When choosing a place to jet off to I like to think about places with a bit of history, beautiful architecture and a sunny climate. Malta ticks all the boxes for me with the added bonus of being only a 3 hour flight from the UK. Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean just south of the island of Sicily.
Malta's climate is typical of the Mediterranean with a daily average of around 12 hours sunshine in summer going down to 5 to 6 hours in mid-winter. Summers are hot, dry and very sunny. We visited a few years ago and have been considering going back - at the moment there are some great deals with Holiday Gems do have a browse through their other destinations.
We stayed in Buġibba on the north of the island, it's situated on St Paul's Bay, and it is a popular tourist resort with lots of hotels, bars and restaurants our hotel was walking distance to a cinema and very close to the bus station. The bus is a great way to get around the island - most of the bus routes in Malta only run in 30- or 60-minute intervals so do check the timetables - we ended up running for a bus in St Julian's one night to get back to Bugibba. Of course you can also hire a car, we did, but beware driving in Malta is hard work.
One of the traditional old Maltese buses.
Valletta
The capital Valletta is a must visit. The walled city was established in the 1500s on a peninsula by the Knights of St John. There are museums, palaces churches as well as cafes, a market and lovely shops.
Mdina
Mdina is a fortified city in the Northern Region of Malta. Its main entrance features in Game of Thrones, scenes of which were filmed in different parts of Malta and Gozo. It's a must visit along with Rabat.
Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk is a traditional fishing village in the South East. It is a very picturesque town with a market and pretty fishing boats.
Sliema
Sliema is on the east coast - the waterfront features a long promenade and the 18th-century polygonal Fort Tigné in the south. Sliema is where you'll find the shopping malls.
mellieha
Popeye Village is home to the film set from the 1980 musical 'Popeye', we visited one afternoon, it is a theme park village with boat rides and food outlets based in Anchor Bay, Mellieha.
Gozo
The island of Gozo has been inhabited for 1000s of years - it's well known for its Neolithic Ġgantija Temple ruins, rural hiking paths and beautiful beaches. We took a boat trip to Gozo and went on a bus tour of the island.
Mosta
The Mosta Dome is probably the most impressive church in Malta, with its’ massive rotunda, that is the third largest in the world. During WW2 the church was almost destroyed when a 200kg bomb fell through the dome without exploding.
Have you ever visited Malta before? I'd love to know any tips you have. For some great tips about what to prepare and pack before taking the kids abroad read this post from Playdays and Runways.
*This is a collaborative post - all opinions are my own.
(Picture credit to Pixabay)