The Independent in the UK have just run a good article about why Malta is a top diving holidays destination - to read the full article click here

As I floated through the open hatchway into the engine room, it was almost as if the scene had been frozen in time. The ship’s charts were still in the rack and the phone was on the hook, but seaweed waved gracefully around the wreck, now home to octopus and fireworms.

On the seabed lay some Royal Navy china, smashed into pieces when the Lady Davinia, formerly HMS Greetham, was sunk. As I picked up one piece for a closer look, I was amused to discover it had been made in the Wedgwood factory just 15 minutes from where I grew up. Now 64 years later, it was half-buried in the sand, waiting to be rediscovered.

Just 15 metres above me, the busy cafés of Sliema, on Malta’s east coast near the capital Valletta, were full of tourists relaxing in the sunshine.

The Mediterranean island, along with neighbouring Gozo, was last year voted the best diving destination in Europe by readers of Diver magazine in America, thanks to its clear, warm waters, and more than 30 underwater sites, with reefs, fish, caves and lagoons as well as the numerous wrecks. There’s also a long diving season (from Easter through to November), and plenty of English-speaking instructors, so it’s ideal for beginners from the UK.

It was all a long way from the swimming pool in Waterloo, London, where I’d started my dive training with the London Hellfins Scuba Diving Club. Although you can do the complete course in Malta, I wanted to get the theory lessons and pool training needed for the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) qualification done in the rainy UK, rather than being cooped up in a classroom while the sun shone outside.

The chlorine-scented pool that I’d practised in seemed a world away as I headed to my hotel, the Maritim Antonine Hotel & Spa in Mellieha, in the north of Malta.

While the UK froze, the sun was shining on the small hillside town, dominated by its huge baroque church, which is still the focal point of life on the island – although, for younger Maltese, it often seems to be a meeting point to start a night out.

Mellieha is also home to one of the island’s best restaurants: Giuseppi’s Wine Bar. Despite the uninspiring name – and its less-than-obvious entrance on St Helen Street – the seafood and local fish on the menu are spectacular, thanks to local chef Michael Diacono.

Over some Maltese wine, it was time for a quick introduction to the island by dive instructor Dave, who moved here three years ago from Lowestoft, enticed by the laid-back way of life, the year-round sunshine, and the fantastic choice of dive sites. He revealed it’s the wrecks that make Maltese diving so special. And according to Dave, even on the rare occasions when there’s bad weather, or when the wind makes the sea too rough for diving in one place, there is always a more sheltered option to try less than an hour’s drive away.

The next morning, I shoehorned myself into a short pink wetsuit and some fetching black Neoprene boots as Dave led me into the calm waters of Qawra Bay, just along the coast from Mellieha, for my first ocean dive.

Things got off to a slow start when it turned out I was too light to sink, but, after a brief pause to fill my pockets with lead, I headed slowly down past shelves of seagrass towards the reef – while trying to keep an eye on my oxygen and my dive buddy, look out for landmarks to guide myself, stay balanced without shooting down to the seabed or up to the surface too fast, and still find the time to enjoy the scenery.

Once I’d worked out how to balance these various factors, I relaxed. After spotting a flying gurnard with its stunning iridescent blue markings hidden in the sand, I started to forget the strangeness of being completely surrounded by water.

The sea around Malta is home to grouper, rainbow wrasse and parrot fish, not to mention eels and more elusive barracudas and seahorses. Whether I dived one of the many wrecks or among the rock reefs and soft corals, there was plenty of underwater company, with shoals of brightly coloured fish darting over to investigate this curious bubble-blowing intruder.

With each dive I had more tests to pass, but also more exciting sites to explore. On Manoel Island, a spit of land opposite the capital Valletta, we strode off the sea wall to investigate a bombed barge, the Water Lighter X127.

Also known as the Carolita, she was sunk during the Second World War (probably after being mistaken for a submarine), and I could still make out the gaping hole left by the bomb that had finished her off.

The next day we explored the Lady Davinia. I got kitted up on the quayside, much to the amusement of a couple of local fishermen as I waddled to the shore weighed down with tank, lead and unwieldy flippers before vanishing under the waves. And when I emerged from the dive, my fifth, I was a certified Ocean Diver.

