In autumn 2021 we spent ten days travelling in Malta. Autumn and Covid-19 meant not so many tourists and we thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Still, the trip to one of Europe’s smallest countries gave us some food for thought.
First of all, Malta offers fantastic sightseeing. Within ten days, we could cover different historical periods from stunning prehistoric structures to romantic crusader castles. There were three UNESCO World Heritage sites to visit in Malta, and atmospheric townscapes and stunning coastal views.
Warm vibes in the Mediterranean
As an island in the Southern Mediterranean not far from Tunisia, Malta has warm and pleasant weather in late autumn. Thus, we could sit outside for any meals we had at cafés and restaurants. Not only was that a plus during the Corona pandemic, but it also adds to the appeal of eating out.
All in all, we found travelling in Malta rather good value for money: Transport, accommodation and food were quite affordable in comparison with other European countries. This was nice especially after our trip to Iceland in summer, where we found a lot of things overpriced. Regarding the cost of accommodation, this may have been due to the slump in tourists, though. In average years, there would be more language students, more Asian visitors, and more cruise ship crusaders.
Feeding the tourists
Whereas we love street food and the fresh fruits in nearby countries like Tunisia and Morocco, Maltese food was mediocre. We did not find the fruit and vegetables particularly ripe, fresh, and tropical. And when we went out for dinner, food was most of the time just ok.
Perhaps this is due to the sheer number of tourists who visit Malta. We assume that there are good restaurants around, but this would probably involve more research. Heading to the next-best café during a busy sightseeing day often resulted in average quality. But we also had some good food experiences, like the Ricotta Quassatat from the bakery next to the bus station.
Travelling in Malta by public transport
As we prefer to avoid car rentals, we were surprised by the high quality of the public transport system. Malta is small – just a few kilometres across –, but very densely populated. From the capital of Valletta, buses run out in all directions, many of them at short intervals of 10 or 15 minutes. Admittedly, the bus station is a bit chaotic. You could travel all around Malta in day trips from Valletta. We used the bus and different bases to get a feel for the smaller towns, too. Even so, travelling in Malta by bus was very convenient and inexpensive, but sometimes slow. But after all, spending time in traffic jams in the bus is better than in your private car.
Like a movie location
Although we had a great time in Malta, many places had a somewhat sinister feel to it. Was it because some of the old men in street cafés in Valletta and other towns look like members of the Cosa Nostra? Or just because the historic townscapes create that kind of atmosphere? In places, travelling in Malta you feel like dropped on a film set, sure that something important (good or bad?) is going to happen soon.
In fact, some locations in Malta have been featured in the Game of Thrones series. We even found ourselves looking around an old church in Mdina together with 5 other people, trying to locate a scenic cloister. One of Game of Thrones locations …
End of the trip for migratory birds
But there was more to that uncanny atmosphere we occasionally felt in Malta. On a hike along the coast of the smaller island of Gozo, we wondered about people in camouflage outfits sitting in small huts on terraced parcels of land. They didn’t look like gardens, though, and it seemed a strange location to hang out with friends.
Then we noticed the cages. Along the perimeter of the terraced plot, five or ten small bird cages were placed, the birds chirping and singing. Were they lures to attract more birds into traps nearby? As soon as we had started taking some pictures of the cages, a guy with a gun came out of the hut and signalled to stop. Better don’t mess with the bird hunters.
Apparently, bird-hunting is not quite illegal in Malta, but you need special permits and quotas. Killing hundreds of thousands of migratory birds each season used to be a top pastime in Malta until recently. And many hunters don’t want to give up on the fun.
The dark side of Malta
Also, the memorial for Daphne Caruana Galizia proved rather unnerving once we had found it – or rather noticed it. The journalist was killed by a car bomb in 2017 after some investigative research which incriminated people in top positions. The authorities were noticeably slow in trying to solve the case. The Daphne memorial consists of flowers, candles and messages placed on a war memorial right across from the Ministry of Justice. It’s in the centre of Valletta and we have passed it several times already. According to our guidebook the administration regularly clears away the photos and candles to eliminate all traces of the Daphne Memorial. Malta is number 81 on the press freedom index, out of 181 countries in the world. Quite low for a European country.
Knights, dogs, and chocolate: The Maltese
As for the Maltese people, we can’t really say much about them as we are quite unsure how many we met. As always, most people were very kind and helpful. Natascha once lost her mobile phone on a public bus and the friendly staff at the Valletta bus station helped to locate it and get it back to her. However, many of the people who worked in the buses, in museums, and restaurants were not Maltese in the first place. Malta with its massive over-tourism (in pre-Corona times) relies heavily on foreign workers. English is spoken everywhere, so finding our way around was quite a breeze. We did wonder, however, how crowded Malta will be with “normal” tourist numbers again. Total over-tourism at Iceland sightseeing spots or popular New Zealand hikes have made us back away from such destinations …
As for the Maltese dogs, we saw very few of them in Malta. The Maltesers chocolate balls however were available in most shops.
Altogether we spent ten wonderful days travelling in Malta with a lot of superb sightseeing, but it is unlikely that we will visit again.
And your thoughts about travelling in Malta?
Have you been to Malta? What did you like about the country? Were there any circumstances that made you question the country? We are curious about your thoughts!
