Mavina Holiday Complex Reviews

I was here in November 2007 (if I remember correctly). Really nice for a quiet, family-run hotel. Near to everything, clean, friendly and pretty quiet considering it's at the centre of the resort. I was half-board but next time I would self-cater as there are plenty of places to choose to go out to. Best of all, of course, is the warm weather!

We were put in the annexe of the Mavina and were self-catering.

The apartment was very basic with plastic-coated seating/bedding areas in the main area, which we had to remove and put on the floor in the bedroom so that our children could sleep safely on them. The 'fully equipped' kitchen mentioned in the brochure was actually a mini-oven with 2 rings which was really only sufficent for doing a breakfast at most.

In our apartment the bathroom window didn't open and so it was like a sauna all the time also there was just one fan in the bedroom. However the apartment was clean and tidy but in self-catering linen and towels are only changed once a week so it pays to take plenty of your own towels. A maid does come in each day and collect your rubbish though.

The main problem that we found with this apartment was the traffic noise. At times it was unbearable. Every night all you could hear was screeching tyres and revved up engines! Also nearby is a car-park where local youths gather and shout until about 5 in the morning. You also hear a lot of noise from the other hotels in the form of terrible singers doing Karaoke! I don't think that we had a decent nights sleep in all the 2 weeks we were there.Also take plenty of Mosquito repellent as they are a pain in the night! On the positive side the Mavina is clean and tidy,friendly and has a nice swimming pool.It also has a laundry service if you want extra towels etc.. although this is on a pay for basis.It has a bar and a snack bar and there was entertainment on most nights.

Qawara itself is a lively resort with loads of bars, restaurants and shops although some areas are a bit run down and untidy.The Mavina was only a minutes walk away from the bus station. The buses are cheap and definately an experience and you can get to most places on the Island. If you take a bus make sure that you give the driver the right money as no change is given! Valletta is a must see as is Gozo.

Also if you have children the Mediterraneo marine park is a definate must see as they have dolphin shows etc..I would advise you to go there on the local bus and not on an organised trip as its very easy to get to and its saves you quite a bit of money. We went on the 'Malta highlights' and 'Gozo' tours both with SMS travel(booked through our rep) and we were impressed with the knowledgeable guides and a meal was included in the price of both the excursions.

The timeshare touts will accost you but just be firm and say no and they will move on.

We ate out every night and found the food good and relatively cheap. We definately can recommend 'Geronimos' in Buggiba (just up from the square) The beer is fine as is the wine and its pretty cheap too.Soft drinks are really cheap and you can buy large bottles of water for next to nothing.If you are self-catering in Qawara there is no problem with getting shopping as there are loads of mini-markets in the area with a good selection of groceries and fresh produce.

Changing money is easy in Qawara as there are plenty of places to do it. We can recommend PDK on tourist street which always had the best rates.Watsons bar is a nice little pub with friendly owners and entertainment on each evening and children are most welcome there.

There is no real beach area in Qawara although you can get into the sea easily enough from the rocky areas that make up the coastline and the sea is safe for the children to splash about in.Our two loved the sea there and went in every day. If you want sand though you can go to a place further up the coast which boasts a lovely beach.Its only a bus ride away but it is very popular!

In Valletta try and have a walk around the Grand Harbour as the views are amazing. Barrocca gardens are lovely and the museums are very interesting.Its really easy to get to Vallettta as you get a bus into Sliema and then the ferry over to Valletta.

Gozo is really picutesque and a bit greener than Malta but I would advise you go on a tour as once you get to Gozo by ferry the buses are a bit scarce.

All in all Malta was lovely and we really enjoyed our visit there. The people on the whole are friendly although you get the odd surly shop owner and the climate was fantastic. We were however disappointed by our accommodation, as the noise levels were terrible.

We would go back to Malta in a few years time but next time would choose the location of our appartment a lot more carefully

Background

(Exchange rate throughout: £1 = M£0.6301 - discussed later. M£ = Maltese lira)

We had booked in February for the end of July 2004 for two weeks. The cost was £982 for 2 adults and 1 child (included) and AXA silver insurance.