After swimming alongside them during the day, it felt almost rude to tuck into fish every evening. But specialities such as octopus carpaccio at harbourside restaurants around the island were too mouth-watering to miss.

Peppino’s in St Julian’s Bay, near Sliema, has tempted celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Madonna and Daniel Craig in the past, while they filmed in Malta (which has doubled as places such as Troy and Lebanon on film).

Meanwhile, in St Paul’s Bay, a short drive from Mellieha, Tarragon Restaurant has already started winning local awards for its modern twist on Malta’s classic favourites, such as black tiger prawns in champagne tempura.

For such a tiny island, there’s plenty to see on dry land. And as I could only safely dive for a couple of hours every day, I did plenty of exploring – when I could drag myself away from the hotel’s rooftop pool and the hot stone massages of its underground spa.

All roads lead to Valletta, around a half-hour drive from Mellieha. The fortified city, a grid of cobbled streets and steep steps, was built in the 16th century by the Knights of St John – otherwise known as the Knights Hospitaller.

Given the island as their base by a 16th-century king of Spain, and charged with protecting it against the Ottomans, they then built the new walled capital as a fortress to keep out the Turks.

The city is a Unesco World Heritage site, and walking through the streets takes you through centuries of history. Many of the façades of the auberges, the knights’ grand former palaces, are unchanged, and you can visit the Grand Master’s Palace, home to the Maltese government.

Most memorable for me, though, was the former capital of Mdina, the walled fortress in the centre of the island. Unlike Valletta’s wide, planned streets, the twisting alleyways date from around the time of the Arab occupation of the island in the ninth century.

The city is closed to all but residents’ cars. As I ambled to the bastion walls, past the Nunnery of St Benedict and the 700-year-old palazzos and casas of the Maltese nobility, nothing broke the quiet except the echoing clop of horse and carriage.

All too soon, though, it was time for my last dip: at Cirkewwa, in the island’s far north. One of the best beginner sites, the water here is astonishingly clear, and, although I couldn’t stray below 20 metres, the seabed at 36 metres looked temptingly close. One of the string of small underwater caves contained a statue of the Virgin Mary, and there was a natural stone arch in the rocks to swim through.

Malta

Some travel analysts suggest that Malta’s holiday industry was saved by the entry into the market of budget airlines, turning a worsening position just a few years ago to an island that has a vibrant tourism sector.

With higher airfares than competitors in the Mediterranean the number of holidays to Malta had been declining for some years, but eventually the authorities gave in to the inevitable and allowed Ryanair to start flights to Malta - and the island hasn’t looked back since.

Other airlines are now flying to the island’s Luqa Airport, including easyJet and bmi, from not just the main UK airports such as Gatwick, but Bournemouth, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle - with good news for holidaymakers in Northern Ireland that easyJet are to start a Belfast service soon.

The net result of the skies opening up to the budget airlines is a wider choice of Malta flights for tourists, with a choice of departure times and airport, and lower airfares.

And while the UK market is the biggest for her tourism industry, more visitors are coming from elsewhere as the airlines have opened new routes to the island from other European cities - diversifying the tourist mix, becoming less dependent on the UK, and increasing the net number of holidaymakers spending money in the hotels, shops and other holiday related businesses.

The new routes include Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Marseille, Seville, Stockholm, Valencia and Venice - allowing Italian, Spanish, French and Swedish people to more readily consider Malta for a holiday destination.

All excellent news for the tourism industry. But it’s not just the lower fares that those taking a holiday are benefitting from, as Malta’s flag carrier is winning awards for excellence, while lowering their own fares to compete with the budget airlines.

In a recent satisfaction survey of passengers by the influential Which? consumer magazine in the UK, Air Malta was voted as one of the best, alongside Swiss Air, while the budget airlines were a lot less successful.

It’s quite a turnaround for the island’s national airline. Given that it’s a small country with a population of just over 400,000 people there were justifiable fears that the airline might go out of business as the low cost carriers cut fares. But Air Malta has not just competed well on fares but provided a service that other - much bigger - airlines cannot match.

Coupled with the good hotels Malta has, the island now appeals not just to those who want a traditional two week holiday in the Mediterranean, but also for those who want to visit for a long weekend. Spa hotels are a big attraction, and some of the Malta hotels have been winning awards for excellence in the last couple of years, all adding to her reputation among tourists in the UK and Europe.

