Malta

burberry

Hi folks any recommendations for places to stay in Malta end of April close to beach tia.

RedRochey

We're going in mid-April, some friends said St. Julian's area is the best

Stratvs

We've also been looking at Malta as there are direct flights ex Cork this year. Would be interested in how people find it for food & accommodation and also good places within walk of beaches.

RedRochey

From everyone I talked to they absolutely loved it, best place they've been to last year! Food and drink is cheap, island is small so plenty of places to go, accommodation seems fairly reasonable

hobie21

StockTwat29 wrote: »

From everyone I talked to they absolutely loved it, best place they've been to last year! Food and drink is cheap, island is small so plenty of places to go, accommodation seems fairly reasonable

I live there. Fantastic spot. St julian or Sliema definitely the best places to stay.

3DataModem

Just FYI there are no beaches anywhere near St Julians... you need to go up north to find sand.

However I love Malta. April is a great time to go, not too hot (Jul/Aug is mental).

hobie21

3DataModem wrote: »

Just FYI there are no beaches anywhere near St Julians... you need to go up north to find sand.

However I love Malta. April is a great time to go, not too hot (Jul/Aug is mental).

Yes, there are. Small beach in Balluta bay. Bigger beach around the corner in st julian

bigar

StockTwat29 wrote: »

From everyone I talked to they absolutely loved it

Before I went, friends told me it was the most boring holiday they ever had.

I decided to see it for myself and how right they were. There is nothing to do. All has the same sand colour, it is overcrowded, roads are horrible except when it rains. When it rains all roads turn into rivers and you can see water seeping through the walls. I was glad to get out of the place.

johnire

I envy you! Malta is absolutely gorgeous.We stayed in Valletta and loved it. The people are lovely and it’s such good value.

hobie21 wrote: »

I live there. Fantastic spot. St julian or Sliema definitely the best places to stay.

The Enbalmer

hobie21 wrote: »

Yes, there are. Small beach in Balluta bay. Bigger beach around the corner in st julian

VERY small beach in Balutta bay and often under water..especially in high winds!


Much better sunbathing further along Tower Road up to Sliema..its not sand though but flat stone which is better imo as you dont get sand everywhere.


Some very good places to eat along that seafront and all the buses go pastso if you really need a sandy beach there's no shortage of transport to Mellieha Bay.

Nigel Fairservice

I was in Malta a few years ago, stayed for a week. Malta was ok I thought but I wouldn't go back anytime soon. We stayed in Sliema. Lots of nice restaurants around. You could walk to St. Julian as well. Lots of buses and they were very cheap. Valetta was lovely I thought. We went to Gozo, the Azure window (which has since collapsed I think) and went for a swim at the blue lagoon (very beautiful but seriously crowded). I think you can do a day trip to Sicily if you wish. We decided against it because we thought we might go there properly some other time. We went in June and it was insanely hot. The air conditioning in the hotel was broken as well so the nights were uncomfortable, lots of cold showers were had :pac: I don't remember seeing much in the way of beaches. There were a lot of flat rocks by the water people lied out on.

RedRochey

Has anyone done a day trip to Sicily? It sounds long if you plan on visiting Mt Etna, but has anyone just gone over to see some towns?

4068ac1elhodqr

StockTwat29 wrote: »

Has anyone done a day trip to Sicily? It sounds long if you plan on visiting Mt Etna, but has anyone just gone over to see some towns?

Imagine the private enclosed resorts of Sicily are fine, but you have to ask why their selling houses in some towns for the same price of a 30gm packet of Tayto... Could it be there would be 'informal mafiaoso taxes' duty to pay, or that they're overlooked by ad hoc arrangements of tents of refugees economic migrants, trafficked in from the across the Med, hard to say for sure.

Malta on the other hand is pretty decent, and the Cisk beer goes down well when the nights are as hot as the days (22oC+ for half of the year). The driving there leaves alot to be desired, if renting a motorbike/car opt for fully comp insurance with all the extras.

Tomw86

Was in Malta last summer. Stayed in Mellieha and would highly recommend it.

St. Julians looked nice as we went by it a few times, not sure on the beach situation. Valetta is meant to be more of a party scene/night life so that's what you're after, stay there.

The hotel we went all inclusive in was DB Seabank Resort and Spa - reasonably priced, 5 restaurants, onsite bars and indoor bowling alley, 3 pools including an adult only one and plenty more activities on site.
It is also right across the road from the beach, literally 20 yards out the front door.

Plenty of day/half day trips can be booked to Gozo from reception, and that one in partocular is well worth it. Would also look at the ones to the water parks and aquarium.

