Where in Malta?

[catman]

Hi all, I'm 60 next may, so I'm thinking about going to Malta for a holiday with my Son and Daughter.

I'm interested in museums, history, possibly learning to dive and nice food and drink.

I won't have a lot of money, as my Son also wants to go to Le Mans! Any ideas of where to stay would be great.

I don't want to be near any of the noisy, night club types of places either.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Tim

[catman]

Hi, thanks for the reply!

Tim

[catman]

Hi, thanks for the replies, especially 58Warren. What an amazingly detailed response. My Birthday is 2nd May, so the timing looks perfect.

I've heard "you'll love it, or hate it" before, but that applies to anywhere really. I'm really looking forward to going and the information will be very useful.

Thanks

Tim

[catman]

Hi, that's great! Thanks for the reply. I'm jealous!

Tim

[catman]

Thanks for all of the information supplied, I really appreciate it. It sounds like a wonderful place to go to!

Cheers

Tim

[catman]

I'm genuinely bowled over by the thoughtful, in-depth replies. I'll be spending my Birthday there (early May) so the weather should be perfect!

I've already discounted Bugibba, as I'd read about it being noisy. As we'll be using a hire car, then one of the quieter places would be ideal. TX1, I may take you up on your kind offer with the hire car, thanks!

Cheers all

Tim

[catman]

Thanks WackyRacer, I'm excited already and it's nearly a year away!

Tim

[catman]

I'll certainly post again when it's all booked. Just realised, it's probably 20 years or so since I had a holiday with my children...

Cheers

Tim

[catman]

Hi all, just a quick update. My Son's Girlfriend found a lovely 3 bed apartment in Mellieha Bay and I got a really good deal on the flights.

As I previously said, I am very grateful for all the useful advice given here. I sent the link to my Children and they were amazed at the amount of help from people that we've never met.

Thanks

Tim

[catman]

Sounds perfect! only 10 months to go!

Cheers

Tim

[catman]

Just a footnote to my original post. We stayed in a beautiful apartment overlooking Mellieha Bay. It was wonderful having breakfast on our balcony and watching the small boats and wind surfers.

We got the ferry to Gozo and visited the craft centre and the Azure Window. The colours of the Ocean here and the scenery are beyond description.

We also got a boat ride to Comino which was a great experience and also very pretty. As mentioned by others, the car museum was very interesting, with some very nice and well-presented cars. The film with Alain De Cadenet was also well worth watching.

The grand harbour in Valetta was awe inspiring for it's sheer size, as well as its beauty. We saw it from a boat, as well as on land.

The restaurants all served good food at amazingly low prices, with "Commando" in Mellieha as our favourite for quality.

The weather was in the 30s all week, and the locals were all very friendly too. All told, it's probably the best holiday that I've had.

Thanks to all who contributed to my original post.

Cheers

Tim

[catman]

Where I stayed in Mellieha, there was a hotel a short distance from me, called the Luna hotel. I don't know whether it's good or not.

There are lots of nice restaurants there, with Commando being our favourite and bars too. You will also be a short walk from the beach and the ferry to Gozo is around 5 miles away.

There is also a watersports and boat trip centre there as well. I had an all-inclusive vehicle hire and I'll give you details if you want them.

Tim

[catman]

You have email.

Tim

[catman]

You may find, as I did, that many of the "cheaper" hire companies add a lot of extra charges on for damage waiver etc.

I went with the company mentioned, because there were no nasty surprises. The compulsory fuel charge was a bit high, as we were only there for a week and didn't travel that much.

If you're there for two weeks and travel a lot, then it shouldn't matter so much.

Tim

[catman]

It's interesting the way that other posters describe Maltese drivers. I found them to be very calm and patient. Not many signals though.

Mind you, I live in London and spent 6 years driving around the city and west end for a living!

Tim

[catman]

Thanks, we loved it! The temperature was around 32c all week and hit 34c on the day that we left. I wasn't expecting it to be so hot that early in May!

Tim