The capital is Valletta, and the main villages where people take a Malta holiday are St Paul’s Bay, Mellieha and St Juilan’s. Mellieha has the best beach and a ot of people who take villas as opposed to staying in a hotel opt to stay here, with the Santa Maria Estate popular.

Another Malta blog is available at maltaproperty.info and often people post their own photographs of the island along with photographs on social media like facebook, myspace and twitter.

The Independent report on cruise passengers and how a good number would like to visit the island again:

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday went on a tour of the Valletta Waterfront and even boarded two cruise liners which were berthed at the port at the time.

“Having won the award of being the Best Port in the Mediterranean last year, as voted by cruise liner visitors, the Valletta Waterfront is today celebrating the fifth year from its inauguration in 2005.

“Viset, the company in charge of the management of the Valletta Waterfront, and other private investors have invested over €37 million to make this area one of the stand-out features of the whole of Malta,” said Dr Gonzi.

The Prime Minister was greeted by Viset CEO John Portelli, entrepreneur Anglu Xuereb and other members of Viset’s management team, and shortly after arriving, he was taken on a tour of the company’s offices, stopping to exchange pleasantries with members of Viset staff.

At one point, Dr Gonzi remarked that there is always something new to learn about Valletta, even though he was personally born and bred in the city.

He made reference to the fortifications boat tour last week, during which he was “surprised to hear that a priest would, back in the old times, celebrate mass at the Guardiola from the Upper Barrakka gardens, and his voice was so deep that a large gathering would turn up on the opposite side of the harbour to hear and celebrate Mass with him”.

The Prime Minister was then taken onboard the AIDA Bella and MSC Splendida cruise liners, meeting the managers and captains of the ships and sharing the odd joke or two.

He later added: “Since June 2002, 3.5 million tourists on board cruise liners have stopped at the Valletta Waterfront, with 2008 alone seeing half a million tourists stopping by.

“Recent statistics have revealed that as many as 85 per cent of tourists on board cruise liners want to visit Malta again, having been impressed by what they have seen of the country during the short time they have roaming around the country’s capital city.

“Signs for this year appear encouraging. Up until June, 203,000 cruise liner passengers stopped by the Valletta Waterfront, an increase of 50.4 per cent when compared to the first six months of last year.

“Moreover, according to statistics released by the European Cruise Shipping Council, the total revenue generated by tourists who visited the Valletta Waterfront last year stood at €26 million.

“This goes to show how important the restoration and renovation of the Valletta Waterfront has been to Malta’s tourism industry in recent years,” said Dr Gonzi.

For more Malta holiday information visit yourmalta.com

The Times Of Malta report:

The Maltese population dropped a little last year, according to figures issued recently by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical arm. It said the population at the end of last year was 413,000, from 414,000 at the beginning of the year.

The rate of natural population change in Malta went down from 3.8 per 1000 population in 2000 to 2.2 last year. Net migration changed from a high of 5.9 (per 1000 population) to -3.8 last year so that total change declined from 8.1 in 2008 to -1.6 last year.

If you’re considering a diving holiday for next year, there’s no better place than Malta - and that’s according to the divers themselves.

As The Independent in the UK report:

As I floated through the open hatchway into the engine room, it was almost as if the scene had been frozen in time. The ship’s charts were still in the rack and the phone was on the hook, but seaweed waved gracefully around the wreck, now home to octopus and fireworms.

On the seabed lay some Royal Navy china, smashed into pieces when the Lady Davinia, formerly HMS Greetham, was sunk. As I picked up one piece for a closer look, I was amused to discover it had been made in the Wedgwood factory just 15 minutes from where I grew up. Now 64 years later, it was half-buried in the sand, waiting to be rediscovered.

Just 15 metres above me, the busy cafés of Sliema, on Malta’s east coast near the capital Valletta, were full of tourists relaxing in the sunshine.

The Mediterranean island, along with neighbouring Gozo, was last year voted the best diving destination in Europe by readers of Diver magazine in America, thanks to its clear, warm waters, and more than 30 underwater sites, with reefs, fish, caves and lagoons as well as the numerous wrecks. There’s also a long diving season (from Easter through to November), and plenty of English-speaking instructors, so it’s ideal for beginners from the UK.

