Greetings, we have just arrived back to a very grey and cold England after spending a week in Malta. Neither of us had visited Malta before, but seeing as it is very close to Sicily, (you can catch a ferry from Malta which takes roughly 2 hours) we thought we'd try it out. It's been seven months since we finished filming in Abruzzo, and we really just wanted to get away for a nice relaxing break, and catch some sun as the cold weather back home really doesn't agree with us both!

We thought Malta was a good option because it's close to Italy, so we knew the temperature would be nice. It looked very pretty and obviously has a lot of history, but honestly, John and I had mixed feelings about Malta, it wasn't what we were expecting and it was certainly nothing like Italy (despite the close proximity). 

With the love for exploring new cultures, drinking wine in the sun and of course catching even a glimmer of sunlight, we had high hopes for Malta. John's mother was fond of the place before she passed away, and so John remembered his mother talking fondly of the place. I also suspect it's why she called him John as 'Saint John' is very prominent figure in Malta with a lot of churches named in his honour.

However, after speaking to many older couples on our little trip, they all seemed to say the same thing- that Malta isn't the same place that it was twenty years ago, and with many of them returning for the fist time in years, they all said that it had "changed."

That being said, we still had some enjoyable moments, so I'll share as many of those as possible! It wasn't a bad holiday, we had a great time, but there were some negatives, particularly for tourists that I wanted to mention. So grab a cup of something, and I'll walk you through our week in Malta as tourists...

Accommodation in St. Pauls Bay

We stayed all inclusive at the Qawra Place Resort and Spa in the touristy town of Malta. Now, I'm just going to say it here, that personally, I think that all of Malta is a bit of a tourist trap, but this area especially was catering for tourists. The surrounding area it's self was pretty. It had a sweet promenade and it was nicely lit up at night, however, the local shops such as mini marts we very expensive. I forgot my tooth brush when I packed, annoyingly, and this set me back 8.90 euros for a toothbrush and tooth paste! The cans of beer also varied in price, for example one shop sold them for 2.50 euros, another 1.80 euros - so it's worth shopping around. 

The surrounding area also seems to be undergoing a lot of construction work, and the banging through the day was a little irritating. The hotel itself however had fantastic facilities and the staff were very pleasant. The surrounding balcony area was a little strange. We really were very close to the neighbours, so I would recommend paying a little extra for a sea view and the hotel itself was going through some construction work- that being said we did visit out of season and we really couldn't fault the space of the rooms or the food- the food in all four of the hotels restaurants was absolutely fantastic, and deserves four stars. Going all inclusive here, is a must!

The actual cleanliness of the hotel was spotless and the staff worked very hard to clean it. I was really impressed overall with the hotel and in fact the hotel was so lovely we didn't want to leave. The spa, located on floor four was really relaxing. You are able to book and pay for treatments such as manicures or massages, however the sauna, steam room and pool are all free to use. It was very quiet at 9am and then got busier as the day went on. I would recommend visiting when it opens at 9am. The sauna was divine, especially after drinking too much of the all inclusive wine!

Out of all the drinks you can order on the all inclusive bar, the best was probably the beer. The all inclusive bar was pretty standard in terms of quality, but they did have a lot to choose from. There is one bar on the premise which is located on floor zero, however they did look like they were converting a space on the roof top terrace, so in summer they may have another one. Finally, the roof top terrace was stunning and if your looking for views, then this place has it all. One last shout out to the animations team who put on nightly entertainment at the bar, I promised I would mention them. We had a lot of fun at this hotel and we were sad to leave, a week flew by! 

We did eventually leave the all inclusive hotel and explore some local bars. They weren't all fantastic, some were a little dated and I suppose here is the point where I mention Maltese wine. Now, seeing as we've spent a lot of time in Italy, by now John and I know a thing or too about good wine, or at least I think we do, and we were surprised that the wine in Malta was so bad!

It's very sweet and acidic - a kin to what we have in the UK on the bottom shelf of a supermarket. We tried several bottles in Malta and not one of the wines we tried were really that enjoyable. If you suffer from heart burn, I would not recommend drinking wine with meals. Instead the beer was much better, but we were a little disappointed about the wine. We found some bottles that were imported from Italy but they were very expensive. In fact, I was a little shocked by the prices in Malta in general. Seeing as we were there out of season, everything was just was more expensive than I was expecting. It kind of felt like I was still in the UK, with everyone talking English. I did feel on several occasions that we were really over charged for things and it kind of tainted the experience. 

I am aware that there is a cost of living crisis and so I did not grumble about the prices, however I still felt that as a tourist in Malta, I was being taken for a ride. I spent more than I expected seeing as we were all inclusive too. Still, visiting this place only made me realise how much better Abruzzo is, so it wasn't all bad...

We were delighted that there was an Italian pizza and pasta place outside of our hotel, I think this made our holiday.  The wine here is okay although it is expensive as it is imported from Italy. If you stay in St. Pauls Bay, this is a place I would recommend. It has stunning views and an outdoor roof terrace. 

