Visiting Malta by car: Travel diary 1/3
In December 2022/January 2023, we spent over a month in Malta, and here’s the travel diary you’ve been waiting for. We were staying in St Julian’s and then we found another Airbnb in St Paul’s Bay. From time to time, we rent a car to explore the island. The buses are good and cover all the points of interest, but they’re not frequent enough, so we prefer having our own car.
Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Journal
Our Airbnb in St Paul’s Bay
It’s a fairly spacious Airbnb with two bedrooms and a living room overlooking the harbor (for prices and link, go here). The bedrooms aren’t very pretty, but the view is so satisfying that I love this apartment a lot. There are two restaurants downstairs, one of which serves good pizzas.
The atmosphere is super quiet. Still, quite a few tourists pass through because there’s an aquarium nearby, and we see boats arriving from who-knows-where at the harbor, disgorging their load of tourists several times a day. In Malta, for certain routes, traveling by boat is preferable to by car.
The host is super friendly and offered us a bottle of rosé and a panettone, a typical Christmas cake (you see them in all supermarkets in Malta). Speaking of supermarkets, having shopped in all kinds, the selection is still quite limited. To eat well, it’s best to rely on freshly caught fish—it’s the best thing here.
Car rental
Even though we’re in St Paul’s Bay, we need to go back to St Julian’s to rent from Hertz. It’s the cheapest option, so taking the bus or an Uber to St Julian’s ends up cheaper than renting near us. And most importantly, they’re really not picky about potential damage (though we’re still very careful). I highly recommend them!
Malta is a former British colony so they drive on the left, but the roads are impeccable and Maltese drivers are very respectful (they always stop for pedestrians), so there’s no particular difficulty.
Day 1:
It’s our first day with the car, so we decide to drive around the island to see how long it takes to cross it and scope out places we like. The route isn’t super optimized, as you can see.
Coral Lagoon
We go to Coral Lagoon. It looks like a small fishing village, and we don’t quite understand what there is to see until we spot a group of tourists in the distance.
We climb the hill and discover a natural pool with an arch high enough for a small boat to pass through. There’s no protection and a fall could happen quickly, so be careful! The weather is splendid, and there are beautiful sailboats around us.
We want to have lunch here, but the options are too limited, so we decide to stop somewhere along the way.
Attard
It’s in Attard that we find a small restaurant that appeals to us. It’s not a town where tourists stop, but it’s so charming that we stroll through the city center to admire its beautiful houses and small church. It’s super cute! In a small town like this, parking spots are rare, but we still find one on the street. It’s free, just need to put a disc with the arrival time, and that’s it. Here are the restaurant’s coordinates (https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZngzoRb3zc2N9mP47), all in stone, homemade cuisine, quiet.
The tiny balconies you see everywhere in Malta: they were dedicated to prayer and religious statues, now they’re not used much. Personally, I would have loved to have one to turn into a reading room.
Xrobb l-Għaġin Bay
We go here to see the famous Hofriet Window. I thought it would be closer, but those who took a photo here and post it on Pinterest must have a professional zoom. This is all I can do with my smartphone:
The water is clear, and you can see small fish. In summer, JB would love snorkeling here. You can even jump off the cliff because there are ladders to get back up. The kind of place JB really likes.
You can see traces of old salt pans.
We wanted to wait for the sunset, but it comes too late, and JB prefers not to drive in the dark. So we head home and take advantage of having the car to buy lots of water and do the weekly grocery shopping.
Day 2:
Today, we’re still in exploration mode. After St Paul’s Bay, we want to settle in another place but don’t know where. So JB takes me to Valletta, because apart from its airport, we hadn’t seen anything of the capital yet.
Valletta
The view in front of the War Museum really captivates me. We’ll come back here on foot when we stay in Valletta. We quickly understand that parking in Valletta will be tricky, so it’s better to explore on foot or by public transport. So, it’s on this beautiful image that we leave the capital to head south.
Blue Grotto
Blue Grotto is extremely famous, and I think depending on the weather, it’s more or less beautiful. Today it’s cloudy, so the photos don’t turn out as well.
We heard about a boat that goes under the arch and try to find it.
A few minutes away by car, there’s a path that goes down, and that’s where the boats depart from. However, there’s so much wind and waves today that no boat will dare to go out. Nearby, there are lots of touristy restaurants, and the parking is paid (it’s not mandatory, but a man insists strongly, so we gave him a tip).
Is-Siġġiewi
We continue straight and it’s when I see a nice tower that I ask JB to take the small path… to a restaurant with an incredible view over a diving spot.
The place is ideal for learning, because there’s a large natural pool that looks deep to me, completely sheltered from the waves and wind.
The location is top-notch, too bad the food doesn’t live up to it.
Dingli Cliffs
We hit the road again and drive along the Dingli Cliffs. I didn’t quite understand the appeal of these cliffs, the highest on the island, which I find just like the others. I skimmed some explanations and didn’t understand a thing. If anyone can explain to me what makes these cliffs exceptional, I’m all ears.
There’s a small stone church that I find nice, and in the distance, a sort of giant tennis ball (transmission station).
Mdina
We then went to Mdina, the old capital, and I had a huge crush on this pedestrian city and fortified. Sure, the parking is a nightmare, we had to wait a long time for a spot to free up. We immediately decided to come back in a few days to explore every nook and cranny (on foot), I love it too much! It reminds me of Dubrovnik. Okay, they have one thing in common: both were used to film Game of Thrones. I’ll talk about it in more detail in another article.
Popeye’s Village
We go check out Popeye’s Village and since we took the wrong road (we accidentally took the road reserved for employees), we arrive at a viewpoint breathtaking [view]. The photo is beautiful, but I assure you, in person it’s even more beautiful. It’s like a dream come true, a fairy-tale world and we discover it really exists. I think it’s even more magical than Disneyland, thanks to its exceptional location.
I’ll also write a detailed article (here) since we’ll end up visiting the village, but if you’re short on time, know that viewing it from the cliff is more than enough.
It’s the set of a film released in 1980 (whose lead actor is Robin Williams) and it has been maintained ever since. Before, it was just a fishing village. There’s a road (now closed) that went down to the bottom of the cliff, but due to the waves, it got badly damaged. I didn’t know this film at all, I tried to watch it but it hasn’t aged well. However, I really really liked the animated movie, it made me want to eat spinach so much, but we didn’t have any in Vietnam. When I came to France, I got to try spinach but it wasn’t as good as in my imagination 😀
On the island, there’s a famous viaduct, but it’s abandoned. I wanted to go there, but when we passed by, the wild/abandoned side completely put me off. I’ll show you the photo so you can see its size.
We return the car in St Julian’s and take an Uber to go back home to St Paul’s Bay. These two days allowed us to tour the island and scout our next Airbnb spots.
Read our travel diary on Gozo island here
Part 2: Practical Tips
- Car rental at Hertz in St Julian’s: €28/day
- We got upgraded (higher category) thanks to our card American Express Gold
- Gas is half the price compared to France
- If you don’t want to drive, you can opt for the bus (2€ per ticket, number 200 goes around the tourist spots) or the hop-on hop-off bus (15€/day)
