Things to do in Malta ?

RICARDO1982

We are going to Valetta Malta for 2 weeks in a few months, has anyone here been
and is there anything we must check out while over there?
Thanks in advance

Elvis_Presley

ask this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1TnzCiUSI0

Stheno

Malta is pretty small, so two weeks is a long time to spend there.

Some suggestions:

Daytrip to Gozo/The Blue lagoon. (ferry from Sliema)
Visit the Cathedral in Valetta, spend a day (not a Sunday, everything is closed) just touring around Valetta, visit the War Museum etc.
Visit Mdina (the silent city) that's another day trip.
Do the bus sightseeing tour.
Sunday market and lunch in Marsaxlokk (prounced Marshashlock)

If you are fond of the sun try to stay in a hotel with a beach club/lido.

RICARDO1982

Good one Elvis haha, Thanks Stheno, gonna do a lot of relaxing so a few weeks will be great, Whats it like to rent out a car are the drivers there good or crazy? cheers

Stheno

RICARDO1982 wrote: »

Good one Elvis haha, Thanks Stheno, gonna do a lot of relaxing so a few weeks will be great, Whats it like to rent out a car are the drivers there good or crazy? cheers

Drivers are worse than in Rome/Sicily, don't hire a car, most hotels don't have parking, and if you hire an apartment instead of staying in a hotel, you'll have to try to park on the street.

Public transport is cheap enough and fairly decent, there's a ferry from Valetta to Sliema, and the busses are regular, the bus drivers are possessed however.

Best option is to buy a weekly bus ticket.
What month are you going? It gets ferociously hot in July/August.

RICARDO1982

I am going sept oct is there any pubs or restaurants that u would recommend ? Cheers

Stheno

RICARDO1982 wrote: »

I am going sept oct is there any pubs or restaurants that u would recommend ? Cheers

Nice time to go, take loads of anti mosquito cream, the summer tourists leave and the evil mosquitos arrive, and they bite, evil little feckers.

Not so much in Valetta, but I suspect you'll not spend much time there.

Starting in Valetta, in the square the Cathedral is, across from there are a couple of restaurants, pretty much completely outside, nice to sit down and have lunch, and a few coffees/drinks on a hot afternoon (most restaurants in Malta have lots of sunshades in the outdoor areas.)

Sliema has piles of restaurants as it and St. Julians are two of the most touristy areas.

Starting at the ferries and going towards St. Julians (you'll get this when you get there) there are a few restaurants beside the ferries, one is a Tex Mex which I and a few friends found fantastic for steaks.

Closer to St. Julians there is a lovely restaurant on the seafront in Sliema (I'll have to look up the name for you) who do great seafood, and delicious mini desserts, and you can sit there and just enjoy watching the activity with the boats and swimmers around. (there's a place opposite that is great for a lazy brunch, does everything from a full breakfast to chocolate croissants and coffee, and in the afternoon the cakes are amazing)

Getting closer again to St. Julians you have Padre Piccolo, lovely restaurant, great Italian food, it's an old building that's been extended and if you get a window seat, you'll be jutting out over the bay, fantastic views, lovely food, good service, it does tend to be busy, and lots of Maltese there, which I always think is a good sign

Right beside it is a very fancy restaurant which is reputed to be amazing, it's extremely expensive, but looks great, and the few people I know who went there had a fantastic time, they display the menu outside so you can decide if you can afford the treat, it's not for the fainthearted.

Closer to and pretty much in St.Julians there is a fantastic Irish pub, typical Irish pub, with Irish grub, but nice for a break if you fancy a meal from home.

I've not gone into St. Julians proper really, nor into the area right beside it, which is party central, so can't help you out on that.

If you want me to look up those restaurants etc, just send me a pm and I'll do it over the next few days.

I've some lovely memories of being in Malta with my Oh, lazy breakfasts being one, we stayed in a place that didn't do any meals so sampled eating out a fair bit

Btw the busses run quite late there, I think they stop about 2am

tatli_lokma

I didn't find the driving too bad actually and loved having the car to get around. TBH on occasion I felt safer in the car than with some of the bus drivers and taxi drivers!

I also don't think 2 weeks is too long. We broke everything up by doing a day or two sightseeing, followed by a day at the pool/beach and so on. Last time we went for 16 days and went to Sicily for 2 days in the middle. flights with ryanair were only €40 each return and we stayed in the north of Sicily.

I disagree about the bus tour - I found it quite overpriced and thought it was easier to get around on public transport than the tour bus.

+1 for Marsaxlokkan and the other places mentioned

Also go to the Blue lagoon EARLY and try to get on one of the smaller boats or better yet hire a private boat. It gets VERY crowded. I was previously in Malta over 10 years ago and it was a lovely quiet spot, but now it literally sardines in a tin on the beach!

RICARDO1982

Thanks a million guys , looking forward to checking out these places , I wouldnt have thought of the mosquito cream , cheers guys

cletus van damme

anybody get the ferry to Sicily ?
any idea of the cost?

Going in July, if anybody has any idea , apart from the above.

keithclancy

Stheno wrote: »

Drivers are worse than in Rome/Sicily, don't hire a car, most hotels don't have parking, and if you hire an apartment instead of staying in a hotel, you'll have to try to park on the street.

Public transport is cheap enough and fairly decent, there's a ferry from Valetta to Sliema, and the busses are regular, the bus drivers are possessed however.

Best option is to buy a weekly bus ticket.
What month are you going? It gets ferociously hot in July/August.

Drivers on Malta were grand.
Even better still they drive on the left so less difficult for an Irish person to get used to it.

We stayed on Gozo and had an Apartment, no issues with parking.

The Public transport on Malta is rubbish. The bus wouldn't turn up at all sometimes.

If your into relaxing then renting a Villa with a private pool is the way to go, having a car to go to the shops is very handy.
This is what we went for:
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/gharb/19068

Nothing like having fresh fish, meat and decent food available to cook on an outdoor bbq every night .. then having a swim and beer by the pool

Absolutely lovely and with the car it was easy to go site seeing (Ferry across was quite quick) also went diving up at the blue hole.

tatli_lokma

keithclancy wrote: »

The Public transport on Malta is rubbish. The bus wouldn't turn up at all sometimes.

I have to say we didn't find this to be the case at all - in our experience it was cheap and reliable.

Clareboy

I have posted two full and very detailed accounts of a trip to Malta that I did in May 2012. The accounts are in the travel reviews section of this forum - Destination Report - Malta & Destination Report Gozo.