JoeTro

Am thinking of a November brief get-away from London to Malta. I'm visiting friends in London for a wedding, but they'll be busy mid-week, so I was planning on a trip to Malta perhaps early Tuesday morning (arriving just after noon) to late Thursday night. I could aim for early Monday through late Thursday, but this doesn't leave me much time in London.

Is 2.5 days enough time to make anything substantial of it? I am interested in art museums/galleries, exploring some of the history, maybe relaxing a little on the beach or at a pool, and enjoying some nightlife. I'd probably stay in one of the chain hotels, Starwood or Hilton, which I guess is in St. Julians? I know there are several parts of Malta to see, like Valetta, so how much time should I allot? I will not have a car.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Cathinjoetown

Just a few things to consider, average high in November is just under 70F, possibly not beach weather but you never know.

The flight time is just over three hours, add travel time from central London, security, arrival, minimum total of 6-7 hours.

Given November, I would not bother for such a short time.

laurie_ann

Did you see the New York Times article in travel section last week or the week before on Malta? Looked very interesting.

adrienne

After reading your post title I would advise about 10 days but I see that you don't have that much time. I don't remember many (if any) art museums or galleries but there is art in other places. The sand beaches are in the northeast, north of St. Julians.

I would not travel that far for 2 days and November is not beach weather. I visited Malta at the end of April/beginning of May and that was not beach weather either. You need to visit in June through September, perhaps October for beaches.

Southam

Malta is like a medium-sized city, population 400,000, centered on the fortress city Valletta and with a smaller, separate island to the north. The bus system provides decent access to outlying areas. The winter climate is temperate and it could certainly be entertaining for a few days.
Since Roman times it has been a keystone to Mediterranean trade, and still is a major freight port. There are small museums and a gallery to explore but make time for its Second World War experience when the population was driven underground by battles in the sky. The Victoria Cross was awarded to the entire country. Wikipedia has extensive historical and economic data.

JoeTro

Yes, I did see the NYT article. It's part of what made me think about that city. I guess, now, I'm looking ideally for a 3-4 day European destination in November. Most cities on my list that I haven't visited would require more time. Maybe Lisbon? It's kind of the only outlier, as most other places I'd want to go would be for a longer package (Dresden/Prague, Munich/Salzburg, etc.)

adrienne

Three to four days in Lisbon is a good amount of time. You can use one day to visit Sintra, if you have four days.

Before you buy a ticket to Lisbon, or anywhere else, add up the total time you'll need to get to your destination and return. Out of four days you may only have two days at your destination.

Aren't there any places in England that you haven't seen?

JoeTro

Yes there is lots of the UK I haven't seen (Yorkshire, Peak District, Bristol, coast) but I'm not sure November is the time to do it. I may just opt to stay in London with a couple of Day trips.

KayF

Staying in London and doing day trips is a good choice, though the weather could be pretty awful with short daylight hours. Check out the day trips on www.walks.com They do guided walks in London, which are really good value and also some day trips where everyone travels together on the train at a group rate then you do a guided walk when you get there.

If you are still tossing up between Malta and Lisbon, I'd choose Malta every time. We really loved it there but thought Lisbon was just OK. Malta is brimming over with history, we stayed in Valletta at a studio apartment and loved it. You can get around easily by public bus though I have read the buses have changed since we were there. We had about 10 days on Malta and 5 days on Gozo and didn't feel as if it was too much time. The weather should be much better than in London. We found Malta a gem of a place that not many visit.

Kay

ESW

You can hit the high spots in Malta in 3-4 days. Base yourself in Valetta and use the excellent bus service to get around. Spend a full day visiting Mdina and Rabat. Take a half day to visit the Hypogeum - but make sure you book your ticket well in advance as numbers are strictly controlled.
https://booking.heritagemalta.org/

Spend the rest of the time in Valetta. Walk around the city. Visit St John's Co-Cathedral and the Palace of the Grand Masters and the Armoury. Visit the National Museum of Archaeology as well as the National War Museum. There is also the National Museum of fine Art....

Don't be put off - go for it, even if it isn't lounging on the beach weather. We spent 5 days in Malta in May 2012 and loved it. My 9very detailed) trip report is here, although you may not want to spend as much time in the churches as we did.
http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=2012

Rhea58

I agree with ESW's points altho I spent a week there also
visiting Gozo. We stayed at an old lovely hotel
http://www.hotelcastillemalta.com/ which is very close to
the harbor.

ESW

We also spent a week on Gozo Rhea58, which we loved. Unfortunately in the time scale of 3-4days, I wou;dn't attempt to try and include it.

JoeTro

Thanks. I think I am going to just stay in London and then spend time in Malta when I have more of it!

maltamonument

Hi, I am Maltese. In my opinion you need to spend around 1 week to see Malta to the full. After all it is a whole country, filled to the brim with history and culture.

At least you need:
1 day in Valletta
1 day in Mdina & Rabat
1 day in Gozo
1 day in modern Sliema (especially if you're into shopping)-St Julians (lively all day, but especially when discoes open in weekends)
Half a day in M'xlokk (especially on a Sunday morning)
At least a half a day in the Three Cities (Birgu, Bormla, Isla)
A visit to the Hypogeum (Poala) and Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, Blue Grotto (limits of Zurrieq and Qrendi)
If you're visiting in summer and like swimming, 1 day in comino's blue lagoon
If you're visiting in summer, go to one of the village feasts and see some fireworks and culture

Clownfish

HI JoeTro,
I agree with your decision to visit Malta when you can spare a week or more as the island is small but is full of history and loads of places to visit.What Maltamonument wrote, is only the best of Malta and is a must to all inbound tourists.
Hope to visit Malta and wish you a nice London visit