Malta
Visa: Schengen Area Free Visa Check
Language: Maltese and English are both official languages. Everyone speaks English fluently.
Currency: EUR, credit cards accepted nearly everywhere.
Transportation:
Bus: Malta's public bus network is extensive and cheap. Get a Tallinja Card for better fares or use contactless payment on board. Routes radiate from Valletta bus station to everywhere on the island.
Ferry: Gozo Channel runs frequent ferries between Malta (Ċirkewwa) and Gozo (Mgarr). The crossing is free on the way to Gozo, paid on the return.
Car rental: Not recommended for first-time visitors. Roads are narrow, driving is on the left, and parking in Valletta is nearly impossible. The bus and ferry cover most tourist needs.
What To Expect
Malta is the Mediterranean island that history forgot to stop invading, and the result is a layered, sun-soaked open-air museum. The main island of Malta has been ruled by the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Knights of St. John, French, and British. Each left something behind. Valletta, the fortress capital built by the Knights in the 16th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage site packed into a peninsula small enough to cross in 15 minutes on foot.
Travelers come for the history and stay for the water. The Blue Lagoon on Comino, a tiny island between Malta and Gozo, is a shallow turquoise bay that looks Photoshopped but is entirely real. Gozo, Malta's quieter sister island, moves at a rural pace with salt pans, Neolithic temples older than the pyramids (Ġgantija), and the Azure Window's ghost still haunting Dwejra Bay.
Malta is also one of the few places in Europe where English is an official language, which makes everything easier. The food is a mix of Sicilian, North African, and British influences. Think rabbit stew (fenkata), fresh lampuki fish, and pastizzi (flaky ricotta-filled pastries) that cost pocket change from a street bakery.