Things to know
1Water tastes funny but is deemed safe by WHO and EU
Island is tiny, I recommend driving but we got stung on damage charges (see below)Good public transport available around the island
Uber and bolt both available, they unfortunately way undercut the traditional white cabs here
You can buy passess for entry to Maltese attractions. I didn’t find this necessary until we got to Valetta – then it is really cost affective.
There is a tourist tax of 0.50 cent for each person, each day payable in cash at your accomodation
The ancient cities of Rabat and Mdina
As the plane descends over Malta, first gozo then Malta proper, it’s already apparent why people come here for the beach. I felt like even from a couple of thousand feet up I could see the sandy base of the Mediterranean bays scattered around. Before you know it Gozo is gone and you’re on the run way, underlining how small Malta is.
At just 316km square it’s the smallest nation in the EU, however it has 300 churches, the highest per capita In the world. From above it looks flat, the Netherlands of the Mediterranean, I remarked whilst above. We’d rented a car but had the weather not been so hot I’d have thought you could cover the island by bike. Our first stop was Rabat, a town attached to ancient Mdina. The thought was, stay here as it’ll be easier to drive in and walk the mile or so into the ancient town of Mdina.
The roads are not a challenge; the Maltese drive on the left like I do at home. Even the road signs are the same as the UK! The only difficulty is the parking. Tiny streets with free parking are not hard to come by in most towns and cities, but they are not built for big cars – my suggestion is to rent the smallest car you can make do with.
We arrived at our beautiful hotel, 100 Boutique, in the early evening. Rabat and Mdnina are small, perhaps a day’s worth of sightseeing so most people say visit by bus. Mdina is mostly the Citadel, which is worth an hour of walking, taking in the architecture and getting lost in wandering through the winding alleys. The Cathedral of St Paul is a particular highlight, however on Sundays it may be closed to the public so bare that in mind. You can go to the town across the road called Mtafar as part of the “British military walk” which encompass areas of Rabat and Mdnina. However, the military hospital there is closed to the public, but the repurposed barracks and old clock tower are interesting. Although you may only enjoy this if you’re a British history buff.
Back in Rabat the biggest sight is the catacombs of St Pauls in the Wignacourt Museum, which are from 3rd century AD. It has a fantastic Agape table which is thought was used at times of anniversary of the dead so families could enjoy a meal with their dead ancestors.At night both Mdnina and Rabat are sleepy. We wondered the alleys a bit before looking for some food. Like most small islands, you can feel the influence of bigger countries and regions here. The Italian influence is strong, but the yellow blocked buildings and the meandering alleys felt more north African or Arabian. We ate at L’entoca who had a vegan menu for us. Vegan or not, the food was fresh and outstanding.
The journey to Gozo
Having a car afforded us the luxury of being able to stop for a swim on the way to the Gozo ferry. That and everything seemingly only being about a 20 minute drive away. We drove to Riviera beach and walked along to the viewport to Qarraba bay. The walk around the huge flat rock at the viewpoint is worth doing but as I found out, not really suitable for flip flops.
Qarraba bay has more gentle sea, but is often filled with nudists. And the walk down is incredibly steep.
Getting onto Gozo couldn’t be easier. We arrived at the dock as the ferry was filling it’s cars. You don’t pay until you return, so you really just turn up and get on. In 20 minutes we were off and on our way to our first stop on Gozo; Gganjtia temple, billed as the second oldest neolithic site on Earth at 5000-6000 years old. You may have heard of this place on such reputable series such as Ancient Aliens. The place is absolutely unique, the museum is really well done showcasing everyday life for the neolithic people. I was really surprised at how advanced the Neolithic people were. However, I didn’t leave agreeing with Ancient Aliens that it must have been built by Alien Giants.
There are dozens of Neolithic ruins in Malta, so even if you can’t get to these ones, there are plenty of others to choose from.
From there we came to our hotel base for the next 3 days on the west coast called Xlendi which has enough bars and restaurants without feeling too touristy- If you stay here I recommend watching the sunset over the salt pans as well as taking the stairs up onto the hill the other side of harbor.
