My mind changing trip to Malta with the Malta Tourism Authority by Beatrice Paley
Did you know at Arundel Travel, Malta is one of our customers favourite destinations?
After hearing all the amazing things about the country, I wanted to see it for myself and thanks to the Malta Tourism Authority I finally got to visit the beautiful island in October.
The Maltese Tourism Authority are so proud of their country and be chosen for a place on this amazing ‘Malta’s Cities’ fam trip really helped change my opinion of this destination. A lot of people I spoke to before travelling out there described Malta ‘a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it’ and when I first landed I must admit I was little sceptical, however after arriving at our hotel, unpacking and with a glass of vino round the pool, I believe all my thoughts were all down to the early start.
We stayed in Valletta at the 5* Phoenicia hotel and what an amazing experience that was, as a member of The Leading Hotels of the World this hotel offers majestic views of the harbour whilst surrounded by the historic city walls of Maltas capital.
Valletta – With it’s golden buildings, colorful balconies and sparkling seas, it’s like stepping back in time. Our visit to St Johns Cathedral was breath taking, set in the heart of Valletta, from the outside this building looks plain and simple but once you walk through the door it was one of most stunning buildings I have laid my eyes on, the interior covered from floor to ceiling in colour and with the sun shining through the sparkling gold walls glisten.
Across the water are the three cities, where we used the ‘Rolling Geeks’ to get around on to help us discover the three different identities of each leg. The self-drive electric cars gave us the perfect tour with their programmed GPS helping and explaining to us were we were heading to.
Mdina also known as the silent city, is one of Europes finest ancient walled cities, covered in a mix of medieval and baroque architecture.
Gozo – The sister island of Malta, with a 25 minute ferry journey over you can discover a greener and more rural area. A visit to the Citadel a high city over looking the surrounding city of Victoria , on entrance you will be greeted by the great city walls, with its many steps leading you up the main gate. The Citadel for me was a remarkable place were you wonder around the towering fort walls. Unfortunately our visit here was hit by an hour of heavy rain, therefore resulted in us taking shelter at the Gozitna Restaurant, where the lovely owner showed us traditional cheese making and the very important wine tasting (all grown and made on his farm).
After the rain stopped we were lucky enough to go on a tour of Gozo on Segways, after a couple of rocky tempts we were soon on our way in the sunshine discovering more about this beautiful island.
The main thing that really stood out to me in Malta was the Maltese people and the amount they want to feed you! They are amongst some of the warmest people I have come across, they are so proud of their island, its history, geography and heritage. The traditional fresh meals they produce really shows how true to their roots they really are. This trip has really helped me understand what Malta is really about and shown me what our customer would experience whilst visiting.
I would love to tell you more about this amazing island, And the saying ‘ Don’t knock it, till you’ve tried it’ is actually true!!.
Bea x
