After a long time of looking at every possible place that we could go abroad this summer, myself and my boyfriend Reece finally settled on Malta. I have been to Malta more times than I can count, I have family that live on the gorgeous island and myself, my mum and my Granda used to go every year when I was younger. I fell in love with the country as a kid and I have been dying to go back for years. The last time I visited Malta was in 2012 when I went by myself for two weeks. I really enjoyed the holiday but there were a lot of things that I really wanted to do, but I was nervous to do so by myself. I am really looking forward to adventuring around the island with Reece and I hope he falls in love with the island just as much as I have.
When we first started looking at going to Malta, we must have looked at every hotel on the island to try and find somewhere that gave us both what we wanted. I wanted breakfast included, a decent sized pool and a balcony and Reece wanted a nice area.
Pictured - Buggiba
Pictured - Buggiba
We found a lot of hotels and whittled them down to a couple, but we ended up booking the Dolmen Hotel in Buggiba, staying for 7 nights in August. I have stayed in Buggiba every time I have visited Malta as this is the area that my godmother and her family live in, so I'm pleased we're staying here as I know the area really well. I haven't stayed in this hotel before but my Granda has and he really enjoyed his stay. I love Buggiba as it's the perfect mixture of quiet, but with plenty going on. We looked at staying in Sliema and Valletta, but both areas closed pretty early on, so if you wanted to go out for a drink later on, it would be difficult to find a good bar. Buggiba is situated right against the coast. In later years, Buggiba has become more of a residential area of Malta with a lot of the hotels closing down, pushing the tourism to Sliema and St Julians. Buggiba is a really calm area where nothing is rushed and there's plenty of places to eat and drink, with small shops selling bits and bobs and a few jewellers.
Pictured - Dolmen Hotel, Malta
Pictured - Dolmen Hotel, Malta
Pictured - Dolmen Hotel, Malta
Dolmen Hotel is a four star hotel in the suburb of Qawra in Buggiba. We chose this hotel because it is incredible and has everything you could ever want in a hotel, and some! The hotel has five pools, which includes a pool bar, an infinity pool and kids pool plus an indoor pool. The hotel also has a perched beach, which is a cornered off part of the Buggiba Beach, just for Dolmen customers. I can just imagine myself sitting in the sun with a cocktail in hand right now! The hotel also has a spa which offers many different types of facials and massages, as well as waxing and nail treatments plus a jacuzzi, sauna and fitness centre. As well as all these amazing parts of the hotel, it also has five restaurants, which includes a steakhouse and a sunset grill, which we will definitely try at least one of these during our stay. There are also two bars in the hotel and a casino, Yes, a casino! I'm not big on betting because I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'd definitely give it a go if we decide to go there for a night. I literally can't ask for more from a hotel, I doubt we'll even get to see half of the things that the hotel has to offer, but I'm so pleased that there are so many options for if we do.
Pictured - Dolmen Hotel - Seaview Room, Malta
Pictured - Dolmen Hotel - Seaview Room, Malta
Pictured - Dolmen Hotel - Seaview Room, Malta
We decided to book a sea view room as the views from these balcony's were absolutely incredible and I can just imagine us sitting on our balcony on a night with a couple of drinks, playing cards and seeing what is going on with the entertainment down at the poolside. The views from this side of the island are breathtaking, sea for as far as you can see! It didn't cost a lot of money to upgrade from a standard room to a sea vie room either, so it was worth it. Our hotel room includes a balcony, WiFi, air conditioning, a mini bar, a safe and all the usual extras like a hairdryer, TV, kettle and telephone. I am so excited to get here already!
While we are in Malta, there are so many things we want to do! As you can tell from my previous blog posts I have wrote about planning trips, we can't sit still! We like to make the most of the time we have in a place we are visiting and see as much as we can. For a change, I'm not going to pre-plan every day with things to do, we just want to do things at our own leisure and not rush around trying to fit a million different things into the short space of time we have there. I have made a list of things to do while we're there, some of which I have done and seen before, but the beauty of this island is no matter how many times you visit, there will still be more places to see and things to do.
Pictured - Valletta
Pictured - Valletta
Pictured - Valletta Waterfront
Pictured - St John's Co Cathedral, Valletta
The capital of Malta is a gorgeous place called Valletta. Steeped in history, it would be stupid to visit Malta and not visit Valletta. It's one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and there are so many places to see here. There are plenty of shops to browse, including the most gorgeous Tommy Hilfiger store I have ever entered, which I am very excited to visit again. There are plenty of places to eat and drink, especially in the Grand Master Palace courtyard, it's stunning. We would also like to visit St John's Co Cathedral which is just off the main street in Valletta and costs €10 for entry, which I think is really cheap for admission into somewhere so stunning. We can also get a ferry from the waterfront across to the other city, Sliema for only €1.50, so we will definitely do this.