The flight time to Luqa (Malta International Airport) was only 2½ hours. We were shown a film on the plane there, but not on the way back. It was worth taking your own headphones as they worked on the plane and we saved paying £3 for them. Those that had booked a meal were in the seats nearer the front of the plane. We had decided not to pay the £10 meal flight supplement, so we ate before we got on to the plane at Gatwick. We experienced big queues checking in, even 3 hours before flight time, as they were booking in two other flights at the same time.

We arrived in Malta airport at night and it was straightforward clearing customs. We found the Skytours/Thompson Rep and were directed to a numbered coach. The luggage was put in to a van separately for the Mavina Holiday Complex and we went by coach. We all met up at the Mavina.

Accommodation

In some ways, whether you enjoy your hotel or not is down to expectations of what you hope to get. I had read Alan and Sue's report (May 2004) about poor first impressions, so I did not expect too much. The reception and our room were not quite as dire as I had been expecting. On taking our cases to our room, we quickly unpacked and went and got a safety locker. This was behind reception and cost M£3.5 (£5.55) per week. The locker was similar in shape and size to a shoebox, but opened from an end. It was a two key system.

As you entered the Mavina Holiday Complex the 24-hour reception was immediately in front of you. Here room keys were kept on the far wall behind the receptionist. On turning left there was an area with wicker chairs where you could sit, as well as there being a small library of books. Also, in the corner was an internet PC. For this you needed to buy a card from reception to get it to work. I think it cost about M£1 (£1.59) for 65 minutes. I saw some guests using it; the only drawback was that it was not very private. Over this side of the reception area was the entrance to rooms to block C and a downstairs toilet.

To the right of the entrance and reception there were three exits and a telephone. The exit immediately next to and along side reception was a short corridor to the games room and pool. Next was a lift to another block of rooms (B). Next to the right was the entrance to the (air-conditioned) bar, restaurant, another block of rooms (A) and a breakfast room.

To get to our room in C block on the second floor we needed to catch the lift (with very quick closing doors) or walk up the stairs. At each floor there were four apartments - two overlooking the front of the hotel and two overlooking the back. Our room overlooked the back (C204).

The room we had booked was a one bedroomed apartment. This consisted of a corridor, two rooms, a bathroom and a balcony. On entering the apartment you needed to insert the key fob into a socket on the wall to switch the lights and fans on. On leaving the room, when you took the key with you, all the lights etc. were switched off. Behind the front door was the bathroom. This consisted of a washbasin, toilet and shower. It was reasonably nice, however, the window opened onto a rather drab enclosed service type area.

The main problem was that there was not much room to put our wash bags, except on the toilet cistern lid or window ledge. The shower was good and there was lots of very hot water. The corridor then led down to the main bedroom. This consisted of two single beds separated by a bedside cabinet. The beds were quite firm. The only storage space there was, for all three of us, consisted of one wardrobe with one shelf at the top. There were some coat hangers provided but we had brought some more, which were needed and used. There were three small drawers in the bedside cabinet. There was space on top of the wardrobe and we could put our suitcases on a stand in the corridor. The windows opened on to the balcony overlooking the pool and a large car park. The last room was the kitchen and extra bed area. The kitchen consisted of: a mini Belling cooker (two rings and an oven); sink and drainer with cupboards underneath; a fridge; and a kitchen table and four chairs. The sleeping area had two folding beds and a TV (several channels, but we only seemed to watch MTV), and its own door on to the balcony. The balcony had two chairs and a washing line and some broken clothes pegs.

There was no air-conditioning in the apartment, just ceiling fans in the two main rooms. Overall the apartment was clean and functional, basic and sparce, even if a bit small with too little storage. Maybe we brought too many clothes? Whatever, we coped.

