Malta was our first trip without children and my first post-coronavirus trip (by plane). Due to safety concerns, we only had a few days. The best and also very affordable option was Malta. There is a direct flight from Trieste with Ryanair . The return ticket (+10kg of luggage) was €120 (for both of us). We left on Sunday noon and returned on Wednesday evening.
We arrived there around 3pm on Sunday, it was still light, which seemed especially nice to us. fine . To enter Malta we needed pct and vaccination certificate. Later, the PCT requirement was checked at the hotel and that was it. None check-ins PCT at every step as in our dear Slovenia. I really thought it was nice not to have to look for papers at every turn.
We bought a weekly unlimited ticket right at the airport. bus . We traveled around the island by bus all day. Sometimes Google Maps was helpful, sometimes not. On the first day we drove to the hotel Maritim Antonine where we were staying, in the north of Malta in a place Mellieha . We caught the sunset on the beach in town, had dinner and then planned our sightseeing for the next day.
The second day was the most action-packed. Luckily, Malta is so small that we were able to see a large part of the south in one day.
- The eighth-century capital of Malta: Mdina . This old city is very important to us. It turned out . We love such historical places, narrow streets, walls...
- Dingli Cliffs . A beautiful view and a surprise how green Malta really is. Because it is otherwise very populated it was right fine sitting on the lookout. That day we also had a pleasant 18 degrees and lots of sunshine.
- Blue Grotto . We weren't particularly impressed from the viewpoint. It's nice to see, but it's probably much more beautiful by boat.
- Finally, the capital. Valletta we liked the view the most from Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens . We were still catching the last rays of sunlight. We walked a good part of the city, all the way from the city gates to Fort St. Elmo and back through the steep streets. There was also a Christmas market in the city and a lot of people.
On the third day we didn't want to go to the city anymore. The most beautiful day in Malta was a hike around the Golden Bay . From Ghajn Tuffieha The panoramic view from the observation tower was wonderful. We were delighted with the Clay Cliffs and the entire landscape. Where did we find this location? Directly on Google Maps, because unfortunately it is not mentioned anywhere “top 10 places to visit in Malta ” list. But it is definitely more than worth a visit.
On our last day, we only had the morning left and we jumped to Popeye Village . It is basically a film set, a village built for the filming of the 1980 Popeye movie. It seemed to me that the village has remained exactly the same to this day. From afar, It looks like it , but up close everything collapses, fades and… well, it's not to be praised. But it's a cute location for kids (I know ours would enjoy it 100/hour).
Before returning home, there was a quick test at the airport and two hours later we were back in Trieste. To sum it up, Malta is a great option for a short break. It didn't let us down, but somehow excited.