It was all a long way from the swimming pool in Waterloo, London, where I’d started my dive training with the London Hellfins Scuba Diving Club. Although you can do the complete course in Malta, I wanted to get the theory lessons and pool training needed for the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) qualification done in the rainy UK, rather than being cooped up in a classroom while the sun shone outside.

The chlorine-scented pool that I’d practised in seemed a world away as I headed to my hotel, the Maritim Antonine Hotel & Spa in Mellieha, in the north of Malta.

Mellieha Malta

While the UK froze, the sun was shining on the small hillside town, dominated by its huge baroque church, which is still the focal point of life on the island – although, for younger Maltese, it often seems to be a meeting point to start a night out.

Mellieha is also home to one of the island’s best restaurants: Giuseppi’s Wine Bar. Despite the uninspiring name – and its less-than-obvious entrance on St Helen Street – the seafood and local fish on the menu are spectacular, thanks to local chef Michael Diacono.

Over some Maltese wine, it was time for a quick introduction to the island by dive instructor Dave, who moved here three years ago from Lowestoft, enticed by the laid-back way of life, the year-round sunshine, and the fantastic choice of dive sites. He revealed it’s the wrecks that make Maltese diving so special. And according to Dave, even on the rare occasions when there’s bad weather in Malta, or when the wind makes the sea too rough for diving in one place, there is always a more sheltered option to try less than an hour’s drive away.

The next morning, I shoehorned myself into a short pink wetsuit and some fetching black Neoprene boots as Dave led me into the calm waters of Qawra Bay, just along the coast from Mellieha, for my first ocean dive.

Things got off to a slow start when it turned out I was too light to sink, but, after a brief pause to fill my pockets with lead, I headed slowly down past shelves of seagrass towards the reef – while trying to keep an eye on my oxygen and my dive buddy, look out for landmarks to guide myself, stay balanced without shooting down to the seabed or up to the surface too fast, and still find the time to enjoy the scenery.

Once I’d worked out how to balance these various factors, I relaxed. After spotting a flying gurnard with its stunning iridescent blue markings hidden in the sand, I started to forget the strangeness of being completely surrounded by water.

The sea around Malta is home to grouper, rainbow wrasse and parrot fish, not to mention eels and more elusive barracudas and seahorses. Whether I dived one of the many wrecks or among the rock reefs and soft corals, there was plenty of underwater company, with shoals of brightly coloured fish darting over to investigate this curious bubble-blowing intruder.

With each dive I had more tests to pass, but also more exciting sites to explore. On Manoel Island, a spit of land opposite the capital Valletta, we strode off the sea wall to investigate a bombed barge, the Water Lighter X127.

Valletta Malta

Also known as the Carolita, she was sunk during the Second World War (probably after being mistaken for a submarine), and I could still make out the gaping hole left by the bomb that had finished her off.

The next day we explored the Lady Davinia. I got kitted up on the quayside, much to the amusement of a couple of local fishermen as I waddled to the shore weighed down with tank, lead and unwieldy flippers before vanishing under the waves. And when I emerged from the dive, my fifth, I was a certified Ocean Diver.

After swimming alongside them during the day, it felt almost rude to tuck into fish every evening. But specialities such as octopus carpaccio at harbourside restaurants around the island were too mouth-watering to miss.

Peppino’s in St Julian’s Bay, near Sliema, has tempted celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Madonna and Daniel Craig in the past, while they filmed in Malta (which has doubled as places such as Troy and Lebanon on film).

Meanwhile, in St Paul’s Bay, a short drive from Mellieha, Tarragon Restaurant has already started winning local awards for its modern twist on Malta’s classic favourites, such as black tiger prawns in champagne tempura.

For such a tiny island, there’s plenty to see on dry land. And as I could only safely dive for a couple of hours every day, I did plenty of exploring – when I could drag myself away from the Malta hotels rooftop pool and the hot stone massages of its underground spa.

All roads lead to Valletta, around a half-hour drive from Mellieha. The fortified city, a grid of cobbled streets and steep steps, was built in the 16th century by the Knights of St John – otherwise known as the Knights Hospitaller.

Given the island as their base by a 16th-century king of Spain, and charged with protecting it against the Ottomans, they then built the new walled capital as a fortress to keep out the Turks.

