Grey skies or blue? There's a right time for everyone to holiday in Malta

A little internet research – here too we hope – and you’ll probably have a good idea of the main reasons why the Maltese Islands stack up as a holiday destination for you in 2010.

You are a diver, you want to learn English or holiday somewhere English is spoken, you’re seeking some Mediterranean winter sun, you’re a walker, or you’ve heard about the 6,000 odd years of history and the UNSECO World Heritage that awaits. Or you’ve kids and think a lot to do in small space (less travelling around time!) and some beaches with cafes will do the family holiday job nicely.

So much for the ‘why’, but what about when to come to Malta to make the most of it?

Some dates to plan for, or avoid

Maltese public holidays 2010, click here

With Kids
Clearly, you are stuck with coming when your children have school holidays. But bear in mind the Maltese school holidays too, as many parks, beaches, playgrounds, seafronts, gardens, activity & fun centres (like Playmobil) and the newly-opened Ta’ Qali Adventure Park (near the national stadium, Attard) will be more crowded. Malta is small, so space for kids recreation can be limited and under pressure. On the plus side, your own children will find Maltese kids to play with which is ideal if you’re with a only child! Also, you’ll find that in Malta’s school holidays, there are activities laid on – such as the hands-on workshops at the Centre for Creativity at St James Cavalier, Valletta. Note that flight prices always go up to coincide with school breaks, both UK and Maltese ones. Note too that often local and UK mid terms don’t quite coincide.

Malta School holiday dates (most schools):
15 – 17 February, mid spring term break
Easter holidays: 26 March – 11th April
1 June – most schools on half days
25-28 June – beginning of summer holidays lasting 3 months till late September.
1 – 3 November: mid autumn term break
17 December: Christmas holidays start

Cultural Activities & Sightseeing
Summer is often too hot for comfort to really enjoy sightseeing, so avoid peak months mid/late June to early September if you can. Baking out on exposed rocky hillside visiting the prehistoric temples at Hagar Qim isn’t pleasant. Even though boat trips take the edge of the heat, you can get sunstroke unless you are careful and well protected. Shoulder months, even winter, are far better for getting around to cultural sights, comfortably. Most people’s holidays in Malta are a mix of activities so, of course, seek some culture even in the summer. Nothing beats sultry summer evenings out. So choose to enjoy events after sundown, such as those of the near month-long Malta Summer Arts Festival in July. Here are some key cultural diary dates to coincide with, but check our What’s On for others. We’ll link to relevant the websites as they come on stream.

Carnival, 12-16 February; a riot of fun and colourful floats pre-Lent. Family fun.
Ghanafest, 28-30 May: a weekend festival celebrating traditional music & food from Malta and with guest performers from around the Mediterranean. Ideal for the family.
Malta International Jazz Festival, 15-17 July: a major and magical event by Grand Harbour which has attracted true, international greats of the jazz scene to Malta since it started 19 years ago.
Malta Summer Arts Festival: first 3 weeks of July. It’s a bonanza of performance, music and dance with events held in open air in gardens as well as historic venues. Something from almost all artistic forms and for everyone.
Notte Bianca, 2 October: held in Valletta on the first Saturday in October each year, this ‘white night’ is a celebration of culture and the arts in Malta’s capital.
Birgu Festival around 8-10 October. Birgu’s (Vittoriosa’s) answer to Notte Bianca. Street stalls, music, event and food. Candlelit procession at dusk on the Saturday. Family fun.
Village & Town Festas: all summer long! Some of the main ones.

Other regular festivals include the early May Strawberry Fair at Mgarr; the Pumpkin Festival, same venue, in early November; the Mdina Festival, early March; the Siggiewi Agricultural Fair in June for a touch of local, rural tradition; Malta International Fireworks Festival, early May; and numerous other foodie festivals including bread, oranges and tomatoes.

Learning English
A year-round option depending on whether you’re a student or working. Bear in mind that Easter and the peak summer months (mid-June to early September) see a vast number of young people come to the Islands to learn English. So, expect crowds, larger classes, extra-curricula activities to be in large groups to over-crowded sites and beaches. Schools run small group, one-to-one and specialised English courses as well, but the whole atmosphere will be louder in summer months!

