Malta (Sliema) 2026
- Thread starter zom247
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@zom247 Been to Malta quite a few times over the years. Most recent visit was in Feb and we stopped at St Julians Bay and it was a steady 25 degrees in the day. Hotel was two minutes walk from the waterfront although not directly over looking it.
Great place, food is very reasonably priced and you get the usual mix of Mediterranean, Pizza, Fish, Steak places. Sadly noticed a few more chains like Stabucks popping up as the Island still gets a hell of a lot of investment. If you like walking then that part of Malta is pretty decent as you could walk to Valetta if you wanted to. Some very nice views, bar's and restaurants on the way.
If you like Asian food with a modern twist, can highly recommend Tora which overlooks the harbour. Stunning views at nigh. We had a great meal their for Valentines, service was outstanding as was the food.
Malta often get's (wrongly) labelled for a a place for Old People. From our experience it pretty much caters for all. Young, Old, Families, Couples, small groups.
Great place, food is very reasonably priced and you get the usual mix of Mediterranean, Pizza, Fish, Steak places. Sadly noticed a few more chains like Stabucks popping up as the Island still gets a hell of a lot of investment. If you like walking then that part of Malta is pretty decent as you could walk to Valetta if you wanted to. Some very nice views, bar's and restaurants on the way.
If you like Asian food with a modern twist, can highly recommend Tora which overlooks the harbour. Stunning views at nigh. We had a great meal their for Valentines, service was outstanding as was the food.
Malta often get's (wrongly) labelled for a a place for Old People. From our experience it pretty much caters for all. Young, Old, Families, Couples, small groups.
Soldato
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I am going there end of May/June for a massive trance festival called Euphoria Weekender.
Soldato
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Don't go peak summer time, you'll bake. Go in cooler times in the year.
Maltese heritage.
Maltese heritage.
Very good advice.
Soldato
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Malta weather
Malta enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with sea temperatures higher than in any other part of Europe.
weather.metoffice.gov.uk
We were in Valletta in May, staying just outside the city in Floriana. Considered Sliema but a friend was there a few months before and said there was so much construction work going on it wasn't very peaceful.
Wouldn't both hiring a car, we used Bolt for the usual tourist trips. Mdina and Marsaxlokk were less than €10 each way and arrive in minutes.
https://23boutique.co/ is where we stayed, 10 minute walk to the city.
Wouldn't both hiring a car, we used Bolt for the usual tourist trips. Mdina and Marsaxlokk were less than €10 each way and arrive in minutes.
https://23boutique.co/ is where we stayed, 10 minute walk to the city.
Thanks for all the info, we booked the Waterfront as the Mrs liked it and I want an easy life 
Not really bothered about getting a car, we like to just walk round, regular beer stops and people watch. I'm sure we'll do some trips though, is Bolt like Uber?
Not really bothered about getting a car, we like to just walk round, regular beer stops and people watch. I'm sure we'll do some trips though, is Bolt like Uber?
Soldato
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Thanks for all the info, we booked the Waterfront as the Mrs liked it and I want an easy life
Not really bothered about getting a car, we like to just walk round, regular beer stops and people watch. I'm sure we'll do some trips though, is Bolt like Uber?
Just take 2 million sunblock otherwise you're going to have a really bad day.
Going at the beginning of June so hopefully not that bad, it was 35/36 in Menorca for the week when we went on the 24 Jun and that was hot, at least we had a lovely pool to cool off in.
Yes Bolt is just like Uber, but far more Bolt vehicles available. Sign up when your there and normally get 50% off the first five trips.Thanks for all the info, we booked the Waterfront as the Mrs liked it and I want an easy life
Not really bothered about getting a car, we like to just walk round, regular beer stops and people watch. I'm sure we'll do some trips though, is Bolt like Uber?
i can answer pretty much any question on Sliema.
If your near perluna then things are quieter. Perluna has a outdoor pool and direct sea/rock access with local bars and a bus stop in both directions outside. It’s less than 10mins walk to the sliema ferry where you can get trips out to blue lagoon and some trips will pick you up outside and deop you back. The hop-n-go bus routes alao stop right outside.
There’s plenty of immediate restaurants and bars in immediate walking distance- even more with a stroll up the promenade/st julians.