The city is a Unesco World Heritage site, and walking through the streets takes you through centuries of history. Many of the façades of the auberges, the knights’ grand former palaces, are unchanged, and you can visit the Grand Master’s Palace, home to the Maltese government.

Most memorable for me, though, was the former capital of Mdina, the walled fortress in the centre of the island. Unlike Valletta’s wide, planned streets, the twisting alleyways date from around the time of the Arab occupation of the island in the ninth century.

The city is closed to all but residents’ cars. As I ambled to the bastion walls, past the Nunnery of St Benedict and the 700-year-old palazzos and casas of the Maltese nobility, nothing broke the quiet except the echoing clop of horse and carriage.

All too soon, though, it was time for my last dip: at Cirkewwa, in the island’s far north. One of the best beginner sites, the water here is astonishingly clear, and, although I couldn’t stray below 20 metres, the seabed at 36 metres looked temptingly close. One of the string of small underwater caves contained a statue of the Virgin Mary, and there was a natural stone arch in the rocks to swim through.

For information on diving Malta holidays visit yourmalta.com - they also have airlines with details of flights to Malta.

The icnetwork in Wales recently wrote about a vist to the island:

THE British influence on Malta is noticeable in more than the fact that virtually everyone speaks English.

Hidden down a back street of the capital Valletta is a small pub called, simply enough, The Pub.

This is the place where hellraiser (and actor) Oliver Reed enjoyed his final drinking session before collapsing and dying of a heart attack in 1999. An extra line – Ollie’s last pub – has now been added to the sign outside and the venue is a favourite with tourists. It’s definitely worth a visit.

But don’t get the idea this tiny island is just about partying. There are so many places to see.

Malta is blessed, although in the past that could read “cursed”, with a berth in the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Africa. It has been fought over by many nations in its long history. The result is a fascinating land of architectural and cultural variety.

And because it’s so small and easily reachable from Wales, Malta is ideal for a short break. I stayed in the centre of the island, in the fabulous ancient walled city of Mdina – the former capital.

Mdina Malta

With the luxurious Xara Palace hotel as my base, I spent three days whizzing around some of the island’s varied attractions before heading back to the hotel for top quality food and hospitality. And the hotel’s location is perfect.

Perched on a hilltop it forms part of the wall around Mdina. The 17 individually-designed rooms boast dizzying views down and across the island or into Mdina itself.

Malta is a favourite destination for people from the UK looking for warm winters and hot summers, a largely gentle pace of life (if you don’t venture out on the chaotic roads on your own) and some spectacular beaches. Holidays in Malta during the winter are taken by quite a few people.

One of the island’s main attractions is its history. This tempting spot was colonised by the Phoenicians around 1,000BC. They were followed by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, French and finally the British, before Malta became independent in 1964.

All left their mark but the main existing developments date from around the time of the military religious order the Knights of Malta who spent more than a century guarding Christian Europe’s southern borders from invasion by the Ottoman Empire.

They, like me, were based in Mdina, the Silent City. Stepping through the towering walls feels like moving back several centuries in time. Few cars are allowed inside and it is home to a few hundred people who live among the peaceful, ancient alleyways.

No visit to Malta would be complete without visiting Mdina. Outside its walls the rest of the island has moved with the times.

After a visit to the pretty fishing village of Marsaxlokk, complete with brightly painted boats and busy market, it was on to the island’s current capital.

Valletta is home to the booming business sector and some sparkling nightlife. The glitzy clubs are concentrated in just a few streets where the beautiful people congregate. There is much talk of Malta becoming a party capital – the new Ibiza. While that might be a way off, I did enjoy a night in Valetta’s Ministry of Sound club where superstar DJ Todd Terry was in residence.

Valletta Malta

Despite its long and eventful history, the city seems youthful and buzzing. But everywhere there is a mix of the old and new.

Incongruously close to Ollie’s last stand is St John’s Co-Cathedral, featuring spectacularly gaudy decoration as well as some gems including The Beheading of John the Baptist by Caravaggio and works by Malta’s own art superstar Mattia Preti.

After spending the days wandering around the island’s attractions, it was a pleasure to return to the Xara Palace. And after a rest on the comfy king-sized bed, it was time for a spectacular meal cooked by chef Kevin Bonello in the rooftop de Mondion restaurant overlooking the bright lights of the island.

