A Trip to Malta

Malta is one of the countries that I have wanted very much to visit for a long time. We planned to travel to Malta at the end of August 2022 . On August 23rd, before we went to the airport, we said goodbye to Huw, Caroline and Chopper. I was very sad because Huw moved back to UK.

That evening we went to the airport and waited for two hours until we boarded the plane. Once I was in the plane I opened some presents from Huw. He had told me to wait until we get on the plane to open them!

Huw gave me as a present lots of banknotes from different countries and a Lonley Planet book about Wales. He wrote on it that he invites me to explore Wales with him when I will be 18 years old. Huw also wrote a very emotional letter for us and included a photo with me, Huw and Chopper!

I was very happy for the presents! Because there was a thunderstorm, we waited in the plane on the runway for one hour and then we got the bad news that the flight to Malta was delayed. Because of this we went back home and slept until four a clock next morning. We came back to the airport and this time we took off to Malta!

The flight to Malta took two hours and I was very happy when we landed because I was visiting the 27th country in my list!

From the airport we went to the Diplomat Hotel from Sliema. We had booked the airport transfer through the airline company and because we arrived later than 12 hours we had to pay again 5 euro per person. Later we found out that you can take a bus as well to go in the city. It’s just that our original arrival time was very late in the night and we didn’t know the timetable.

In the airport there is an office of the local bus company and you can buy there transport cards. We didn’t have time to buy it there and we felt bad later because we searched a lot to find them.

I recommed you to buy transport cards from the airport if you are arriving at a normal hour. A trip with the bus cost 2 euro in the summer during the day and a transport card for a week costs 21 euros for adults and 15 euros for children. Informations about transport card you found here.

The buses travel on a well established schedule that you can find on Google Maps. Some routes of the buses are rather long – e.g.: 35 minutes Sliema-St.Paul’s Bay, 60 minutes Sliema-Circkewwa Passenger Terminal. You can go also by Uber and Bolt and the trip cost starts from 8-10 euros.

Important: if you want get on the bus, you have to let the driver know that. The driver may not stop unless you wave to him. The buses have air conditioning systems (sometimes set on too cold) and many of the buses are Otokar brand and we joked a lot about this (because of Otokar buses in Bucharest – we had huge problems) and about the speed they drive (you really need to hold on tight when you don’t sit)

Although we arrived at the hotel one day later, we had the surprise not to pay for the lost night. The people from The Diplomat hotel were very nice and understood that the delay was not our fault. After we checked in, we walked in Sliema to the harbour and then we took the ferry to Valletta, the capital of Malta. Before we took the ferry we tried again to buy transport cards from Sliema Ferries but the machine was not working.

I really enjoyed the coast and the beaches from Sliema, where there are a lot of roman baths (in maltese: banju roman). From Sliema we took the ferry to Valletta and right after departure we saw in front of us the impressive old buildings from Valletta. We walked the streets of Valletta and admired the Maltese Parlament, a modern building, which you apparently can’t visit.

It was very hot, so we stopped after a while to a coffee shop where we hydrated: me with my mother with a orange juice and my father with a beer.

There we had a fantastic talk with Francois, who is from France, to whom I took a portrait. He was very kind and gentle and we hope we will meet him soon in Romania.

We went to visit the Saint John Cathedral (in Maltese: Kon-Katidral ta’ San Gwann) which is very beautiful and has got an interesting museum. Beyond the exhibits with a religious theme, you can find here also two paintings of Caravaggio. He lived for a while in Malta, and was accepted also in the Order of the Knights of Saint John.

Caravaggio has painted for the cathedral two paintings, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Writing. The two paintings can be admired in the cathedral an also there you can see a short documentary movie about the life of Caravaggio, exactly about the time when he was living in Malta.

After we went to have lunch at the La Sfoglia Restaurant where we have eaten fish. There were very nice Spanish people singing next to us.

From the restaurant we went to the harbour to take the ferry back to Sliema and then we walked to the hotel. I enjoyed very much Valletta. It is one of the most beautiful cities that I ever saw!

