Category: Malta

We visited Malta in March 2019. Malta International Airport (MIA) is the official airport of the Maltese Islands. It’s the only airport in Malta and is indeed a small and clean airport constructed with proper planning. There is only one terminal in this airport.

You can also find the Bus routes and the time schedule in the display board kept inside the office.

There are options to buy some tourist friendly cards like Valletta card here.

When in Airport, Following are the main Five Bus routes that you should be aware of:

1) X1 (Cirkewwa, from where you get Ferry to Gozo and boats to Comino)

2) X2 (San Giljan)

3) X3 (Bugibba)

4) X4 (Birzebbugia)

5) TD3 (Bugibba, This is a limited stop bus and the ticket price is high)

You will find all the above bus near the exit gate (take right from the arrival gate and walk straight).

Bus Number plate starts with ‘BUS’, here in Malta.

Bus Ticket Price:

Winter –> 1.5 Euros

Summer –> 2 Euros

Night –> 3 Euros

Tickets can be purchased from the Bus Driver on all the Buses. These Cash Tickets are Single Journey tickets that can be used to get to any destination within two hours, including interchanging. Rates vary between Summer and Winter months. Summer rates apply between mid-June and mid-October.

More details here –> https://www.publictransport.com.mt/

Malta Transfer:

Malta Transfer is MIA’s official hotel shuttle service. It offers convenient trips to and from your hotel in Malta or Gozo.

You can manage your transfers with fixed prices through the booking options provided in their website. Alternatively, you can also visit their booking desk in the baggage reclaim area and make your transfer arrangements upon your arrival in Malta.

Most of the hotels are listed in their booking website.

More details here –> https://www.maltatransfer.com/

Taxi Service:

Taxi services between MIA and any destination in Malta are available 24 hours a day.

Pre-paid tickets can be purchased in the airport near the arrival gate.

More details about the rate can be found here –> https://www.maltairport.com/passenger/getting-here/taxi-service/

Taxi Number plate starts with ‘TAXI’, here in Malta.

You also have an information centre (take right from the arrival gate and walk straight) in the airport, where the staff would help you on the queries. There is a luggage Deposit room where you can store your baggage. They charge around 5 Euros/Bag/day. The receipt can be taken from the information centre. Please note that your baggage will undergo a security scanning, before being stored in the luggage deposit room.

There is a nice food court inside the airport (take right from the arrival gate and walk straight). Many chains like KFC are available in the food court (located in the -1 Floor)

3) Pastizzeria:

This is one amazing thing in Malta. You will find similar shops across Malta. You can find a lot of snacks (decent price) in such stores. Good Enough that you can have a low budget lunch or dinner from such stores.

Don’t forget to taste Pastizz (traditional savoury pastry from Malta- Its like a National snack). It costs around 50 Cents.

Heard that Rabbit Stew (Or garlic fried Rabbit) is another tasty item that you get in many restaurants in Malta (not in Pastizzeria though).

4) Another interesting thing that I noticed is the old classic cars that are running in the Maltese roads. Citizens here have an amazing collection of such cars and you will be really surprised to see some very old classic models still on the road.

5) In some major tourist attractions, you will also find some small shops which sell traditional snacks. I personally did not like the taste, but you can try your luck.

6) Old traditional telephone booth:

You will also find such traditional telephone booth in many places in Malta. May be some remains of the old British rule in this island. Not sure if all of these are still functional.

7) Additional tax in hotel:

All the Hotels take an additional 1-2 Euros as some Government tax from you.

So don’t get surprised if the person in the reception demands for this money. Anyway, they will give you a proper receipt for the same.

I had spend around 6 days along with my family in this beautiful country and have covered a lot of places. In my perspective, Malta is a very safe country. The Public transport is also nice (but the waiting time might be more). People are very friendly and welcoming.

You can very well include this small county in one of your future trips.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

– Anonymous.

The country of Malta is an archipelago of three islands in Europe, located in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily – Italy, and north of the African countries of Libya and Tunisia.

This nation of islands is one gorgeous place you should visit, especially for its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Stunning fishing villages and natural beauty.

The best part of Malta is the diversity of things that you get to see here.

Malta is one of the smallest countries in the European Union. Currency used is Euro. You can visit Malta with your Schengen visa. Good to see that a large majority of people in Malta speak English, which is very helpful for the tourists.

Malta is made up of 3 main islands; Malta, Gozo and Comino. Gozo, a smaller version of the mainland Malta can be reached in 20 minutes by ferry and Comino which is largely visited for its famous Blue Lagoon, is virtually uninhabited with only one hotel.

