Malta Central exists to answer one kind of question: what is true about Malta today. Which beach is sheltered from this morning’s wind. When your village festa (a village feast) falls this year. What a residence permit really requires, and in what order. It covers Malta, Gozo and Comino.
Most of what is written about these islands is either a brochure or a forum post from 2014. A brochure will not tell you that a bay faces north-west and is unswimmable in a Majjistral. A forum post will not tell you the fee changed last spring. Both are a poor way to plan a Saturday, and a worse way to plan a move.
What is here
- BeachesEvery swimmable bay on the islands, ranked against today’s wind rather than listed alphabetically.
- ToolsSmall answers to specific questions: the beach picker, the festa calendar, the cost-of-living figures.
- What’s OnFestas, public holidays and the fixed points of the Maltese year, with the dates checked against parish sources.
- VisitingHow long you need, when to come, what it costs, and what to know before you land.
- LivingPermits, tax, healthcare, schools and the paperwork of an ordinary life here.
- Eat & DrinkWhat Maltese food is, and where it is worth eating.
How it is made
Where a fact has an owner, we go to the owner. Feast dates are confirmed for the current year rather than copied from last year’s listings. Weather is read from live observations rather than from a forecast written yesterday. Beach shelter is calculated from the direction each bay faces and the distance wind travels over open water to reach it. The ranking changes with the weather rather than staying fixed.
Where a fact has no owner, we go and look, and we say so. Pages carry the date they were last checked. If a page has no date on it, it has not been checked, and you should treat it accordingly.
Everything we are required to credit is credited on the credits page, with the licence each item is used under.
How it pays for itself
Malta Central is free to read and intends to stay that way. It is paid for by advertising, and by commission when a reader books something through a partner link. Neither buys a good review, a ranking or a place on a list. What that means in practice, and how to tell the difference on the page, is set out in full.
Who writes it
Malta Central is written and maintained under a single house name rather than a masthead of bylines. There is no guest posting, no syndicated filler and no accepting of finished articles from anyone with something to sell. More on how that works.
Something here wrong?
Prices, opening times and bus routes change, and Malta changes them without announcing it. If you find something out of date, telling us is the fastest way to get it fixed.