MALTA

Are you looking to explore amazing sea caves? Spend the day lounging on a beautiful beach? Party with friends until all hours of the night? The three islands that make up the country of Malta offer whatever you want, relaxation, adventure, fun - it's your choice. Our first trip to this Mediterranean island country drenched in history was all that we expected and so much more. Although, we only had two nights to spend there, it was the perfect introduction to Malta.

GETTING TO MALTA

From London onboard Air Malta, we were able to hop on a relatively quick flight down to the islands. We only bought a one-way flight since we were taking the ferry over to Catania, Sicily afterwards. This meant that it was also a cheap flight and gave us the best of both worlds. The most ideal way to arrive in Malta would be on your own private yacht (maybe next time) which would answer the next question...

WHERE TO STAY IN MALTA

St. Julian's on the main island of Malta is a jagged coastline filled with multiple bays and even more resorts and hotels. We chose to stay at the Holiday Inn Express near St. George's Bay. It was the perfect spot to launch our daytime explorations from and gave us a nice view to come home to at night. Triq Santa Rita, an alley filled with all the nightlife that you could image is just outside your door.

WHAT TO DO IN MALTA

We spent our only full day in Malta on a tour with Hornblower Cruises. For less than $30 you can spend the day with them getting a tour of the sea caves that line the shores of the islands of Malta. They take you to the famous Blue Lagoon and let you jump off the top deck or slide down their water slide into some of the bluest waters you have ever seen. You can also hike around the island of Camino or just lay out in the sun.

I would highly recommend getting the option that takes you to Gozo as well. If you have this option, when you board the boat, they ask if you want to purchase the guided Gozo tour. I also recommend doing this. After spending around two hours at the Blue Lagoon, those that purchased the Gozo tour are shuttled over to the island. From there, if you chose the guided tour, you board a van and are taken around the island to see the architecture and told about the history. There are several stops and each one gives you plenty of time to explore on your own. One of the stops even takes you to a spot that you can take a small boat through a sea tunnel out into the open sea. There, you get a more in depth and closeup tour of some pretty awesome sea caves.

If you get the chance to visit Malta, I highly recommend it, even if you only have a couple of days. You will even get to check another country off of your list. For me it was #35. This was the first stop of our 25-day wedding / honeymoon trip. Follow along to see more from our adventures in Italy, the Vatican, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro.