Hi all!
So at the end of July/Beginning of August 2015, we spent 10 days in the lovely Maltese Islands. I wanted to do a post about Malta so that people thinking of their next holidays might consider it. I can't recommend Malta enough for many reasons, which will follow in the blog post.
So at the end of July/Beginning of August 2015, we spent 10 days in the lovely Maltese Islands. I wanted to do a post about Malta so that people thinking of their next holidays might consider it. I can't recommend Malta enough for many reasons, which will follow in the blog post.
We booked our holiday as a package through Cosmos online, but it's easy enough to do it without an agent, flying from Birmingham Airport with Air Malta ( as opposed to East Midlands with Monarch like last year). There's a decent amount of flights to Malta during the summer, although not as many as other popular destinations. A lot of the cheaper flights involve connections through other European countries which greatly extend you travelling time so I suggest paying extra and getting a direct flight. I highly recommend Air Malta, ticketless, nice clean planes, a bottle of water and a sandwich included in the flight price and an option to choose window or aisle seats at check-in! Our flights were late night which meant we arrived into Malta around midnight. "I hate night flights!" you say? Bear in mind that the island isn't very big, meaning short transfers, allowing you a sleep at your hotel before commencing with your holiday! ;)
We opted to stay for 10 days in a small town called Mellieha, to the north of the island. It has one of the best beaches for sunbathing, snorkelling, access to the ferry port in Cirkewwa and a regular bus service. We stayed in Mellieha last year and fell in love with the beautiful church, the bay overlooked by the main street atop the hill, houses and apartments creating concrete valleys down to the coast... One thing I would point out is that, with the village being on a steep hill, it may not be suitable for those with reduced walking abilites as, especially in the summer months, it takes some exertion to walk up the street or down to the beach.
However, as I have already mentioned, the bus service in fantastic. There are buses every half hour/hour or so down the hill to the beach, and to various towns around the island, including the capital city, Valletta. We decided to purchase the "Tallinja Card", which is a prepaid oyster-like card that you can top up as and when. For €21, we had unlimited bus travel around Malta and it's archiplego. We had to pay the bus fare (€2 each) to get to Bugibba bus station in order to buy the cards, but I recommend making the trip, a) because of the saving on the buses, and b) because Bugibba is a lovely little town, but I will come to that later.
However, as I have already mentioned, the bus service in fantastic. There are buses every half hour/hour or so down the hill to the beach, and to various towns around the island, including the capital city, Valletta. We decided to purchase the "Tallinja Card", which is a prepaid oyster-like card that you can top up as and when. For €21, we had unlimited bus travel around Malta and it's archiplego. We had to pay the bus fare (€2 each) to get to Bugibba bus station in order to buy the cards, but I recommend making the trip, a) because of the saving on the buses, and b) because Bugibba is a lovely little town, but I will come to that later.
Mellieha is a modestly popular tourist destination, but still has rustic charm. At the bottom of the hill, there are a number of restaurants, bars and shops on the beach front, as well as hotels if you like to be right on the beach. At the top of the hill in the main town, there's a wonderful church, with a courtyard overlooking the bay. Along the street, there's a good choice of restaurants and bars, gift shops and clothes shops and supermarkets. We stayed in the Maritim Antoinine Hotel and Spa, which itself has 3 restaurants, a cocktail bar, rooftop pool, indoor pool, spa, garden pool and poolside bar and free wifi throughout the hotel. We had breakfast included, which consisted of a decent buffet of cold and cooked food, fruit, yoghurt, rolls and pastries and drinks. Our room was a studio with tea making facilities, a lovely modern bathroom, and a door overlooking a small courtyard (no views or balcony, just a railing, fine for us as we spend most of our time out of the room!).
After a refreshing sleep, we awoke for breakfast, (which was ok, not exactly gourmet but fairly good) and then headed down the beach. We were experiencing the full effects of the heat by this point, which was mid-thirties by 10am! As we hadn't bought our bus cards yet, we decided to walk down the hill to the beach. The walk down isn't so bad but you still work up a sweat as there's little shelter along the road down. After 10 minutes, we reached the beach. There's lots of sunbeds, beach space, rock pools and a jetty of sorts, which is ideal for sunbathing and swimming from. We jumped straight in, leaving our belongings on the jetty. We discovered last year that it was fairly safe to do so, but use your own judgement as there's pickpocketers everywhere!
The sea is clear and clean and you can still touch the seabed by the time you reach the bouys sectioning the beach off from the marina. It's worth grabbing some snorkels around here as there's lots in the way of fish and crabs, especially round the rock pools!
As the heat was increasing, we spent about 2 hours by the beach and then headed to the bus stop to get back up the hill. Buses are fairly regular but make sure you lotion up and bring a hat as there's little shade around the bus stops and the midday heat can leave your blood boiling.
We hopped on the bus back up the hotel, stopping off at a little pastry shop on the street for some homemade pizza and doughtnuts for lunch, and headed to the rooftop pool in our hotel. Plenty of sunbeds available meaning no need for towel-reservations! You could order food from the bar to your sunbed or sit at the tables, overlooking the bay. We had a dip in the pool before heading for some shade to enjoy a chilled day after a busy couple of days.
The sea is clear and clean and you can still touch the seabed by the time you reach the bouys sectioning the beach off from the marina. It's worth grabbing some snorkels around here as there's lots in the way of fish and crabs, especially round the rock pools!
