A couple of weeks ago I visited Malta for the first time. Malta is a small nation of just 423,000 inhabitants in an enviable position south of Sicily, meaning that sun shines almost all the year round and it’s relatively unknown. It’s made up of three islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino (where only 4 people live!). I hadn’t really considered visiting the small Mediterranean country until I was fortunate enough to win a competition in July, whose prize was a scuba diving holiday for two in Malta! We spent only five nights on the island of Malta and in that time I spent 4 days underwater gaining my PADI Open Water certificate with the highly recommendable diving centre Maltaqua, and on our last day we explored the island’s highlights with a private tour thanks to the Malta Tourist Board. I have much to say about everything we experienced in Malta and above all how friendly all the Maltese people we met are. I’ll save those thoughts for later blog posts but for now I’ll leave you with the images of Malta on this postcard, which shows off the mini-country at its best.

          Malta has some beautiful seascapes as well as landscapes. Its towns and villages have history dating back 7,000 years so are unsurprisingly very picturesque, with harbours and stone fortresses adding character and charm. Malta is just as beautiful underwater as above it, and we explored underwater wrecks and spotted octopus, seahorse, fireworms and lots of different fish.

         I’m guessing that most people reading this will never have considered travelling to Malta before, and outside of the ‘tourist colonies’ (there’s one in particular I’d advise you to avoid) it seemed rather untouched. The capital, Valletta, has also been selected as the European Capital of Culture in 2018 so you’re likely to hear more about this tiny country in the coming years!

Have you been to Malta? Were you as surprised as I was to find out how lovely it is?