The setting was spectacular, the ambience relaxed and the food perfection.

Visit yourmalta.com for a choice of Malta hotels

Malta

The percentage of people who book their holidays and trips away via the internet increases every year, and with ticketless flights, reviews of hotels from previous guests and currency delivered to your home, the impression might be that booking a trip a few days before departure is the norm.

Not for UK tourists, according to research undertaken by leading online travel site Expedia.

In fact, many British people still book their overseas trips months ahead - but then they are the most organised tourists in Europe!

Before the recession, the trend was to book different parts of a holiday with different online travel firms, ensuring each part of the trip was done at the best price - but with some small companies going under Expedia note that more people are booking both flights and hotels at the same time.

And it’s not just the recession that’s caused the shift back to booking with the same company, the recent Icelandic volcano left many travellers stranded while those who had booked with well established tour operators such as Thomson and Thomas Cook were well looked after and alternative ways home organised on their behalf.

And it’s in times like this that tourists realise that cheap isn’t always good - but a resource like Expedia does allow money to be saved while booking all or some parts of a trip with one company.

Take Malta for example. There are plenty of different options for booking holidays in Malta available, and different parts of the trip can be booked seperately - or all with someone like Expedia.

Hotels can be viewed and reviews from people who have stayed there be seen, and a little extra research can be done to see which area might be most suitable. Valletta for history, Mellieha for a good beach for example. Both areas have a wide choice of accommodation and any of the Malta hotels can be booked with the one resource.

Flights are slightly different for the island. In recent years the low cost carriers have started to fly in and out of Malta, and not all of them are represented on travel sites that do the other components of a trip. Search Expedia for example for return flights and it might not bring up Ryanair who were the first budget airline to fly to the island, and provide flights from both Luton and Bournemouth.

So for the cost conscious it might be worth checking their site to see how much their Malta flights are.

But overall booking everything with one company does have its benefits, with hotels, car hire, flights, holidays and travel insurance all possible, and for Malta holidays Expedia is able to offer all these at a good price.

More details about the island are at yourmalta.com and there are other free to use articles

Metro News in Canada sent a journalist to the island recently, who found Malta to be romantic and perfect for a wedding:

On occasion, the gods of journalism just smile on you for no particular reason. And just such an occasion was Malta.

I was lying on the amazingly empty beach at Golden Bay pondering just what made Malta so romantic when, incredibly, a beautiful barefoot bride in full wedding gown sat down beside me on the sand.

I swear this is true.

The bride turned out to be Janice Balzan who had just married suitably handsome hubby Amadeo Vella. Between them, they went some way to answering my question.

“Malta is amazingly romantic. It’s just something about the environment and perhaps the light, or the feeling of the place, or even the beaches,” Amadeo said.

Janice added: “We were married in a Catholic church because this is Malta, but we want our photographs on the beach because this is Malta.”

Of course, I shouldn’t have been pondering at all really, as I actually went down on one knee here.

It was a quiet, sunny October afternoon, on the quayside of a tiny cove called Xlendi on Malta’s neighbouring island, Gozo. So it would be remiss of me, and probably deserving of a slap from the missus, to see Malta and Gozo as anything but romantic.

But on a recent return visit, I was amazed at just how classy the place has become, and would heartily recommend it to any beau with a spot of wooing on his mind.

There may have been a time when your average Maltese tourist was a pink German teenager living on a diet of lager and fries. But today’s Malta is sophisticated, grown-up, relaxed, historic, beautiful, and, let’s not be bashful, awfully romantic.

First off there’s the beaches. Away from the main package traps, they’re blissfully empty and there’s surf to be rolled in should the fancy take you.

Then there’s the restaurants.

Cremated steak and pallid French fries have been replaced by some seriously grown-up dining.

Fish, of course, is a mainstay and there is much Mediterranean influence, and almost without exception the methodology is “keep it simple do it well.”

Then there’s the ambience.

The Malta weather is warm, with an occasional breeze, but there’s something about the light that makes everything they touch more beautiful.

And, never underestimate the Maltese love of romance in general and weddings in particular.

The people of the island are incredibly warm and welcoming and turn misty-eyed at the prospect of young (or indeed not so young) love.

One barmaid at the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa told me a Maltese proverb: “Love is a flower which turns into a fruit upon marriage.”