As the heat was increasing, we spent about 2 hours by the beach and then headed to the bus stop to get back up the hill. Buses are fairly regular but make sure you lotion up and bring a hat as there's little shade around the bus stops and the midday heat can leave your blood boiling.
We hopped on the bus back up the hotel, stopping off at a little pastry shop on the street for some homemade pizza and doughtnuts for lunch, and headed to the rooftop pool in our hotel. Plenty of sunbeds available meaning no need for towel-reservations! You could order food from the bar to your sunbed or sit at the tables, overlooking the bay. We had a dip in the pool before heading for some shade to enjoy a chilled day after a busy couple of days.
For dinner, we went to our favourite restaurant, Tosca. They do the most incredible fresh pizzas and pasta and the service is great! Between us, we polished off a Pizza Fresca, with rocket and mozzarella and a funghi pizza, packed full of mushrooms! Feeling full, we headed to 120 Bar, owned by the Maritim hotel (which seems to have the monopoly on half the street!). Disaronno and Coke for €2.80? Don't mind if we do! After a couple here, we went to the cocktail bar in the hotel. The barstaff were experts in cocktail making and also very friendly, offering us cocktails to try and to make us a different one if we didn't like. Happy to say, we discovered some new cocktails that have made their way into our favourite poisons!
We headed out the following morning to the town of Bugibba, a coastal shopping and restaurant hub! First stop, the Malta National Aquarium which is a 10-15 minute walk along the coastal road. The aquarium is probably a bit smaller than the Sealife Centre in Birmingham and is home to a number of Maltese and more exotic specimens including Rays, Sharks, Eels, Lobsters and Octopodes. There's lots for the kids to do and lots to learn about, and also has a nice gift shop chokka with cute marine life toys, t-shirts, glassware and other sweet things, as well as a large cafe/restaurant.
Lunch consists of our favourite waffle place, where we have amazing milkshakes and chocolate covered waffles!
Lunch consists of our favourite waffle place, where we have amazing milkshakes and chocolate covered waffles!
The evening was spent enjoying the most delicious mushroom risotto at one of the smaller restaurants in Mellieha. The portion size was very generous, but even so, the risotto was so good, I could have eaten two lots! After a sunset walk around the church grounds and some photo opportunities from the edge of the hill, just past a small cemetary next to a playground (odd choice!), we headed back for some cocktails for a nice chilled evening. Even after dark, the temperatures are still pushing late 20s, if not 30s!
The following day, after breakfast, we headed out for a trip to Valetta, Malta's capital city. The city has a very rustic feel to it, with small cobbled streets filled with little pastry shops and small market places, but it is also undergoing some development, bringing a little bit of the modern to meet the old. Walking through the town, there are lots of fashionable shops, book stalls, market stalls, museums and old buildings, and as you walk through to the old harbour, you find the beautiful Barakka Gardens overlooking the waterfront.
After only an hour or so's bus ride, we find ourselves back in Mellieha, where we stop off for a bite to eat at Debbie's Cafe.
As the evening draws in, so does "Mellieha Nights", a highly popular annual event which marks the celebration of Council Day. The events consist of a concert, Monster Trucks, A 300ft long Strudel, artists, street food, magicians, dancers, vintage cars and various crafts. It is an incredible event, where thousands of locals and tourists pass through to enjoy the entertainment on the pedestrianized Mellieha streets and Parish square.
This night, the WWII shelters were open, so we took a little meander through the old tunnels. The tunnels contain a number of models to illustrate the shelters when they were in use, as well as information plaques, which will no doubt appeal to the wartime enthusiast in the family (as every family has one, surely?!).
The following day, we took a boat trip from Mellieha bay to Comino, one of Malta's sister islands. Comino is famed for its crystal, turquoise waters and snorkelling, and it does not disappoint. This is our second visit to this wonderful lagoon. The first time, we visited Gozo also, and had an open top bus tour around the island and to the famous "Azure Window" (you may recognise this, Game of Thrones fans!).
For dinner that evening, we took a bus into St. Julian's, which we found out was the 18-30s party hotspot (not exactly Ibiza, Ayia Napa or Malia, but still has a buzz!), and went for something a little more familiar to the palate... Hard Rock Cafe!
For dinner that evening, we took a bus into St. Julian's, which we found out was the 18-30s party hotspot (not exactly Ibiza, Ayia Napa or Malia, but still has a buzz!), and went for something a little more familiar to the palate... Hard Rock Cafe!
Concluding our busy couple of days, we headed out to "Popeye Village", the original movie set from the Robin Williams' Popeye Film. This was without a doubt a highlight of the trip. Having not seen the film itself, I was a bit dubious that I would find anything interesting about it, but the fact that the houses, shops and other such village amenities are still standing, well maintained and highly amusing made up for my lack of film knowledge. Complete with its own little lagoon, to swim and snorkel in, including a water obstacle course, the village is a proper little hidden gem. From Mellieha, the bus took around 15 minutes, and to be honest, in less scorching weather, you could walk it in an hour or so as it is straight across the narrowest part of the island.
So, that concludes my not-so-little post about the wonders of Malta. I hope you have enjoyed reading it, and I sincerely hope it influences you to visit this wonderful island, it has so much to offer, and although it is still an up-and-coming destination (as you will notice a significant amount of developments in process, but don't worry, it isn't one huge building site!), it is probably worth going soon, before everyone catches on! ;)
Below is a small gallery of our previous visit!
Thanks for reading, have a nice day!
L xx
Thanks for reading, have a nice day!
L xx