Pictured - Blue Lagoon, Malta
Pictured - Blue Lagoon, Comino
Malta is actually one of three sister islands, the biggest being Malta, the middle being Gozo and the smallest being Comino. The Blue Lagoon is a gorgeous crystal clear beach where the water is so super clear, you can snorkel and see everything the ocean has to offer. As far as I can remember, I have never been here before and I would love to finally visit as it looks incredible. I would love to go snorkeling here as I have never tried it and I think this would be the most perfect first place to try it.
Pictured - The Point shopping centre, Malta 
Pictured - Sliema
Another area that we looked at staying at was Sliema. This city is the main place to go for shopping, having a huge shopping complex that had just opened last time I visited and many other shops on the high street. Sliema does have a gorgeous coast line and waterfront, but it's not a patch on Valletta. We we definitely visit Sliema for some shopping and lunch.
Pictured - Popeye Village
Pictured - Popeye Village
It's quite unbelievable that the 1980 movie Popeye was filmed in Malta, and the film set is still there to this very day. I have been to Popeye Village a few times, but there seems to be much more there now than when I was a child. Not only can you wander through the wooden set of the film and see all the props, you also get us of the water trampolines and slides, splash pool and play pool, use of the sunbeds and umbrellas, a 15 minute boat trip around Anchor Bay, 9 hole mini gold, popcorn and a postcard - all for €17, which I think is a total bargain. You can make this a complete day out. I've always wanted to have a go on a water trampoline so I'm looking forward to trying this out!
Pictured - Golden Bay, Malta
Pictured - Mellieha Bay, Malta
If we decide that we want to visit a beach, we have a few options to choose from, but these two would be my first choices. Golden Bay is huge and known for it's gorgeous golden sands. There are plenty of areas around to grab a drink or a snack too. The other opinion is Mellieha Bay, which is a white sand beach with gorgeous turquoise waters. there are plenty of water sports here to keep us occupied as I feel a long time at a beach would bore us.
Pictured - Splash and Fun water park, Malta
Pictured - Splash and Fun water park, Malta
I visited here last time I was in Malta with my godmother and her family and we really enjoyed our day. There are so many water rides to try out and a really lovely lazy river than you can slowly float around on a doughnut. There is also a wave pool where they turn the waves on every so often and it makes the deep end really deep, so I'll be definitely staying in the shallower end as I'm petrified of deep water. There's somewhere to grab food and drink too which is handy.
Pictured - Blue Grotto, Malta
Pictured - Blue Grotto, Malta
I vaguely remember visiting the Blue Grotto when I was younger with my mum and Granda, but I would love to go back again. The Blue Grotto is a natural wonder of dark caves, where the water is so super bright blue, you can see to the bottom of the ocean below the caves, whilst in the dark. It's a sight you have to see for yourself and it only costs €8 for a boat tour around the caves. This is one of the excursions that I really want to do!
Pictured - Captain Morgan cruise
One of the things I would really love to do whilst in Malta would be to take a Captain Morgan cruise. There are a few different cruises which range in price, and I'm not sure which one bets suits myself and Reece just yet. I think the one I am swaying most to is the 'Round Malta' trip as you get to see the most and it's a good price. Boarding at 10am and for €30 you cruise by Valetta, Grand Harbour, Marscala Bay, St Thomas Bay, Island Bay, St Peters Pool, Delimara Point, Marsaxlokk, the Blue Grotto, Dingli Cliffs, Filfla, Anchor Bay and then onto the Blue Lagoon in Comino where you can alight here to take a boat trip around and then time to swim and sunbathe. On the way back you pass Mellieha Bay and St Pauls Island and arrive back in Sliema at 17:30. You get to see so much on this cruise, and you also get unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks plus a cold buffet! Can you really ask for anymore? I think it's fair to say we would be pretty drunk this day with a free bar! We would also get to tick off a couple of things from our list on this one cruise which would save time and money.
I am so looking forward to this holiday, just time away from work and home, with Reece where we can please ourselves what we do. I can't wait to relax in the sun with a cocktail in a hand and take in the rays! I think we're going to have a brilliant holiday and the heat is going to be in the late 30s so we are definitely going to get a good tan!
I will of course, be writing some blog posts about our holiday once we are back, so keep a look out for them!
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** Disclaimer: All views and opinions are my own. All photo credit goes to Google Images**