A week in Malta
Let me start by saying this is a personal view of our
family trip to Malta in October 2012, and by no means a definitive guide.
We wanted a week in the sun during the autumn half term.
We didn’t want to stray into a possible war zone, or for it to be full of
British ham, egg & chips and we wanted the journey to be straightforward as
we have 2 young children and it was their first trip abroad.
Working through a short list of ideas; Sardinia, Sicily,
Greece, the island of Malta leapt out. With a little research (5 minutes) and a
heavily reduced Villa price from ‘James Villa Holidays’ our week away was
booked.
Overall impression of Malta ... some of the most amazing
European architecture I’ve ever seen particularly the city of Valetta, the history
of the Knights of St. John and their reign over Malta for 200’ish years makes
for an extraordinary history. This was followed by an accidental take-over by
Britain to boot the French out and they ended up staying 150 years until 1964.
The architecture is southern European with Arabic place names and British phone
boxes, 3-pin plugs and driving on the left hand side of the road (and of
course, they all speak English, often with a disconcerting British regional
accent).
As you drive around you pass numerous early 1980’s Ford
Escorts and Morris Marinas, all in perfect condition, it starts freaking you
out after a while. The whole country feels like it’s 1980 again, electricity
failures, bad internet connectivity, 7up signs (or is that just the Mediterranean?).
We were disappointed in the beaches and facilities for
children but they were very welcome in the restaurants. We eat at a wonderful
Maltese restaurant called ?, the food was Maltese, a fusion of European, Mediterranean
and Middle Eastern influences. The
service was great, the food was great, the children ate the food ... it was a
wonderful evening out. To balance that, we also went to a Chinese restaurant
local to the town we were staying in, it was dire, bad service, bad food, but the
children eat everything ... they love Chinese.
The Wild Garlic Blog
Entertainment in Malta
What we were extremely surprised to find is the gambling facilities in Malta. The casino game industry there, let me tell you. It's booming. You have the best casinos with blinged-out buildings that are as much fun on the outside as on the inside. Thousands of casino game machines to choose from. Slot games, roulette games, poker games you name it, they have it. Since I'm your typical casino fanatic as well a sucker for cooking games I had to try most of them. Having played on a bunch of casino apps, you could say I've tried most cooking-themed games out there. Having said that online food slots are and will remain my absolute favorites, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found them in Malta. Also, the casino bonuses are impeccable there, I was shocked by the amount of real money you could walk out with. I'm going to tell you this much... me, Mat Follas from Masterchef left a richer man, and on top of that, I had an amazing unforgettable time. People there sure do know how to enjoy themselves, with or without the actual gambling. I'm saying this because I am quite the traveler and I have visited casinos in France, Belgium, Canada, and Swiss casinos even dare I say Las Vegas. It's not even close, Malta sure has nailed this part of their whole entertainment eco-system and it's probably one of their main attractions I just wish they would've advertised and emphasized it because I happen to know a lot of people who would jump at the chance to go.
It was, however, a safe, friendly, warm and pleasant
place to be from the moment we got off the plane, at no time did we feel unsafe
or harassed ... as a country, for a first overseas trip for our family, it was
a good choice.
What the children
thought
The children thought it was great. It was their first
time in an aeroplane, first time swimming in the sea, first time abroad, first
time on a coach (transfer to/from the airport at Gatwick), first time having
their own swimming pool to play in, ... They took all of it in their stride and
had their horizons expanded.
Highlights
Amazing architecture built by the Knights of St. John; lovely, welcoming, relaxed people; easy transport links between UK and Malta; hot, sunny weather; the Britishness of so many things makes things seem familiar. We learnt about history we didn’t have a clue about before which surprised and delighted us.
Sights of Valetta
Lowlights
Shockingly bad
roads, full of pot holes and a total lack of adherence to driving rules, if
there are any, although it’s done in a very non-assertive way. Crowded, very
few usable beaches ... the coastline is very rocky, the local habit of shooting
birds is disconcerting when, as happened to us, they start shooting just above
the beach. Really scruffy rental car (booked through James Villas), boot
wouldn’t open, petrol cover lock broken open and a €35 petrol charge for €20 ½
tank worth of petrol when we arrived to collect it.
Things to see and
do
Valetta, the 3 Cities and Mdina
9/10
The rest ... not so good, few shops, beaches or sights
4/10
Beaches
We found one good beach but down an steep uneven track of
broken concrete and bird shooting 200m away, all other beaches were either
rocky drop offs or beside a busy road
2/10
Food
OK ... mish mash of cuisines and nothing really stood
out. Lots of british favourites in shops. A few very good restaurants
6/10
Getting about by
car
There seems to be an awful lot of buses, so we’re
assuming that public transport is good and regular.
Signage is poor, driving is difficult with all the pot
holes, it has the highest accident rate in Europe, tailgating and blind
overtaking but it’s all done with such good humour you can’t be offended.
4/10
Accommodation
Expected a bit better from James Villas, tired, bits broken
and a night without electricity due to poor wiring but spacious, clean and a
lovely pool . Frustrating to not be allowed into the house till 4pm, six hours
after arrival but have to be out by 10am on departure day
6/10
Overall rating
6/10
Will we be coming
back ?
Unlikely
It lacks that something special that would keep us coming
back for more, we’ll probably risk mangling our Italian and go to Sicily or
Sardinia next time. Although, I’d make a special day trip to see Valetta again.
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