Diving & Sailing
Other almost all-year-round activities, so feel free to plan shoulder month vacations to enjoy these sports. While you might hit bad weather, you might just as easily have the glorious autumn weather we had in 2009 until Christmas. That said, October’s Rolex Middle Sea Race last year saw teams battle their coldest event in years with some icy squalls. In contrast, November was hot and sunny though. Divers say that you see more underwater life in the off-season months as the interesting fish tend to come closer to shore then. Sea temperatures range from 25°C in August to around 17°C in December and down to around 15°C in January-February.
Malta Weather & Sea Temperatures
Browse our Diving articles
Browse our Sailing articles

Walking
Shoulder months and winter are the optimal times to hike and ramble and enjoy the countryside when it’s green, lush and less hot to explore. At all times of year though, do pack plenty of drink and some energy boosting snacks and apply sun screen. While urban areas have snack bars aplenty, the countryside, especially on coastal hikes (Dingli and Fawwara, most of Gozo, Mellieha and so on) is quite isolated in Maltese terms and devoid of food pit stops.
Browse countryside articles
Browse walking in Malta & Gozo articles

Senior Citizens
A few tips here: don’t assume Malta has Caribbean-style winter sun and do be prepared for crowds and very high temperatures in peak summer. Winter temperatures will be higher than those in northern Europe, but come with clothing for wet, damp and chill weather. See our tips on ‘what to pack for a Maltese winter‘. Check about the heating in your accommodation. See ‘heating a Maltese house in winter‘, for some idea of what we do heat with here so you can ask! Hotels might not always have the heating on sufficiently high – I’ve heard of very chill hotel rooms. Be prepared. Similarly, check about aircons and fans. A lot of hotels now offer spa facilities which make a good leisure option especially in winter months. You can either book the odd treatment or plan a full week of therapy and pampering.
Related links:
Travelling by bus in Malta
Reasons to Love Malta in Winter

Accommodation
Do check if holidaying in peak summer that your chosen hotel isn’t packing in language students (3 or more to a room), if you don’t want noisy corridors and to be kept awake at night. It can happen. Some 3 or lower 4 star hotels have filled spare capacity with students in recent summers. Our forum should help provide this kind of info when it’s launched – details here. We’re doing a separate article on accommodation (rental apartments vs hotels, which towns for what type of accommodation and so on, so we’ll just mention this one date-related issue here for now.

Photo: Leslie Vella

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There are a lot of steps to climb if you want to import a car into Malta!

This is probably one of the most difficult topics we’ve covered. We can only guide you, provide some personal insights and give you a feeling for what’s involved. We’ll be building on this article, adding to the body of links here. Your insights will be invaluable too.

Basic background
If you are foreign and importing a car into Malta to drive it here beyond the six months deemed permissible as a ‘tourist’ stay, then you will have to pay a vehicle registration tax (though may be eligible for an exemption). If you have a Maltese ID card, you will not be able to drive the car beyond the ferry and home, if that, without having it licensed here. With Maltese ID, you cannot claim to be a tourist visiting.

Vehicle Registration Tax
Malta has among the highest registration taxes for most types of vehicles. Some concessions were made in the 2008 budget, effective from 1 January 2009, that reduced the tax on some small- and medium-sized vehicles but increased them for larger ones. The new system was introduced to encourage us to purchase/import more environmentally-friendly cars so the calculations involve the registered value (RV), car length, carbon dioxide emission volumes and particulate matter volumes (diesel only). Also, under the new system comes a useful exemption – private individuals relocating to Malta will be able to bring in a car they’ve owned for two or more years without having to pay vehicle registration tax here. This exemption is limited to one vehicle per person relocating.

Of key interest to those bringing a car into Malta is the Registration Value (RV). The old system depended on a valuation carried out by the Malta Transport Authority and was a somewhat haphazard affair I’ve heard. But now, to quote the official document: “As of 1st January 2009, the valuation system [is] replaced with a new system which will take into account the depreciation rate (and residual value) of a similar vehicle in Malta, and [is] available online. The system [allows] the user to calculate the tax that would be due if the vehicle were to be registered.”

