Malta - A gem in the Mediterranean

On the month of May 2019 I chose to visit the country-archipelago of Malta, located in the Mediterranean sea a mere 80 km from southern Italy.

I was looking for a cheap, educational and relaxing holiday this time around and Malta proved just the right place for that.

Wied il-Għasri in Gozo island

📁 Malta (country)

• 📁 Comino (island)
• 📁 Gozo (island)
• 📁 Malta (island)

Mdina

Mdina is the old capital city of Malta, its history was written by great civilizations like the Phoenicians and the Romans. Its historic and cultural significance is vast and rich and warrants an article of its own, such as this.

I stayed close to Mdina city walls and insisted on visiting it every single day, either for a night cap or a morning breakfast. The city was dazzling every time.

Mdina is centrally located in the island of Malta and it serves greatly as a base point to travel to other locations on the island(s).

This key location made travelling and last minute trips quite feasible, specially because I had a car at my disposal which I definitely recommend getting when in Malta. I did not try the public transport system in Malta, but overall got the impression it was decent though not great as the island spots were well covered by public buses which were irregular and inconsistent.

I don’t think you can actually stay in Mdina the walled city but you most definitely can stay just outside the walls like I did.

Technically my accommodation was not in Mdina, but in Rabat yet I was just 8 mins, walking distance, away. In Rabat you can also visit the St Paul’s Catacombs (paid attraction) which were visited by the late Pope John Paul II.

Valletta

The contemporary capital of Malta is a fairly big city and has beautiful streets which seemed designed in a grid like system given how every street lead to the sea and out of central Valletta.

Valletta’s beautiful bay and harbour are worth contemplating and “taking it in” for a while, as these spots provide great photos ops and also serve as a chilling location if you just want to breathe in the fresh sea air before continue exploring Valletta.

During night time the city streets were buzzing with local entertainers and live music, which worked great for local restaurants as tourists would gather near the entertainment and restaurant staff would “advertise” their menus to bystanders.

Overall the food in Valletta was good, but I much preferred the food from other smaller villages/regions of Malta.

Blue Grotto

One of the many coastal landmarks that Malta has to offer - the Blue Grotto contains a few sea caves which can be visited by boat. You can also snap some pictures from land but they don’t do the place justice one bit so I’d strongly recommend you take a boat trip there.

Boat trips are fairly quick and quite simple, think fisherman row boats with simple motors. The boats are still fairly comfortable and do the job fine.

When in Malta

For the sake of brevity I’m not going to write a chapter for each one of the following but that doesn’t mean they are less important or not worth visiting at all. Here’s a brief description of few other things you might want to do when in Malta:

• Try their food, bathe in their sea waters, hike their cliffs and mind the wind as it can get quite windy there ༄.

• The island of Gozo is worth visiting for a full day at least, whilst the central island of Comino is much smaller and its main attraction is the 'Blue Lagoon' - a popular coastal bathing area, famed due to its crystal clear blue waters.

• Stop by Popeye Village as it's quite an artistic place to behold and also has an artistic raison d'être. From the surrounding cliffs you can get a nice view and get a feel for its size and structures. At the time I visit one needed to purchase tickets to go inside the village.

• As of March 2017 the iconic 'Azure Window' attraction has lost... its attraction. It wasn't until I had visited the location that I realised that the famous rock formation was no longer there and had instead collapsed some years ago. So if that is on your list be aware that you won't find the window rock formation anymore.

  

  

  

  

• Visit their fishing villages and harbours as they will have a variety of boats and beautiful promenades to contemplate as well as all which that entails: cafes and restaurants by the sea; boat charting and sea related activities; …

• See their sea salt collecting deposits along the coast.

• Grab some food at One 80 which offered both regional and international food menus.

• For a cosy spot to get some coffee or outstanding fresh food drop by Kafe Fula (local tip).