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

One of my more disappointing holidays - we stayed in Valetta. We went in July and it was warm, but grey and so windy, with very few nice spots to just sit and relax (we stayed in an air bnb with no outside space).
Food was very limited, especially for breakfast.
Lots of cruise shippers...
I can't say I'd ever go back.

It's a very interesting place, I used to go as a kid and recently went back. Not always the prettiest place but amazing history and Valletta is stunning, especially given the pounding it took during WW2
Recommended beach reading is "the Kapillan of Malta" which covers the WW2 struggles but also gives some insight into the more distant history and culture.

Not a chance in hell would I visit a country that traps and murders migratory birds 😡

www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/malta/travel-guide/malta-bird-hunting

Marking

Only spent a weekend there in Feb, so can't comment on Sept weather. We stayed in Valletta and had a day trip to Mdina. Valletta has enough cultural stuff for a couple of days and Mdina was a nice day trip (again, cultural stuff). We would've liked to visit Marsaxlokk (pretty fishing village with busy market), the Hypogeum and Tarxien Temples (neolithic period attractions), but didn't have time, plus the Hypogeum was fully booked (it's a UNESCO WHS and only allows a small number of visitors daily, so if you want to go book as far in advance as you can). On departure, we reckoned that a week would be sufficient to see all the above, plus a day trip to Gozo.

The other bits of the island we were saw were tatty and rundown. The receptionist at our hotel warned us that there are a lot of bad restaurants in Valletta and gave us a fairly short list of ones that are decent. We stuck to that and had good food while we were there. I wouldn't rush back.

Didnt love it but we stayed in St Julians and its awful

valetta is nice

We mostly stayed in Gozo. We went on a nice walk around the coast. Not many dining options appealed, the sea was surprisingly warm. We went for days in March, wouldn't go back but I can think of worse places.

Been once, nothing special

Won't go back
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-61959825
US woman denied termination in Malta: 'I was terrified'

Andrea and Jay were on holiday in Malta when she started bleeding and her waters broke. She was 16 weeks pregnant.

Doctors told them that without amniotic fluid, with the placenta partially detached, and so early in the pregnancy, their baby had no chances of survival.

"It was a shock," Andrea tells me. "The heartbreak of finding out that this baby that we wanted, that we planned for, was going to die, was devastating on its own."

But when they got to the Mater Dei hospital in Malta, their grief was gradually overshadowed by the realisation that doctors there could not terminate her pregnancy: the baby's heart was still beating, and under Malta's complete ban on abortion, this meant there was nothing they could do but wait.

"One of the midwives told me when I would be on the 'brink of death' - she used these words - then they might intervene with a termination. It was terrifying," Andrea tells me.

There are much prettier places, I found the resorts unattractive and scruffy. Valetta was lovely though. Loved the food.

We like Malta a lot. Excellent swimming but the best is off the rocks. Only a couple of good sandy beaches. Lots of interesting historic things to see. Absolutely amazing public transport-you can get practically anywhere by bus. It is small and very crowded and lots of cars and noisy but most of the population is concentrated in the areas round Valletta.

We went a long, long time ago on a last package holiday and the hotel was a real let-down. Bed linen grubby and food not what we expected. However we made the best and had some nice excursions.. Valetta was nice. St Julian's not so nice..Think we went to a Hard rock cafe there which kids loved. The shopping mall there was a bit sad. This has to be maybe 12 or so years ago now. I would go back but perhaps no more than a week and would do proper homework on the hotel in future..

I’m pleased we went and we did enjoy our holiday there but it’s not somewhere I would visit again. We travelled to Mdina from Slima on the local bus. The return journey was at 10pm and my DD described it as the “night bus” from Harry Potter. We were hanging on for dear life 🤣 When we arrived back in Sliema, the driver suddenly announced that he wasn’t going any further and dumped all the passengers, locals and tourists. We were a long way from our hotel but had no option but to get off and walk.

I stayed in St Julians and thought it was the opposite of beautiful

builtnup, modern, tacky

I went to Malta nearly 40 years ago. It's was filthy, one big construction site and more or less devoid of greenery. We ate out all the time but the food was awful, even in supposedly more "upmarket" restaurants. I found the local people pretty indifferent really, not rude but not particularly friendly either. I enjoyed our day trip to Gozo (which was much nicer), also swimming in the Blue Lagoon at Comino and visiting the Hypogeum. But from what I've seen lately of Comino, it's become insanely crowded so I'd probably give it a swerve these days. Even if you like Malta, it really isn't a flop by the pool and eating out sort of place if that's what you're looking for.