For more information about the island, including Malta holiday offers visit yourmalta.com

ThisisBristol visited the island recently, and had this to say:

The Mediterranean is never far away wherever you are on Malta, which is just 20 miles long and 12 miles wide. The surrounding clear blue waters of the Med enhance the charm of the island – and that of its near neighbour, Gozo – and have enriched its history.

Arabs, Ottomans, French, British – all have come over the centuries, leaving aspects of themselves in what, nowadays, is a small but proud and forward-looking independent state.

For the modern-day tourist, it teases the curiosity, as you seek to piece together the jigsaw of which foreign visitor of years gone by influenced what can be seen today.

Malta’s setting, at the heart of the Mediterranean, is what has proved the magnet for the invaders of the past and the recreational visitors of the present.

Just over three hours away by Ryanair from Bristol Airport, Malta has long been a destination for holidaying Brits, unsurprisingly, in view of the close links between the countries. Flights to Malta are available with most regional airports.

Indeed, Malta’s flag bears an image of the George Cross awarded to the islanders by Britain for their fortitude in withstanding Nazi bombardment during World War II.

That sense of a country under siege permeates the history of the strategically significant island, although it is now a fully-fledged member of the European Union, with the euro adopted two years ago as its currency. Consensus has superseded confrontation in the forging of economic alliance.

Relax at a Maltese resort or visit its historical sites – everywhere is within easy reach. Gozo is also just 20 minutes away by ferry.

You can absorb some of what Malta is about by sitting at a street-side cafe in the quaint fishing village of Marsaxlokk. Gazing out at the vividly painted, multi-coloured fishing boats – known locally as luzzo and kajjik – bobbing about on the water starts to form an impression of the role the Mediterranean plays in Maltese life.

Marsaxlokk Malta

The catch of the day is sold at a fish market in the village.

You can get up close and personal with the Med in a small outboard motor-powered boat at Wied iz-Zurrieq’s Blue Grotto, pretty much a must-see, as the craft meanders between the striking rock formations, at one moment in semi-darkness before re-emerging into glorious warm sunshine from a cloudless sky.

Close by are the ancient temple structures of Hagar Qim and Mnadjra, sited against the inevitable backdrop of the Mediterranean.

A good way to learn what has shaped Malta is to watch an audio-visual history in The Malta Experience, next to Fort St Elmo, in Valetta, the nation’s capital.

There is more to see in Valletta, with the best view of the island’s Grand Harbour from the Upper Barrakka Gardens, on the St Peter and St Paul Bastion. Across the water, from your elevated perspective, can be seen Fort St Angelo and the Three Cities.

It was during the two-year long French occupation under Napoleon that Vittoriosa, Cospicua and Senglea were given the collective Three Cities title. Again, though, the Maltese sense of independence is apparent, as Vittoriosa, which translates as ‘the victorious one’, is known to the locals as Birgu, well worth knowing as you find your way around.

A highlight of a visit to Valetta is the Co-Cathedral of St John. Fairly ordinary looking from the outside, the contrast inside could hardly be more marked, with the stunningly ornate interior décor a homage both to Malta’s overwhelming devotion to Catholicism as well as honouring the island’s venerated Knights of the Order of St John.

Originally formed in Jerusalem to care for the sick, the Order developed into a military organisation, dedicated to defending the Catholic faith.

After a somewhat nomadic existence, the Knights were given Malta by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, in 1530. Previous encounters with the imperialistic Ottomans came to a head in 1565 with one of the most significant events in Malta’s history – the Great Siege.

Against seemingly insurmountable odds, the Knights, under their inspirational Grand Master, Jean de LaValette, who was in his 70s, held off the invader.

Valetta was named in the leader’s honour and the Co-Cathedral gives the modern-day tourist an insight into that period, with mosaics on the floor covering the interred remains of Knights or paying tribute to those who died and are buried elsewhere.

Perhaps the greatest treasure in the Co-Cathedral, however, is Caravaggio’s The Beheading of St John the Baptist.

The painting, commissioned by the then Grand Master of the Order of St John, occupies a whole wall of a room in the Co-Cathedral and concentrates the mind as you appreciate the style of the rumbustious and rebellious Caravaggio, with the subjects of the work in a corner of the painting and the rest in darkness.

