Excursions: Malta

P&O are offering half-day excursions from Valetta mainly geared to those who are flying home later in the day. There aren't any full day trips for those doing a b-2-b on the CP at present. Has anyone who has been on this itinerary (on Oceana) noticed whether there are any longer trips on turn-around day? I know often a few additional excursions are offered on board - and hope this may be the case. Or..... has anyone done a DiY trip to any of the beaches on the NW coast and if so, which local buses did you use? Or........... any other suggestions? Any help would be much appreciated. (We have done the HoHo from Valetta in the past so we're looking for something different.)

If you don't mind walking an amble through Valletta to Fort St Elmo is enjoyable, it is a museum with the history of Malta exhibited. I have done the museum twice now, plenty of watering holes on the way there and back.

There is a lot you can do independently from Valletta, which itself gives a lot of variety. There are lots of bus stops very near where the ships dock (not sure if it actually classes as a bus station but is the end of lots of routes). There are buses that go along the coast and also ones that go to Medina, which is central on the Island. You could also walk accross the peninsula, that is Valletta and walk down a steep slope to get a ferry to Sleima, which is accross the next harbour (you could get a bus back to the top of the hill) or get a boat to one or more of the old cities, which are on the next peninsula on the side that the ships dock.

I cannot supply bus numbers, but there will be a tourist information which should be able to help or, better still the details of bus routes or local ferries are likely to to be on the internet if you search for them. We had a land holiday in Mellieha Bay to the north west and found the transport system very good and well used by tourists.

P&O are offering half-day excursions from Valetta mainly geared to those who are flying home later in the day. There aren't any full day trips for those doing a b-2-b on the CP at present. Has anyone who has been on this itinerary (on Oceana) noticed whether there are any longer trips on turn-around day? I know often a few additional excursions are offered on board - and hope this may be the case. Or..... has anyone done a DiY trip to any of the beaches on the NW coast and if so, which local buses did you use? Or........... any other suggestions? Any help would be much appreciated. (We have done the HoHo from Valetta in the past so we're looking for something different.)

There is a bus which goes direct from Valletta to Mellieha (probably the best beach on the island) - 41, 42 or 44. It takes about 1.15 hours, though, IIRC. The fare is EUR 2 pp single. I can't remember if the bus goes down to the bay. If it doesn't, it's a 10-minute walk down a steep hill to the beach from the square in Mellieha where the buses stop.

Thanks everyone for the ideas and information. I'll do a bit of research on local buses and try a jaunt out as we have a long day there so no panic about getting back too early. We fly out late on our last day so will have several hours in Valletta until early pm so will try some of the recommendations for Valletta itself then. Thanks again for your help.

If you are interested in history, then Mdina is a fascinating place to visit. It's about 30 minutes from Valetta. I did it on a ship's excursion, and I think it would have fitted within half a day except that going round Valetta was tagged onto the end of it.

If you are interested in history, then Mdina is a fascinating place to visit. It's about 30 minutes from Valetta. I did it on a ship's excursion, and I think it would have fitted within half a day except that going round Valetta was tagged onto the end of it.

Thank you - another to add to the mix!

Hop on bus Valletta. We did this and it was very good. https://city-sightseeing.com/en/65/malta

Hop on bus Valletta. We did this and it was very good. https://city-sightseeing.com/en/65/malta

Thanks Jean. We did one last year but I'll check out the routes - I think there is more than one so that could be another option.

There is a bus which goes direct from Valletta to Mellieha (probably the best beach on the island) - 41, 42 or 44. It takes about 1.15 hours, though, IIRC. The fare is EUR 2 pp single. I can't remember if the bus goes down to the bay. If it doesn't, it's a 10-minute walk down a steep hill to the beach from the square in Mellieha where the buses stop.

We stayed at The Melleiha Bay Hotel, which is the far side of the bay (beyond Melleiha Village) and a bus went between Valletta and the Ferry to Gozo, which is further on again. That bus stopped very near our hotel. Looks like the bus takes about an hour to Mellieha Village, but would be a bit longer if you go on to the beach area. There was not much in the way of facilities at the beach when we went, but development was taking place in the area.

If it is a beach you want then the nearest is in Sliema, but on the coast furthest away from Valletta, so you would need to walk a short distance across the town to get to that coast. Sliema is a big resort with lots of cafes, restaurants, hotels, shops etc.

https://www.publictransport.com.mt/en/routes-timetables

https://www.publictransport.com.mt/en/route-map

Google Earth is always good to use to get your bearings.

We are on Oceana for 24 nights at the end of the season (sailing back to Southampton), so we will have two change over days there, so have now saved those links down for ourselves.

We stayed at The Melleiha Bay Hotel, which is the far side of the bay (beyond Melleiha Village) and a bus went between Valletta and the Ferry to Gozo, which is further on again. That bus stopped very near our hotel. Looks like the bus takes about an hour to Mellieha Village, but would be a bit longer if you go on to the beach area. There was not much in the way of facilities at the beach when we went, but development was taking place in the area.

We stayed at the Paradise Bay hotel, right at the end of the bus route, just a short walk from the ferry terminal. We took the bus to Mellieha a couple of times, but as the hotel had its own small beach and a fantastic pool complex we didn't bother too much. As you say, I think a lot of development has gone on in the meantime (we were there early 2000s).