Malta

[Gman1]

Going to Mata end of may.
I know it doesnt have many beaches but which are sandy and good for swimming. Also where to stay for good choice of restaurants and bars we are both over 50 so clubing not our thing but we're not quite dead yet.
We will prob hire a car so any must see or do ideas would be nice.

We went to Mellieha in the north of the island.

Going down the hill from the town there is quite a good sandy beach (Ghadira Bay, I think). A fair number of bars and restaurants on the way too and the buses plentiful.

Just by the main church are the wartime bunkers that are hollowed out of the cliff in which the local residents had to live during the Second World War (Malta being the "most bombed nation on earth"). These are open to visitors now and are worth a look.

Medina is also great for a visit. It's a very tiny city but a former capital of the island. Near Rabat, which isn't far outside of Valletta.

Gozo is good to visit on the ferry too

Valletta itself also worth a visit.

We didn't hire a car. The buses were cheap and plentiful.

My son lives in malta so have been a few times.

restaurants:

https://www.wigiskitchen.com/

http://www.phoeniciamalta.com/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g190328-d13997233-Reviews-Porticello-Valletta_Island_of_Malta.html

the phoenicia hotel is beautiful and not as expensive as you might think but if you dont want to eat there its worth going for a drink as its beautiful inside!

If you want history look here

https://www.maltaparadise.com/articles/maltas-top-9-ancient-sites/

https://heritagemalta.mt/explore/hal-saflieni-hypogeum/ - this one is so old they only allow a few people to visit each day and needs to be booked months in advance so i havent managed to see it yet.

We stayed in Valetta last Jan. Can't comment on beaches, but the bus system worked really well, we got a ticket for 5 days (from memory) which included a trip to Gozo. There is an app for the busses which was really helpful.
It's a crowded island and I was glad not to have to think about parking.

We went to Ramla Bay on Gozo which was nice, people were swimming, they have a lifeguard, but it was too cold for me (right at the end of March). I know there are 2 beaches near the Radisson at Golden Bay, the one immediately outside the hotel and Għajn Tuffieħa which is over the peninsula. I think there is an artificial one at Mellieha bay, this was busy when we passed around 1st April, and there is one at the other end of the island at Pretty Bay, that one is not so touristed but from pics on Google it seems to be overlooking a shipping port. I think a lot of people swim off the rocks on other stretches of coast.

How long are you going for? We ended up using Uber or Bolton to get around, rather than hiring a car, it was slightly cheaper that way for our itinerary and we didn't need to worry about parking. Uber/Bolt were plentiful. We stayed in Valletta, which was great for restaurants and sightseeing but you couldn't do that with a car. You probably need to check hotels with parking options as a priority. Lots of Silema across from Valletta. We went to Hagar Qim and Blue Lagoon on one day and also to Hypogeum (book now, numbers are limited, right now that first week of May you can still get tickets for all days but some slots on each day are full already) and Tarxien temples. We also crossed to 3 cities by ferry from Valletta. We stayed in Medina for a night, but you can do it as a full day trip from Valletta/Silema area, if you want to see both the catacombs and the silent city it would take a full day. If you want to do a lot of sightseeing the heritage Malta pass is cost effective.

Parking was extreemly difficult to find and driving on Malta was a nightmare for me so I would encourage you to use buses.

Will use bus as suggested andcdef visit gozo for the day.
Looking to stop in Sliema any suggestions on appartments.