliema looked more touristy and resort-like. It was how I imagined Italy in the past.

Love Malta and used to live there. We always stay in Valletta or Sliema because we want to be able to go out for drinks/food/evening strolls in a proper city, not just be stuck in resort. The restaurants are great as long as you avoid the tourist traps on the main squares. The side streets by the food market and Manoel Theatre are good places to start.

The Phoenicia is lovely, Grand Excelsior also good (both have proper indoor and outdoor pools). There are also lots of boutique options in Valletta some of which have pools and some of which don’t. Lots of smaller chain hotels in Sliema.

Things to see - the Neolithic stuff (book the Hypogeum in advance), the Cathedral, Mdina (get dinner in De Mondian, or for a cheaper option Coogi has a terrace overlooking the walls which is perfect with a Prosecco at sunset). All the wartime things. All easily reachable by bus, use the Tallinja app. We often go at the same time as the international contemporary dance festival, which is great but was last week.

If you want a resort, most are either in St Julian’s or Mellieha Bay/Golden Sands. There are some lovely exclusive resorts which would be fine if you didn’t plan on leaving the poolside, but once you leave the hotel all of that area is quite touristy and can be tacky - I’m not a big fan personally, and I would predict that the people saying they hated Malta stayed in a poor-quality hotel in one of those areas.

Gozo is very cute, lots of little fishing villages and small hotels/vills. Not a huge amount to do at night, but very peaceful.

Avoid Paceville - the centre of St Julians. I was there a few weeks ago and it's young person party central. Also cranes and building work everywhere.

Malta has a lot of organised crime. Its become a haven for certain types to wash their money and corruption is pretty rife

This was the case back in the 1980s when I lived there as well though - bribery, backhanders, open nepotism. It’s a Mediterranean thing, Malta is no worse than Naples or Monaco. Tourists are going to run into any problems, it is people trying to run a business who have issues.

One of the joys of Malta are the buses. They go everywhere, they are reliable, cheap and frequent. I wouldn't bother with a car.last time we went we stayed in an airb&b ina villlage called Mgarr. Not very touristy, nice bars, a couple of cafes and buses everywhere, including to a brilliant rocky beach called Gnejna. We had a lovely time.

Malta's ranking in the global corruption scale has only worsened in recent years.
https://theshiftnews.com/2024/01/30/malta-retains-all-time-lowest-score-on-corruption-perception-index/

In 2017 a journalist was car bombed whilst working on an expose that was linking senior government officials to corruption business practices in the gambling industry. Her death sent shockwaves around the world and the wider EU. As a result of her death, some senior government officials resigned and a good few people are in jail now https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_Caruana_Galizia

I don't think you'll go wrong with a nice hotel in Valletta. You can get a bus if you fancy a trip out (would definitely go to MDina, esp to the Fontanella tea garden, and to Gozo for the day)

Also-a little bizarre to talk about Malta without talking about the history and prehistory. Amazing things to see- and easy to see quite quickly!

We stayed at the Seabank in Melleiha. Perfect for a flop by the pool holiday. Not that much in the area though.

Easy bus trip to Valetta, which was lovely.

We'd go back, though I know a lot of people dislike it for the building work that is going on, and the ex military features that are still there.