JUST three hours from the UK, there’s an island where the sun doesn’t stop shining for more than 300 days a year and February holiday packages are extremely affordable.
Over the past few years, Malta has become increasingly popular with Brits – and with good reason, as the destination offers cheap holiday packages with direct flights.
Online travel agent loveholidays has a sale on, with last-minute packages to Malta from £179 per person, including flights.
Holidaymakers will fly from Liverpool Airport to Malta with Ryanair and stay at the four-star Maritim Antonine Hotel and Spa in Mellieha, Malta.
Located in Mellieha, near Malta’s largest beach, the hotel boasts panoramic views from its rooftop terrace.
Other on-site amenities include indoor pools, a spa and a diverse range of dining options, including a Thai à la carte restaurant.
The seven-night stays are room-only — although that doesn’t matter because there’s so much to do and so many places to eat in Malta.
Malta boasts 300 days of sunshine per year, with maximum temperatures reaching 16C in February.
Because of the milder weather, tourists crowds will be quieter on the Med Island in the winter months and the shoulder season.
Its capital city, Valletta, is a Unesco World Heritage site.
And if the surroundings start to look familiar, it’s because Malta is a famous filming destination for films such as Gladiator, Jurassic World, and Game of Thrones.
Malta has it all – watersports, diving, cycling routes, 12 Blue Flag beaches, and more than 300 days of sunshine yearly.
There are more than 100 diving sites spread across the three Maltese islands, making it one of the top locations in Europe.
From complete beginners to expert divers, there’s a spot to suit every ability.
Divers can get up close to a 2,700-year-old shipwreck and many plane crash sites, in addition to the many species to observe.
Situated in the channel between Comino and Cominotto, the Blue Lagoon is a pristine blue lagoon surrounded by white-sand beaches.
The island is filled with restaurants and bars, and according to a local holiday company, local beers are available for £4, while imported pints are slightly pricier at around £5.
Malta has two official languages: Maltese, the national language, and English.
Malta is currently one hour ahead of the UK, and the local currency is the Euro.
There are no restrictions for Brits, and they can stay in Malta for up to 90 days without a visa.
However, your passport must have a ‘date of issue’ less than ten years before your arrival date and an ‘expiry date’ at least three months after your planned departure date.
THE Sun’s Mia Lyndon visited Malta last year, here’s what she thought…
I’m gazing up at a swirling, gold-leaf ceiling that took one man five years to paint.
Surrounding me are oil paintings, marble sculptures and an altar so bejewelled that I almost reach for my sunglasses.
No, I’m not at the Vatican or Versailles – I’m in Malta, in Valletta’s 450-year-old St John’s Co-Cathedral, which took artists more than a century to decorate.
And the entry fee of £13 per adult is most definitely worth it (Stjohnscocathedral.com).
This fortress-like building is set in the beating heart of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s smallest capital cities.
After my spiritual experience, there’s time to dip into nearby Stephen Cordina Aroma & Therapy shop to buy a heavenly lavender and bergamot room diffuser, £14 (Stephencordina.com), before climbing the cobbled streets to Upper Barrakka.
This quaint, leafy park is nestled between limestone fortress walls and is the perfect spot to snap pictures of the glistening Grand Harbour.
At Upper Barrakka Kiosk, I sample traditional pastizzi – flaky, clam-shaped pastries stuffed with peas, 85p each, washed down with a can of Maltese Kinnie, £1.70, a zesty, Negroni-like soft drink, before I find family-run Trattoria da Pippo and my friends, who’ve been saving the table!
We tuck into large, sizzling pans of delicious Fillet Tartuffe, a creamy mushroom pasta, and Marina, a tagliatelli loaded with prawns and calamari, £17 per person for two sharing dishes (Facebook.com/dapippovalletta).
Keen to catch the four-hour-long happy hour back at Barceló Fortina, our home for the weekend, we board the seven-minute ferry, £1.70, across the bay to the resort town of Sliema and are soon poolside, sipping tangy Flower Lemonades – gin, lime and watermelon, £11 for two during happy hour.
The Instagrammable alfresco pool is perched on the edge of the Med, complete with DJs and club vibes.
Premium rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows with views across the bay to Valletta, Jacuzzi baths, couples’ sinks and wraparound balconies with hot tubs.
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