home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

We are planning to be in Malta from September 3 to the 11th when will drive to the ferry to travel 3 full days on Gozo before going to Catania Sicily to see more of Sicily that we missed on the last trip.

We like city and mountain hikes, museums, history, archeological sites. We are not interested in bars and other such events. I will take a Nikon D500, 10-24 mm lens, 18-300 mm lens, SB800 flash and a lightweight carbon tripod. We have no issues with hikes up to 13 miles. We will rent a car and stay at an Airbnb while on Malta and another one on Gozo.
I am starting making an itinerary that so far includes the cities Valletta, Sliema, Three sisters, Mdina and Rabat, Blue Grotto, Blue Lagoon, and many of the sites shown here https://www.maltaparadise.com/articles/9-outstanding-natural-attractions-in-malta/
I would appreciate ideas from those who have visted Malta.

MosheR Loc: New York City

Your itinerary is a busy one for three days. Valletta itself is a good sized city with much to see, do, and photograph. You'll love just walking around, but be sure to take in the central square and the nearby St John's Cathedral. I'm not going to start going into descriptions, but I would also strongly recommend Hagar Qim, which is an ancient temple complex, beautifully preserved, and the colorful fishing village of Marsaxlokk.

Good luck, enjoy your trip, and please post photos when you come back.

Mel

home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Mel thanks for the info. We have 8 full days in Malta and followed by 3 full days in Gozo. I can add days if required. We are not tied to a schedule.

MosheR Loc: New York City

My pleasure. There's a lot to see, so have a great time there. Oh yeah. One more thing. I don't know how it is in Fort Wayne, but here in New York when you want a bus, you just go to the stop and wait. When the driver sees you, he will pull over. When we were in Malta, we learned that you actively had to wave down the driver to get his attention in order for him to stop and pick you up.

Also, it seemed that everybody in Malta spoke English very well, so you will have no trouble in that department.

home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

MosheR
The info about the bus is handy. I do not ride a bus in Fort Wayne as the transportation is minimal and there is always car parking downtown. But we have in Munich, Rome, London, and Berlin. I have been reading many web sites to find out the must sees

Sonyphil

I would strongly suggest a harbor trip in Valetta in the typical Maltese small boats, good photography.

mdoing

Don't forget the archaeological sites from the Bronze Age, there is a big one on the South shore, can't remember the name. We also took an around the island boat tour that was great.

MosheR Loc: New York City

I believe you're referring to Hagar Qim.

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

I just did the same trip with a group of photographers. It was an exceptional journey and you will have a wonderful experience. If you are looking for a guide or someone who can open doors for you, let me know. I am happy to connect you to ours. I produced a book of the journey from the eyes of 15 photographer on our trip. Here is the link, if you are interested. I’m sure you don’t want to buy it, but there is a preview available to give you an idea as to what you will see.

https://www.blurb.com/bookshare/app/index.html?bookId=11854490

Enjoy your trip!!!

mdoing

That's right! Thanks! Also, not bronze age as I said, older, late neolithic, more like stone age.

alexol

If you can find a copy, read "the Great Siege of 1565" by Bradford - a fabulous read and will provide great perspective on the battlements and fortifications around the island - some of the bastions are greater than 80ft thick (that is eighty not at a typo).

I've been lucky enough to travel extensively - some 50 countries so far - and you will be hard pushed to find anywhere with as much history jam packed into a tiny space. Attractions range from neolithic temples (visits are tightly controlled to the underground portions so it is probably already too late to book), through invasions (some attempts and some successful) by nearly everybody, all the way to WW2 when Malta played a key role. To the best of my knowledge, it it one of the few countries in the world that has been given a medal - the George Cross, Britains highest honor for civilians, following WW2, hence the GC that used to be used after its name.

How tiny? The city of Valetta is just one square mile ( don't miss St John's Co-Cathedral, the silver gates, the Caravaggio's are spectacular, and The Armory, while tiny is simply extraordinary). The entire country is just 123 square miles, 17 miles by 9 along its longest axes IIRC.

Although the island is small, traffic is dense and getting from A to B takes longer than you might expect.

I grew up in Malta, from about age 10 to 18, but that was a little while ago, and a lot has changed.

RolandDieter

It's a wonderful place to visit, and you have a lot of great advice already. Be aware that road signs are not always helpful and sometimes downright confusing. There is a crazy roundabout before going into Valetta. When we were there the rental car people advised driving to the airport cab stand, hiring a cab to lead us to our hotel ... but not to pay the cab in advance or it will go ahead and desert you. It was excellent advice.

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

Don't bother with the local wine.... it's worse than Arkansas'

huntmj

The three cities are a good trip, and easily reached by small ferry and also there are of street photos both day and nightime

alexol

Three cities?