19/02/2012 by Dave.

By: Dan Williams

The Island of Malta has had an interesting past and is still an interesting place to visit, with more and more people choosing it over the traditional Mediterranean resorts.

Eclectic is a word you will find in most descriptions of this small Mediterranean island, with it usually referring to the mix of cultures that gives this island its unusual identity. Malta is situated around 200 miles from Tunisia and slightly further away from Libya but its closest European neighbour is Sicily, which lies a short 50 miles away across the Strait of Sicily.

The history of the island would be enough for anyone interested to merit a visit there. The island claims to have the oldest free standing man made structures found anywhere in the world. The Megalithic Temples, identified in 6 locations on the island, are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are believed to date back to between 3000 and 3600BC. That is around the same time that Stonehenge was thought to be constructed in Britain. In more modern times the island has been inhabited and ruled by various civilizations including the Ancient Greeks, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, various Arabian and Sicilian rulers before the Knights of St John were given control of the island in 1530 after they had been forced to leave Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire. It is from this period that many of the islands best preserved monuments still remain. These included harbours, watchtowers and other fortifications. Next Napoleon took control of Malta, before British rule eventually started in 1814. The strategic position of Malta became an important factor during the Second World War when the island was vigorously defended but suffered heavy damage, especially during the siege of Valletta.

The Republic of Malta is now an independent state and a member of the EU and uses the Euro as its currency. Its current status, currency, location and weather make it a perfect place for a holiday, with only is lack of sandy beaches being a disadvantage. There are a few sandy beaches and more are being made artificially but they do tend to become crowded quite quickly. Favoured spots include Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha which are close together in the West of the island but both are quite small in comparison to signature beaches of other European resorts.

Flights to Malta arrive at Malta International Airport near Luqa which is 5 miles south of Valletta and there is also the option of travelling to the island by Ferry from various Italian ports.

Valletta is the hub of everything that happens on Malta and provides a good base for a stay on the island. Most places of interest are within a short journey by taxi or bus and there is a wide choice of hotels. Another popular place to the west of Valletta is Sliema which is also a coastal town with more in the way of tourist facilities. There is a long promenade with plenty of café and restaurants to choose from. The younger set tend to prefer districts such as Paceville, which lies to the north of St Julian’s and provides plenty of bars and nightclubs. The small harbour at Portomaso is home to luxury yachts and cruisers, with highly quality apartments.

Visitor attractions on the island include Fort Rinella, built by the British in the late nineteenth century, the Baroque Gateway at Mdina and the buildings on St John Street in Valletta. Sporting activities centre on the National Sports Centre at Ta’Qali, which was originally an airport base for the British Royal Air Force in addition to the other site at Luqa. It is now a leisure area, concert venue, picnic area.

Author Resource:->  Dan Williams is travel writer with a love of history. Malta is an island with a colourful past and low cost flights to Malta from the UK are a great way to get to the island and sample what it has to offer. Sites like http://book.flythomascook.com are a good place to start looking for cheap flights.

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14/06/2011 by Dave.

By: Mike Anderson

No visit to Malta would be complete without a visit to its elegant, walled city of Mdina and its suburb, Rabat, in the Old City. Mdina and Rabat are steeped more than 4000 years in history when they formed part of a Roman settlement. Walking through Mdina, one feels as if one has been transported in a time capsule to another era of bygone yesteryear. It was here, in AD 60, that the Apostle St Paul was rumoured to have lived whilst shipwrecked in the Maltese Islands.

A silent city by day where automobiles are generally off-limits (more out of respect for the ghosts of the city), Mdina really comes alive at night when hundreds of twinkling lamps and lanterns dotted within the walled interiors of the city transform the narrow, curved streets leading onto bastions and palace courtyards into something out of a fairytale. You can enjoy a delicious al-fresco meal at one of the countless restaurants of Mdina and enjoy a glass of chilled beer in any one of the bars under the glittering lights of this exotic walled city.

This old, medieval capital of Malta rises high above the Maltese Islands and offers panoramic vistas of the city. Many walking tours and scenic bus tours are available to discover the hidden delights of this magical city.

