Is Malta boring?

[BarbaraUsher]

I don’t want to offend any Maltese people but I once worked with a woman from Malta who said she’d come to England as Malta was dull.
But as I’m sat here on my sofa wasting my half term off from work I’m wondering if a week in Malta next October half term would be good.
I don’t want to lay at a pool. I like history, nature, exploring. I’d be taking my young adult DC. ( who is vegan)

If you have been to Malta please tell me all about it!

It looks like a building site and I’d pay good money to not go there, but plenty of people like it. Valletta was ok but there are nicer places for a holiday.

There's a difference between living somewhere and having a week's holiday.

Lincolnshire is dull. Malta? You'll probably find things to do for seven days.

If you like history, Malta has historic sites that predate the pyramids by over 1000 years. The people are lovely, the diving is great, a few beaches, but mainly history. One of the largest unsupported domes in the world too.

If you love nature then please avoid Malta. They 'legally' slaughter our migrating songbirds during their annual hunt. It's a disaster.

https://www.komitee.de/en/campaigns-and-operations/malta/

Not off to a good start.

No, it's not boring. Plenty of history.

The temples are astonishing if you have an interest in ancient history. Valetta is a lovely place to walk round. We had a great holiday there some years ago - but I do understand it's become busier in recent years.
I'd certainly go back.

Plenty of historic but it’s very run down. We went last summer and didn’t feel safe walking around at night.
It seems to be a party town - lots of young very drunk adults and drink offers everywhere, food wasn’t great either.
I was expecting the coastal areas to be really pretty but there are much more beautiful places to go.

I spent 5 days there a few years ago. If you like art and history it is amazing. Malta has been strategically significant throughout history and there is plenty to do and good transport. I would go back if I had an opportunity.
If you just like lying on a beach there are much better places to go.

Great history and really liked the Mdina. Food off the beaten track was lovely and Valletta buzzing. Holiday resorts were all a bit meh.

I don’t think it’s good for beaches - very cliff-y. Loads of history though - Knights of Malta, loads of Neolithic temples / sites, loads of Mediterranean fortifications etc.
And if you go over to Gozo it’s very beautiful, glass making, salt pans, honey coloured stone etc.

You can do a day trip to Sicily too to see Etna.

Plenty for a week, and it’s quite unusual.

The only thing I found boring was spending a lot of time sitting on buses.

No, particularly if you stay in Valletta. Small but interesting.

It’s fine, but a week is enough. I like Mdina too, and Valletta is nice. I don’t know if they are still there but the hawkers offering a harbour cruise were very annoying.

Food is good too

This is surprising. We found the opposite. Very quiet at night, almost too quiet. On a Sunday we could barely find anywhere to eat dinner.

Love Malta. We went there on honeymoon and have been back since a couple of times. Always plenty to see and do. Never felt unsafe.

We went out of season for 5 nights and enjoyed ourselves. It wasn’t amazing but it was enjoyable. It was sunny and good for walking. We were blown away by the marble floor in their big cathedral.

We have done a lot of travelling and don’t work so low key ‘enjoyable but not amazing’ holidays are still very much ok. It’s different from when you are young and working and want to make every second of every holiday count.

I asked about Malta a few years ago but in the end didn't go. I'll link the thread if I can find it, but some things that were mentioned then:

-If you are on one of the islands, ensure you leave a whole day or 2 to get back before your flight. In bad weather ferries might be cancelled and potentially miss your flight.
-People mentioned crime. I can't recall if this was more a local thing to do with organised crime or crime against tourists though.
-Lots of busses and slow transport

That year, we went to Crete instead and saw Knossos and the amazing museum nearby. We stayed in Rethymon. Another year we went to Sicily. That trip was 2 weeks and we did Palermo, Agrigento (the ruins looked like the Parthenon), Catania, Syracuse and back to Palermo. Both of these trips I'd highly recommend.

We loved it, loads to see and do and loved the live music sitting on the steps in Valetta after dinner. We went in October and the weather was great, felt very safe. Stay in Valetta and away from party Paceville.

There was plenty to see and do for there for a week but I wouldn't rush back!

I love Malta-

beautiful Islands great for a day trip.

valetta is really cool and historically interesting

a few lovely beaches but it’s not really a ‘beach hol‘ type place but that’s ok!

get the lonely planet guide, we spent 14 days there mainly using this for planning our time.

Go to popeye village its incredibly bizarre but loads of fun.

We went largely because I wanted to expose the DC to a landscape/architecture that is very different from home but with all the convenience of lots of English and being able to drive on the left 😂 that might be too honest but it’s true and we had a great time!

I don't have recent experience - it's about 11 or 12 years since we went - but we really enjoyed Malta. It's not the most picturesque place I've ever been but there is a lot of history there and we certainly didn't get bored. Like anywhere, different parts have different characteristics but the place we stayed was definitely not a party town.

I've not been but a few people have said they thought it was nice for a long weekend, but you'd run out of stuff if you stayed for a week.

I had fun but it is a building sight outside of Mdina and Valletta. I liked Valletta. I was interested in the history and am glad I have been but I wouldn’t go back.