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Trip Over to Malta

Ten Days in Malta: A Solo Traveller’s Love Affair

with History, Harbours and….Buses

I flew into Malta’s Luqa Airport, after a blissfully short hop from London – which, as someone usually flying in from Sydney, felt positively decadent. We flew down part of the Italian coast, with high altitude views of Cinque Terre and La Spezia. Then over Sicily before getting great views of Gozo and over the island of Malta as we descended for landing.

A quick taxi ride later, I arrived at the Grand Harbour Hotel in Valletta, dumped my bags, and had to tear myself away from the gob-smacking views from my room that were even more amazing from the roof top terrace just one floor up – I set off exploring my new surroundings before it got dark, then as Valletta comes alive in the evening there was plenty more exploring to do after dark.

Victoria Gate, Valletta

Victoria Gate, Valletta

Getting Around Malta: Buses, Steps, and Strategy

Malta is wonderfully easy to get around and felt very safe and comfortable as a solo female traveller. Valletta itself is compact and walkable… with one small caveat: the stairs. Long, uneven, ancient stone stairs. Everywhere. By the end of the trip I was noticeably fitter, whether I wanted to be or not. There were some places to take an alternate, and longer, route to avoid the steps, but sometimes you just have to throw yourself at it.

I bought a 7-day Tallinja card to use for bus transport, that ended up being very good value, there were some days I made six or eight bus trips. The buses are regular, and easy to plan routes on Google Maps. I bought my Tallinja Card from the Information Booth at the main Valletta Bus Station near Triton’s Fountain, then you just find your bus, tap on and get going. The bus station is very organised, all buses leave from their clearly marked stand, then return to just up the road. The ticket is validated on the first use, so I timed it so my 7-day ticket would work for the last seven days. Walking in Valletta for the first few days, then going further afield — a strategy I’d highly recommend.

War Rooms and Grand Masters

My first full afternoon was spent underground at the Lascaris War Rooms, where Allied operations were coordinated during World War II. From there, I emerged into the sunshine and headed to the Grand Master’s Palace on St George’s Square — once home to the Grand Master of the Knights of the Order of St John.

Valletta is made for wandering around aimlessly discovering things, and I happily spent hours drifting through its streets, gardens, and viewpoints.




Tarxien, Marsaxlokk, and a Very Personal Pilgrimage

By my second full day in Malta, I was ready to get out of Valletta, I caught the bus to Tarxien to see the Tarxien Prehistoric Temples, dating from around 3150–2500 BC, very interesting for the history buffs amongst us. Especially interesting for me because I was born in Malta, my father was in the Royal Navy and stationed there at the time. We left when I was only 6 weeks old, but the house we lived in was just near the Tarxien Prehistoric Temples, so I had to get some photos of it. It was fascinating to walk around the streets my parents would have walked on during their very happy three years living in Malta.

Then back to the bus stop and back on to the #81 bus out to Marsaxlokk, on the east coast. A picture-perfect fishing village with a market on the edge of the bay and all the traditional brightly coloured Maltese fishing boats, called Luzzu, bobbing out on the bay.

Royal Residences and Places Best Left Quickly

I then made my way back towards Valletta and went in search of Villa Guardamangia, the house where Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip lived between 1949 and 1951, when he was stationed in Malta with the Royal Navy, (before she became Queen Elizabeth ll). Sitting up at the top of a very steep road, I’m sure it was once beautiful, but now in a sorry state of disrepair. How, or why, it was left to get in that condition amazes me, but apparently it is being restored, (very slowly!), and will eventually be open to the public.

From there I caught my 4th bus for the day to Sliema. I had heard it was a nice place, it isn’t – at least not for me. Mainly new, modern, soulless high-rise buildings. and a modern indoor shopping mall, I’ve got all that at home, I don’t need to see it here. Apparently, there are good restaurants and night clubs here – I will never know! What I saw of it was enough to have me heading back to the bus stop to go back to Valletta, where I had a traditional Rabbit Stew for dinner in one of the many restaurants on Merchants St — a much better decision.

The Three Cities and Forts Galore

Day 4 began with the ferry across The Grand Harbour to the Three Cities, Vittoriosa (Birgu), Senglea (Isla) and Cospicua (Bormla). I could see this area from my hotel room, so very keen to get over there. The ferry leaves from just down the hill from Victoria Gate and goes straight across past all the luxury yachts to Cospicua. Just as I arrived the Little Train was getting ready to go on it’s next tour of the area, so I jumped on and was taken all over the Three Cities to give me a good outline of the whole area.