Visiting Gozo and the Blue Lagoon

We didn't do many excursions in Malta, mainly due to how expensive it was, but John really wanted to see the blue lagoon. It's worth visiting a few different tourist places to get the best price. We booked a trip to Gozo and the Blue Lagoon which cost us 25 euros each, bearing in mind this is out of season.

The bus picked us up at 10am and dropped us off at around 5.30pm, so it was a full day excursion. I thought this was very reasonably priced for three hours in Gozo, and two hours at the blue lagoon. We really enjoyed the day out and the blue lagoon did not disappoint. I'm glad we booked this trip as I feel we got to see more of  Malta than just the tourist places. Malta has a lot of history and an interesting one so we were both keen on learning more.

However, five minutes into our excursion, the open top double decker bus sped around a corner and crunched into a red van. It then had to reverse, scraping and scratching the van during the process. The driver got out and had a look and then got back in the bus and sped off down the street. Now apparently this is normal in Malta, and the more time we spent on the roads, I started to realise how dangerous the driving in Malta actually is. I am genuinely so pleased that I didn't bring my kids here, as I would not have felt safe with them in cars.   

Anyway, we arrived at the catamaran in one piece and then the fun really started. If you think speeding is just reserved for roads, oh no, think again, the boats also speed here, but I didn't mind this so much. It was quite a windy day on our trip so on the boat on the way out was very bumpy. It reminded me of a funfair ride. If you get sea sickness you might not enjoy this so much, but we had the giggles on the boat. It was giddy and gave you butterflies as the boat crashed over the waves.

On arriving in Gozo, we were greeted by a beautiful harbour. I manged to grab a quick few photographs before we were ushered towards the buses that were waiting for us. It was a shame, as the harbour looked so inviting, but we were told that there was nothing here and we must get the bus to Victoria, the capital. On arriving at the bus we were told we had to pay 15 euros each for the trip to Victoria. I had not budgeted for this, so it was very annoying and we felt it was a bit cheeky.

Luckily we asked around and found another bus who took us for 5 euros each. However, bearing in mind that it only costs 2.50 on busses to get around for four hours in Malta as a tourist, I thought this was very steep!

We also thought everything was included in our trip, so I would recommend taking extra cash with you, as there always seem to be extra expenses in Malta that you hadn't bargained for.

The bus ride took us around 25 mins so by the time we got to Victoria, the three hours in Gozo turned into 1.5 hours. If you wanted to grab something to eat for example you would miss the sights, so some street food would be better.  

The Citidella in Gozo's capital was really interesting. It has panoramic views of Gozo's capital Victoria. We didn't have time to look round the whole thing, but it was very interesting. We also found the price of wine here was much more reasonable. Two glasses totalling at 6 euros. 

Gozo was very photogenic and I would recommend Victoria. It certainly seemed quaint and full of charm. There's also a strong catholic faith in Malta and so there are churches everywhere. From historical buildings to mosaics and a pretty main square, Gozo was my favourite place that we visited. I would have liked to have spent more time here. 

Visiting the Blue lagoon...

Our next stop was the blue lagoon, this place really was beautiful. The waters are crystal clear and the brightest blue. It was as pretty as a picture. Once getting off the boat there are a few food stands and cocktail bars, and you were able to walk along the rocky top which is good for photographers. They also offer extra excursions to look around the caves on smaller boats, however, seeing as the sea was a little choppy we decided to give this a miss but it cost 15 euros per person out of season if you were interested in doing so. 

There were lots of food stands playing funky music. We got a pizza and shared it while we took in the view. I also spotted a little lizard while we were eating, so its a good place to see wildlife despite the banging tunes. A few people were swimming in the sea- although it was a little chilly for us. As it's an island it was very windy, but be careful, we thought it wasn't hot and still got sunburned. 

Some final thoughts on Malta...

While I enjoyed my holiday here, it wasn't what I was expecting. I found it difficult to speak to Maltese people as many of them were tourists, and all of them seemed to have some negative experiences of the place. There were at times, parts where we loved Malta, for example the views, it is certainly very picture perfect. We also learned a lot about the history of the area and everyone was happy to help us with directions or information.

As a tourist it's also very easy going, as everyone speaks English, so it makes it a little easier than Italy to get around. The food was very nice and especially at the hotel. We asked a few people what the food was like at other hotels and they all said it was okay and not great, but they heard that the food at the Qawra Palace was much better, so I think we choose the right place to stay. 

Finally, our shuttle to the airport was crazy, it was like booking a rally experience to get you to the airport. The driver was crazy, speeding along, driving straight over roundabouts without looking and pulling out without indicating. But, he wasn't the only one. In fact this airport shuttle bus put me off going back to Malta. I genuinely felt unsafe on the roads. There are huge signs saying speed kills everywhere, so speeding is clearly a huge issue. Something to bear in mind!

Malta was a one off experience for me, I'm not sure if I would go back. But, the good news is that the whole time I was there it only made me miss Italy even more. So sometimes it's worth trying new things simply to reaffirm your passion of a place.