Food in the hotel is ok but not as good as I’ve had elsewhere (atrium in rhodes was really good). There’s a beach side bar but the mrs swears she got a bit of fp from that at lunch.
Sliema ferry to valletta is €5 and really quick. On the valetta side there’s a steep road up to the town (220 steps) but there’s some guides that will take you up. The grand masters house is worth having a look around and the armoury is impressive. The fort is good too but careful of the weather and humidity as it gets hot and there’s plenty of steps. Think of valetta as being on a ridge where the main street is, then slows on either sidr. The bus drops you at the top of the high street next to the triton fountain. The ferry drops you off at the bottom of the hill.. pick your poison. It’s possible to navigate from the fort to the ferry with a gentle descent.
Around Corinthia Hotel etc is one big building site so much that the traffic is rerouted. That’s the big 5 star hotel area. They are building a massive shopping complex and/or new hotels.
Waterfront gets a lot of traffic, especially with the ferries and all the pleasute boat cruises setting off. Lots of shops etc but you’ll need to travel if you want a sea dip.
smoking is allowed so be prepared to plan strategically so you don’t get some chain-smoking english granny making you feel like vomitting.
Personally the places:
* the st pauls bay, georges bay etc are packed on small beaches that are shallow far out.
* the blue lagoon is horrifically crowded even with controls for attending (you need to register for free), vendors on the path selling cocktails etc and people perch precariously on the cliffs/ledges and then there’s standing room with arms length between tiktokers selfing and peeing in the water because they’ll loose their spot.. snorkeling next to the boats is great, there’s shallow and deeper water with little to nobody around, even the little bays before the check point are better.
* crystal lagoon - good, deeper water and good to snorkel around but be wary of boats and other watercraft. Take an inflatable ring and you can drift around sunbathing.
* the inland sea on gozo is worth a trip if you arrange scuba. For a small amount the water boat trip is worth it too, they go right into the caves.
* the temples are interesting but aome need to book and reserve a space. The ones above ground can be hot so take lots of water.
* gozo is slower pace, it’s like cornwall.. so if you want a really slow pace vacation with a bit of swimming and really not much more - Xlendy has a small sea swimming area with restaurants etc.
If you go on a gozo tour, the buggies offer a little more comfort (one seat each rather than jeep benches - but benches are illegal from the end of the year). On the tours ensure the guide/group have a clear picture of what you want before you start the day.
* popeye film set village.. kids fun, adult hell. This is geared towards kids we were advised at the local tour office.
* mdina - well worth a visit. It’s the game of thrones kings landing.. clean, some lovely restaurants, a dungeon museum, and others. You can do this on the hop-on-hop-off north bus circuit and it will take an hour.
* the national aquarium is small but really good - don’t miss the trip the bottom of the ocean ride/fright..
Bolt (uber) are everywhere but i have see an accident between a holiday maker rental and a bolt..
traffic in rushhour is.. interesting.. with one road and everybody traffic jammed.. the road system looks like it’s designed by a monkey on a friday after a session of drugs and booze.
If you don’t mind the island time.. busses are cheap and plentiful.
If your near perluna then things are quieter. Perluna has a outdoor pool and direct sea/rock access with local bars and a bus stop in both directions outside. It’s less than 10mins walk to the sliema ferry where you can get trips out to blue lagoon and some trips will pick you up outside and deop you back. The hop-n-go bus routes alao stop right outside.
There’s plenty of immediate restaurants and bars in immediate walking distance- even more with a stroll up the promenade/st julians.
Food in the hotel is ok but not as good as I’ve had elsewhere (atrium in rhodes was really good). There’s a beach side bar but the mrs swears she got a bit of fp from that at lunch.
Sliema ferry to valletta is €5 and really quick. On the valetta side there’s a steep road up to the town (220 steps) but there’s some guides that will take you up. The grand masters house is worth having a look around and the armoury is impressive. The fort is good too but careful of the weather and humidity as it gets hot and there’s plenty of steps. Think of valetta as being on a ridge where the main street is, then slows on either sidr. The bus drops you at the top of the high street next to the triton fountain. The ferry drops you off at the bottom of the hill.. pick your poison. It’s possible to navigate from the fort to the ferry with a gentle descent.