I then walked out along the Birgu Waterfront to the point to visit Fort St Angelo. A must see for history lovers, built in the 13th Century, and seen off many invaders. The Resident Knight, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, lives here now, no longer having to fend off attackers – a much quieter role now.

St John’s Co-Cathedral and a Caravaggio Masterpiece

Day 5 – After climbing the massive stairs from The Grand Harbour Hotel up to the centre of Valletta, I visited St John’s Co-Cathedral. Built in the mid 1500s as the church for the Knights of the Order of St John. Although the outside is fairly uneventful, inside tells a completely different story! The ornate decoration in every part of it is breathtaking. It also houses Caravaggio’s famous painting of “The Beheading of St John” (1608), his only signed work.

After that, it was on to the bus to Mtarfa then to Mdina. I only went to Mtarfa because what was once the Royal Naval Hospital where I was born is there. The building is still there, with the sign above the door, I had read it was now a college, but it seemed to be a gigantic unused closed up building. I walked up into Mtarfa village, but there is not much there. You can see Mdina across the valley, just a short bus ride away.

Mdina, the previous capital of Malta, another must visit. Known as the silent city, strolling around inside the city walls was really peaceful, only the occasional clip-clop of horses hooves on the cobbled streets broke the silence.Then just outside the Mdina city walls is the town of Rabat, also good to stroll around and I had a late lunch/early dinner in a pub there.

Gozo, Mosta, and Miracles

Day 6 – Caught the fast ferry from Valletta to Gozo for a day trip. It would have been nice to spend more time in Gozo to really explore it, a day trip really doesn’t do it justice. I went to Victoria, the capital of Goza, then jumped on to the Hop On Hop Off bus, we covered a lot of ground but didn’t have a lot of time to get off and have a really good look knowing I had to be back to Mgarr to catch the ferry back to Valletta. Next time I will plan to spend a few days in Gozo.

Day 7 – to Mosta to visit the Rotunda domed church, (I could see the dome from the Mdina City walls) another amazing building that survived a WWll bomb hitting it, but the bomb didn’t explode – the ‘Miracle of Mosta’. Here you can go up into the dome for the views down into the church, then visit the bomb shelter in the basement, then most importantly, a visit to the cake shop outside is compulsory!!

I was then back on a bus to St Paul’s Bay. The beaches were already full of people in early April, I’m not really a beach person, but it was a nice area to walk around before heading back to Valletta.

Towers, Bastions, and Film Sets

Day 8 took me to another fishing village out on the east coast. Marsaskala, a beautiful bay, I walked for miles around the bay, out to the salt pans then found St Thomas’ Tower, built in the 1600s to defend Malta from yet another invasion from those pesky Ottomans, now housing a very interesting museum.

Still in the mood for more forts, I went back to Valletta and walked out to the point to visit Fort St Elmo and the National War Memorial Museum. I was amazed to see a whole area of derelict terrace houses in Ball’s Bastion, that have been left to rot since the Royal Navy left in the 1960s, their only claim to fame since is they were used as the film set for ‘Midnight Express’. Ball’s Bastion was named for Sir Alexander Ball, the first British Commissioner in Malta in the late 1700s. He was buried there after his death in 1809.

I then continued my walk around the coastline of Valletta. I was trying to find where the Royal Navy Submarine base was, no one seemed to know, but the closest definite/maybe I got was in the bay between Valletta and Manoel Island, now Manoel Island Yacht Marina.

Cannons, Cold Winds, and Farewell

Day 9 started with a visit to the Museum of Archaeology on Republic St, then as I was determined to see the midday Canon Firing at the Saluting Battery, I could see it from the terrace at my hotel about 100mtrs away, but I wanted to see it close up. I went up there at about 11am to stake out my position before the crowds came, it was a cooler windy day so by the time we got to midday, I was freezing, but it was worth it!!

A quick dash back to the hotel to warm up, then on to a bus Manoel Island. I walked across the little bridge on to the island and then walked out to Fort Manoel that I was told was used as the Navy Parade Ground, I also came across a row of derelict terrace houses that were once the homes of Royal Navy Officers. It was quite sad to see everything was overgrown and in ruins. These houses were once used as offices for some government departments for a short time, then their only other use was as a film set….but now just more abandoned naval housing — beautiful, melancholy, and forgotten about…..

Not Nearly Long Enough

Day 10, I was on the 6am ferry from Valletta to Pozzallo in Sicily to continue my solo adventure.

Ten days in Malta was not enough – I’m not even sure that ten weeks would be enough…. that’s the joy of travel — sometimes the best trips are the ones that leave you already planning the next visit.

Follow me on Instagram to see many more photos @trip.over.the.world

To read about the hotels I staying in on my solo adventure to Malta and Sicily, click here.