Before we proceed, let me inform you that this is a full packed itinerary with limited time to relax.

If you are looking for something like a relaxed vacation in Malta, this itinerary might not be the right fit for you.

Day 1: Take a Hop on Hop Off City Tour (I personally would suggest Blue Line)

Day 2: Plan a day trip to Gozo and Comino

Day 3: Harbour Cruise (3 Cities) in the Morning and Plan a Walking tour in Valletta old Town (Post Lunch)

Day 4: A full day tip to Sicily Islands, Italy

Day 5: Popeye Village in the First Half of the day and Marsaxlokk Village and Blue Grotto during the next half.

Day 1:

On Day 1, we took the Hop on Hop Off Blue Line (North Route). The ticket price was 20 Euros / Adult (for one day trip)

Basically, there are 2 Hop on Hop Off Sightseeing routes in Malta:

Blue Line

Red Line

The 2 routes together have around 37 Stops. You can travel in both the routes with the same ticket.

You can also choose between two options – 1day ticket (which is valid only for that day) and a 2 day ticket (valid for 2 days)

More details can be found here –> https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/malta/malta-hop-on-hop-off-tour_23364

North Route

8:00am to 2:30pm, every 30 minutes

South Route

9:45am to 3:45pm, every 45 minutes

I have seen a lot of people booking ‘Topaz Hotel’ as the preferred hotel as the North Route Starts in front of this hotel. I also booked this hotel because of the very same reason.

After experiencing the stay, I personally suggest you take some other accommodation option. This hotel is highly overrated in many of the travel websites. I was completely disappointed with my stay over there. Please look for some better options nearby (if you really want to stay in Bugibba) or else look for some other places.

In the North Route Blue Line tour, we only got down at the ‘National Aquarium’. We had taken a Family ticket (2 Adults and 1 child) worth 32 Euros. There is a discount of 10% if you book online, which would make the ticket price as 28.80 Euros.

More Details Here –> https://www.aquarium.com.mt/buy-tickets/

If you don’t have any kids in your trip, I would personally suggest you skip this destination.

Day 2: Gozo and Comino needs a special mention. So I will try to add those details in a separate blog.

Day 3: In the Morning, we booked the Captain Morgan Harbour cruise. It’s a 1.5 hours cruise journey which provides you a fantastic view of Malta from the sea (especially the 3 cities).

You can get the ticket for Captain Morgan cruise from Sliema Terminal. There are many 3^rd party counters that sells the tickets. There is a high level of bargaining possible in these counters.

The online price for adults was 16 Euros / Person and I managed to get the ticket for 10 Euros/Person. So, don’t miss a chance here. You could save some bucks here.

This is the trip that you should never miss when you are in Malta. Its worth the money that is paid for.

After coming back from the Harbour cruise, we took the Sliema – Valletta ferry service to reach Valletta. The adult ticket price is around 1.5 Euros /person (One side)

Valletta:

Such a beautiful city, I’d certainly love to go back one day!

Valletta is the Limestone capital of Malta and was built by the Knights of St. John in the 16th century. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is an interesting place to walk around with countless architectural sight seeing’s. To see and experience the Maltese Charm, this is the place that you need to visit. Valletta was selected as “European Capital of Culture” in 2018.

Some Important Places here:

1) John’s Co-Cathedral:

I was told that there are around 365 churches in Malta, which means that you can easily visit different churches each day throughout the year.

More than a church, this is a Magnificent piece of art and is without a doubt, one of the most ornate churches in the world. Built in the 16th century for the Knights of St. John, every inch of St. John’s Co-Cathedral is covered in marble, gold, paint, or relief. Even the multi-coloured floors take the attention.

a) Multi coloured balconies of Malta:

There are so many stories about the colours and landscape of Malta and one such things is the coloured Balconies. The enclosed balconies are painted in different colours.

I was told that Government doesn’t allow the house owners to change the external structures especially the Balconies and Government even pays some fixed amount every year for the maintenance of the same.

There is a Tuk-Tuk service that is available to see the sightseeing in Valletta. The asking price was 8 Euros/person. I managed to get a discounted rate of 5 euros/person. If there is someone in your group who is having difficulties in walking, then this Tuk-Tuk service will be a good option.

Else, I would strongly suggest doing a walking tour of Valletta. There is a bus stand within Valletta old town, from where you can take a bus back to your hotel after exploring the beautiful historical capital city.

