Would appreciate any advice as we will be there on pleasure, for the first time, after a few days of business in Europe. <BR> <BR>Thanks.

Ride the old busses to another town. Visit the attractions in Valetta -- the fort/prison (where Midnight Express was filmed), the church with its famous paintings, the Knights' Palace, the bombed out opera house which remains a memorial to the destruction of World War II. <BR>Take an organized tour to Gozo -- we discovered this is too hard to do on one's own in one day. <BR>Take a sailing-snorkeling day on one of the old sailing ships. <BR>Eat the native foods -- they do a lot with rabbit. And enjoy their wines. <BR>

Thanks Patrick.

hi there, dont forget the old town Madina, it is easily to reach by bus. And take a look at the prehistoric history (forget the museum in Valetta, it is a joke) but Hal Suflain (spelling?) is open again to public after beeing closed for years. And Gigantia (on Gozo) is older then the Pyramids and worth to see. And there is another one by the sea on the west coast, forgot the name. By the way, You dont a organiced trip at Gozo, just go by bus and Ferry and then hire a taxi. It is cheaper and more individual. <BR>Have fun

I avoided the organized tour to Gozo as I prefer to do it on our own. Unfortunately our bus was a little late and we missed the planned ferry to Gozo, had to wait another hour, so it was near noon when we got there. We toured the main town, castle, and church then went to get a bus to the ruins. The busses don't run in the middle of the day so it would be several more hours. Then if we stayed a the ruins, we wouldn't have a return bus. The cost of getting a taxi to take us, wait for us and return was enormous (more than the entire organized trip for two!). Although we spent all day on Gozo we were unable to see 2/3 of what we had planned to see. So if you do it independently, you'd better have better plans that we did, and still be ready for disappointment. Things in Malta do not operate on a definite schedule -- they have their own way of keeping time there. It adds to the "charm", but is not very good for planning. Even in retrospect, we discovered that there was absolutely no way to do all the things the organized tour includes on Gozo by using regular public transportation. The only other option would be to rent a car -- which perhaps we should have done that day.

We tried to do Gozo on our own, and did not see anywhere near what we would have liked. In retrospect, an organized tour would have been worth it. <BR> <BR>St Paul's Catacombs, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples and Ghar Dalam Cave are just a couple of the famous historical sites; there are many, many other places (like Bronze Age villages) that are "up the street and behind the yellow house" sorts of sites. <BR> <BR>For pretty scenery, the Blue Grotto and St Paul's Bay and the view from the fortress in Valletta. <BR> <BR>For man-made scenery, walk around Valletta; there are dozens of churches (a few years ago, we attended a mass in LATIN), steep cobblestone streets; Rabat and Mdina; Birzebbuga. <BR> <BR>On Gozo, hand knit sweaters, lace and glass; on Malta, filigree gold and silver jewelry - and for some reason, extraordinary buttons and trim at bargain prices. <BR> <BR>The beer and wine aren't half bad; lots of fish (wow, isn't that a surprise); macaroni pie. There are Italian and German restaurants. <BR> <BR>Get a book on the Maltese language; it's a real test (think: glottal stroke) and probably one of those languages that will eventually disappear.

We were in Malta last month for 8 days and we loved it.Our hotel was in Slima over looking the habour.When ever we wanted to go to Valetta we took the ferry across.We walked every where in the city.We rented out a car for 3 days and it was very cheep.We drove to all the attractions around the country.What we loved most was to drive through the remote areas.Driving was not as bad as expected and people were very helpful. <BR>We went to Gozo only for a day.We took the car and because of it we saw all the places we wanted to see. <BR>What I loved most was to sit at a local <BR>cafe and enjoy their pastries.Through that once we met an retired bus driver <BR>from Valetta.We had a very enjoyable talk with him. <BR>We loved Malta and we would go again. <BR>Have a good time. <BR>Amrita. <BR> <BR>

Thanks for all of the great advice. <BR> <BR>Another question....What are the best 5 star hotels in Maletta? Would like something with a water view, etc. <BR> <BR>Thanks.

Elvira, <BR> <BR>Whilst I appreciate your appreciation of my country, please rest assured that the Maltese language will NEVER disappear ! We will see to that, don't worry !

There is a far better way of getting to Gozo then taking the ferry from up north if you are staying in the vicinity of Sliema/St Julians. <BR> <BR>There is an express ferry from Sa Maison (just under Valetta ... bus 60, 62, 67 and many others will get you there in 5 mins) that runs a few times daily Mon-Sat. It is very comfortable (unlike the old 'banana' boats) and since it is so close to Valletta, very time-efficient for people usings buses. It belongs of course to the same company that runs the Cirkewwa-Mgarr run. I can get more info on timetable if anyone needs this.

Re Valetta 5-star hotels. <BR> <BR>Valletta is not the place to be in unless you have a particular reason (eg. relatives, business etc). Tourism is concentrated around Sliema/St Julians (great residential place) and Bugibba/St Pauls (far too tourist oriented). <BR> <BR>Having said that, there is an excellent Trusthouse Forte hotel (Hotel Phoenecia) just outside Valletta at the bus terminus. Other top category hotels on the main island include Corinthia, Corinthia San Gorg, Radisson SAS Baypoint, Holiday Inn ... The last 3 are at the water's edge, especially the Radisson. I would not hesitate to stay at any of these hotels if I could afford it !

Another wonderful thing to do is to go on a boat tour - takes you to the island of Comino (the blue lagoon) and other little caves - a perfect daytrip!

Someone had mentioned to take in some snorkeling/sailing aboard one of the older sailing ships. Can you tell me any more info about this? Name of the tour group, ship, website, etc? <BR>Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rod - <BR> <BR>I have heard that underwater is even better then the beach in Malta. There are many diving schools, the best places from what I've heard being Zurrieq, Cirkewwa and Gozo. <BR> <BR>I don't do scubadiving myself, but 2 of my friends are instructors. If you, or anyone else interested, send me a mail, I will forward it to them. They are both on the net. They will be glad to help. <BR> <BR>Regards.