On our first morning we decided to have breakfast in the complex. As we were self-catering we needed to pay for it but it was not expensive at M£1 (£1.59). The rest of the holiday we had breakfast in our room with things bought from the supermarket. Interestingly, those people that had paid for breakfast in their package had a 'Continental' breakfast. This was a very pitiful collection of meat, sweaty cheese and juice. Definitely not a full cooked breakfast and we were quite glad we had not paid for that. One lady had complained about the poor choice, but she was told that was all that was included. As she had paid something like £1,600 for four for one week we understood why she was so upset. There was a place we ate at called George's Seafront café in Bugibba (pronounced boo-gee-bah), which did a wonderful cooked breakfast all day for M£1.10 (£1.75).

We then attended an introductory talk by the Rep (Scott). He had lived on the island for 14 years so could answer any question. Their tours were very expensive. 'Mary's' down the road was much cheaper if you wanted to try the local option, or you could do what we did and do it yourself on the local buses.

The pool area would accommodate about 30 sun-loungers. These cost 50 cents (79p) each a day. We were told that the reason they charged people was to stop them being reserved all day and not being used. The main issues about the pool area were the sun and the salt water. The whole area got sun until 2pm. After then you started to get shadow from the hotel along the restaurant side of the pool area. This then progressively increased until about 5pm when the whole area was in shadow. The last area to see the sun was one small corner near the outside toilets.

As for the salt water, when we booked this hotel we were undecided as to whether to go to the White Dolphin hotel or here. We based our decision solely on the fact that the shops Gazetteer catalogue said that the White Dolphin pool was salt water and this was fresh water. Not the case. However, having said that we walked to the White Dolphin hotel to see if we had made a mistake and on reflection we had not, as this was worse. Here it felt as if you were walking down a dark alleyway, even claustrophobic. We were there at about 6 pm and it was also in total shade. The tall hotel was immediately south of the pool with the bar to the west, a brick wall to the north and a view of a main road and Salina Bay and the entrance to the east. Its location was also not as good, some way from everywhere, however, their downstairs rooms did look slightly nicer.

Something else slightly annoying about the pool area was that they tended to close it at 5 pm. Other resorts we had been to had kept the pool area open which allowed for some socialising with other guests. Here you would need to meet in the bar area.

The games room consisted of two pool tables (25 cents (40p) a play) and some electronic touch screen video game that had a wide variety of games. People did use the pool tables.

Then on Wednesday there was Lino to entertain you. He had a large repertoire of songs, seemingly all learnt by listening to the records. Amusingly, on occasions you could tell he got the phonetics slightly wrong. Just watch those eyebrows!

The barbeque by the pool was a bit disappointing. For M£4 (£6.35) each you got: some meat; a good variety of salad; followed by melon for pudding; and, Lino to entertain you. Annoyingly there were some 30 local Maltese there as well that appeared to get additional food, including sausages and chips, not available to us. There were also a number of their children having a food fight.

The bar was nothing special, but it was the only place with air conditioning where you could cool down. Not a particularly warm atmosphere. Sky News was shown on the TV.

One bad experience we had was when we had a gold bracelet stolen from our room. As we had booked for two weeks, we expected the sheets and towels changed mid-week. However, when it had not been done after seven days we complained to reception. They looked in a diary that showed what rooms the cleaners had changed the sheets in and said ours had not, but would be two days later. Towels were changed twice for some reason and it was on this second occasion on the Saturday (31st July 2004) that the bracelet went missing. We reported it to reception quite late that day and again they looked in the diary and said that our room had not been cleaned that day. As it was the weekend we thought the chances of recovering it were virtually nil so we did not bother pursuing it any further.

One petty thing about the place was the toilet paper. If you ran out and asked the cleaners for more, it would cost you 50 cents (79p) for a roll. We went to the local supermarket and bought six rolls for that amount.

We spoke to a number of people who had stayed at the Mavina on many occasions. Some had even stayed in different hotels in the same area and highly recommended the Mavina. So much so that one family had stayed there for the last 15 years. On this occasion they had been there for one month. Even though there were faults with the place, I would recommend it because of its good location, clean Spartan feel, and as a good value 2-star (or TT) hotel complex.

There were also family rooms available that accommodated about six people. Additionally, there was supposed to be a superb penthouse suite in the hotel with its own pool and air-conditioning for six people.

