Well I finally made it to Malta

Well I finally made it to Malta. Our holiday had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid travel restrictions. In 2022 I wanted a holiday but had to keep the cost down as the financial impact of the Covid years meant zero income for more than 2 years. The important thing was that travel was back and I was desperate to take the family away now places were opening up again. I had never been to Malta and wanted to see what it offered.

We flew Ryanair from Stansted as this allowed me to visit my Mum and my Sister on the way. On arrival in Malta we were met by the transfer company and taken to our hotel.

We stayed in a 2 bedroom family suite in the Preluna Hotel. The Preluna is a 4 star hotel in Sliema and we chose it because it is close to Valetta and offered stays on an all-inclusive basis. When you are on a budget taking all-inclusive holidays allows you to relax without worrying about paying for meals. The hotel is over the road from the sea, but has a lovely beach club with pool, restaurant, bar and diving school just over the road.

The food at the Preluna was very good with lots of freshly cooked food being put out all the time. I am not usually a fan of all-inclusive buffet food but the constant adding of freshly cooked food made the Preluna buffet better than most. The all-inclusive drinks could be taken in the hotel bar but the bar was an area of the lobby and not that relaxing to spend time in. Fortunately you could also have your all-inclusive drinks at the beach club and this was a lovely area to relax with a drink both day and night.

The public transport system in Malta is excellent. We bought a weekly bus pass for just 21 Euros per person and used this to explore the island. There is an amazing app which tells you where the buses are. We went to Valetta, Gozo, the Three Cities, Mdina and the Sealife Centre in Qawra. Valetta was a pretty city and has an amazing history. I especially liked the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Having seen the gardens take the lift down to the lower level and search out the ferrymen who will take you over to the Three Cities in a small boat.

We also used it for a day trip to Gozo – you pay a foot passenger ticket for the ferry and then once on Gozo the bus pass is still valid. This allowed us to visit Victoria and the ancient ruins at the Ggantija Temple complex. The temples here date back to 3600 BC and are designated a Unesco World Heritage site.

How would I sum up my week in Malta? It was lovely to explore the vast history. Malta is not the prettiest destination – lots of new buildings were built without full consideration for the overall look and feel. This is understandable when you consider how heavily it was bombed in WW2. But there is a great atmosphere and an interesting mix of old and new. I am glad I visited and I would go back again and that is always the best way to assess whether it was worth going to.