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Cheap Package Holidays to Malta

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Ghajn Tuffieha Bay in Malta
Photo: Ghajn Tuffieha Bay in Malta

There are plenty of package holidays to Malta, but if you are really looking to save more than a few pennies, I suggest that you go on your holidays in Malta just outside the peak summer holiday season. In 2008 I spent a stunning 2 weeks in Malta, during late March and early April. Not only did I get a wonderful warm holiday in the sun, (Malta is a perfect winter sun holiday destination) but everything was cheaper, from the flights, to the hotels. This meant that my package holiday in Malta a real bargain and a beach holiday that I would definitely go on again.

Malta tourism is also on the increase, I have noticed a lot of Malta news and adverts in the UK media and for me that is another reason to travel outside of the peak holiday season, less people means the airport and beaches will be less crowded and even things like finding a table at one of the many wonderful restaurants in Malta will be that much easier.

Easter in MaltaEaster in Malta
If you do decide to travel outside the main peak summer season in Malta, i would consider going over the Easter holidays. Malta has very strong Roman Catholic traditions and so Maltese people look forward to Easter with great enthusiasm and their culture really comes into life with many celebrations and street parades over Easter.

During Easter all over Malta and the smaller island of Gozo there are early morning processions from the churches and through towns and villages where Maltese worshippers bear the statue of the ‘Risen Christ’. Only in Malta, the ‘Three Cities’ across the Grand Harbour from Valletta, bearers run with the statue on their shoulders. It is also traditional for children to receive a ‘figolia’ which is a type of almond cake on this day. The Three Cities, joined into one historic urban area, are Vittoriosa, Senglea and Coapicua.

For me it was great to see Easter being celebrated in a more traditional way then the very commercial version that it has turned into here in the UK.

Back in 2009, Easter Sunday was on the 28th of March, in 2009 it is on the 12th April 2009, which makes a visit to Malta during Easter even more appealing as you are more certain of bright, warm, sunny days with hardly any chance of rain.

Weather in Malta
During my stay in Malta, in late March and early April 2008 the weather was stunning. I think one morning I woke up to a light drizzle that soon disappeared and it turned into a wonderful day. There was also one evening that we had a thunder and lightning storm that turned into a stunning display over the ocean that I viewed from my hotel balcony and so was far from being disappointing. On the whole the weather in Malta over my two week holiday was just perfect. Warm sunny days with out being to hot.

For a more detailed look at the weather in Malta, including temperatures, sea temperatures and rainfall all year round take a look at my section on Weather in Malta

Beaches in Malta
There are some excellent beaches in Malta, and what one of my favourite things about a beach holiday on an island the size of Malta, is that you can easily travel all around the island to find the type of beach that suits you. Whether it’s a secluded beach hidden away or a busy beach with lots of young people and restaurants and activities, you will find what you are looking for in Malta. Take a look at my guide to the Best Beaches in Malta for more details.

Package Holidays Malta
Back in 2008 I organised my Malta package holiday with Lastminute.com and I ended up flying on the excellent Malta Airways and stayed at the 4 star Paradise Bay hotel in Marfa, that came with a sea view. There are plenty of other companies that offer flights to Malta as well as hotel accommodation, here are a few companies that I would suggest:

Lastminute.com holidays to Malta

As I said I enjoyed a very good holiday a year ago that I booked through Lastminute.com and have nothing but good things to say about them.

Thomascook.com holidays to Malta
With 163 years’ experience of booking travel and holidays for millions of customers every year, Thomas Cook is one of the UK’s leading travel companies and the good news is one of their holiday destinations is Malta.

Thomson Beach Holidays to Malta

Thomson.co.uk offers access to great value holidays, hotels, villas and apartments direct from the UK’s No1 supplier of package holidays.

Further reading on the Beach Holiday Guide

  • Malta Holidays
  • Best Beaches in Malta
  • Malta’s Main Attractions
  • Malta Activities including Scuba diving in Malta
  • Tour of Valletta
  • Nightlife Guide

Tags: All Inclusive Beach Holidays, Beach Holiday, Holidays to Malta, Malta, Package Holidays
Posted in Europe, Winter Sun Holidays | Comments Off

Cheap Beach Holidays: Majorca, Menorca & Ibiza

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Beach Holiday

This weekend, Thomas Cook are offering fantastic beach holiday deals to Majorca, Menorca & Ibiza from just
£199pp! This deal is part of a series of holiday sales from the package holiday giant Thomas Cook. Last week they were offering deals to Greece and it’s islands and I wrote a post about If there was a catch on these cheap holiday deals to Greece, the conclusion was that they were great deals, but for the very cheapest prices you did have to travel on certain days and from Manchester airport, but still got really good deals if you wanted to change the dates and airports.

