Malta accommodation and beaches
 

We are planning to visit Malta the last two weeks of May and I am looking for help as I know little about the country and don't have much time for research!

The majority of the time, we would like to stay in a guest house or B&B or apartment on Malta close to a sandy beach. I think these are in the North and wondering if anyone has suggestions of city and accommodation? This will be our base and we won't have a car so would like somewhere with convenient public transit around the island.

We will likely also stay in Valletta a few days. Accommodation suggestions please?

Also, a few days on Gozo. Again, accommodation suggestions please!

Thank you!

Hi there, I was in Silema in April and toured around and did not see many sandy beaches at all, not to say that there were none but I saw beaches that were all rock. Two weeks eh? I was there a week and found it just enough. The public transportation is great and very easy, there are hop on hop off buses as well and this was a great way to see the island. The hotel i stayed at was across from a big rock beach so I cannot say it suites your needs, but the rooms were big enough and the food was good. Valletta is very pretty. The island is very small and so you may decided to chose a nie hotel and just get to the beach on the bus instead. Hope this helps.

Malta is not known for its beaches and you are correct, the only sandy beaches are in the north.

The best place for bus transportation is Valletta as it's the hub for buses (big bus depot) and buses begin and end here. If you go south of Valletta you will take a bus to Valletta and then change buses to your next destination. Even if there is a direct bus that bypasses Valletta it is usually quicker to go to Valletta and then change.

A word about the bus schedules on Malta...they do not stick to the schedule. If a bus is scheduled for a certain stop at 10:07 and arrives at 9:58 it does not wait at the stop but continues on, regardless of schedule. I remember a bus that was supposed to take 24 minutes from Mdina to Valletta - it took only 17 minutes!! Buses also do not run late at night.

On Gozo I stayed at the Cornucopia Hotel (lovely) but that is not in a town and it would have been a long walk to get to a place with a bus stop. They have a sister hotel, Ta' Cenc, which was even nicer but again, I don't think this would be a place to stay using public transport although I think there was a nice beach there. On Gozo you probably should stay in Rabat for sightseeing.

If you're really only interested in a beach holiday I don't think Malta is the place. It's a place for fabulous churches and archeological ruins and history. The people are extremely friendly and warm (except the bus drivers) and it's a very safe place. The food is just ok, at best.

I visited Malta for 12 days and thought it was a great place but my expectation was different from yours - I wasn't there for the beaches.

In regards to gozo I suggest you to look at Farhouses Gozo (http://www.farmhouses-gozo.com).. Lots of farmhouses to choose from with different price ranges.

Hope that helps =]

Here's a thread to give you some ideas:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-100-best.cfm

I really enjoyed Hotel Castille in Valletta; it's not luxe, but has a great deal of character and charm. Valletta is wonderful for wandering around and soaking up history, and the Maltese bus system is one of a kind! I didn't do any beaches, but it seems that Gozo might be better for that from what I understood...

If you'd like to see a few pictures, check here: http://travel.webshots.com/album/115461380RQqCst

We stayed at the Phoenicia last time in Malta. It was allegedly a luxury hotel, but I honestly didn't think it was that great or worht the price.