At the other end of the same room is another Caravaggio – St Jerome Writing. This painting has a fascinating contemporary tale to tell, having been stolen before being saved in the nick of time before, perhaps, being lost forever.

Malta is certainly steeped in history but it has an eye on the future and one of the most striking examples of that is Tigne Point, an ultra-modern residential, business, shopping and dining development, at Sliema.

The Point Mall is described as Malta’s first international standard shopping complex, with around 50 stores offering goods ranging from fashion and jewellery to household goods and books.

A prime place to eat at “The Point” is the Salini restaurant. At night, its view across the harbour of the lit-up Valetta is hard to beat.

If that is a feast for the eyes, then the menu is equally satisfying, based on Salini’s tagline, “Flavours of the Mediterranean”. Served up tapas style, there was something for all palates, with salami, pork belly, cod in beer batter, seared tuna, anchovies in breadcrumbs and lamb tagine with potatoes available. A dessert highlight was a drinkable lemon sorbet.

Accommodation to suit all budgets is available with, nearer the top end, the five-star Corinthia Hotel St George’s Bay, in St Julian’s, providing that extra bit of luxury. Its 180 rooms and 70 executive club rooms include 39 suites. There are five outdoor pools and a day spa for those who want to chill out.

Depending on the length of a stay in Malta, a day out from the main island to Gozo is well worth while, making the short ferry trip from Cirkewwa.

Gozo, which means “joy”, was named by the Aragonese in 1282 and features the remnants of a significant historical site.

To put the Ggantija Temples into context, they predate Stonehenge by 1,000 years and are thought to be the oldest freestanding structures in the world. The complex, excavated between 1816 and 1820, has two Neolithic temples that are 7,000 years old. To read the full article click here

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The Daily Mail explore the island in a Jag…

When I first visited Malta in the Seventies, a friend’s mother asked me to get her some ‘real’ Maltesers. She somehow imagined that the ‘chocolate with the less fattening centre’ was based on some traditional Maltese sweetmeat.

She was not alone, it seems. The Maltesers’ Wikipedia entry is at pains to explain that the famous Mars confectionery derives its name from the sweet’s malt-based honeycombed centre and has nothing to do with the Mediterranean island.

You can’t help feeling this is a shame. Malta is a destination that most British people are aware of, yet few could identify its prize attraction: having a popular chocolate in its armoury would do wonders.

Interestingly, a popular souvenir in many shops is the famous model of The Maltese Falcon as seen in the Humphrey Bogart movie. Again - sadly - the film has only the most tenuous connection with the island.

But other marketing possibilities exist.

A legacy of Britain’s long and close connection with Malta is that the island has a passion for UK classic cars. On my first visit 30 years ago, the roads were clogged with Morris Minors, Ford Consuls and other greatest hits of UK car manufacturing.

What with driving on the left and all the British telephone kiosks and post boxes it was hard to believe that you had left Britain.

When I arrived earlier this month in Mdina, the historic town at the centre of the island, classic-car owners had gathered in the square in front of the cathedral to show off MG Midgets and Sunbeam Talbots. (The island boasts a fine classic car museum, www.classiccarsmalta.com, with an excellent selection of long defunct prestige UK marques.)

Scenting my interest, a local enthusiast invited me to explore the island in an Inspector Morse-style Mark II Jaguar. There were anxieties on two grounds. Firstly, the car has no seat belts (its classic status exempts it from such requirements). Secondly, the roads in Malta can be, er, challenging and the behaviour of other road users often verges on the eccentric.

The third, less expected, hazard was car nuts (including many Brits) who, every time I stopped, leapt out of the hedgerows to quiz me on the car’s carburettor arrangements and cylinder head alignment.

I found that I lapsed into Inspector Morse irascibility fairly easily: ‘Lewis, can you get rid of these dreadful timewasters!’

All I lacked was a car radio to blast out Puccini and a mysterious corpse to investigate. (A Maltese version of Inspector Morse could be a winner.)

Seeing Malta by Jag was a terrific opportunity to explore an island which, thanks to the profusion of budget airline cheap Malta flights, has never been more accessible.

It’s a place packed with history which ranges from Neolithic sites to baroque cathedrals and mighty Victorian fortresses.

But Malta’s greatest treasure is its ever-charming people for whom nothing is too much trouble.