You're looking for a travel destination and you've collected a bunch of info on Malta and similar destinations. Why should you choose Malta over any other Mediterranean holiday destination? What makes Malta so special?

It wouldn’t be very convincing to just tell you that Malta is truly unique in what it has to offer, without presenting you with the facts. These are the facts that set Malta apart from the rest.

The Maltese People

The Maltese are renowned for their hospitality, friendliness and generosity. The people are traditionally kind-hearted and will go out of their way to make guests feel at home (even when no visitors were expected). The majority of people are very accommodating, and are always willing to lend a helping hand, should you need directions or require assistance of any kind.

Language and Communication

The fact that English is the country’s second official language obviously helps and takes away a language barrier that many guests of other travel destinations face time and again. Malta was part of the British empire for around 160 years (gaining independence in 1964), which left a mark on the island and its habitants, who now have a relatively strong knowledge of the English language. Maltese, however, is much more widely spoken and is the mother tongue for the vast majority of Maltese. For English speaking tourists this means that communication forms little or no problem, which is an important benefit for visiting foreigners.

Places of Interest

Should you be interested in spending some, but not all, of your time visiting places of interest then Malta is your prime destination. Malta offers you the unique possibility of visiting a large number of fascinating sites within a relatively small area. You can organize day trips, combining a visit to, for example, Mdina with visiting the ta Hagrat temples at Mgarr, rather than losing half the day on traveling to a single location. Many tour operators can facilitate you, but obviously at a cost. The relatively short distances means that if you're a reasonably confident navigator you should manage just fine using public transport or a hired car.

Accommodation

There’s a wide range of possibilities for accommodation in Malta and Gozo when looking for a place to stay. Besides a choice of hotels (from luxurious 5-star hotels to the more economical 4- and 3-star hotels), many self-catering apartments as well as hostels can be found throughout Malta and Gozo. The highest concentration of holiday resorts and hotels can be found around St. Julian’s, Bugibba/Qawra, and  Sliema, which are all situated in the Northern part of Malta. Accommodation in St. Julian’s is recommended if you enjoy spending your nights going out but, being close to the nightlife hub of Malta, staying there is not advisable for couples and families who prefer peace and serenity. For those travellers, places like Mellieha and St. Paul’s Bay are much better places to look for accommodation.

Transport - short distances

Travel is a lot of fun, but long trips to get to the beach, or to some interesting historical site can ruin your precious few days abroad. Malta doesn't require you to travel a lot to get to see interesting places, or just to go for a dip. Distances are short (it takes less than an hour to get from one side of the island to the other) and there isn't another place in Europe that offers such a high concentration of places of interest, beaches, holiday resorts and places for entertainment (restaurants, clubs, cinemas etc.), you’ll wish you’d have known about Malta earlier.

A lot of tourists to Malta are actually repeat visitors, simply for the reason that there’s just so much to do and to see, it's relatively cheap, and takes little time to get around and spend quality holiday time.

Sports, Leisure Activities and Events

You can enjoy a variety of sports and other leisure activities in Malta including hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, diving para gliding, wind surfing and yachting, amongs others. Most hotels offer indoor pools, gyms and tennis courts, which comes in handy if you like to stay active when the weather isn't very inviting to go out.

Most materials needed for outdoor sports are available for rent at a low price and there are various locations on the islands where these sports can be exercised. Gozo is a particularly popular location for rock climbing, thanks to its steep cliffs, and mountain biking thanks to its quiet roads and excellent hill climbs.

Diving around the Maltese islands is also a very popular activity among tourists, with many interesting diving sites (scuttled ships, for example) and certified PADI courses available. If you prefer just watching sports you won't have to worry about missing any big football matches or other sports events. Most pubs (as well as dedicated sports bars) have a satellite dish perked on their roofs and most display what sports events are shown on chalkboard notices just outside their premises.

Events, such as pop concerts and theatre shows, but also historical re-enactments such as In Guardia are popular among tourists and provide great entertainment for the whole family.

Peace and Quiet: Gozo

There's more to Malta than just Malta. The nation Malta also includes sister-island Gozo, which is said to be what Malta used to be like: rural and peaceful. Gozo is a excellent location for families, couples and elderly who prefer having a peaceful holiday with beautiful beaches and countryside views. There are plenty of interesting sites around in Gozo as well, for example the Citadel bastions of island capital Victoria, the Megalithic temples of Ggantija, or Calypso's cave, said to be the location of part of Homer's Odyssee. The seaside town of Xlendi is a popular tourist destination as well, offering a beautiful view of its bay surrounded by high cliffs. Ramla l-Hamla and San Blas Bay are beautiful beaches to go for a swim, one being larger and busier, the other being more secluded and more difficult to get to (steep hill descent) but definitely worth the effort.

To get to Gozo on arrival at Malta airport, you can take a shuttle bus service which takes you straight from the airport to the ferries in the Northern most tip of the island of Malta (a place called Cirkewwa). The ferries will take you to Mgarr Harbour in Gozo, from where you can easily get a taxi to your accommodation if you arrive during the day. For late night arrivals it's best to make arrangements with a local taxi operator before travelling.

All-year Round Holiday Destination

Unlike many other Mediterranean holiday destinations, Malta holidays offer you a lot off possibilities even outside of the high season. Outdoor activities such as biking or hiking are very popular during the rest of the year and many people flock to cultural and historical sites to learn more about Malta’s past and present whilst enjoying the country’s mild winter weather.

Nightlife

Malta offers a vibrant nightlife, which has attracted some of the biggest names in the international club scene, such as Tiësto, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten and Carl Cox. Open-air clubs are a unique experience and open-air clubs are immensely popular amongst both locals and foreigners.