Vehicle registation tax rates have long been a contentious issue, among both local Maltese and incoming residents – the latter often left facing a nasty tax shock when their six months’ temporary vehicle permit (tourist stay period on the vehicle) is up! It can still be the case, when the RV calculations are done, that you face car registration taxes that are higher than the real value of the car. But, since used car prices hold up in Malta (see photo above for how we keep our cars going!), you might end up selling it here and not losing out too much in the long run, depending on vehicle type and its demand.

If you do end up driving a car with foreign plates for several months here, but within your six-month, temporary permit period (which you should get earlier rather than later in your stay!), you might be pulled over by ADT (Malta Transport Authority) officials doing road-side, spot checks. They can be officious. Know your rights – click here for some advice on how to deal with this.

Procedures
These are quite long and complicated and we’ve some links to help get you through them.
ADT site ‘Registration, Tax & Documentation‘ page gives you a blow by blow list of the procedures and what paperwork you’ll need.
The Malta Chamber for SMEs – the GRTU – has an unofficial guide that makes for an interesting read, and mirrors the official one step by step.
British Expat Forum – Malta has lots of Q&A threads that are worth spending an hour drilling through.

Official Links:
The ADT is the Malta Transport Authority. Its site has downloadable forms and details of the various, possibly useful, tax exemptions such as for overseas’ students or people taking up fixed-term, contract work in Malta who wish to bring their own car in with them for their stay.
http://www.maltatransport.com/en/

http://www.valuation.vehicleregistration.gov.mt/Car.aspx This is a quick, online calculator of the RV you can expect to pay.

Expat Insights
If expats have friends already here, they know the ropes and often opt to hire or buy in situ in Malta. Average hire car rates, for a family car (Ford Focus) on long-term hire, can be around €10/day.

Here’s one car import tale:
“Bringing the car in was fairly easy as you are given a 6 month visitor’s permit. However, the hassle started once this permit ran out. We were being asked to pay massive duty on the car (I think it was about 60% of the total car value) to get Maltese registration or send it back to the UK. Finally, after many meetings and heated discussions my husband ended up meeting both the finance and transport ministers (eds. note: Malta is small, and if your business has clout or you have connections, it’s possible!….) to get them to agree on an exemption for cars of incoming foreign staff at our firm. This meant we only had to pay a comparatively small fee to get it registered. The ADT seem to have clamped down significantly on foreign cars. Our main issues were: (1) duties and (2) the whole minefield of a procedure for getting the car registered.

Would I do it again? Maybe if laws on duty were relaxed – but at the time? No! It was major hassle and meant we couldn’t drive the car for months on end once the permit had expired. One guy I know in the same firm had his car seized and was told: either pay the duty or put the car on the next ferry out of Malta.

Another person’s experience…
We now have some kind of deal on vehicle registration tax because we have had the car more than 2 yrs and therefore fulfilled another criteria. We paid around €300 to get it registered with ADT, BUT they have our UK plates and logbook – which basically means we can’t sell the car here. Unless of course we pay the import duty, which seems to be assessed also, unofficial word has it, on the state of your car; if it looks a bit bashed up, you are more likely to get a lower rate!”

Photo: Gethin Thomas

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In the Stands at Malta vs Sweden. As an expat, you're more likely to be playing sport yourself than watching it among the locals.

At Maltainsideout, we get a lot of correspondence from people thinking of moving to Malta, and who want to know not just about the specifics (cost of living, schools and so on) but also simply ‘what it’s like’, day to day. This is always hard to answer in brief, but here, Andy May gives the family man’s viewpoint. If men are on corporate moves to Malta, they often have a ready-made routine waiting for them, but it doesn’t mean they don’t worry about how trailing wives and kids will get on. Every family member’s welfare counts if a new working life in Malta is going to work out.

Andy’s view…

Telling your family you’re all moving to a new country is certainly not one of the easiest things to do in life. Playing the bad guy is not a role I enjoy and to see the tears in the eyes of my 10-year old son and his seven-year-old sister as we said goodbye to our friends and headed over to Malta is something I will always remember.

