I am 21 and live and work in West Yorkshire in the North of England for now. Now working at Morriso...
I am 21 and live and work in West Yorkshire in the North of England for now. Now working at Morrisons supermarkets head office as an administrator
Member since:06.11.2002
Reviews:17
Members who trust:1
Malta is a most fascinating place to visit. I, personally, have been there twice with my Father and his partner. Both times we stayed in hotels (once self-catering and once half board) and both times I absolutely loved it.
The first time we went we stayed in the Europa Hotel on a half board basis in Sliema. The hotel itself was very nice but the food left something to be desired. There was a self service continental breakfast and an evening meal. We quite enjoyed the breakfast but the evening meal was very basic. But even then the feel of the hotel was ruined when at the begining of the second week we were joined by a school full of rowdy Sicilians. Sadly at this hotel there was no pool.
The second time we went we stayed in the St. Georges complex in Paceville.
This was self catering which suited us to the ground. The apartments were OK furnished with a small kitchenette. The hotel also had a restaurant which we never dined in and a games room which I spent ages in. Also there was a nice big supervised pool making this apartment complex great for families.
My favourite place on the whole island had to be Marsaxlokk which is a small fishing town with a seafront market. It was just this feel that made you feel part of the Maltese experience. The market had traditional hand made leather purses, wallets, cigarette holders etc. There were also stalls selling freshly caught fish and freshly baked goods such as some sort of date pasty I seem to remember. When we were there, there was some sort of fiesta on at the little church by where the buses stop. This was followed by a procession along the waterfront. If you can see a fiesta of any kind while you are in Malta it is well worth it. The locals always make you feel welcome. There are also some little restaurants which serve freshly caught and cooked fish in various meals for not much money (about £5 for two courses).
Other must see sites on the island include the capital - Valletta. This is where the main bus terminus us so if you are travelling about the island on public transport you will, some time or other, pass through. You should always do more than pass through though. You should set aside a day of your holiday to spend in Valletta as there is lots for everyone to see. Just entering the bus station you can see that from the grandeur of the massive fountain in the middle what greatness this place has to offer. There are many churches and gardens within the city that you can visit (the churches require you to be fully covered up). There are also so great shops selling many different products from clothes to locally produced crafty type goods.
Another must visit place is the Mosta dome. This is a large church with one of the largest dome roof's in Europe. You can enter the church at just about any time so long as you are dressed properly. Within the church you could just look at the magnificent ceiling or have a look at the bomb which fell through the dome during the war, luckily it did not explode and destroy the church. I do believe you can also take part in a service.
Mdina or the silent city as it is also known is a beautiful place to visit. It is called the silent city because of the narrow streets with thick walls which means you cannot hear noises coming in either direction (so watch out for the cars). When you walk right the way through the city you can reach a lookout point which is very high and looks over a lot of Malta. This gives fantastic views which I will remember forever.
On the way to, or from Mdina there is a tree which is said to be a message from God because it was struck by lightning and it now looks like Jesus upon his cross. I personally didn't get to see the tree as we were on an organised tour and that wasn't part of it but I would like to see it when I return.
Now for the young of you, or even the young at heart, the place you want to be in in the Paceville and St. Julians area. This is the main bar and night club area in Malta. There are also many eateries of different types with my favourite being a little cafe called Dezzzzzzzzz which served big sticky cakes aswell a snack meals suck as Maltese Ravioli (which is very nice if you can find it). We also wen here for breakfast everyday while we were staying in St. Georges.
For the souvenir shoppers out there the best place to go is Sliema by the waterfront from where all the ferries set off from. There are many souvenir shops along with kiosks where you could book organised tours. We booked a ride in a glass bottomed boat which was great fun.
The main beach on the island is the beach by Mellieha Bay. This has it owns name but I cannot remember it. This beach has a small cafe which sold some nice food despite the many LARGE ants. The sand on the beach is beautiful and clean and so is the sea. There are regular buses to here from Valletta so access is quite easy. The water also quite calm due to it being in a sheltered bay.
We also visited Gozo one day but I was ill and cannot remember much apart from some amazing help from a phamacist near a miricle church and guess what - I was cured of my stomach bug about 20 minutes after taking the medicine.
There is much more I could say about Malta but I already feel that this opinion is quite long but if you want to ask me a question about any aspect of Malta I can answer I will update it for each question.
Holidays to Malta are quite cheap so give it a try - we paid about £250 per person for two weeks in November/December (it is still quite hot).
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Thanks for this recently informed account of Malta. I was there in 1966 and particularly liked reading about the crusades and the second world war history. Sad to hear of the tradition of shooting wild birds peculiar to this island, though.
shewhosmiles 02.12.2002 01:59
You brought back some good memories. I haven't been for 7 years but I stayed at the St Georges complex 5 summers in a row and 2 Christmas and New Years. I used the gym a lot in the complex and sometimes swam in the quieter indoor pool. It was great being able to step out of the hotel into the nightlife and watch the posers strutting their stuff. You could mention the Dragonara hotel and casino at the bottom of the hill and the fantastic boats that dock there. Because it's a rocky island the sea is very clear and I loved to watch the fish swimming. It was very cheap when I used to go there - about 25p for half of lager and in Valletta you got free food with every round. I think that the main beach is Golden Bay and the one at Mellieha has a nudest beach hiding behind the rocks!! The best thing for me was the friendlines of the people, it's a great place.
Elainebaba 02.12.2002 01:33
Awwww....isn't that nice...here I go dreammmmmminnng! I wanna go!
Avril
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Advantages: Plenty to see and do for everybody. Historic and Ancient. Some nice beaches, some rocky coves. Wonderful for snorkeling, water clear blue. Disadvantages: Poor roads, ancient but quaint bus system (Cheap and regular).
Scorpio2 26.06.2001 ·
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Review of General: Malta
Dec 2nd, 2002
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