The next day in the morning we went to Saint Paul’s Bay Harbour where we embarked on the catamaran for a cruise to see some places from Malta. We admired the Mediteranean Sea and saw lots of fish and beautiful rocks.

The first place where we stopped was Santa Maria Cave which has a very blue water and it is spectacular. The next stop was the Blue Lagoon (in maltese: Bejn il-Kmiemen), one of the most known tourist atractions from Malta. At the Blue Lagoon I took many photos, I flew my drone and I swam in the sea. I liked very much the Blue Lagoon!

Then we navigated to The Crystal Lagoon, where there is also very blue water and there we took the lunch on the catamaran. From Crystal Lagoon we went to Popeye Village which I saw only from the catamaran (we did not land) and there I swam again in the sea.

When we returned by the catamaran in Saint Paul’s Bay harbour we took the bus back to Sliema. I enjoyed very much the cruise on the catamaran, because I saw many beautiful places! We bought the tickets for the cruise, online, from here.

In that evening we walked to St. Julian’s, which is close to Sliema. There we had dinner at Naar where we have eaten very tasty fish! Later we walked in St. Julian’s and we enjoyed the St. Julian’s Carnaval which was very interesting! We walked back to Sliema to our hotel late in the night. The coast from St Julian’s and Sliema and the old buildings are very interesting, I recommend you to walk it.

The third day in the morning we went to Mdina, where we walked the streets and we visited the museum and Saint Paul Cathedral (in maltese: Katidral Metropolitan ta’ San Pawl). Later we stopped and I ate an eclair in a coffee shop from Mdina.

We went to the highest point from Mdina from where we enjoyed the view. I saw in the distance the Mosta Dom (in maltese: Ir-Rotunda tal-Mosta) which I visited after a few hours and the capital of Malta, Valletta. After walked the beautiful streets from Mdina, we entered Rabat (which is next to Mdina). There we visited the catacombs from the Second World War which I found very interesting.

Then we had lunch in a small bistro from Rabat, Chalk Coffee and Wine where we ate traditional Maltese sandwich (ftira). It was really good! They serve there very good crafted beer (local) according to daddy. Then we finally found a place to buy the transport cards Tallinja (a souvenir shop). I also bought the Maltese flag for my collection and a few magnets.

From Rabat we took the bus to Mosta to visit the Mosta Dom (in maltese: Ir- Rotunda tal- Mosta), the biggest cathedral from Malta. The cathedral is famous because during the Second World War, under a heavy German bombardment, a bomb was dropped in the dom and it didn’t explode.

In Mosta I saw also a very beautiful bridge that crosses the Wield il-Ghasel valley. We took the bus back to Sliema.

That evening in Sliema I ate a burger at a restaurant near the hotel. (II Gabanna)

The fourth day in the morning we took the bus from Sliema to Marsaxlokk, a beautiful fishers village from Malta. On the way to the bus station from Sliema I saw very interesting monuments on the coast, also of the Maltese journalist killed in Malta in 2017.

After 50 minutes we arrived in Marsaxlokk and we walked in the harbour and saw the cathedral that unfortunately was closed. I found the harbour from Marsaxlokk very beautiful, with lots of boats! I also remembered the Perdika village from Aegina Island. From Marsaxlokk we took a boat to St. Peter’s Pool where there are very beautiful rocks. There we flew the drone and shot a lot of photos and videos.

After we came back to Marsaxlokk we had lunch at a restaurant and of course we have eaten fish. From Marsaxlokk we took the bus back to Sliema.

That evening we went to Bugibba where we wanted to see the carnaval. When we arrived there were a lot of people we didn’t quite enjoyed it (very loud music and really crowded) and because of this we took the bus back to Sliema very soon.

The fifth day we stayed at the beach where I enjoyed a bath in the roman baths from Mediteranean Sea and then I swam in the hotel pool, on the roof of the The Diplomat hotel. That afternoon we took the bus to Valletta because there were a lot of places that we hadn’t saw until then.

At the entrance in Valletta there was a beer festival near the Triton Fountain. My father reminds me to tell you that in Malta you can find a lot of sorts of beers, both crafted (from Malta: Huskie, Lord Chambray, Stretta, and from UK Brewdog) and also industrial Cisk, which my father says that is good only for the thirst.

