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MALTA
DISCOVER MY TWO DAY ITINERARY
In June 2022, I spent two days in Malta with my sister during a two-week European holiday. Here's my itinerary with my recommendations:
Day 1 - Cruisin
Check into Hostel Malti
Our flight to Malta arrived about midnight and luckily we booked an airport transfer with the hostel so Mario was tracking our flight. The transfer cost 19 euro and it was well worth it considering it was the only option when you arrive late! We checked into the hostel the next morning and here are my thoughts: it was fine. The location was okay--it's located
in St. Julian's (where all the nightlife is) but it's still about a
10 minute walk from any of the bars. We made some hostel
friends which was fun, but overall I would have preferred a
better location. The building/accomodations were just fine,
nothing crazy. All in all, if I came back to Malta I would
choose a different hostel.
Recommendation: Skip it.
Cirkewwa Ferry
The next morning we took a cab to the Cirkewwa Ferry at the very northern tip of the island. This cost around 30 euro one way. I highly recommend downloading the app Bolt (it's their uber), it's much cheaper than the cabbies and the public buses are very unpredictable. We ate breakfast at the little ferry cafe and it was very cheap and delicious. I got a cappuccino, a bottle of water, and a very large and hearty pastry for 6 euro--what a steal. This pastry kept me full all day and was one of the best of my whole trip.
Recommendation: Go for it!
Airbnb Boat Experience
We met up with our captains for the day at the ferry and promptly got on our boat! There are lots of different companies you can choose to have a boat tour with--and many of them are cheaper than this one--but, we wanted a smaller group experience with locals. This experience had amazing reviews and came with lots of fun perks--like trying traditional Maltese pastry--pastizzia--refreshing fruit, dessert, and champagne at the end. Our hosts, Shaun, Paul, and Stella were incredibly kind and so much fun. We started off at the Crystal Lagoon--which was probably the highlight. Did you know that the Maltese sea is crazy salty? We were basically floating the whole time; the water was chilly but not too bad and, as you can see, it was unbelievably beautiful. Our next stop was the Blue Lagoon which is famous here in Malta. We stopped here for about an hour and Caitlyn and I got some fresh fruit provided by the boat and purchased a Pineapple Cocktail--SO worth the 10 euro. =) Our next stop was at this small beach where we were able to give ourselves a clay facial. So much fun. And lastly we hopped around to a few of the nearby caves and sipped on champagne and ate desserts.
Recommendation: Go for it! Everyone on the boat was roughly our age which was fun, and we were able to get lots of great recommendations from our hosts. The tour was around $80 USD per person, but so worth it! One of the best days!
Dinner at Trabuxu Wine Bar
We ate dinner in Valletta based off of a recommendation from one of our hosts--and it was delicious! We accidentally stumbled into the wine bar instead of the restaurant (they are across the street from each other) and didn't realize it until muchhhh later. However, I love tapas style meals so this was a bonus for me. We got the cheese fondue and a selection of meets and boy was it good. We got a bottle of Maltese wine and enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere.
Recommendation: Go for it! I absolutely loved this place and would definitely come back.
Drinks and Dancing at Marco Polo Hostel
We got back to the hostel from Valletta just in time for the group to head to our sister hostel Marco Polo. They have a DJ and a rooftop hookah lounge and it was a great night filled with dancing and chatting with people from all over the world.
Recommendation: Go for it! We got in for free and had a free drink voucher.
Day 2 - M'dina and Rabat
We started the day off very late because jet lag + going out = sleeping til 1. But luckily we found a walking tour available on Airbnb experiences that started at 3pm. So we took a cab to M'dina using bolt; it was 20 euros to get there from St. Julian's. We ate pastries and coffee at the nearby kiosk outside the city gates and it was not good. I'm so glad we got pastizzia on the boat the previous day, because they were delicious and this kiosk was not. I would suggest trying to wake up a bit earlier than us and picking a restaurant in M'dina for breakfast or lunch--there are lots of cute places.
Recommendation: Skip it.
Cab to M'dina
Walking Tour of M'dina and Rabat
Like I said, we booked our tour through airbnb experiences--it was around $15 USD per person and it was a 2.5 hour tour. By the end we were very tired, but we got a robust tour of M'dina and Rabat and I really loved these two cities. Some quick fun facts: The arabic words Medina and Rabat mean "city" and "outskirts," respectively. M'dina was established in 218 AD and developed by the romans; they called the city Melite which means island of honey because of all the bees and the yellow stonework. Game of Thrones seasons 1 and 2 were filmed here before they moved over to Dubrovnik. All the doorways in the two cities were required to have a little alcove before the street so that you could stand in any doorway if there were arrows flying from enemies. St. Paul was shipwrecked here in Malta and was bitten by a snake--all thought he would surely die but he suffered no ill effects; and the Maltese still celebrate St. Paul and his shipwreck to this day. So many more interesting historical facts--I truly loved walking around the beautiful walled city.
Recommendation: Go for it! I'm SO glad we decided to go to M'dina--I love learning about ancient cities, they are so inspiring to me and M'dina was one of the most unique!
Our tour ended at the time where a lot of restaurants are closed between lunch and dinner, so we found one place that was open, the Mdina Experience Medieval Tavern. The inside was a bit cheesy but we sat in the courtyard (where Ned Stark was arrested by Jaime Lannister) and it was a wonderful spot to grab some wine and have a snack. We got the bruschetta and it was delicious.
Recommendation: Eh, if you have time. Only because there are so many other beautiful restaurants here, we were just too tired to walk a lot. Haha.
Snacks at Mdina Experience Medieval Tavern
Self Guided Tour of
Valletta
After our snack, we returned to the hostel to rest and freshen up for dinner. I had really wanted to find a tour of Valletta, but the timing didn't work out on our short stay (and long sleeps) so we decided to do a little self-guided walking tour before dinner. It was lovely! I've never done something like this before--there are many self-guided walking tours online you can follow and it was a great way to see more of Valletta that we would have if we were just wandering. The highlight is of course, the beautiful Saluting Battery where you can see and hear the cannons go off a twice a day. We missed the cannons, but I think that would have been really fun. The view was spectacular--it was very peaceful and lovely to walk around.
Recommendation: Go for it! Although I prefer a free walking tour, I'll settle for self guided if I have to.
Dinner at Taste
During the middle of our self-guided tour we stumbled upon this adorable street busy with restaurants and stopped for dinner. We started off inside because they were too crowded and busy for outside seating (get a reservation), but after one drink they were able to move us to the charming street. We had espresso martinis and they were delicious, the pasta was simple and yummy and the wine was fantastic.
Recommendation: Go for it! This was a great experience, but the food isn't going to blow your mind--it's simple and good.
Goodbye Malta
We had an early flight the next morning, so we got some good night sleep and then we were off! I would LOVE to return to Malta--there is so much to do on this small island--I would particularly like to stay on Gozo. Gozo is the small island to the north and everyone kept raving about how much they loved it. So something to keep in mind if you are planning a trip to Malta that is longer than ours... I would definitely consider staying in Gozo!
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