I did visit Marsaxxlok after Tarxien/Hypogeum Temples; it's quite picturesque with the luzzas (those colorful boats with the eyes on them for those who haven't been devouring the Malta books!) but most of what seemed to be there was a huge flea market. There are lots of restaurant choices, but I didn't actually stay for a long time.

Nancy, I'm so glad you got your Hypogeum tickets! It's truly an awe-inspiring place. Elina, I truly hope you can get yours; I'm sure you will, booking in advance. (I had such a good time in Malta.)

Amy: After looking at Marsaxlokk info it seemed the markets were "food" markets yet you mention flea markets. Actually I like flea markets as there's usually lots of stuff to buy - gifts, local crafts, etc. So set me straight, please. Nancy

Oh, yeah, lots o' fleas! (Well, flea market stuff, anyway...) Mostly it was embroidered tablecloths and such--I got a lovely one for my sister, with openwork and hand embroidery--but an assortment of other flea market stuff as well. I'm not sure whether it was only open on certain days, but it seemed fairly well established.

Happy travels!

Thanks, Amy - I do like those "fleas!"

Nancy - thanks so much for the e-mail address of Joseph Farrugia - e-mailed him earlier this week and was able to secure 2 tkts to the Hypogeum for our upcoming trip. And the price he quoted was just about half of what we would have paid had we purchased our tickets thru a tour company, which is what we were planning on doing.

Warning: This has ended up to be a very lenghty trip report. I found everything I did to be well worth doing. There isn't a thing I'd elimate. I spent two weeks in Malta in August of 2003. I quite enjoyed the arid, rocky terrain. My research told me that this and rocky "beaches" were to be expected. Temperatures were in the high 30's low 40's but felt even hotter with the humidity. We (myself and two friends)stayed in Sliema at the Lands End Apartments, 42 Tigne Street. Large apartment, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, kitchen, dining and living room. Small pool at rear of building. It was an excellent location. View across Sliema Creek to Valleta. Easy access to busses, ferries,shopping and restaurants. We found the food better and less expensive along Tigne than when we walked over the hill to to Tower Road and the rest of Sliema and St. Julians. Favourite restaurant in Sliema was Portopalo (Tigne St.) Also Sao Paolo or Cafe Tazza D'oro for latte and dessert. We arrived on the final night of the Delicatta Wine Festival at Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valleta. Lots of fun. You pay for your wine glass ($10 Can.) and sample wine all night long. Fireworks (all night every night, everywhere in Malta) a live band and just a welcoming atmosphere. Beware after travelling for 24 hours, little sleep, no dinner and hot temperatures you tend to gulp the wine rather than sip it. Comes in handy to be less inhibited to push your way onto a bus at 2 a.m.. We did most of our travelling on the local busses and with the use of guide books were our own tour guides. Quite the experience but all part of what makes the trip unique. Keep in mind that most busses leave from the Valleta terminal and travel out to a certain area and return back to the hub. There are few connecting busses or transfers, you usually have to return to Valleta to switch busses. Some direct busses also operate from Sliema. We started our historical journey (as we planned our trip as a learning experience, not a beach holiday) in Valleta. I highly recommend the audio-visual presentation, "The Malta Experience". Well done and provides a good history background to link further adventures to. We pretty well walked the whole town (you can get a brochure on a walking tour of Valleta at the tourist information booth just inside the city gates) over a couple of day visits. Lots of shopping on Republic Street. Sights we enjoyed in Valleta: War Museum, Fort St. Elmo, Grand Master's Palace, St. John's Co-Cathedral and the Gardens. Some of the galleries in the museum weren't open so we passed on it. We had prebooked our Hypogeum tickets before leaving Canada. We had 8:30 a.m. tickets so we took a taxi (about a 10 minute run). It was amazing. Well worth a trip. From there we walked over to the Taxien Temples and then caught the bus back home. Next day trip to Mdina/Rabat (bus from Sliema, to Valleta to Rabat): Easy walk between Rabat and Mdina. St. Paul's Cathedral, catacombs and bomb shelters, and a walk through the fortress city of Mdina. From there we caught a bus and stopped at the T'Qali Craft Market(nice glass work, cotton sweaters and silver jewellery). However saw just as nice stuff and less expensive in Rabat. Another bus ride direct to Sliema. We had planned to do Mnajdra, Hagar Qim and the Blue Grotto in one day. An easy but hot walk from the Blue Grotto to Hagar Qim. We checked at the tourist information in Valleta regarding hours as it was a holiday. The information was inaccurate. After going to the Blue Grotto, amazing water colour and such clear water, we walked to Hagar Qim to find it closed early. So we went back another day. Very interesting in the different type of rock the two temples were made from and how it affected their ability to be carved. We went to Mosta (by bus again) on the Festa night. Quite the celebration and a real family night. Try to get to at least one Festa if you can. The dome itself and the bomb story is intersting. A little more modern than much of the history we encountered. We did an organized day trip Gozo. Most trips can be booked along the street in Sliema at the various booths, travel agents or in hotels. A little quieter and more laid back than Malta itself. Visit to the Citadel (in Victoria), museums (including the folklore), Xlendi beach, Azure Window and Ggantija Prehistoric Temples. A rather full packed day. It's easy to go back again and do on your own it you decide that wasn't enough time. We also did a harbour cruise near the end of the trip. Quite enjoyable, made me wish I'd taken the time to explore Senglea and Vittoriosa on foot. We did a round Malta day cruise with a stop at Comino. Again clear water in beautiful shades of blue. We did a day trip by bus ourselves to Marsaxlokk. Before going to Malta I fell in love with the Luzzus (bright coloured boats with the eye of Osiris). I couldn't get enough pictures of them. We went on the main market day (Sunday I think) so there's was food, plenty of fish and traditional flea market stuff. We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant called El Buckett. Great food, service, atmosphere and view. We took a walk along to a "sandy" beach but found it too dirty to bother to sit down (even on a towel). That was my major disappointment in Malta. The amount of litter everywhere, in the bushes, streets (they also need a dog stoop and scoop progam), and water. Tons of litter sat on top of the sand and our attempts to "rake" and clear and area only unearthed more litter. We ended our trip with a side trip to Sicily to Mt. Etna and Taormina. We went on a tour with Virtu Ferries. Very fast ferry ride, hour or hour and a half. Very busy and crowded on ferry. Really enjoyed Mt. Etna. Taormina was very picturesque.

Debs, glad you got your reservation. Hadn't even thought that it would be more expensive thru a tour company but that's logical, and that's assuming there's availability when you get there. Ain't the internet wonderful? :-)

Check out Selectmalta.com. We rented a great villa from them. On Gozo, don't miss the azure window. On Malta the Hypogeum is amazing but requires an advance reservation.