Where To Stay

Malta is known for its clear, unpolluted waters and offers a wide range of holiday accommodations, including hotels, holiday complexes, tourist villages, guest houses, and self-catering apartments and villas. There is something for every budget.

Transportation

Arriving & Departing: A number of airlines provide direct service from principal European cities. Malta Airport is about four miles from Valletta; metered taxi fares are moderate. Valletta is also a popular port of call for cruise ships.

There are regular car-ferry sailings to Malta from Livorno, Genoa, Naples and Reggio di Calabria; and from Palermo, Syracuse and Catania in Sicily. The express ferry from Catania takes about three hours, and from Pozzalo 11/2 hours. A round-trip ticket for a one-day trip is about $60.

Getting Around: Buses from Valletta to other parts of Malta are inexpensive; horse-drawn carriages are an alternative. Helicopters operate between Malta and Gozo year-round and there is regular car-ferry service between the islands as well. Ferries also cross Marsamxett Harbour between Sliema and Valletta.

Consider a Grand Harbour cruise or a boat tour of the beautiful Blue Grotto.

Holidays

New Year’s Day, Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (Feb. 10), Feast of St. Joseph (March 19), Good Friday (Mar. 28), Easter Sunday (Mar. 30), Freedom Day (March 31), Workers Day (May 1), Commemoration of June 7, 1919 (June 7), Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29), Assumption (Aug. 15), Feast of Our Lady of Victories (Sept. 8), Independence Day (Sept. 21), Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), Republic Day (Dec. 13), Christmas.

Money Matters

Foreign exchange facilities are open 24 hours a day at the airport. Banks are open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and 2:30 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday (October through mid-June). They open a half-hour earlier during the summer and from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on Friday only. They are open on Saturday mornings all year. The monetary unit is the Maltese lira. $1 = 0.36 MTL as of Dec. 2, 1996.

Free Literature

Call or write:

Malta National Tourist Office
350 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10118
Tel: (212) 695-9520
Fax: (212) 695-8229

E-Mail: office.us@tourism.org.mt web page http://www.visitmalta.com