Backstory: We (husband and I) are in Croatia for a month visiting family. A cousin went to Malta last month with her daughter and loved it so much she wanted to go again with her husband. So, she asked us, we said yes, add another cousin. She made all the arrangements. She booked on Thursday, we went Wednesday. The cousins - 1 does not speak any English, 1 speaks very limited, and 1 can read and speak better English.
Flight - we booked through Ryan Air, €100 R/T. The flight was actually on Lauda Europe Ltd. A Maltese sub. The flight was very pleasant. The seats roomy, plenty of leg room. Travel time was about 1.45 hours from Zagreb.
Hotel - I wish. She booked through booking.com a 3 bedroom apt in St. Julian. Not a great location. We had to uber everywhere. Slim pickings when you book last minute. This was our first time with an AirBnB and last. I won’t bore you with the details and my complaints.
Tours - one 8 hour tour through get your guide entitle Malta: Highlights of Malta & Mdina Full day Tour with lunch. It was actually a very nice tour and very well organized. They picked us and other up near our apt and took us, to a parking lot where we then were grouped by tour and language. Off we went to see
San Anton Gardens - trees but no flowers or grass. A lotta dirt. Seems they have to rely on rain water.
Dingli Cliffs - nice photo op. Nothing else there.
Rabat - St. Cataldus catacombs, probably smallest of all the catacombs in the area and free. Could be the reason we stop here.
Mdina - walled old city, very impressive. If you’ve been to Dubrovnik it is much smaller.
Mosta - Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, beautiful domed church with a WWII story.
Lunch - which was so much better than I expected. Pasta, pork chop with potatoes and Maltese specialty called imqaret, chopped dates in fried dough.
Ta’Qali craft village - filigree, pottery, and glass shops.
All in all a very lovely, unrushed day. I was quite surprised.
Malta Themed Tours.com - An early evening tour where the guide takes on the personality of a historic person who lived in Malta. Ours was the Sinful Secrets of Valletta: Blood, Booty and Courtesans. It was so much fun. The guide really got into character and made history come alive. I have to admit I love a themed tour. The guide did not drone on and on, he was great. Answered every question, even sent us info related to his character and our questions the next day.
We did see St John’s Co-Cathedral with the audio guide (which luckily was available in Italian which the cousins understand). We did not pre-book and waited about 20 minutes in line. Worth it for the Caravaggio alone, but the church is also quite impressive.
We were not able to get to the Hypogeum cause of the late booking.
Gozo - I know people rave about it, but for us it was ‘meh’. We took the fast ferry from Valletta then decided to do the HOHO bus because we didn’t want to be taking Ubers or public transport. Anyway, it worked out fine. They said every 45 minutes and they were very punctual. Gozo is very beige. Very beige. The buildings, the scenery, the ground (not much, if any grass), the beaches, very boring. If you are into scuba diving it is a paradise. But otherwise, you can miss it.
Birgu / Vittoriosa - lovely town across the harbor from Valletta. We took the €3 gondola each way. Went to the Inquisitor’s Palace and this was a highlight to understanding how Malta was much more ‘kind’ then other countries and their inquisitions.
We also stopped at the Norman House. Typical Maltese home open to the public. The owner gives a short tour, answers questions, donation.
We were fortunate to be there during the Candle Festival. The entire area was lit up with small glass enclosed candles, real flames, and people opened their doors for a peek inside, only lit up with candles. Also, all the churches were open.