The Maltese Islands are at the very heart of the Mediterranean and are often referred to as the islands of sunshine and history. Less than a three hour flight from the UK and with a good range of airlines such as Air Malta and GB Airways operating daily flights from Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester and Birmingham as well as low cost carriers now operating from other regional airports, it has never been easier to get to Malta for a quick getaway or a longer holiday. Whether you’re after a weekend break or a fortnight in the sun, you’ll find it all on Malta specialists, www.mymalta.co.uk. Book your trip online and receive great savings on luxury hotels and cheap flights as well as a regular e-letter updating you on regular special free night offers, room upgrades and heavily discounted holiday packages.

Once you’ve seen the ancient city of Malta and its walled city of Mdina, been done by some innocent looking street vendor offering you a once-in-a-lifetime bargain and relaxed on the soft honeycomb at Ghadira Bay… it’s then time to go diving! Malta offers amazing diving and water sport opportunities for both beginners and advanced open water and cave divers in its tiny, unspoilt island of Comino with its stunning blue lagoon. All visitors to Malta should take the time to visit the uninhabited island of Comino and the tranquil, green island of Gozo. Day trips to nearby Italian and Sicilian cities are very popular with tourists who can get there by car and passenger ferries.

Author Bio
Mike writes about “Weekend Breaks To Malta “. Get more information about Malta, a beautiful island at the very heart of Mediterranean, at www.mymalta.co.uk

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20/03/2009 by Silver Blogger.

Malta Holidays Beating The Credit Crunch

By Roger Munns 

Oil prices and higher aviation fuel costs might suggest that Malta, which is a three hour flight from her main market of the United Kingdom, might see a drop in tourist numbers this year.

And with the media reporting on a possible recession there could be even more reasons why a holiday in Malta might not be top of everyone’s list for summer 2008.

But surprisingly reports from Malta suggest that the island could see a rise in the number of tourists taking a holiday there this year.

The Malta holidays industry could get an unexpected boost this summer too as Spain, which is the number one destination for European holidays, suffered adverse publicity in June as strikes over the price of fuel resulted in poor publicity suggesting some hotels and resorts were struggling to keep going.

But some in the travel industry think that the suggestions of a ten per cent rise in the number of tourists this year could be optimistic.

‘We might have agreed with the analysis a couple of months ago’, state Malta holidays internet site YourMalta.com, ‘But we have seen quite a decline in the number of people enquiring about holidays and hotels in Malta in the last couple of months, and the highest number of visitors will be July and August. Unless there’s a sharp rise in the number of people taking late bookings we can’t see the year overall showing a ten per cent rise, nothing like it.’

Indeed some analysts in the travel industry might agree that as the UK is the main market for Malta hotels and holidays, that falling house prices, job insecurity and a faltering economy could stop some Brits taking an overseas trip at all in 2008 in favour of a cheaper one on home soil.

Cheap Malta Flights

But whether the rise in the number of people taking a holiday in Malta this year is ten per cent or less than that, there is no doubt that the Malta hotels and holidays market has done well in the last three years, returning it to mainstream holiday destination status.

Malta has successfully diversified her market place, making it less reliant on the British tourist, who has been the mainstay of the Malta holidays industry in the past.

Low cost airlines, and Malta’s own airline - Air Malta - have opened new routes to Malta, allowing other Europeans apart from the British to have a holiday in Malta, and with flights to Malta cheaper now than in previous years it has helped boost the number of British tourists too who might previously have been put off by the cost of flights to Malta compared to Spain.

Notable successes in the island’s diversification has seen the number of tourists from Italy, Sweden, Norway and even Spain discover what Malta has to offer.

And it’s not just cheap flights to Malta that have attracted the tourists - Malta is steeped in history, churches, beaches and some of the Malta hotels are now offering the best spa facilities in the Mediterranean.

The property industry in Malta has done well too, with an increase in tourists it has seen the number of overseas property buyers interested in buying a Malta property rise in recent years. Whether Malta property prices will continue rising though is dependent upon other economies, but increased interest could see Malta real estate hold its own compared to other countries.

And it will be interesting to see if Malta can do well again this year for their holidays, in times of low activity.

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