I collected a leaflet from reception advertising their room rates. They showed the cost of rooms direct with the Mavina (Tel: (356) 215 83741/2/3) to range from M£6 (£9.52) to M£14 (£22.22) for the studio, M£8 (£12.70) to M£16 (£25.39) for the one bedroomed studio and M£10.5 (£16.66) to M£22 (£34.92) for the two bedroomed one, depending on occupancy levels.

Interestingly I could not find the Mavina in the latest Skytours brochure, but it was in the Thompsons (2nd edition) one. The satisfaction ratings look reasonably accurate and you should note that it comes out slightly better than the White Dolphin.

I could not find the Mavina on a map, but it is located roughly halfway between the Dolmen and Suncrest hotels on Triq Il-Fliegu at the junction with Triq il-Merluzz. The best map of Malta I found was the one by RMF - Malta and Gozo tourist map 2nd edition. It had great detail and only cost M£1.25 (£1.98). The guide I used was the 'AA spiral guide of Malta and Gozo' (£9.99). It was also possible to pick up English radio out there. Try XFM (100.2MHz) or World Service (103.7MHz) until 9am.

The Mavina also owned a sister hotel called the Huli. This was located in the side streets behind the Santana hotel. It looked smaller than the Mavina, did not have a 24-hour reception, and had the pool on the roof.

The Qawra (pronounced ow-rah) area

Although the Mavina is located in Qawra, when we went exploring the area we generally made our way to was Bugibba. The hotels on the eastern side of the peninsula by Salina Bay had a more up-market feel to them, but the area felt dull to that of Bugibba.

Supermarkets - There were at least five within 100 metres of the Mavina. Between them all they sold everything you would be likely to want. The one we tended to use most was the one out of reception, down the hill and first on the left called the Trolees supermarket. There were a number of chemists around as well. The one that stayed open longest was just the other side of the bus terminus.

Dangerous junction - The crossroad junction near Mr Kebab, Restorante Divino and Mary's was notoriously dangerous. Cars drove down the hill and did not stop at the junction. We saw a bad crash when we were eating there and we had heard there had been many others. As for the driving in Malta, it left something to be desired. In the two weeks we were there we saw more crashes or crashed cars than I think we had ever seen. We stuck to buses.

Internet café - Down the hill again from reception and right at the junction and on the right. This was really the place for the internet and telephoning home. It cost M£1 (£1.59) for 60 minutes, but you could also pay for longer and get a better deal. For the telephone you bought a card for M£3 (£4.76) and used the telephones alongside the computers. I still have time left on these so if you want to use the computer or the telephone do the following:-

Computer - On the computer screen type 168843940484. There should be some time left - maybe 20 minutes. I think this one has run out 662461729497, but I cannot remember.

Telephone - This was a bit more unreliable, but if you use one of the telephones on the left side (looking from the pool tables) but not the second last one from the end as I could never get this one to work. Pick up the telephone; follow the instructions and enter PIN number 259045393447, then; dial your full destination number, then; to end the call, dial # #. First come first served.

Letterboxes - About 80 metres down the hill past a car park, then left 60 metres on Triq L-Imrejkba alongside the Four Winds or there is another one further down by the dangerous crossroad, left then about 20 metres on the other side of the road.

Watson's bar and restaurant - This is just past the bingo hall on the right. The entertainment was somebody called 'Danny de Vito' - comedian, impressionist, and singer.

Mary's (Freestar, Tourist Street, Bugibba Tel. 2158 0308) - This was a souvenir shop as well as a travel agents and money exchange. She was also very friendly. Lots of people recommended her.

Bureau de Change/Bank - Before we left for Malta I looked around for the best exchange rate. Virtually everywhere had a rate of £1 = M£0.6. In Malta virtually everywhere had a better rate. The best in the immediate area of the Mavina was down the hill, right at Mary's and about 10 metres on the right. This rate was £1 = M£0.6301. It was called PDK Exchange Bureau on Tourist Road, Bugibba SPB 05 Tel. 2157 2797. Assuming we changed £600 for the holiday; we would have had an extra £28 just by exchanging all our money at this better rate. The Mavina did exchange money as well at quite competitive rates. However, we did speak to someone there who had experienced a problem when they ran out of money at reception.

