Malta: Small Island, English-Speaking, Packed With History

Malta is small enough — under a two-hour drive tip to tip — that a long weekend covers the capital Valletta, the silent fortress city of Mdina, and a trip to the neighbouring island of Gozo. English is an official language alongside Maltese, which makes it an easy first stop for anyone nervous about a language barrier. The honey-coloured limestone walls of Valletta and Mdina have stood in for other places in more than one film and TV production, Game of Thrones among them.

Getting around#

The Tallinja bus network covers the main island reasonably well and is cheap, though schedules thin out in the evenings and on Gozo. A ferry runs between Ċirkewwa on Malta's northern tip and Mġarr on Gozo roughly every 30-45 minutes, with the crossing itself taking about 25 minutes — frequent enough that it rarely needs booking ahead outside major holidays. A rental car or scooter is the practical way to reach Gozo's quieter coves and inland villages on your own schedule rather than the bus timetable.

When to go#

April-June and September-October avoid the peak summer heat and the cruise-ship crowds that fill Valletta's harbour and main streets on port days in July-August. Malta stays mild well into autumn, and winter is workable for the cities though many boat trips and some Gozo guesthouses scale back.

What it costs#

A mid-range trip — 3-star hotels, restaurant meals, a Gozo ferry crossing and a couple of guided sites — runs $70-110 per person per day, before flights, noticeably below comparable Italian or French Mediterranean spots. Valletta's better restaurants and central hotels sit toward the top; Gozo and smaller Malta towns cost less.

Before you go#

• Mdina bans regular traffic inside its walls except for residents — arrive by bus, taxi, or on foot from the edge of town.
• The Blue Lagoon on Comino gets very crowded by mid-morning in summer; an early boat or a shoulder-season visit is a different experience.
• Valletta's streets are steep stone stairs in places — comfortable shoes matter more here than in most European capitals.
• Malta's Knights of St John fortifications and WWII history (the Malta Experience, the Lascaris War Rooms) run deeper than the postcard views suggest — worth an afternoon if history is any part of the draw.
• Diving is a genuine draw in its own right, particularly around Gozo's Blue Hole and wrecks near Comino, with dive shops renting gear on both islands.