Visiting Malta Travel Tips and Advice

Why should you consider visiting Malta? For so many reasons, my British husband and I highly recommend it. We spent five full days in this gorgeous island in between Italy and North Africa. Though that hardly makes us experts or anywhere near the level of a local, we feel there are some travel tips and advice we learned that you will need before you plan your trip to Malta.

Visiting Malta Travel Tips: Time of Year

When we were there the last week of July, temperatures were between 85-96 degrees Fahrenheit. One day was nearly unbearable, but after spending the morning at our hotel’s pool, we took cover in a Valletta pub for several hours. There wasn’t a drop of rain during our entire visit.

If you’re keen to swim in Blue Lagoon, you will face mobs of crowds during July and August. Weekends are apparently the worst because most locals are off work and trying to enjoy the azure waters too.

Visiting Malta Travel Tips: Money Advice

Malta uses the Euro. The rate against Pounds Sterling when we went was £1.00= €1.09. We planned on spending about €220 each day after arriving. This figure does not include our flight and hotel. We were happy to stay exactly to our budget. Most of our money was for food. As a travel and food blogger, I don’t miss opportunities to enjoy eating. Our breakfast was included in the price of our hotel. We spent approximately €60-70 on lunch each day. This included a starter, main course, and 1-2 drinks each. For dinner, we averaged €75-85. Neither of those amounts include gratuity. You can figure on adding about 12-15% on your bill for that.

Visiting Malta Travel Tips: Food and Drink

As part of a visit Malta series, I will have several articles and videos on our trip. While the topics may be the same, they will have different content. For example, the What to Eat in Malta YouTube video shows views from the restaurants we visited as well as some things we tried. The blog article will highlight other suggestions. However, one tip for you now is that food and drink are relatively cheap in comparison to London. Mr. Sunny said Malta is the first place in the world where wine has been the same price or cheaper than beer!

Visiting Malta Travel Tips: Transportation

Malta is a bit tricky. Many evenings we did not feel like venturing into Valletta because it was a daunting task. We chose a hotel specifically for its pool and view. This meant we weren’t in the heart of the city. These are the steps we faced anytime we left the hotel on foot.

In the sweltering heat, this was not fun. Further, Valletta is full of tiny, steep streets. Marching up and down stairs to get anywhere is the norm. Girls, this is not a place I suggest you bring your newest pair of heels to showcase. You will look and feel like a fool.

Further, we were distant from any convenient stores. We didn’t see too many when we visited Sliema, Mdina, Gozo or Comino either. Keep this in mind if you might want to save some money on beer and wine by stocking your hotel’s refrigerator. We had this intention but since it was such an ordeal to find a place and then possibly carry it for twenty minutes back to our room, we didn’t take advantage of the idea.

Mr. Sunny really wanted to rent a quad bike in Malta. Had we been there for more than five days, I am sure we would have tried this. You might consider renting a car, but with the amount of tour companies that are eager to collect you from your hotel, I would refrain.

Visiting Malta Travel Tips: Different Sights

Again, I will publish a separate video and article on suggestions of what to do when you visit Malta. But, one sight in Malta that will be a little different is the amount of cats you will see lounging around. They are everywhere. We attribute it to the abundance of seafood. Just prepared for them to be lurking and laying about in every corner! Also, what you won’t see are tons of police cars. Mr. Sunny said he didn’t even see any our first day. When he did see them, he felt it looked as if they were wearing the same kit as the London Met Police. From his observations, it looked as if they also did not carry guns.

Visiting Malta Travel Tips: More on the Sunny News

Below is the matching video which details more information you will need for planning to visit Malta. Notice my hair is pulled back. I spent some serious time at a salon (not too mention money) before we left getting balayage. It was way too hot for me to blow dry my hair and leave it down. Not to mention the abuse it took from the sun, pool and sea over the five days. I would advise that you book your hair highlights and conditioning treatment when you return, girls! And, don’t judge my appearance too harshly in the video either! 😉 There is another weather tip that will surprise you in the video, so please watch it if your’re serious about visiting Malta.

To make sure you don’t miss any Sunny updates about visiting Malta, be sure to subscribe to the Sunny News. Upcoming videos and advice articles that will be linked to this article when they are ready include:

On the blog you can also find my review of Air Malta and Grand Hotel Excelsior Malta. I haven’t created a video of the cruise and Blue Lagoon experience yet. If that’s something you would like to see, please let me know in the comments. Also, leave any questions you think I can answer about planning your Malta trip here or on YouTube. If you have been to Malta, it would be great if you can add your advice here too!