Walk around the peninsular - We did a lovely leisurely walk around the peninsular. We started by walking southeastwards towards Salina Bay. As soon as you hit the Bay just walk left (north) and you pass lots of smart hotels. We went in some to see what they were like.

New Dolmen Hotel (Tel. 356 2355 2355) - This was a large four-star hotel overlooking St Paul's Bay. We liked the look of this one best of all the ones we saw in the Qawra area. It did however cost from M£38 (£60.31) to M£70 (£111.09) per night.

Bus terminus - This is the main Qawra/Bugibba bus terminus. Bus numbers 48 (Mellieha Bay and ferry to Gozo), 49 (Valletta), 51 (Golden Bay), 58, 70 (Sliema), 86, 149, 427, 449, 627 and 652 left from here. Bus 49 goes directly to Valletta, with no need to detour to Sliema and then catch a ferry. Their web site is www atp com mt. We found it better to catch the buses from the terminus because they could get full when trying to catch them on the side of the road. Prices for single tickets varied from 15 cents (24p) to the 'fast' direct buses at 40 cents (63p) each. Even by the end of the holiday I never really knew what I would be charged, but it was generally the 40 cents. On one occasion we bought a day pass for M£1.50 (£2.38) when we knew we would be catching six buses. Travelling on the 60 year old British buses was an experience I would recommend to everyone. On one occasion some Germans kept pressing the 'stop' bell. The bus driver got really mad and started swearing at them saying he would fight them outside. Then a British man with some young children complained about the language but then went on and started swearing at the bus driver himself. The incident was hilarious, but then you really needed to be there. On another occasion we overheard that some talkative man on a bus was talking to another passenger during which time they died; everybody had to get off the bus! The old buses were better than the new Chinese buses. The new buses had so little leg room that it was impossible to sit in the seats properly.

Bugibba - This was the main area for shops, nightlife (Amazonia), seafront activities (dodgems), and restaurants. It is probably somewhere you are likely to explore at least once. We found that it did get quite busy but there was a nice lively atmosphere to it.

Restaurants - There were lots of restaurants everywhere. Prices were reasonable so we ate out every night. We did not have any particularly good or bad experiences anywhere with the exception of a nice little Italian place just off the main square in Bugibba. It was called Da Mauro (2157 8272) on Triq Il-Gandoffli. The food was lovely, however, be warned the wife cooked everything fresh so if you see lots of other people in there it may be best to go another day as the service can be very slow. The menu on the wall outside listed some starters but if you have them for a main course they will cost you slightly more. It is mentioned on the menu indoors but it caught us and another couple out.

The rest of Malta

What we enjoyed
- Blue lagoon, Comminoto, take a snorkel and explore the caves and see the fish along the rock edge
- (Hal Saflieni) Hypogeum, book early at the Archaeological museum in Valletta for this 3500 BC underground temple as it is by booking only
- Valletta and the harbour cruise (St John's Co-Cathedral and museum, The Malta experience, Grand Master's Palace and armoury, Church of St Paul Shipwreck, National Museum of Archaeology, Upper Barrakka Gardens, amongst others)
- Travelling on the buses

Other places seen or things done
- Marsaxlokk, inc. walked to St Peter's pool (30 minutes)
- Mellieha Bay - great beach
- Armier Bay - for the locals
- Mdina, Rabat and catacombs - some history
- Gozo (try TIC in Valletta for bus and ferry timetables) inc. Ggantija - Malta's smaller sister island
- Festas, lists from Valletta TIC
- Golden Bay/Ghajn Tuffieha Bay - only place we saw where there was any topless sunbathing - warm sea but dangerous tides

Disappointments
- Popeye village, mainly because we didn't really know what to expect. However, I could see this place appealing to young children or adults that enjoyed the Popeye film
- Valletta Sunday market - the PS2 game did not work

Places we avoided
- Swimming with the dolphins was M£45 (£71.42) each! This is on top of any coach or entrance costs. Go to Bahar ic-Caghaq (White Rocks) Mediterraneo Marine Park - groups of 20 people split into two and individually introduced to one of two dolphins.