Around Corinthia Hotel etc is one big building site so much that the traffic is rerouted. That’s the big 5 star hotel area. They are building a massive shopping complex and/or new hotels.
Waterfront gets a lot of traffic, especially with the ferries and all the pleasute boat cruises setting off. Lots of shops etc but you’ll need to travel if you want a sea dip.
smoking is allowed so be prepared to plan strategically so you don’t get some chain-smoking english granny making you feel like vomitting.
Personally the places:
* the st pauls bay, georges bay etc are packed on small beaches that are shallow far out.
* the blue lagoon is horrifically crowded even with controls for attending (you need to register for free), vendors on the path selling cocktails etc and people perch precariously on the cliffs/ledges and then there’s standing room with arms length between tiktokers selfing and peeing in the water because they’ll loose their spot.. snorkeling next to the boats is great, there’s shallow and deeper water with little to nobody around, even the little bays before the check point are better.
* crystal lagoon - good, deeper water and good to snorkel around but be wary of boats and other watercraft. Take an inflatable ring and you can drift around sunbathing.
* the inland sea on gozo is worth a trip if you arrange scuba. For a small amount the water boat trip is worth it too, they go right into the caves.
* the temples are interesting but aome need to book and reserve a space. The ones above ground can be hot so take lots of water.
* gozo is slower pace, it’s like cornwall.. so if you want a really slow pace vacation with a bit of swimming and really not much more - Xlendy has a small sea swimming area with restaurants etc.
If you go on a gozo tour, the buggies offer a little more comfort (one seat each rather than jeep benches - but benches are illegal from the end of the year). On the tours ensure the guide/group have a clear picture of what you want before you start the day.
* popeye film set village.. kids fun, adult hell. This is geared towards kids we were advised at the local tour office.
* mdina - well worth a visit. It’s the game of thrones kings landing.. clean, some lovely restaurants, a dungeon museum, and others. You can do this on the hop-on-hop-off north bus circuit and it will take an hour.
* the national aquarium is small but really good - don’t miss the trip the bottom of the ocean ride/fright..
Bolt (uber) are everywhere but i have see an accident between a holiday maker rental and a bolt..
traffic in rushhour is.. interesting.. with one road and everybody traffic jammed.. the road system looks like it’s designed by a monkey on a friday after a session of drugs and booze.
If you don’t mind the island time.. busses are cheap and plentiful.
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Snorkelling and if health permits then scuba. Plenty of SSI, PADI etc. there’s a nature reserve that is only accessible by snorkelling and divers the opposite side of the north tip to the ferry terminal. The water goes shallow reef, drops off to 5 meters before the edge of the reef drops off to 25m.
The national aquarium is up that way. Mdnia is good for a visit - there’s also catacombs etc.. if kids then you have the only water park (slides etc)
Then you have all the excursions I’ve highlighted.
The island is so small virtually everywhere is accessible - you have a number of bus routes that all go around that area, plus the hop-on north etc. just be weary of the traffic and time.
Saw yet another accident swapping details.. both little white cars.. not sure self drive is worth the hassle..
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So back in the UK now, I have some interesting observations. A colleague stated she'd be interested in hearing my opinion based on her experience - she's a UK national but of pakistani heritage.
There's a considerable number of migrants that are fulfilling service roles, and labour roles that the Maltese do not want or have resource constraints. Talking to the taxi driver on the way home it's obvious that the explosion of holiday makers and the lack of investment in road and other infrastructure is causing a Maltese nationals difficulty. The traffic is so bad due to increases over the last 6 years that were never planned. Cost of houses in Malta near the coast are 1-3M euro for a flat etc, there's a boom in coastal property development and hotels, that is driving an increase in migration from other countries to provide the services staff.
As a result there's quite a nationalistic view appearing, to resist the speed of change that appears to threaten their way of life and culture. Rubbish, attitudes, and impact is increasing quickly. The taxi driver was quite explicit in identify Indian, pakistani and african migrants that come for jobs then bring families etc that they view as a problem. As such he was quite openly racist w.r.t. these migrants and I assume my colleague was indicating that she had been subject of racism or perhaps (been a tall, slim female) subject to sexual verbal abuse - I will discuss next time we catch up. Her verdict is that she didn't like the place.