I saw the old walls from the entrance of Valletta, which are really impressive. I saw again the Maltese Parlament and we walked to the Baraka Upper Gardens where we heard the sound of the citadel cannons (there are the three cities Senglea, Conspicua and Vittorosa).

We walked and admired the old buildings until the Baraka Lower Gardens. Then we went to Elmo Fort which unfortunately was closed and only saw it from outside. Next time I will be in Malta, I really have to visit it.

From Fort Elmo we went to Valletta Food Market to have dinner. This place holds a lot of restaurants just as Time Out Market in Lisbon. I have eaten a very good pizza. The pizzeria is named Vecchia Napoli, and they have big network in Malta. At this location there were two Romanians employees, who have been very friendly and happy to talk with us in Romanian.

After dinner we walked again in Valletta and I admired the beautiful buildings (Maltese Parlament). We took the bus back to Sliema.

The sixth day in the morning we went with bus almost one hour to the most western point of Malta. From there we too the ferry (Cirkewwa Passenger Terminal) to Gozo Island– the second biggest island in size after the main island of Malta. After a half an hour cruise with the ferry we arrived in Mgarr – the harbour from the Island of Gozo. From Mgarr we took the bus (the Tallinja cards from Malta are valid here too) to Victoria – main city on the Island of Gozo.

In Victoria we went to The Citadel where we visited the cathedral (in maltese: Katidral ta’ Santa Marija Assunta) and we watched the Victoria city from above and also a large part of Gozo island. There we flew the drone and we took more videos and photos. I liked very much the view from the citadel. Later we had the lunch at a restaurant from the citadel where they serve very good pizza!

From Victoria we took the bus to an rocky area Dwejra where used to be the Azure Window (in maltese: it Tieqa tad-Dwejra), which unfortunately collapsed a few years ago. We took a boat trip near the rocks that remained from Azure Window. The view is fantastic, both the rocks and the colour of the sea are incredible.

After the trip with the boat we took the bus to Ta Pinu cathedral (in Maltese:Santwarju Bazilika tal- Madonna ta’ Pinu) the biggest cathedral from the Island of Gozo.

From the cathedral we went to Ramla Beach, the only beach with red sand from Malta! At Ramla Beach I swam in the sea and we spent some time on in the sand.

From Ramla Beach we took the bus back to Mgarr harbour from where we embarked on the ferry back to the main island of Malta. From the ferry I saw a very beautiful sunset! A nice way Gozo was saying goodbye.

I liked very much the Gozo Island! After we arrived back on the main island we took the bus to Sliema. I forgot to tell you that when you took the ferry from Cirkewwa to Mgarr, you don’t need to buy tickets. You will pay for the ferry to Mgarr on your way back back to Cirkewwa.

On the seventh day (our last day in Malta) we took the bus to Golden Bay where we stayed at the beach and enjoyed the sea for the last time in Malta. After a few hours we took the bus back to Sliema, where we walked on the coast and said goodbye to the Mediteranean Sea!

Later we took the luggage from the hotel and went to the airport. At the airport we waited about three hours because the airplane arrived late and we were worries that the flight will be delayed again. Fortunately we took off in the that evening and we arrived to Bucharest at 3 am in the morning.

I liked very much and Malta and this trip was one of the best I ever had and I would like to visit again Malta!

I want to thank my friends at Photosetup, who borrowed me a Canon R6 camera with RF 24 – 105 F4 L IS USM lens for this trip.

When we flew the drone, Dad did the navigation, I took the pictures and shot movies. I can’t wait to learn to fly the drone myself and to get my license. To fly a drone in Malta, several websites write that insurance is compulsory and Dad bought one at coverdrone.com
We didn’t fly in crowded areas like Valletta and Sliema. No one asked us anything about the drone, but we did respect the no-fly zones at the airport and nature reserves and at some sights (we couldn’t take off in Mdina, for example).

Maltese people are very friendly, at the suggestion of Mum and Dad I included Maltese names of some places in respect for them.

Thanks Mum, for helping me plan all the sights on the trip!
Thank you Dad, for proofreading my article!