Kids are fairly resilient and easily bribed with a nice house with a swimming pool and a few days at the beach. Once into a routine, everyone soon settled down into Malta life and as a family we began to enjoy the experience. We do more family stuff than we ever did in the UK, we spend more time outside and we can now afford to give the kids all the after school interests they want such as private tennis, music and dancing lessons.

As for me, moving to Malta has made a massive difference to my quality of life – a two-hour daily commute into London has been swapped for a short cycle ride to work. I work in a medium-sized office with a friendly group of people many of whom find themselves in a similar position to us so there is a real feeling of team spirit and ‘being in it together’ which is a refreshing change from the impersonal business relationships with the hundreds of work colleagues back in the main London office.

The ‘work hard, play hard’ phrase gets overused but I can honestly say it’s a winning formula and is one which we adopt in our Malta office. Outside of work the families of work colleagues tend to socialise together; the guys play sport together at weekends, and the mums and kids get together when we are out at work. It takes time to integrate into the wider community, so having a ready-made social group from day one was a real help.

Given the doom and gloom of the recession, which seems more acute in UK than it does in Malta, I’m in no rush to go home just yet. A crumbling economy, high levels of unemployment and the highest tax rates in Europe make the UK a fairly unattractive option right now. I’ll happily sit out the recession in the sunshine of Malta with a nice cold Cisk beer in hand!

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With a 15 kilo limit, we can't bring everything!

Whenever family or friends from abroad are coming to Malta, they always ask what clothes to bring. They’ve checked the weather out, but still are in a quandary. And for obvious reason. If they’re arriving from northern Europe or the colder parts of N. America, then their seasons, while the same in theory, are out of shift with ours here.

In fact, Malta in winter has weather like a British summer – unpredictable. For example, these last days of November are spring-like and hot. Deep blue skies, no wind, no clouds and high temperatures in the middle of the day; people in bikinis sunbathing at Golden Bay last weekend. November? More like May.

But, it’s not all plain sailing. Last week was a wake-up call to us that Malta can be uncomfortably cold when the wind chill bites. We are an exposed rock in the middle of the Med and face fierce storms.

Also, most houses, particularly older stone ones, and, dare I say it, even some hotels, don’t have adequate heating to provide nice, ambient room temperatures. Indoors can be colder than out in fact! I remember taking my own fan-heater to a dinner party last March – in a week which saw icy blasts swinging down from the Alps.

And while I’d recommend Ts and even shorts if you’re on holiday here today, I’d also advise on some very warm pullovers, something water proof and some footwear that isn’t sandals. Because while it’s blue by day, it’s very damp and chill at night – a thick sea fog was reported these past nights as well as humidity of 94 per cent.

Useful Stuff

Dress Code: Malta is a relaxed place so don’t waste space bringing too much finery unless you are aiming to dine out posh a lot or have an event to go to. That said, if you are invited out to dine, and don’t know your Maltese hosts too well, err on the side of being smarter – we like to dress up Italian-style when the occasion calls for it, heels, ties and all. Older folk here always do. Women must cover bare shoulders when entering churches – less an issue in winter, but just take a cardigan or scarf with you.

Packing: We’ve drafted a ‘unisex’ list, but women bringing dresses and skirts should plan some sort of tights or leggings as it isn’t all open-toe shoe weather! If possible, opt for natural fibres as you can find weather turns hot after a cloudy, stormy start, and you need to feel comfortable. Prepare to layer back up quickly once the sun is setting on any winter day!

Weather Updates: See Malta Weather.

Here are some clothing suggestions for a week in Malta from now till the end of March. Layers being the operative word!