Day 4:

We had booked a day trip package to Sicily islands (Italy) on Day 4. We were picked up from the hotel in a Cab at around 5:30AM in the morning and dropped at the Malta Terminal. The departure time of Virtu ferries was at 6:30 AM, which took around 1.5 Hours one side to reach Sicily (Pozzallo Terminal).

Further, the plan was to do a bus trip to Mt Etna & Modica and return back to Pozzallo and further back to Hotel in Malta by night.

For Booking the Virtu express ferry and to know more details –> http://www.virtuferries.com/

(Note: Please note that this a fully packed day trip starting at 5:30 AM in the Morning from the hotel and return back to hotel by around 11PM. I have read a lot of reviews mentioning that the trip is too tiring)

Just before reaching Pozzallo terminal, we got the unfortunate information that the excursion was cancelled due to extreme bad weather that was predicted for the rest of the day.

In the interest of the tourist’s security, Virtu ferry management decided to return to Malta after offloading the trucks and so on. This was quite unfortunate, as we missed a golden opportunity to view the Sicily islands (slip between cup and the lip).

After reaching Malta, Virtu management had arranged a luxury sedan to take us back to the hotel.

I would certainly take this opportunity to thank Virtu ferries for their professional service commitment. The entire amount of 300 + euros was transferred to my bank account within 3-4 days. They did not charge anything, even for the cabs or the cruise.

Hopefully we would be able to visit Sicily islands sometime in future.

Day 5:

Morning Half to Popeye Village:

The area itself is picturesque and the water colour of the sea is beautiful!

Now, you’ll need to pay an entry fee to gain access to the town (film set) but if that’s not your thing, just drive up to the top of the bay and take in the gorgeous view of Popeye Village itself (free of cost)

Afternoon session, I had booked a tour package.

I had booked a half day tour to Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk through Trip advisor. For 2 Adults and 1 child, it costs me around 71 Euros. (Tour Operator: S Mifsud & Sons Ltd.).

Even though the service was good, I personally would suggest you not to take this tour package as it is not worth the money.

They simply take you from the hotel to the destination which you could anyway do using a Public Transport (with little more research and effort)

Marsaxklokk (pronounced marsa-schlock) is a fishing village with lots of charm. The blue waters of this cute fishing village are filled with traditional Maltese boats called luzzus.

This is a place for the Photographers. You won’t be disappointed for sure.

On Sundays (9:00am – 2:00pm), Marsaxlokk is one of the best places to visit in Malta. Check out the open-air fish market selling the morning’s catch, including swordfish, tuna and so on. To get there, take bus #83 or #82 from Valletta.

Blue Grotto:

The Blue lagoon in Comino and Blue Grotto in Malta are 2 different destinations. So please don’t get confused between these names.

Blue Grotto is a stunning mix of sea caves that have naturally formed in this part of Malta.

This complex comprises of a massive (and very impressive) main arch, which is approximately 30m in height, as well as a system of 6 other caves, in which you will find the Honeymoon Cave, the Cat’s Cave and the beautiful Reflection Cave.

If you are going to visit the Blue Grotto, a boat trip to the caves is the best way to experience the true beauty of the area. Boat trips are usually available daily (weather permitting) with the duration of each trip being around 20 minutes.

During our visit, the Boat service was not operational due to bad weather.

We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

– Anonymous.

We visited Gozo and Comino islands in March 2019.

We were on a 5 days trip to the beautiful county of Malta and managed to cover these 2 islands on the 2^nd day.

Following is a 5 days itinerary that we had followed:

Day 1: Red line Hop on Hop off.

Day 2: Gozo and Comino (My recommendation would be to cover both these places in a single day)

Day 3: Harbour cruise in the Morning half and explore the Historic city of Valetta in the second half of the day,

Day 4: Full day trip to Sicily islands, Italy

Day 5: Morning half day trip to Blue Grotto and Marsaxslokk market

The entire trip details are covered in another blog. Here I would like to discuss exclusively about my experience with Gozo and Comino (Day 2 in my itinerary)

Gozo:

Gozo is really like a sister of Malta, infact a less developed version of Malta.

Since this was our first trip to Malta, we thought to prebook a day tour package.

I had taken the tour package from ‘Get your Guide’

Link Below –> https://www.getyourguide.com/malta-l90/discovering-gozo-malta-s-sister-island-t26106/ (English Commentary was available)

For adult (16+), ticket price was around 55 Euros and for Children (5-15 years), it was around 35 Euros.