Itinerary for my Trip Over to Malta

Flew from Sydney to London Heathrow via Singapore, with Qantas on QF1, then QF2 to come home.

Stayed at the Royal Overseas League in St James’s.

Travelled around London using a Visitor Oyster Card.

Flew from London to Malta on British Airways and returned to London from Palermo, Sicily

Caught the ferry from Valletta to Pozzallo in Sicily

Travelled around Sicily by train from Pozzallo to Syracuse, then to Taormina, then to Palermo.

Flew back to London from Palermo on British Airways, spent another few days there before flying back to Sydney.

Budapest's streets are full of art✨️ apparently there are mini sculptures scattered everywhere, and I've found one of them so far!! The hunt continues.....#artinthestreets #budapest #solotrip #neverstopexploring
At this time every year Sydney Harbour is filled with light for Vivid Sydney. #vividsydney #sydneyoperahouse #sydneyharbour #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
The moon stole the show at Vivid Sydney, rising up over this tree in front of Governnent House near the Sydney Opera House. Always need a full moon when there is a light show in Sydney!!!#vividsydney #fullmoon #sydneyoperahouse #sydneyharbour #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
On my solo adventure in Palermo, Quattro Canti became a familiar spot I visited almost daily ✨️ This iconic intersection of Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the center of the city's historic quarters - Kalsa, Seralcadi, Albergaria, and Castellammare all meet here. In the evenings, it's the perfect spot to soak up the atmosphere and plan a night out at one of the many restaurants on Via Maqueda.#solotravelinsicily #palermo #traveltheworldwithme #solotrip #quattrocantipalermo
Vienna is magnificent to just wander around aimlessly, the buildings, the parks, everything, just perfect.#vienna #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme
Beautiful day to have another amble around the gardens at Schonbrunn Palace after exploring the Imperial Apartments, in another month these gardens will be in full bloom☀️☀️☀️#schönbrunnpalace #schönbrunnschloss #palacegardens #solotrip
The Vivid Sydney light show in Argyle Cut, looking along Argyle St from Cumberland St, The Rocks.#vividsydney #traveltheworldwithme #sydney #seeeverythingdoeverything #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Czech artist, David Cerney, famous for his politically opinionated art works.✨️Here showing King Wencelas riding an upside down dead horse into battle. Hanging in the Lucerna Palace, Prague.✨️Then 2 men (politicians??) pissing on the Czech Republic!! This one is outside the Kafka Museum across the Charles Bridge.#davidčerney #politicalart #prague #solotrip
The best part of the day trip from Vienna to Bratislava was the boat trip back to Vienna on the Danube!! The hydofoiling catamaran was fast, about 90 minutes, the crew were great. It was freezing cold and windy outside, but I couldn't help myself, I just had to keep going out to take photos, then running back in to sip my wine 🥂!!!Great for solo travelers, I met so many other travellers onboard.#cruisingonthedanube #twinliner #solotravel #traveltheworldwithme
Decided to escape the heat in Sydney🔥 for the cold, and a cozy London Christmas🎄☃️ ❄️❄️❄️ ✨️And London has delivered with a lovely 4 degree (and falling ❄️❄️❄️) evening to start things off.Merry Christmas to everyone 🎄☃️❄️🎄☃️❄️🥂!!#solotravel #traveltheworldwithme #merrychristmas #londonforchristmas #christmaslights
Aimlessly wandering around the streets of Prague - beautiful💖#prague #praguelife #solotrip #praguearchitecture
As usual, when it cones to museums, I usually find the building more interesting than the exhibits!! Vienna Natural History Museum was no exception!!#viennanaturalhistorymuseum #vienna #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
.....further to my previous post. I walked past Hochstrahlbrunne, a fountain built in 1873 to celebrate the opening of Vienna's high pressure water system. Then once I arrived at Schloss Belvedere, I found that this was not the place to be at Easter. There was one long queue to buy a ticket to stand in one of 3 other long queues to get in!!! Even one of the staff on crowd control said he had never seen it like this - I'll go back after the Easter weekend crowds have left.#vienna #viennaeaster #soloteavel #changeofplans
Hofburg Palace, the Habsburgs' stunning Vienna residence until 1918. Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) indulged in royal luxury here and spent summers at Schonbrunn Palace. What a life!#hofburgvienna #sisimuseum #soloadventure #vienna
The largest synagogue in Europe, built in the 1850s, has been witness to unmentionable horrors during WWII including being bombed. It borders the ghetto where the Jews were left to die. In the garden cemetery there are tens of thousands of nameless bodies and a few that could be identified.There us a very powerful museum housed here too.#dohanystreetsynagogue #budapestarchitecture #budapest #soloadventure
