The country of Malta has been independent since 1964. In the past, the Maltese were repeatedly conquered and ruled by other rulers. In addition to Malta itself, the Malta archipelago also includes Gozo and Comino and other very small islands. As part of our Malta tour, we visited all three large islands.
Malta is predestined for a tour with a rental car. Little traffic, the highlights are close together and the roads are well maintained.
Malta Luqa Airport is served directly by many German airports as well as Vienna and Zurich. But you come from most of the German airports with a maximum of one stop on the sunny Mediterranean island.
A visa is not necessary for EU citizens since Malta is also an EU country.
In Malta you can confidently use the German or Austrian SIM card since roaming fees were abolished. You don't need to buy a SIM card on site. If you have a SIM card from a non-EU country as standard, you should better inform your provider about any costs that may arise.
The bus system on Malta and Gozo is very well developed and perfect for a Malta tour.
Our Malta travel tip: You can reach most destinations on the islands really easily by bus.
Malta Public Transport even offers travelers 7-day tickets and other offers at affordable prices. If you don't have a rental car, the bus is certainly the first choice for a tour of Malta and Gozo.
Every 45 minutes there is a large car ferry between Malta and Gozo and in the opposite direction. Of course you can also use the ferry without a car.
The fee is only paid on the way back from Gozo to Malta, although we have already heard that this should change. The crossing takes about 25 minutes.
Various shops for food, magazines, toys, food and drinks are on board the ferry.
There are also rumors about a planned bridge between the islands.
Luqa Airport is very manageable. The booths of the rental car companies are located inside the reception building. The car is picked up at the airport parking lot and the Malta round trip starts.
Driving is generally only possible on the islands of Malta and Gozo. You cannot drive a car on Comino. Because of the small size and mountainous and rocky nature of Comino, it wouldn't make sense either. Left-hand traffic prevails on both islands due to the English colonial past. The distances on Gozo are very short and they are also limited in Malta. So you can confidently plan several sights per day during the Malta tour. This is also the next of our Malta travel tips. The archipelago is not large and the individual sights are breathtaking but mostly not very extensive, so that you can see a lot in just a few days.
If you want to visit Sliema or the other places on the opposite side of the main bay in addition to Valletta, we have another Malta travel tip for you. Do not take the bus, but the passenger ferry to Sliema. You have a free sightseeing tour through the natural harbor of Valletta. The boat runs from one city to another every 30 minutes. Both return tickets and one-way tickets are sold. The journey to / from Sliema to / from Valletta takes about 10 minutes. There are no official ticket offices, you just queue up and pay when you get in. Everything very straightforward and proven for decades.
♦ Margos: Exceptional and delicious pizza with great ingredients
♦ Cafe Cordina: Beautifully situated on one of Valletta's main squares and a Malta travel tip for Aperol lovers with happy hour from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
♦ Is-Suq tal-Belt: The food market in Valetta impresses with a variety of excellent restaurants with great dishes
♦ Amorino: Serves delicious ice cream that is served beautifully in the shape of a flower
♦ Venchi Chocolate & Ice Cream: The best ice cream in Malta
♦ L-Iskoll: The best Mediterranean food we ate during our Malta tour and thus the number 1 of our Gozo & Malta vacation tips.The restaurant is really fantastic.
♦ Ottavo Senso: very tasty pizzas
Valletta is the European Capital of Culture. It impresses with its historical history and the time-honored and impressive buildings.
The buildings on St. Pauls Street used to be the aristocratic residences. They are quite narrow but tall. Many of the houses now serve as boutique hotels and impress with their fantastic courtyards.
Here you can find our hotels in Malta.
If the people of Malta like one thing, it's fireworks and cannon shots. They even fire rockets into the sky during the day. But especially in the evening it is really wonderful to watch the colorful fireworks.
The parking lots on the streets are marked with colored markings.
Yellow: hotel zone, the zone is only used for short parking (unloading and loading)
Blue: residents
White: Everyone can park here, provided you find a parking space.
We didn't see a single free white parking space during our Malta tour.
At the bus station there is the large MCP Floriana car park, where you can safely leave your car.
The alleys of Valletta are the absolute highlights for us and one of our Malta travel tips. Just stroll around, here an Aperol Spritz, there a delicious ice cream: pure lifestyle.
At the beginning of the trip, a visit to the Malta Experience is recommended. Every hour from 11:00 a.m. you can get a great overview of the history of Malta through this film screening.
To get a great overview of the sensational natural harbor of Valetta, head to the Upper Barakka Gardens.
Here we introduce you to the famous sights of the islands.
Malta is particularly crowded in the summer months. Therefore, count on overcrowded highlights. However, we looked at the well-known highlights and tell you our opinion here. We have also put together our own not so crowded highlights for you.
Below you will find the well-known but crowded highlights and here you will find our cool highlights of Malta and thus an integral part of our Malta travel tips.
Our costs for a week in Malta were relatively high. But we also really let it go. A rental car, great hotels and delicious food. The Malta costs can certainly be kept a bit lower, but that's our way of traveling. We are not the classic backpackers. We work hard for our money and sometimes afford something.