The package included:

1) Pickup and drop from Hotel

2) To and Fro ferry Charges from Cirkewwa to Gozo (in Gozo Channel ferry).

Note: You can expect a big Queue, to enter the Ferry.

There is also a small shop available within the Ferry, where you can buy snacks and other items.

3) Bus to visit the attractions in Gozo.

4) First visit was to Ta Pinu Basilica:

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta’ Pinu is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located some 700 metres (2,300 ft) from the village of Għarb on the island of Gozo.

This is one of the most visited places on the island of Gozo – Malta, not only by Maltese people but also by many tourist.

The entry is free. Seems like the visitors are not supposed to wear Shorts inside the church.

5) Next visit was to Dwejra.

Dwejra Boat ride is something you should never miss, in case if you are in this part of the world (Ticket price for Adults and Kids were around 4 Euros/person. This Ticket price was not included in the tour package) .

Dwejra Bay is truly a gem in Gozo. If you don’t have much time to explore Gozo, this boat ride should be your first priority.

Please note that ‘Azure Window’ formation is no more as it has collapsed into the sea in 2017.

6) Then they took us to an Art gallery (I personally did not like this place).

7) After Art gallery, they took us for a Non-vegetarian Buffet @ Down Town Restaurant, Rabat (Included in the package)

This was a very decent buffet. Seems the tour operators have a good rapport with the restaurant management. 15-20 chairs were already reserved for us, when we reached there.

8) Further they took us for a Train Ride to Cittadela.

This is an interesting Train trip which takes you through the city centre before reaching the entrance of Citadel.

The Historic fortified city of The Citadella is in the heart of Victoria (Entry Ticket price was not covered in the package)

This was the last part of the tour, where you will be left in front of the Citadella and you can spend more than an hour or more at your own pace.

After the specified time, they will take us back to the Gozo ferry terminal in the bus and from there to Cirkewwa in the Ferry and further to the hotels in bus.

If you are a person who doesn’t want to book your travel plans all by yourself, this tour will be a good option.

But the problem is if you are taking this tour package, you will not be able to cover Comino on the same day.

We wanted to cover Comino on the same day. So, we cut short our time in the Citadella in Victoria (last portion of the above mentioned guided tour) and took a Malta Transport Bus to the Cirkewwa port. From the port, we took a small boat to Comino and spend an hour there. The boat charge included the journey from Gozo to Comino and further Comino to Cirkewwa port and it was around 10 Euros/ person (15 euros if you wish to see the caves). We didn’t have any snorkelling or Swimming plans in Comino. So around 1 hour was fine enough for us, to explore the place and take some beautiful snaps.

My Suggestion:

Getting from Malta to Gozo is very easy. The ferry terminal located on Malta can be found at the most northern tip of Malta in Cirkewwa and in the southern part of Gozo in Mgarr. The ferries run back and forth every 45 minutes and you can find the timetable here. You can buy the ferry/ boat tickets in the port.

https://www.gozochannel.com/

Take the Gozo channel ferry to reach Gozo from Cirkewwa. Don’t buy a Round Trip. Get down at the Gozo port and take a Hop on Hop off bus or else rent a bike or car. This is a small island and you can reach from one end to another in around 30 minutes. The public transport is also efficient, but the waiting time is more.

Comino:

This is indeed a heaven for people, who love diving and snorkeling.

The most beautiful part of this place is the world-famous Blue Lagoon.

Gozo, Comino and Cirkewwa ports are around 30 minutes far from each other.

Comino is between Malta and Gozo and is the smallest of the 3 islands.

The best time to visit Comino is during the months of July and August.

Don’t stop at the place where you boat drops you. Take a walk and explore the beautiful scenery from all sides.

I believe this is a car free island and the only option for you to reach here is a boat. There is only one hotel (Comino Hotel) in Comino. There are no restaurants here, but you will find 5-6 Food Trucks selling some basic stuffs like juice, Burgers and so on. There is a public toilet available.

Keep your camera handy with you as this is quite a picturesque place.

In case if you are a person who wants to spend a lot of time here for diving and snorkelling, I would suggest you to spend atleast half day here and try reaching here a little early around 9-10 AM, as the rush increases as the day progress. In such a case, the above plan of covering Gozo and Comino on a single day won’t be practical.

Take your towel, sunscreen and sunglasses. Like most touristy spots, it is pricey to buy the basics there.

You also have the option to take a short boat trip to explore some caves in this region.