Events organised by Mary.
Day trips - Gozo and Comino; Sunday Gozo; Sunday Special; Sunday Coast sight; Sunday markets; Gozo deluxe; Malta highlights; Popeye village; Dolphins; Malta deluxe; Shopping and coast sightseeing; Hidden Charms.
Half day am - Mdina special; South coast; Two markets; Mdina deluxe; Blue grotto; Hidden charms; Three cities; Valletta tour; Prehistoric temples.
Half day pm - Popeye; Blue grotto; North Malta; West Malta; Fort Rinella; Mdina historic; Blue grotto; Limestone heritage; South coast.

Conclusion

Mavina Holiday Complex - Clean and functional in a good central location

Qawra area - Pleasant residential area, close to the bus terminus allowing easy access to the whole island and Gozo

Malta - Mostly English speaking; sunny; fantastic ancient and modern history; friendly locals; some lovely beaches; lovely clear water.

Seventh time in Malta and fourth in the Mavina. This is a family run complex and both the complex and the apartments are always kept clean and tidy. There is a pool area at the back with a kiddies pool too. Snack bar is open most of the day and there are sun loungers for hire. The bar and restaurant are open in the evenings and the food is very good. They also have a pizzeria which is open at the weekends. You have to try one they're lovely.
All the staff are helpful and friendly and it really feels like we're leaving good friends behind when we return home.

The bus station is a 2 minute walk from the Mavina. Catch a bus to anywhere on the island (some of the buses are quite an experience) and see the sights. There are lots of shops that you can book trips through and they are reasonably priced too.
There are a few supermarkets close to the Mavina, if your self catering, prices are quite reasonable.

Plenty of pubs, kebab shops, pizza places to eat at (or take away). Your better to walk round and check out the menu's and prices and these can vary quite a bit. The chippie which is just round the corner does really nice Haddock and chips.

Walk down to Bugibba and there are lots of shops for souvenirs etc. Watch out for the Time Share Reps they'll try and catch you where ever you are!

All in all another good holiday in Malta. I don't think we would go to another complex, we'll stick to the Mavina.

This was our first visit to Malta and was a last minute, Teletext advertised, named accommodation break.
The Mavina apartments are conveniently situated in the centre of Qawra about 200 metres from the main Buggba/Qawra bus station and are surrounded by local shops, bars and restaurants. First impressions of the apartment on our arrival at 11pm were not good.

We had been allocated a one bedroom self catering unit and the main room resembled the waiting room of a 1960s bus station with one fluorescent striplight on the ceiling, two tubular metal framed tables and four chairs, two grey PVC covered sofas with the backs bolted to the walls, nasty looking old fashioned kitchen units and a Baby Belling cooker perched on top of a little cupboard.

The bathroom had a pink suite and strange brown flowery patterned wall tiles. The bedroom contained two single beds with the mattresses supported on the bed frames by sheets of chipboard, a mangey old rug on the floor between them and a well worn dressing table and wardrobe. Oh dear, we thought, what have we done to deserve this! Especially having read some of the comments on this website regarding the quality of the cheaper Maltese hotels and apartments.

However the following morning in the bright sunshine things began to look rather better. The apartment was spotlessly clean (except for the bedroom rug), well equipped with all the usual self catering stuff and even the bathroom tiles began to look acceptable!. From the balcony we were treated to a fine view of the apartment block (unfinished) opposite with a ";Full Gospel Prayer"; centre and a small cafe type premises that was used as bingo hall on the ground floor. The only downside was that the balcony was in the shade for most of the day as the sun was obscured by the buildings.