Bought my mam a voucher at Xmas & she fancies Malta, would it be OK weather wise in April?
She likes it warm but not hot like summer.
Thanks.

Tomw86

bubblypop wrote: »

Bought my mam a voucher at Xmas & she fancies Malta, would it be OK weather wise in April?
She likes it warm but not hot like summer.
Thanks.

Yeah April would probably be ideal. We went in June and it was roasting hot some days. Meant to cool right down in the non-summer months.

The Enbalmer

Tomw86 wrote: »

bubblypop wrote: »

Bought my mam a voucher at Xmas & she fancies Malta, would it be OK weather wise in April?
She likes it warm but not hot like summer.
Thanks.

Yeah April would probably be ideal. We went in June and it was roasting hot some days. Meant to cool right down in the non-summer months.

From the end of September to around march it rains quite a bit too..flooding is not unknown along with thunderstorms.

April to early june would be my favorite times to visit,weatherwise.

Snow Garden

I am going to Malta with the wife and kids (10, 13) in May. We have only booked flights so far.

We mainly want to go for the swimming/snorkelling around the rocky beaches. Not interested in the night life. Bearing that in mind, where do people recommend in terms of location and even hotel?

The Enbalmer

Snow Garden wrote:

We mainly want to go for the swimming/snorkelling around the rocky beaches. Not interested in the night life. Bearing that in mind, where do people recommend in terms of location and even hotel?

Sliema. The Windsor Hotel is about 30 euros a night and is right in the centre of sliema.
You can swim or snorkel all along sliema seafront and eat in loads of different places nearby. Sliema has bus connections to valettta,st Paul's bay,melehiha,valettta and the gozo ferry.

I'm there as we speak ðŸ˜

Snow Garden

The Enbalmer wrote: »

Sliema. The Windsor Hotel is about 30 euros a night and is right in the centre of sliema.
You can swim or snorkel all along sliema seafront and eat in loads of different places nearby. Sliema has bus connections to valettta,st Paul's bay,melehiha,valettta and the gozo ferry.

I'm there as we speak ðŸ˜

Great stuff. How is the hotel so cheap??

Bellerstring

Went there a couple of years ago in the summer.
Stayed near St George's bay/Paceville.
The hotel (Corinthia) was great, but the whole Paceville scene and beach at St George's bay was manky.
The tiny beach is full of local kids drinking n ridin in plain sight while the police look away.
Place is littered with cans and bottles.
Brought family to a restaurant in Paceville first night we were there, when a chef came out of kitchen, pissed out of his mind and started throwing chairs and plates around. The waiters and staff were laughing and trying to ease him out of the dining area.
Filthy place.
Valetta is beautiful.
Went to Gozo for second week.
Absolutely fantastic.
Stay away from Paceville unless you're into getting locked!

The Enbalmer

Dr_serious2 wrote:

I presume this post was supposed to be funny? RTE is clearly a left-wing organisation, I would say it would be impossible to genuinely believe otherwise. Look at all their 'stars' talking about the recent referenda, Brexit and Trump's election, amongst other things. They couldn't wait to let us know how liberal they were.

Bellerstring wrote:

Went there a couple of years ago in the summer. Stayed near St George's bay/Paceville. The hotel (Corinthia) was great, but the whole Paceville scene and beach at St George's bay was manky. The tiny beach is full of local kids drinking n ridin in plain sight while the police look away. Place is littered with cans and bottles. Brought family to a restaurant in Paceville first night we were there, when a chef came out of kitchen, pissed out of his mind and started throwing chairs and plates around. The waiters and staff were laughing and trying to ease him out of the dining area. Filthy place. Valetta is beautiful. Went to Gozo for second week. Absolutely fantastic. Stay away from Paceville unless you're into getting locked!

Malta you will want to remember,Paceville you will want to forget"

Stay away from paceville.

The Enbalmer

Snow Garden wrote:

Great stuff. How is the hotel so cheap??

It's quite an old building but the rooms are fine..a lot of hotels in Malta are 5* Marriots and the like but the Windsor isn't one..It's fine but not top of the range.

I'm on the roadside pool terrace as we speak...you're literally 100 m from the sea.

I wouldn't go near St Julian's unless you're young, single and mad about nightlife.

Valletta Old Town is a far more romantic and peaceful place than St Julian's. It was really lovely (we stayed in St Julian's but found the noise too much so moved). I'd also recommend a boat trip around the harbour as it was very informative (e.g. about all the small footsteps on that fortress designed for the Knights of Malta, etc).

Also, obviously make a day trip from Gozo to Comino/Blue Lagoon. Comino is beautiful, with stunning waters. We stayed in a dated hotel on Gozo island named St Patrick's. The hotel was absolutely nothing to write home about (this was about 8 years ago), however the location was utterly gorgeous and again very peaceful (do Google Images searches).