T-shirts: 3, short- and long-sleeved, cotton jersey Ts (ideal to layer and useful to sleep in!)
Cotton jumpers / cardigans: one thick, one or two thinner to layer.
Fleece: ideal as lightweight and warm, great for seafront walks and subsitute for a coat/jacket (try to get to airport back home without heavy coat in tow, if you can!)
Jeans, Cargoes, Chinos: any 2 or 3 of these, but choose one lighter pair for hot winter days. Aim for one pair smarter for dining out.
Linen Trousers/Skirts : possibly a pair of thicker weight linen trousers or a skirt, but don’t bother with these Jan-Feb as mostly too chill to wear then.
Water/wind-proof jackets: ideal to bring a lightweight waterproof – casual zip-up fine. It is can double as a fleece that’s a removable lining, all the better. Ideal to wear on harbour cruises trips and seafronts.
Smarter shirt/blouse: you might find you can peel off a layer inside in restaurants, so plan to have one or two smarter shirts to reveal (men, you rarely need a tie unless you like them or are on business!).
Umbrella: Even if it ends up inside out as when it does rain, it’s always windy, and often gale force in winter.
Shoes: anything you’ve worn in that’s low heeled and comfy (pavements can be dodgy). Sandals useful still for some days, but don’t ever leave home for Malta in winter without something more waterproof. closed toe, and easy to dry!
Swimwear: of course people swim all year round in the sea, though not me. But, out of the wind, most winter months are fine for sunbathing.
(Tip: Pack only for one week. You never wear more even if staying for two!).

Photo: Gege Gatt

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It doesn't get more bird's eye than this...

In spite of all the trials and tribulations attached with modern, international travel, I still enjoy flying, and have to admit that every time I’m flying back home to Malta, I continue to derive great pleasure from observing the scene unfolding beneath me as the aircraft manoeuvres those last few minutes before landing.

Where to sit to see more
To do this, a window seat is obviously a pre-requisite. A day flight offers a much more graphic experience, although Malta at night is reasonably well lit up to afford the recognition of towns and landmarks such as the well lit battlements surrounding Valletta and the Three Cities.

There are also tactics as to which window seat! Although both left and right stand good chances of excellent views, I always ask for an “F” seat given that most approaching aircraft, from Europe in particular, tend to fly southwards with the islands lying to the right of the aircraft. This usually takes place to reduce noise pollution over land, although air traffic control often also requests aircraft to land by over-flying the three main islands, in which case an “A” seat comes in handy to enjoy the more heavily indented and developed eastern coastline.

What you glimpse and when
Cloud cover is rarely a problem so the last few minutes of the flight generally allow for excellent visibility as the plane reduces altitude to make the final approach. On most flights, the first sight of Maltese territory usually consists of Gozo which rises solidly from the blue Mediterranean with its straight, golden limestone cliffs. The harsh cliffs eventually dissolve to show a highly contoured landscape with terraced fields and hilltop villages, foremost amongst which is Victoria and its imposing Citadel. The period between October and May generally affords a much greener landscape while the summer months are obviously drier.

Mgarr Harbour with its toy-like ferries and boats gives way to the channel separating Gozo from Malta, with Comino and Cominotto looking like two oversized pebbles in the azure water. Under the right conditions, Comino’s Blue Lagoon stands out in sheer contrast and the numerous pleasure boats sailing Maltese waters become very visible.

The north of Malta comes next, with the Ahrax peninsula, Mellieha Bay and village, Xemxija and St Paul’s Bay successively drifting into view to be followed by the sprawl of Bugibba and Qawra with the Wardija heights in the background. Alternatively, when flying overland, the wide expanse of rural landscape punctuated by small settlements such as Mgarr, Zebbiegh, Bahrija followed by Rabat and Mdina.

Marsamxett Harbour and Grand Harbour and their urban hinterland next float into view, with Valletta jutting out in all her glory: a scene hard to describe and a privilege and pleasure to behold, whether in daytime or darkness.

Have we overshot Malta?
If approaching from the sea, and with only a couple minutes to go before landing, the aircraft generally overflies the rest of the island to the south of Marsaxlokk Harbour: a move that shocks and confuses most newcomers who mistakenly assume that the pilots have overshot the island and the runway!

The aircraft then affects a 180 degree turn, aligns itself for the final approach and generally descends over Malta Freeport and Birzebbuga before landing at Malta International Airport.

Home again
I have the opportunity to repeat this experience around eight times a year, and after twenty-five years of doing it, I still feel fascinated with the experience each and every time I’m flying back home.

Useful Stuff
Malta benefits from very good, direct links with the major European and North African urban centres and enjoys year-round flight services by Air Malta and several other airlines. Flying times to most major European cities served are around two to three hours.
See: Malta International Airport to check arrival & departure schedules, and the near real-time updates.

Photo: Leslie Vella

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