Sites to see
 

We're on a Holland America Med cruise in October and wondering what is interesting to see in Malta.

Hi,

Have you gone to www.google.com and entered "malta tourist information"?

Don't you think the cruise ship will have all the information you can possibly need since they go there on a regular basis?

Curious

I don't know about the cruise ship offering info, other than on their paid excursions.

But, a tour book will tell you the "main interesting things". Then, you can probably come back here and ask for details on any you are interested in, and get more info on "out of the way" places.

If you don't want to buy one, your library likely has a tour book on Malta.

Umm, how 'bout looking at the Fodors Miniguide on this website?

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...tion=malta@246

Hi Dukehoy,
We spent 5 days in Malta in July and it was beautiful(and very hot!). We actually saw a few cruise ships in the port of Valletta, which is the capital and main city of Malta. How long is your stopover? There are other historic places and sights on the island, within an hour bus ride, so the amount of time you have to spend is obviously a consideration. If you just want to see the sights in Valletta? National Museum of Archeology, Grand Master's Palace(from the 1500's), St. John's Co-Cathedral, the Lascaris War Rooms, a 1-hour boat cruise of the harbor area, and the very narrow and steep streets of the city itself. Malta also boasts some of the oldest man-made structures in the world(Hypogeum, Tarxien Temples, etc.)It depends on your time available and interests. Also, read the other posts here under "Malta," which are an excellent source of info. Also good is: www.visitmalta.com, and www.traveltomalta.com.
Larz

Duke - you and others can see by the responses that people do no want to do the work for you.

Larz-was extra-generous.

My source for info. no matter where - are the itineraries of the ships, then weed out which you are not interested, then try any and find alternate trans. to save $$$ .

If time in port is short and/or a traffic nightmare - we will take a ship tour as they will wait for late arrivals.

Good luck - but- do some homework, too.

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I should have been more specific. I I have researched this myself, but I'm looking for people who have been to Malta for first hand info. I've heard the Holland Am excursions aren't too interesting.

On Gozo, we loved the Azure Window. It is a rugged walk to the top but the views both from the bottom and the top, are magnificent. On Malta, the city of Mdina is charming. If you like archeology, the Hypogeum is fascinating, but you must make a reservation at least a week in advance.

I'm not much for cruises, but having lots of friends who are, I repeat my often spouted advice. The cruise ship offers excursions of the Best the area has to offer. They preset transportation so that you can see more than you can probably do on your own. Yes, it may be a little more expensive, but they are in charge. Having several friends who have gone off on their own, run into transportation issues and actually missed the ship's departure and scrambled to the next port to catch up, I say do what the ship offers. If you really want to see Malta you can't do it in the usual day the ship is in port anyway. If you like what they show you, go back when you can actually stay there.