Lastly, we spent about a week in Sicily beforehand and got a ship from it to Malta, where we hired a car for the duration. It's a very small island so it can be easily toured by car (although the natives, in our experience, were decidedly lacking in their road manners).

The Enbalmer

Deleted User wrote:

It's a very small island so it can be easily toured by car (although the natives, in our experience, were decidedly lacking in their road manners).

One unusual twist of maltese law is that sole ownership of the road is granted with every car purchase.

BailMeOut

Great place. Make sure you visit Gozo and Comino while there. You can take you car rental on the ferry to Gozo.

Island is tiny and easy to get around. Recommend Sliema as a base.

Lots of Game of Thrones locations if into that.

Locals lovely and everyone speaks English.

Snow Garden

We are thinking of booking an AirBnB in Mellieha. Is that a nice area?

The Enbalmer

Snow Garden wrote:

We are thinking of booking an AirBnB in Mellieha. Is that a nice area?

Yes and no..it depends what you want.
Mellieha has by far the biggest sandy beach in Malta and plenty of facilities but it's located a good distance from valletta,st Julians,sliema or anywhere you might like to visit.
What I mean is it's not a particularly good base for sightseeing from.

Snow Garden

The Enbalmer wrote: »

Yes and no..it depends what you want.
Mellieha has by far the biggest sandy beach in Malta and plenty of facilities but it's located a good distance from valletta,st Julians,sliema or anywhere you might like to visit.
What I mean is it's not a particularly good base for sightseeing from.

We are probably more outdoorsy than anything else. We plan to drive around each day looking for nice places to swim, snorkel etc. A day trip to Gozo and Comino and Mdina too. We plan to stay for one night in Valletta to see the city sights.

BailMeOut

Snow Garden wrote: »

We plan to stay for one night in Valletta to see the city sights.

Valletta is very quiet at night and more a day time place. Tour it during the day but stay in Sliema which is just a few mins by ferry across water as you will have more night time options there. The ferry back and forth is quite nice, cheap and very frequent. We stayed in an Airbnb in Sliema on waterfront right opposite ferry terminal and really liked it.

miamee

Would it be noisy in Sliema at night? We stayed in St. Julian's Bay last time we were there which was quite quiet and convenient to buses etc. We only had a few days there and would like to go back, we didn't see much aside from Valletta, harbour boat tour, bus & walking tour around the Three Cities.

BailMeOut

miamee wrote: »

Would it be noisy in Sliema at night? We stayed in St. Julian's Bay last time we were there which was quite quiet and convenient to buses etc. We only had a few days there and would like to go back, we didn't see much aside from Valletta, harbour boat tour, bus & walking tour around the Three Cities.

We were in Sliema last easter and it was very quiet. We had a car so toured everywhere around the islands but ate out each night in Sliema. My teenage kids liked the very new shopping mall at the Point!

The car rental company we used was right next to our airbnb so we could use their car park for free which was brilliant are parking is really tricky around here.

Really enjoyable holiday and would definitely go back.

miamee

Thanks BailMeOut, we also really enjoyed it but only had two and a half days there (I think) before flying on to Rome so we didn't see it all, definitely have to go back.

RedRochey

we're going the week after next, what are the public pools like? cafe del mar looks nice

Snow Garden

Anyone got a recommendation for Car Hire in Malta?

Some of the car hire companies get shocking bad reviews. Even the well known ones.

mloc123

Snow Garden wrote: »

Anyone got a recommendation for Car Hire in Malta?

Some of the car hire companies get shocking bad reviews. Even the well known ones.

Try "swift" have used them a few times without issue. Avoid Gold like the plague

rubberdungeon

Snow Garden wrote: »

Anyone got a recommendation for Car Hire in Malta?

Some of the car hire companies get shocking bad reviews. Even the well known ones.

Try JS Car Hire, I found them very easy to deal with. I’d hire from them again.

BailMeOut

Snow Garden wrote: »

Anyone got a recommendation for Car Hire in Malta?

Some of the car hire companies get shocking bad reviews. Even the well known ones.

Great forum on Tripadvisor

https://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-g190311-i348-k6872241-o200-Recommended_Car_Hire_Companies_in_Malta-Malta.html

We used Unicar and were really happy with car and price.