Elsewhere in Gozo, both the Blue Hole and Ramla beach are full of tourists. You can hike along the coast from the blue hole which is certainly worth it, but we found other coastal walks that were better.
One being from Weid Il-Ghasri, a gorge with a absolutely stunning bay. Unfortunately we couldn’t swim here at the time due to having to share the bay with dozens of mauve stinger jellyfish. The car park here looks abandoned and sort of not like a road, but it is in fact a car park and a road! You can walk around the gorge and along the cliffs above it which I really recommend.
Ramla is a red sand beach which you’ll have to share with many others. However, Malta doesn’t have a great deal of sandy beaches, so it was nice to enjoy. The sand is red because of the nutrients from the Roman cemetery next to it (no joke!) Overall, Gozo is a great place for a few days.
The final few days
On our way to return the car rental we took the time to visit more Neolithic ruins; Hhgar Qim and Mnajdra temples. Both are included in the same ticket. These sites are magnificent. The fact these are thousands of years old and are intact enough that you can walk around and see how the places were built and feel what they were like thousands of years ago. They are a couple of minutes drive from the Blue Grotto, which is not worth visiting unless you intend to take a boat trip to the Grotto itself. It is viewable from a very busy car park on the road before you head down to the village of the Grotto. From there we popped for a coffee to see the fishing village of Marsaxlokk. This place is very beautiful but very very busy and touristy. Every restaurant here sells locally caught fish, but given it’s touristy sea front location it isn’t the cheapest place to eat.
Valetta
In Valetta we based ourself in Silema; a gorgeous waterfront town where beaches are replaced in typical Maltese fashion by flat rocks. The sea is crystal as you would imagine. It’s a really beautiful place to stay, although all of the tourist sites are across the sea on ferry in Valetta old town some might prefer to stay there. For party goers, St Pauls bay is around the bay next bay and will be suitable for you. I’m too old and enjoy sleep too much for that now. Worth noting, we dropped the car back at the airport for Valetta, we felt like we didn’t need it here and we were right. The bus from the airport to Valetta costs 2.5 euros.
The ferry from Silema to Valetta old town leaves every 30 mins and tickets can be bought at the dock. From there there are free buses to the three cities. The ferry is the best way to travel between the bays; with a view one side of Valetta and the other of more modern Silema with the island fort of Manoel between them.Valetta old town is like a city museum. Sure, it has dozens of museums, but they architecture and old streets has such an old world charm just walking around gives the sense of being in a museum.
Like most cities they have allowed some horrible buildings to blight the beautiful city, especially at its edges. A real shame but it doesn’t detract from the splendor of the city. We first walked to the point of the city, Fort St Elmo which has a deep history of over 500 years, from the Knights of St John to the British. It houses a 7 building war museum, which is a must of that’s your sort of things. There are so many things to see in Valetta, in the day we had we didn’t manage to see them all. We were content with walking about.
One thing not to miss however is the Cathedral of St John, which has ceilings adorned with paintings reminiscent of the Sistine chapel.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Malta is a great little place to spend a week. People who stay longer must spend their time snorkeling, diving or relaxing on the beach. We did bits of that but with a car we’re still able to see them majority of Gozo and mainland Malta. Despite being utterly ripped off with the damage to the car rental, I’d still recommend this for most people. Unless you are here at the very height of tourist season. The roads are not suitable in many places for lots of cars, this was especially true in Gozo. If driving doesn’t suit you, the hop on and off buses serve the island well, as do public buses. Tours are everywhere you look to everywhere you would like to go, but it’s a more expensive way of doing it.
If you visit, take the time to learn about the history of Malta from their Neolithic sites to their museums. I had no idea of the strategic importance of the island, nor their history of being ruled and their recent freedom from that. Explore the rocky shores and find a empty bay for yourself to relax, visit their forts and explore their old cities. It’s a beautiful country, which is diverse in their history and their culture and I can only recommend a visit here.
