Comino in winter is a different island
The boats stop, the kiosks shut and nobody is there. What is left is a small island you can walk across in…
16 Jul 20262 minRead Comino in winter is a different island
Planning
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Where to swim when the northwesterly is blowing
Twenty-eight of the sixty-nine bays on this site have no open water to the north-west. Those are the ones that stay calm…
14 Jul 20262 minRead Where to swim when the northwesterly is blowing -
Winter opening hours are shorter than you expect
From October the sites close earlier, the seaside places shut for the season, and February is when family run places take their…
12 Jul 20262 minRead Winter opening hours are shorter than you expect -
When the Heritage Malta pass is worth buying
It covers the state museums and sites on both islands. Three or four visits is roughly where it starts paying for itself.
10 Jul 20262 minRead When the Heritage Malta pass is worth buying -
October is the month to book
Warm sea, empty beaches, walkable afternoons and the first storms. What October gives you and what has already closed.
9 Jul 20262 minRead October is the month to book -
The harbour ferries beat the bus every time
Ten minutes from Sliema, five from the Three Cities, and the best view of Valletta comes free with the ticket.
8 Jul 20262 minRead The harbour ferries beat the bus every time -
What a week of sightseeing in Malta costs
The six best known sites come to eighty-seven euro for one adult. The Hypogeum alone is thirty-five of that.
5 Jul 20263 minRead What a week of sightseeing in Malta costs -
The buses are free, but not for visitors
Residents with a personalised tallinja card travel for nothing. Visitors pay one flat fare, good for two hours, more in summer.
30 Jun 20262 minRead The buses are free, but not for visitors -
The feast season runs from June to September
Fifty-eight of the hundred and thirty-four parish feasts in Malta and Gozo take place in July and August. November has only one.
29 Jun 20262 minRead The feast season runs from June to September -
Village churches shut at midday
Open early, locked from about noon to four, open again for the evening Mass. The two that charge for entry are the…
23 Jun 20262 minRead Village churches shut at midday -
The four winds, and what each one does to your day
Majjistral, grigal, xlokk and tramuntana. Which coast to swim on, and which wind stops the ferries.
17 Jun 20262 minRead The four winds, and what each one does to your day -
How much to tip in Malta
About ten per cent in a restaurant, coins in a bar, a rounded up fare in a taxi. Check the bill for…
16 Jun 20262 minRead How much to tip in Malta