The Enbalmer

Download this app for taxis..its much cheaper than ringing one.


https://bonju.com.mt/

Car rentals available from Venicia +356 99493429

shamnspace

Stayed in a few places in sliema over the years the first was a beautiful old style hotel called the Imperial sadly its a nursing home now the last time 4 yrs ago we stayed in the bayview and by a great stroke of luck we were upgraded to the penthouse appt because of an issue with our room it was pure luxury beautiful balconies our own elevator and 3 bedrooms cant say how much it would cost now as we were just charged a room price it was in april and I think the appt was newly renovated

BailMeOut

shamnspace wrote: »

Stayed in a few places in sliema over the years the first was a beautiful old style hotel called the Imperial sadly its a nursing home now the last time 4 yrs ago we stayed in the bayview and by a great stroke of luck we were upgraded to the penthouse appt because of an issue with our room it was pure luxury beautiful balconies our own elevator and 3 bedrooms cant say how much it would cost now as we were just charged a room price it was in april and I think the appt was newly renovated

We stayed in Bayview last year - did not get the upgrade but the location and apartment were perfect.

shamnspace

BailMeOut wrote: »

shamnspace wrote: »

Stayed in a few places in sliema over the years the first was a beautiful old style hotel called the Imperial sadly its a nursing home now the last time 4 yrs ago we stayed in the bayview and by a great stroke of luck we were upgraded to the penthouse appt because of an issue with our room it was pure luxury beautiful balconies our own elevator and 3 bedrooms cant say how much it would cost now as we were just charged a room price it was in april and I think the appt was newly renovated

We stayed in Bayview last year - did not get the upgrade but the location and apartment were perfect.

Ya you have to be careful when booking that you dont get one of those rooms they have down a sideroad they aren't as well refurbished inside..maybe theyve been done up lately

Fitz*

I am actually close to booking that Bayview now.

Seemed to have got a decent price with flights, just want to try and fight the right apartment. Bayview is attractive as it has a pool and is Sliema, so is close to all amenities. Young(ish) couple so noise / no noise doesn't really matter to us but would probably like a bit of craic at the same time.

Interested in going off on excursions too so the lack of beaches doesn't really bother us really but then when there is no beach and the heat, a pool really is a necessity.

shamnspace

Hop on the local bus there outside the door ..shopping centre just up the road..theres also an oldfashioned English pub up the hill a bit ..lovely spot I found

BailMeOut

FitzShane wrote: »

I am actually close to booking that Bayview now.

Seemed to have got a decent price with flights, just want to try and fight the right apartment. Bayview is attractive as it has a pool and is Sliema, so is close to all amenities. Young(ish) couple so noise / no noise doesn't really matter to us but would probably like a bit of craic at the same time.

Interested in going off on excursions too so the lack of beaches doesn't really bother us really but then when there is no beach and the heat, a pool really is a necessity.

Just be careful with Bayview. The photos on their site and Airbnb are misleading and they have several properties in that area. So you arrive at the fancy one with with the pool but be prepared to then be escorted down the street to another building that is not as nice (but still good). If staying here however book your rental car with Unicar as they let you park the car overnight in their own car park for free which is about 100m from where you are staying. This is important as parking around here is near impossible.

This was the view from our apartment balcony.

Fitz*

Thanks for the heads up.

LotharIngum

BailMeOut wrote: »

Just be careful with Bayview. The photos on their site and Airbnb are misleading and they have several properties in that area. So you arrive at the fancy one with with the pool but be prepared to then be escorted down the street to another building that is not as nice (but still good). If staying here however book your rental car with Unicar as they let you park the car overnight in their own car park for free which is about 100m from where you are staying. This is important as parking around here is near impossible.

This was the view from our apartment balcony.

I second this.
We were there last year and were very disappointed where we eventually got put.
It was nothing like what we expected from the booking.

BailMeOut

LotharIngum wrote: »

I second this.
We were there last year and were very disappointed where we eventually got put.
It was nothing like what we expected from the booking.

no towels folded up like swans on your bed!

Our was nowhere near as nice as the photos but it was still good, really cheap, very big and had amazing view.

Fitz*

I have heard / read many conflicting reports on actual cost of living while in Malta. I'm really just looking at the prices of a pint / wine & meals out really in mid-decent restaurants. I have heard a pint can be €2 generally, but also €5 generally, etc.

If the prices are on the lower scale overall, it's easier to spend more on accommodation and can 'balance off' the total cost of a trip!

Anyone with recent examples from around St. Julians / Sliema / Valetta side?

hobie21

It all depends on the pub you drink in rather than thr area. Cheap drinks to be had in all those areas. Step Down is a great bar, City Of London, Corks

The Enbalmer

hobie21 wrote:

It all depends on the pub you drink in rather than thr area. Cheap drinks to be had in all those areas. Step Down is a great bar, City Of London, Corks

City Of London is my home away from home!ðŸ˜

Do you know Simon's Bar or the Jack Of All Trades?