Beach Holidays in Malta

Home > Guide to beach holidays and Diving in Malta

I decided to visit the republic of Malta out of season in March to see what this archipelago of seven islands has to offer in the way of Hotels, beaches and what the scuba diving would be like on the island.

Winter Sun Holidays in Malta

One of the main reasons for choosing Malta was it's location, it is 37 miles south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, if you carry on further south you will reach North Africa giving the country a warm climate for most of the year, perfect as a winter sun holiday destination!

Cheap Flights to Malta

Because I was traveling out of season I found an excellent deal on my flight and hotel accommodation in Malta. At this time of year there are plenty of cheap flights to Malta and the hotels offer some pretty good deals as well. I booked my flight and 8 nights stay with bed and breakfast at the 4 star Paradise Bay hotel in Marfa, with an ocean view through lastminute.com in February and the total came to just £340! I think that is an excellent deal in anyone's book. I flew with Air Malta, but Air Alitalia, Ryan Air, Lufthansa, British Airways and a few no frills airlines also fly to Malta so plenty of options to choose from, helping to keep the prices nice and competitive.

Malta - Top Attractions

Other than the beach and seemingly never ending summer, there are many other reasons to visit Malta. Malta has a rich history and culture and with this comes some impressive ancient ruins, museums, works of art and architecture. These include St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta and the St John's Co-Cathedral Museum which is right next to the church, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples near the village Qrendi and the impressive National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. To find out more check out my guide to Malta's Top Attractions

Diving in Malta

Although I have my PADI open water diving licence, I had not been scuba diving in quite a few years and though a little research found a few places on Malta that offer the chance for you to go diving and so thought that this trip would offer the perfect opportunity to brush up on my skills. Paradise Diving School is located within the premises of the Paradise Bay Resort Hotel in Marfa on the northern tip of the island.The school caters for all levels of diving and is a P.A.D.I registered school offering a whole range of courses including an introduction to diving and:

Open Water Diver
Advanced Open Water Diver
Rescue Diver
Dive Master

If you are interested here is an article I have written on Diving Holidays in Malta

As well as Scuba Diving in malta, there are many other watersports that you can enjoy, one of the Beach Holiday Guide top finds in Malta was Sea Kayaking, checj out our guide to sea kayaking in Malta.

Accommodation in Malta

Malta has a huge selection of hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts to suite most peoples tastes and budgets, I found one of the best was to look for accommodation was to search on lastminute.com and the Thomas Cook websites. The reason I eventually chose the Paradise Bay resort hotel in Marfa was because the company that I had booked my scuba diving with, Paradise Diving Malta was also located at the hotel, making it very easy for me to get up in the morning, put on my wetsuit and go diving!

Paradise Bay Resort Hotel
The Paradise Bay Resort hotel is an excellent hotel and really offers value for money is conveniently located on Malta's Northern Coast, just minutes away from the Island's best beaches.

Rooms include Satellite TV, Radio, Direct Dial Touch-Tone Telephone, Trouser press with iron and ironing board Tea / coffee brewing facilities, Mini refrigerator, Hair-dryer,En suite bathroom with shower fitting over bath. All of the Hotel`s rooms are fully air conditioned and have a balcony with Sea View

The hotel also has a games room with the most popular Video Games, Pinball and Pool Tables. There is a Children`s playground located just outside the games rooms which has padded flooring for safety. There are also 4 pools (one indoor), a gift shop and 2 tennis courts. It is also the location of the Paradise Diving School

The Islands of Gozo and Comino are only an easy boat ride away. A regular scheduled public bus service operates from just outside the main entrance of the hotel to the Cities of Sliema, Valletta, Mosta, St. Paul's Bay, Birkirkara, Mellieha and all the other towns can be connected via Valletta or Sliema.

Malta Weather

The climate and weather in Malta are largely influenced by the sea and is very similar to that of southern Italy or southern Greece. It has the characteristic Mediterranean flavour. Generally the winters in Malta are pretty mild, and only very rarely having cold weather carried by winds from northern and central Europe.

The summers in Malta are sunny, warm and dry and you can expect daytime temperatures in summer to be hot, but the cooling effect from sea breezes really help! In the spring and autumn there is a very hot wind that comes from Africa which can occasionally bring with it unpleasantly high temperatures.

The max temperature in °C for Valletta, Malta

Valletta	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Temp (day)	12	15	16	18	22	26	29	29	27	24	20	16
Rain (mm)	90	60	39	15	12	2	0	8	29	63	91	110
Sun (hours)	5	6	7	9	10	11	12	11	9	7	6	5

Malta – Getting Around

Malta is a small island and so getting around is fairly easy, there are many ways in which to get around the island, here are my top suggestions.

Car Hire in Malta
There are plenty of places to hire vehicles in Malta, either from the airport, or from most major towns on the island. For a compact 2 door (4 seater) vehicle expect to pay around 15 to 25 euros a day. A medium sized car will cost around 20 to 30 euros a day depending on how many days you hire the car for.

You could also book your car online before you arrive through easyCar.com

Public Transport
I have found that the busses on Malta are very efficient, an average trip will cost around 1 euro. A good idea if you are going to use the busses often is to buy a daily (3.49 euros), three day (9.32 euros) or 5 day pass which costs about 11 euros and allows you to get on any bus anywhere on the island from 05:30 to 23:00, so can save you money as well not have to bother lugging around change with you.

Night Buses
One difference between traveling to Malta over in the winter is that there is no or a very limited night bus service. This is an important consideration if you plan to travel by bus and want to go enjoy some of the night life [link: nightlife in Malta] away from the area of your hotel. The only option would be to catch a taxi.

Malta International Airport Bus
Bus number 8 leaves and goes to the airport from Valletta where you will be able to catch a connection buss to the rest of the island.

Taxies in Malta
There are taxis available in most major towns in Malta, it is also really easy to get a number of a taxi company from a tourist information office or your hotel. Airport Taxi: A great system that is in place from the airport is that you pay for an official taxi at an office and then the driver uses this ticket to take you to your destination, preventing drivers from overcharging vulnerable tourists!

Malta Facts

The official languages of malta are Maltese and English, English is a legacy from Malta's period as a British colony as the United Kingdom is the most recent outside ruling power. Malta achieved independence from Britain in 1964 and is currently a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as the European Union which it joined in 2004.

Further Reading:
The best beaches in Malta
Things to see in Malta - Malta's top Attractions
Things to do in Malta - Activities in Malta
Guided Tour of Valletta
Malta Restaurants and Nightlife Guide