Balearic Island Holiday Deals

The Balearics have fantastic beaches, amazing sunsets, picturesque scenery and great resorts and are home to some of Europe’s most popular sunshine beach destinations. The great thing about a holiday on the islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza is that they can be laid back, cultural, active or hedonistic as you care to make it.
It looks as as though the deals to the Balearic islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza are as good, if not better. Once again lets look at the cheapest offer: A self catering 7 night holiday at the 2 star Villa Nova in Palma Nova, Majorca will set you back only £174.00 per person!! An incredible price!

To get this price, you have to travel on a certain day, the flight leaves Gatwick on Tue 22 Sep 09 at 06:10

Changing the travel dates, could and probably will change the price, but as before I think Thomas Cook are offering some excellent deals on beach holidays at the moment and if you are after a good deal, book early and look forward to a holiday in the sun this summer.

For more information, click on the Thomas Cook logo below!

Tags: All Inclusive Beach Holidays, Balearics, Cheap Beach Holidays, Europe
Posted in Europe, Holiday Deals | Comments Off

Greece Holidays on the Cheap – from £199

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

Thomas Cook are offering some fantastic cheap winter sun holidays to Greece, sounds too good to be true? I take a look to see if there is a catch!

Thomas Cook Greek Holidays Sale

For this weekend only they are offering great Greek island beach holidays from only £199 with savings of up to 20% per holiday. If you cannot find the exact holiday you are after, the holiday sale also includes offers on Greek flights, hotels and short breaks.

Too Good to be true?

I am always a little sceptical when I see great holiday deals like this and always wonder what the catch is, so lets see if we can find out:

What are they offering: I will use the cheapest holiday to Greece on Thomas Cook and see just what we get for our money (if you click on the banner above it will take you to the Greek holiday deals and you can follow me)

Corfu Holiday in Greece

Corfu Holiday in Greece. Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mickpix/

£138 for 7 nights self catering on Corfu including flights!

Corfu Holidays at a three star self catering accommodation from £138, including flights! The accommodation is a family run apartment are ideal for anyone looking for comfortable self catering accommodation in a great location, set in a quiet area just outside the centre of the resort but close enough to absorb the local culture and the island of Corfu has hundreds of miles of coastline and a succession of beaches that absorb its host of visitors, leaving sleepy villages and country lanes untouched and just waiting to be discovered – This all sounds great, almost to great, so whats the catch?

Outbound flight: Departs Manchester on Mon 04 May 09 at 22:20 Arrives Corfu on Tue 05 May 09 at 03:50
Inbound flight
: Departs Corfu on Tue 12 May 09 at 04:50 Arrives Manchester on Tue 12 May 09 at 06:30

Well I guess a restriction would be that to get this holiday you have to travel from Manchester airport on the 4th of May, if that is convenient for you, this is sounding very, very good!

If you wanted to travel from London on the same day (4th May) the cheapest holiday I could find to a Greek island was also on Corfu, in Sidari and was for £224, which whilst is not as cheap as flying from Manchester, It is still sounding very tempting! You can try other dates and times for yourself.

Weather in Greece in May
Perhaps the weather is the catch, so what is the weather like in May in Greece?
According to the BBC weather centre:
Athens on average has 9 hours of sunlight and average minimum and maximum temperatures of 16 and 25 Celsius respectively and I would say only has an average chance of rain.
Naxos on average has 8 hours of sunlight and average minimum and maximum temperatures of 16 and 23 Celsius respectively and I would say only has a small chance of rain.
Thessaloniki on average has 9 hours of sunlight and average minimum and maximum temperatures of 14 and 25 Celsius respectively and I would say only has a average chance of rain.

Again this is looking good, I think the temperatures at this time of year in Greece are perfectly fine, not sweltering, but will be more than comfortable.

So In my opinion, yes there are restrictions, but if you need to alter the dates, or place from which you wish to travel from, there are still some pretty good deals to be had from Thomas Cook, so go on spoil yourself: Greece with it’s ancient ruins, stunning beaches, traditional tavernas and vibrant resorts and now with a great price to boot, why not escape the credit crunch and winter and head off on a winter sun holiday to Greece.

Tags: All Inclusive Beach Holidays, Cheap Beach Holidays, Europe, Greece
Posted in Announcements, Europe, Winter Sun Holidays | Comments Off

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