Malta – some useful practical information

We have gathered for you a handful of practical tips and advice from our trip to Malta. Here they are.

We will summarize everything in this post. Here you will find both answers to your questions and some practical tips from our side.

Best time to fly to Malta

When to fly to Malta? Definitely not in high season: we strongly discourage travel in July and August. Prices during this period are significantly higher, temperatures are very high, and the number of tourists can also be discouraging.

We, unfortunately, were in high season, more precisely in August: accommodation in a mid-range hotel was expensive, and there was a shortage of space in restaurants, as well as in city buses.

Temperatures are also very high then, it is impossible to stand on the beach or even the hotel pool.

If we were to go to Malta a second time we would choose May or September.

How to get to Malta?

By plane, of course :) You can also take a ferry, but it’s a longer event. We arrived in Malta by AirMalta airline, tickets purchased in a last minute offer at a Polish travel agency.

This is not the only option – Ryanair, Wizz Air also fly from Poland and there are often offers with really good prices. Nothing to do but hunt. Prices around £150-300 are practically a promotional standard :)

How to find these cheap flights? Currently, without any problem for May, Wizz Air from Katowice, you can buy a ticket for 350 zloty round trip for 7 days! Recommended! :)

Accommodation in Malta

For our entire stay, we stayed at a hotel in Sliema – not far from the island’s capital, Valletta. Our accommodation, unfortunately, we can’t recommend too much, but you can safely find the full offer on Booking here.

Sliema, along with Il-Gzira and St. Julians, are almost intermingled towns, focused on tourism, although beaches here are scarce.

Of the three, the most party-oriented is St Julians, where you can meet many groups of ‘yesterday’s’ Brits around 8am :) There are plenty of clubs, pubs, bars.

Sliema and Il-Gzira are a bit quieter, although here too the road along the coast is lined with a variety of restaurants and pubs that make the towns come to life in the evening, when tourists return from the beaches, pools and begin to conquer the city.

Traveling in Malta

All of Malta is served by public transportation operated by a single carrier. Buses run just like in Poland – that is, as and when they want :)

By English custom (as we wrote earlier, Malta was very much influenced by British culture), you have to wave at the bus, but even this does not guarantee that it will stop. If there are about 10 people standing inside the vehicle, even though, in the manner of a Polish globe-trotter, you could fit another 30, the driver will still pass you without even looking at your surprised faces. And half poverty when you are in the center of the city, where several lines run. The situation is worse in the remote corners of the island, where the bus runs once every half hour, and it is just now the hour of collecting people from the beach – if you do not get on at the first stop, your chances of catching the bus are small.

Additional highlights during the ride include bravura driving on both winding inter-city roads and tight city streets, as well as variable air conditioning (apparently, a high temperature amplitude in short time intervals is healthy for the body) – sauna or refrigerator.

Nevertheless, public transportation on the island is cheap – we bought a weekly ticket for €6.5(!) – concessionary, normal costs €12. The ticket is purchased from the driver and shown at each ride. It entitles you to travel all over the island, so for such money we did not expect luxuries :)

Unfortunately, bus prices have now increased and a normal, weekly ticket costs €21, a discounted one costs €15.

Thus, in Malta, we recommend you to travel quietly on public transport buses. There is no need to rent a car. However, if you want to use the latter option, we recommend our post on how to rent a car for your vacation. Remember, too, that Malta has left-hand traffic (as in the British Isles).

Prices in Malta

Prices in Malta vary and are rather similar to European prices.

Groceries, bought in markets, are a little more expensive than in Poland (prices similar to those in Western European countries). Of the larger stores, you can stock up at Carrefour, Lidl, Dino.

A meal at a restaurant in the city center costs approx. 15 EUR (dinner plus drinks), it’s cheaper to eat at the ubiquitous fast food chains (we somehow weren’t tempted ;).

Our hotel was not equipped with a kitchenette (which we regret very much), so we ate mostly on the town. Breakfast could be purchased at the hotel for 5 euros, which was a reasonable price.

Some practical information

What else should I keep in mind before traveling to Malta?

• Malta is a European country, but unlike in most of Europe here the electrical outlets are the same as in the UK. The voltage is the same, also any equipment brought from Poland will work after using a special adapter, which you can buy for change in Poland.
• Thus, the Euro is valid in Malta. We where possible paid for everything by card (in EUR). This is usually possible, but it is also a good idea to carry cash for small expenses.
• The official language in Malta is Maltese and English, so we had virtually no problem getting along in English anywhere.
• Remember that Malta has left-hand traffic like the British Isles, for example.
• Malta is a safe country. For the tourist, the biggest threat is already the standard petty crime, which is mainly pickpockets. Remember, even on vacation, to keep your eyes around your head and watch out for suspicious people who talk to you.
• Before you leave, it’s a good idea to get an EHIC (issued by the National Health Service for free) and insurance. Hope it doesn’t come in handy, but the prudent always insured :)
• It is also worth getting a good guidebook. Malta is not big, but it is better to have useful tips at hand.

Questions? Comments? :)

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask in the comments. We will try to answer them all! :)

We also recommend you our posts about Malta, namely:

• An entry about Malta’s capital city: Valletta,
• An interesting post of a city that is a must see: Mdina,
• Gozo and Azure Window information,
• entry on Marsaxlokk and on Pretty Bay,
• As well as a post about the beaches in Malta and Popeya Village,

As well as our video showcasing some interesting places and what to do in Malta:

 

Frequently asked questions about Malta: