malta - forsi għandi nirtira hawn

---

A small island nation and UNESCO site with plenty of dining and nightlife, Malta is a beautiful country dating back to 5900 BC.  I stayed in Sliema at 248 Boutique Studios (amazing!), but the other towns are a short bus ride away, with Valletta (the capital city) a 5-minute ferry ride.  Malta was a British Territory at one time, and they still drive on the left side of the road (with the driver's seat on the right side).  The roads are crazy narrow and super confusing with no lane markers.  I'll never drive in Malta, lol. English is the second language here and everyone speaks it.  The euro and debit/credit cards are taken everywhere. So diverse, so interesting and so beautiful. 

Despite the frantic traffic, Malta is a low-key, friendly place.  It's so small that everyone feels like a neighbor.  Don't rent a car, use public transportation or Uber.  Not only is traffic bonkers, there is no parking.  I don't know how the people who live here do it!  The restaurants are great and incredibly affordable.  Actually, everything there is affordable. If you're vacationing and have a kitchen, I recommend Welbee's Supermarket.  Super fresh and the best produce I've ever had in my life.

So much to do on such a small island.

1. Let's start with Mdina, the Silent City.  It's also known as the Old City (dating back to the 1500s) and the Walled City (it's literally walled off from everything). Few people still live there (only residents who are grandfathered in), very few cars and even fewer pets. It's clean, quiet and gorgeous. At its highest point, on a clear day you can see the whole island. 

2. The Vittoriosa Waterfront its beautiful. Some of the yachts look like floating luxury hotels. Tons of restaurants and a lovely promenade for walking on a bright, sunny day or clear, starry evening.

3. The Blue Grotto, named after the one on Capri, Italy, is stunning.  Milleniums of waves crashing against the stone have created caves with glowing-colored walls (from the various minerals). You can book a boat tour of the caves, but it's much cheaper to simply go to the caves' floating office and purchase an €8 ticket for the small fishing boats. The captains seat according to size and everyone wears a life jacket. If the weather is bad or windy the boats don't go, so booking a tour in advance seems like a crapshoot. 

4. St. Julian's is a city on the main island, very close to Sliema.  Well, they're all really close.  St. Julian's is far more modern, with tons of great restaurants and shopping.  Barracuda, on the water, was perfection.

5. Visit in February and enjoy their amazing Carnival.

6. Go to Popeye Village.

7. Enjoy a walking food tour with tastings.

8. Join a pub crawl with drinks and games.

9. Take a Gozo full day Jeep tour with lunch and boat ride.

10. Take a catamaran cruise of the Blue Lagoon with lunch and open bar.

CHECK OUT MORE MALTA ATTRACTIONS & TOURS AND GET DISCOUNTED TICKETS THROUGH MY PARTNERSHIPS WITH:

GET YOUR GUIDE: https://www.getyourguide.com/malta-l90/?partner_id=9B7YGSE&utm_medium=online_publisher&cmp=Malta

VIATOR: https://www.viator.com/Malta/d4141-ttd?pid=P00174325&mcid=42383&medium=link&campaign=Malta

You can also hop over to my Attractions & Tours Ticket page for discounted tickets from TIQETS.

I had many wonderful experiences during my time in Malta, not including the day I stumbled, fell into a stone wall and then almost into the street, but I digress.  The thing that will always stand out to me is the hospitality shown by the Airbnb host and housekeeper.  Yes, it included weekly housekeeping, and Trisye was a doll.  She even washed my clothes a couple of times.  On one of her day's off she gave a private tour of the island, showing me all the best spots. Seriously cannot recommend this accommodation enough.