Incidentally, in the evenings, the young Maltese men take great pride in showing off their driving skills by using the surrounding roads as a racetrack and the highly polished tarmac road surface allows them to achieve very impressive tyre squeals on every bend. This is particularly welcome at 3am. One particular night's entertainment consisted of two police cars (rusty, dented Skodas!) trying unsuccessfully for nearly an hour to catch a boy racer wearing out his tyres.

Also the public car park at the rear of the Mavina seems to be the site for the Buggba/Qawra Midnight Shouting Championships when young people gather during the night to impress each other with their arguing and shouting skills. The secret is - the more you drink the louder you can shout.

Maltese culture is an interesting mix and it includes English and Italian influences. The Maltese are generally very friendly, very religious, most speak English, they drive like idiots, they make lovely pizzas, ice cream and creamy cakes. They love religious statues and plaques commemorating famous citizens.

To sample the lovely cakes try the ground floor cafe in the Hotel Mercure (usually full of Germans). You'll find it if you exit the Mavina, go straight ahead down the road and it's on the corner on the left - coffee and cake for 99 cents. If you fancy a cheap meal try the fixed menu at the Ristorante Manichi up the road from the Mercure, opposite the fish and chip shop (nice chips incidentally). The service is pretentious but swift and the three course meal is only 3.75 lira so you can't really complain.

A 5 day bus pass costs 4.50 lira and is well worth buying as an alternative to car hire. Buses are mostly old, plentiful, punctual, fun and will take you to most of the tourist attractions. Working out the bus routes and timings on the timetable is good fun and is easy once you understand the Maltese logic. The roads are awful with huge potholes and ruts that must be the envy of our Highways Department. If you suffer from back problems avoid sitting at the rear of an old bus because that's the area of maximum bounce.

Unless you are brave or desperate don't be tempted to hire a scooter or motorbike. I'm a regular motorcyclist at home and I wouldn't risk my life on the Maltese roads. Even the locals seem to prefer to stick to four wheels.
Taxis are unregulated and according to our holiday rep their meters are for decoration only so beware! One enterprising taxi driver offered to take us from St Julians Bay to Buggiba for ";only 4 lira"; - it's an 80 cent bus ride!
Go to the beautiful sandy beach at Golden Bay but avoid Sunday because that is the day when all the locals go too. Similarly Mellieha bay is great for beach activities and the water is warm and shallow.
If you visit Marsaxlokk (recommended) try eating at Mr Fitz open air cafe on the harbour. The food is great and so is the view. If you walk around the far side of the harbour there is a little sandy beach.

The local Maltese wines are OK just don't expect the same quality as the Californian or Australian varieties we buy here. These ";foreign"; wines sell at a premium in Malta.
If you must bring alcohol home you can buy the local wine in a supermarket for much less than 2 lira. Don't bother buying it at the airport. It's no longer tax free (they joined the rest of us poor Euro citizens at the beginning of May!) and it's cheaper in our supermarkets. When we left for home lots of people were browsing but no-one was buying.

If you like churches you must visit the St Peter's Shipwreck church in Valetta. It's probably the most beautiful church on the island. It's hidden down one of the back streets on the right of Republic St but there are a couple of signposts to guide you. Also the wonderful Dome at the church in Mosta is very impressive.

The ferry trip to Gozo is fun. It sails every half hour and only costs 1.75 lira as a foot passenger. Incidentally, you buy a ticket on the way back. Taking a car cost 6 lira and involves long queues. From the harbour you can catch an old bus to Victoria, the capital of Gozo. This is worth visiting to explore the Citadel where, from the top of the city walls, the views of the entire island are superb.

Note that Saturday night is party night for the locals and they arrive in Buggiba in droves to frequent the bars and restaurants, dressed in their finest clothes. Places that were deserted during the week were packed with people.

To sum up, Malta is a great place to visit if you enjoy history, architecture, scenery, food and wine, but it's not really for younger people looking for beaches and clublife. Most of the British holidaymakers on our flight from Bristol looked like they had probably been there for the first time, in uniform, during the Second World War! The overhead lockers were filled with fold-up walking sticks and zimmer frames. Maybe it's different during the school holidays in July and August.
Would we return? Probably but not for a while.