The Hungarian Parliament Building from across the Danube at night ❄️ It was a freezing cold evening, but a quick trip under the Danube on the Metro to get a few photos is just what needs to he done!#hungarianparliamentbuilding #budapest #soloteavel #traveltheworldwithme
Went to the stangest market in Vienna at Rathausplatz. Every one of the stalls sold wine, a few sold food, there were people everywhere in national dress, some holding, but no one playing, musical instruments......and Verstappen's F1 car!!???#traveltheworldwithme #eastermarkets #vienna #viennaeaster
Walking from Bratislava train station to the town centre takes 15 minutes, passing through a park and by the parliament buildings before reaching the historic cobblestone streets.This is where the touristification of the town kicks in, every shop is a restaurant or souvenier shop.Even the castle is a remake of what they think tourists want to see....we actually want to see the original castle!!#bratislava #streetsofbratislava #solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Memorial to the Jews who were rounded up during WWII, they were lined up on the edge of the Danube, forced to remove their shoes, then they were shot in the back and their bodies fell into the river.......#shoesonthedanube #solotravel #busapest #traveltheworldwithme
Back to Schonbrunn Palace to see the Imperial Apartments. Gold was definitely the order of the day ✨️ but I reckon I could live there quite comfortably with a few more mod cons!! #schönbrunnpalace #imperialapartments #traveltheworldwithme #solotrip
As promised, a beautiful sunny Easter Sunday in Vienna ☀️☀️☀️ After being in Palermo last Easter, where it was underwhelming, Vienna really knows how to take Easter to the extreme!!!#easterinvienna #eastermarkets #soloadventure #vienna
Popped into Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly yesterday evening ✨️ mainly to have a look at the new double helix staircase built up the middle of the store. Disappointed that they had no feature decorations hanging down the centre of it!!The lower floors were absolutely packed with people, if one person moved, they all had to. I took a few pics and made a run for it!!#fortnums #shoppinginlondon #doublehelixstaicase #londonlife #solotravel
The fairytale world of Castle District, perched high above the Danube on the Buda side. Hours of leisurely strolling are a must!! My solo adventures in Budapest continue...#budapestcastledistrict #budapest #solotrip
Even if Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly is too packed with people to fit inside, the outside of the building and the window displays are worth seeing.#fortnums #piccadilly #londonatchristmastime #solotravel #traveltheworldwithme
Arriving in Vienna, I found my hotel at set off exploring the neighbourhood, the architecture is all gobsmacking, but hard to get far enough away from to photograph!! #vienna #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #solotravel
The streets of Valletta, Malta. Endless hours of exploring this amazing place. A wonderful place for solo travellers, easy to get around and very safe. Something for everyone, especially for history buffs!!#solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotravelinmalta
Started off this morning heading to a market, but as I was passing St Stephen's Basilica, the bells were ringing to signal a service was about to start. I figured that would be the way to get in without paying the hefty admission charge ✨️I took a few quick photos before things got underway! Then realised I was the only person there who didn't know the words, or the actions, so when everyone stood up as part of their routine, as I was in the back row, I just backed out completely.....#ststephensbasilica #budapest #solotravel #sundayinbudapest
After catching the tram across the river, I strolled through Letna Park, there are stunning views of Prague's Vltava river, the bridges and the castle, not to mention all the flowers in the park.#flowerseverywhere #viewsfordays #praguelife #solotrip #walkinthepark
Yesterday evenings stroll to walk off my enormous Christmas lunch ✨️ past Fortnum & Mason, up Bond St, past the Royal Arcade, then past all the fashion shops dressed up to the nines. Chanel was my favourite 💖 Then Oxford St and back down Regent St to Piccadilly. Londin really knows how to do Christmas lights 🥂✨️💖#londonatchristmastime #christmaslights #streetsoflondon #bondstreetlondon #regentstreetlondon
Everywhere you look in Budapest the buildings are amazing ✨️ so ornate, full of character, luckily the city is very walkable!!#budapestarchitecture #budapest #solotravel #walkingthestreets
Leaving Budapest from Keleti station, I found my ticket gave me access to the Business Lounge waiting room!!Next stop on my solo adventure - Vienna🥂!!#solotravel #budapest #keletistation #travelbytrain #traveltheworldwithme
St Paul's Cathedral dome as seen from the top of 1 New Change, the shopping centre across the road. I walked down Ludgate Hill, Fleet St and The Strand, coming across the Royal Exchange, Australia House, the dragon marking the boundary of London City. Every building along this street has incredible history.#stpaulscathedral #royalexchange #australiahouse #londondragon #historiclondon

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