I found it an interesting melting pot of arabic african and European but is struggling to maintain its identify with the expansion of opportunities it's seeking.
There's a considerable number of migrants that are fulfilling service roles, and labour roles that the Maltese do not want or have resource constraints. Talking to the taxi driver on the way home it's obvious that the explosion of holiday makers and the lack of investment in road and other infrastructure is causing a Maltese nationals difficulty. The traffic is so bad due to increases over the last 6 years that were never planned. Cost of houses in Malta near the coast are 1-3M euro for a flat etc, there's a boom in coastal property development and hotels, that is driving an increase in migration from other countries to provide the services staff.
As a result there's quite a nationalistic view appearing, to resist the speed of change that appears to threaten their way of life and culture. Rubbish, attitudes, and impact is increasing quickly. The taxi driver was quite explicit in identify Indian, pakistani and african migrants that come for jobs then bring families etc that they view as a problem. As such he was quite openly racist w.r.t. these migrants and I assume my colleague was indicating that she had been subject of racism or perhaps (been a tall, slim female) subject to sexual verbal abuse - I will discuss next time we catch up. Her verdict is that she didn't like the place.
I found it an interesting melting pot of arabic african and European but is struggling to maintain its identify with the expansion of opportunities it's seeking.
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Soldato
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That is the exact hotel we stayed at back in Sept last year. It's a fantastic hotel and there's a steak restaurant right next door that I can recommend.
Also, a five minute walk away is the Malta classic car museum - it's a tardis of a place and is well worth the visit.
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Yes matla has changed a lot since the eu funding a few years back.
We used to goto gozo twice a year ever since we got married there and we've seen a lot of areas go from cobbled streets and cobbled together cars to tarmacked with shiny new cars.
There certainly seems to be a lot more.money on gozo than there has been in the past, thankfully it's still a lot less hustle and bustle than malta itself. We'd been a couple of.timea before we got.married there and both said would happily retire there.
Unfortunatley with brexit and then the property price surge this may no longer be doable
I was talking to a guy over there and he said I needed to find a local ti say I stay with them apparently thats a way in and once ive been registered the there for so long id then be able to buy, I need to investigate this more.
Food and drink wise I think yes theres been increases however nothing massive compared to.other places and just everything gradually increasing in price. We used to happily mill around all day with a couple of wudy and pastizzi paying about 1.20 per bottle of cisk, last time we were there i think we were paying 2.10-2.50.
The biggest problem I see certainly on gozo is their apparant drive to start developing everywhere... normally all at once.
Note I say START as once thing have started there never really seems and drive to complete things.
Theres apartments we remember being started still sat with no windows (apparantlt related to property tax) there's also still loads of older run down properties dotted around the place that just seem.to.never get touched.
Despite this their constant seems.to.be to build up up up, xlendi bay was phenomenal and dont get me wrong it is still a great place to chill, the increase in building has simply spoiled it
We used to goto gozo twice a year ever since we got married there and we've seen a lot of areas go from cobbled streets and cobbled together cars to tarmacked with shiny new cars.
There certainly seems to be a lot more.money on gozo than there has been in the past, thankfully it's still a lot less hustle and bustle than malta itself. We'd been a couple of.timea before we got.married there and both said would happily retire there.
Unfortunatley with brexit and then the property price surge this may no longer be doable
I was talking to a guy over there and he said I needed to find a local ti say I stay with them apparently thats a way in and once ive been registered the there for so long id then be able to buy, I need to investigate this more.
Food and drink wise I think yes theres been increases however nothing massive compared to.other places and just everything gradually increasing in price. We used to happily mill around all day with a couple of wudy and pastizzi paying about 1.20 per bottle of cisk, last time we were there i think we were paying 2.10-2.50.
The biggest problem I see certainly on gozo is their apparant drive to start developing everywhere... normally all at once.
Note I say START as once thing have started there never really seems and drive to complete things.
Theres apartments we remember being started still sat with no windows (apparantlt related to property tax) there's also still loads of older run down properties dotted around the place that just seem.to.never get touched.
Despite this their constant seems.to.be to build up up up, xlendi bay was phenomenal and dont get me wrong it is still a great place to chill, the increase in building has simply spoiled it