Malta

We went to Malta in November 2010, and we were so pleasantly surprised. Valetta was wonderful - sadly very run down in parts- but all the traditional workshops on ground floor, from cobblers to tailors, topped by wonderful old enclosed balconies were a delight. The restaurant opposite the door to the Cathedral was excellent.

We hired a car and visited all the neolithic Temples dotted around - try to aim for early morning or late afternoon, as they can get crowded. A day visit to Gozo was grand too. We found a marvellous restaurant in the countryside, but couldn't give you the name.

We returned a couple of weeks ago from a week on Gozo (fabulous! So much to see and the people are wonderful) and had 3 days in Valetta - a wonderful city and a World Heritage Site, small and compact enough to see everything on foot.

we went to Gozo..lovely holiday spent 10 days there ..never got to go to Malta except to get the plane home!

Malta is charming and there are too many lovely places to mention - you'll be ok wherever you choose. Valetta is so fascinating and using the buses is so easy. I believe they have replaced a lot of the old buses now, which is a shame in some respects - part of the charm was sitting on the wildly sloping seats as we trundled around the island on these ancient vehicles. Gozo is just fabulous and there is so much to stop and learn about, you won't do it all in one trip. It calls you back

Thanks ayse for all the info, I've never been but owuld like to. I agree that the attitudeof the staff is the most important part of any holiday. Glad you had a good time.

Just wanted to tell you all about the holiday. The bus service was pretty good and at 2.60 Euros per day very good value. There is so much to see we will have to go back again. Mdina, the silent city was fantastic and there we found the best meal of our holiday, a Maltese platter: Huge slices of tomato with onion and lettuce, home made broad bean pate with water biscuits, sundried tomatoes, stuffed olives, local peppered goats cheese and a fantastic homemade sausage, served with local bread. It may have been a simple meal but so tasty we had to go back and buy it again just before we left.

Our hotel wasn't up to much but made up for by the helpful and friendly staff. Why aren't they all like that?

We visited both Gozo and Valetta - too much to mention here.

All in all a great holiday with plenty of sight seeing and loads of relaxation.

Recommended to anyone who wants beach (select hotel and resort carefully) and for loads of things to visit with very freindly and helpful Maltese.

Great holiday altogether.

That's lovely. My DH (dear husband?) was stationed there but hasn't been for sometime. I have never been to Malta so am looking forward to it immensely. I particularly wanted somewhere with interesting architecture and history. It sounds as if it is just my sort of place. We fully intend to use the bus network and as DH loves the sea I'm sure we will take a couple of boat trips. I'd like to visit Sicily as my Dad was there in the WW2. He did not go back for years but finally managed it.

I read a bit on-line about the food. Apparently there is a deal of UK style food and Italian because of the connections. I'm just hoping to find something a little more North African or with some Eastern Med. influence.

Thank you all for your comments. I just love this site

A magical place if you don't want a typical Med beach holiday. You must see the pre-hstoric sites, esp the amazing underground Hypogeum, much older than Stone Henge.(You need to book in advance). Also it is humbling to learn the story of George Cross Malta and their WW2 history - do visit the caves where people, incl my sil's parents, lived as children, a little WW2 museums. Read the Blue Dolphin by Caroline Harvey (aka Joanna Trollope) as exellent prep & Fortress Malta which I couldn't put down. Travel by bus and traditional boat or on foot (though not always well signposted). Valetta Harbour is wonderful & visit the 3 Cities opposite before they are too developed. I also love wandering about Valetta itself and going to the Hotel Phoenix for afternoon tea (I went there as an 8 year old when are boat stopped in Malta en route back from Australia). There's some good fish restaurants around, especially in the old fishing villages on the quieter side of the island. I also like Sliema for it's character buildings and promenade and the walk round the harbours. We usually stay in Gozo - easy to get to as the island is so small & love walking around. Also visit the lagoon on Comino though it get crowded. It's easy to get all the info you need once you are there from tourist offices and hotels. Steer clear of the livelier places frequented by the rowdeier Brits around St Julians though even here you can find charming places. Between the pre-history & WW2 there is of course loads more history to take in such as th ehaunts of st Paul & catacombs, th eInquisiton & th eKnights of Malta. Have a lovely time - & the people ar elovely. (The only thing I dislike intensely is the traditional attitude to hunting small birds in spite of EEC rulings.)

Spent 3 wks in Malta in Jan 2007.Stayed in Sliema- small hotel near waterfront.Had a great time.Used local buses to get around whole island also boat to Valletta which we visited several times.
Don't recall any money problems.I've used a Post office Travelcard successfully for last 2 years.My local PO very helpful with advice.
Hope you have a good time.

harrigran but I did tell the bank before I went and while I was in HK that I would be in India but it didn't make any difference they still blocked my card twice!

My bank tends to be pretty good - I'll see what they say. I don't fancy one of these Travelex cards. Don't know why either.

Thanks for your thoughts

I went to Malta 3 years ago and used my bank card a lot without telling the bank anything. It was fine.

Our best outing was a day-trip to Gozo.

I hope you have a lovely time.

I would always tell the bank when you are abroad because they will block it if it appears as an unusual transaction. My card was used in Korea and was blocked after the first transaction thus saving my account from being emptied.

I shouldn't bother to tell the bank where you are going, they told me it doesn't make any difference. They blocked my card in Hong Kong and when I called they asked me what my last transaction had been and I told them HK currency. Do you think that should have given them a clue? We then went on to India and they blocked my card again even though I had told them we were going there. Interestingly they didn't block DH at all and it is a joint account!

Sorry, never been to Malta but enjoyed having a rant about the bank!