NB: Our trip to Malta was not sponsored in any way and we paid all expenses ourselves.
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Hallo Ihr 2,
was die Vogeljäger angeht, so sind wir ganz bei Euch. Traurig. Mindestens genauso schlimm wie die desaströse Politik ist leider aber auch das völlig planlose Bauen auf dieser ohnehin schon völlig zugebauten Insel, der katastrophale Verkehr und eine völlige Ignoranz in Sachen Umweltschutz. Die Entwicklungen der letzten beiden Jahrzehnte sind krass und schaffen ein Klima, das viele Malteser schon aus Malta weggetrieben hat. Es gibt leider mittlerweile kaum noch Malteser, die zufrieden sind mit dem ist, was auf den Inseln passiert. Wir lieben die Inseln trotz allem noch immer, sind aber auch jedes Mal wieder total traurig über die vielen Hässlichkeiten dort, man denke nur an die St Paul’s Bay. Aber eines können wir nicht nachziehen: Eure Kritik am Essen. Wir freuen uns schon jetzt wieder drauf. Viele Grüße von Gabi und Michael
Liebe Gabi, lieber Michael, wir sind Vegetarierinnen (kein Fisch und kein Fleisch) und da gab es meist echt wenig Auswahl. Und dann haben wir uns auch nicht besonders gekümmert, wo es lecker ist, sondern sind einfach irgendwohin gegangen, wenn wir Hunger hatten. Man hätte das sicher besser machen können. In Marsaxlokk hatten wir ein echt leckeres Risotto. Das Fattira vom Foto sieht zwar verbrannt aus, das war aber auch sehr lecker (eine Empfehlung von euch!).
On the travel wish list! Would love to visit Malta. So it was interesting to read your thoughts on visiting. I was surprised to read that the food was just ok as I had hoped for more. But happy to know we can avoid a rental car most of the time.
Dear Linda, we are vegetarians. I think if you eat meat and fish you have a great choice in most restaurants.
Malta is an island I’ve really enjoyed visiting pre-pandemic and it was interesting to read about your experiences. I really enjoyed the public transport options on Malta as well and found those to be quite a helpful way to navigate the island and see some of the further point of interest.
I’m amazed at all the historic sites in Malta and would really enjoy learning more about it. Between the great food, great weather, and the fact that it’s surrounded by water, I can see why you’d want to visit.
Dear Tami, the historic sites are really impressive. As for the food – vegetarian options were a bit limited, but if you eat meat and fish you have a lot of choices!
Malta is definitely on my list! It looks so beautiful and love how it is still a bit under the radar from most tourists. Interesting to read that we might be able to avoid a car rental, and that taking a bus, although it has its draw backs might be just fine.
Dear Renee, Malta is totally doable without a car. And it will be definitely much cheaper. Buses run frequently and the bus pass for the whole week was only 20 Euro!
We are in Sicily every year but still haven’t made it to Malta! the architecture reminds me a lot of Sicily, and it’s good to know it’s affordable here too. I hope to see Maltese dogs there!
Dear Lisa, if you have five days or so it will be definitely worth going to Malta from Sicily. I have not been to Sicily yet, but I thing the architecture and also the food are quite similar!
Malta is so pretty. I was not aware of the sinister side before reading this and surprised to read the food was just ok, it looks delicious. Good to know English is spoken everywhere
Dear Sherianne, with English you will be fine, for sure. It was the main language in Malta for a long time.
Malta is such a quaint beautiful destination in the Mediterranean sea. Nice to know that it has a great public transportation and friendly people.
The Gozo platter looks tempting!
Dear Puloma, I agree, the Gozo platter looked very tempting! The taste was a bit of a dissapointment though…..
Malta is high on my bucket list. You have included all the important aspects regarding Malta. This post is quite helpful. I loved those cobbled stone alleyways. They look so picture-perfect. Also, it’s great to know that they have great public transport that will help the budget travelers a lot. Great Read.
Being a foodie I am always interested in destinations famous for good food. Although food did not appeal to you in Malta, I love the look of Gozo platter. Food apart it was nice getting to know more about Malta which is one of the few countriesv we have not traveled to in Europe.
Dear Suhasish Roy, if you eat meat and fish you will have much more food options than we had! Malta is a great and easy to travel country – you will like it!
The food looks amazing. The gozo platter reminds me of the appetizer platters my husband and I make while watching Rick Steves Monday Night Travel. It is all making me hungry.
Malta looks like a wonderful place to explore. So neat how this city is right on the water. Sounds like there are plenty of things to do there.
Dear Marysa, yes Malta is definitely a place worth exploring! I am sure you will enjoy it
Malta is high on my list. However, I appreciate that you are not raving about the food but tell – and show – in all honesty how it is. I’ve been to a couple of countries where the food simply wasn’t good – at least nothing to write home about. I don’t really care since I’m not travelling for the cuisine – or at least it’s not on top of my list. I love the picture of the burned burger next to those Miracoli spaghetti – hahahaha. Or is burned not burned but a local delicacy?
Dear Renata, I think it was burned – but tasted quite good, actually. I guess they are stronger in meat and fish cuisine than in the vegetarian section.
You have had a great trip to Malta. I haven’t had a chance to visit this island yet, but I’d love to follow your tips.