Malta and Gozo

Photodiva

Photodiva

Foot elevated on the stool
Suspended / Banned
Messages
4,134
Name
Carol
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi. Im off to malta and gozo soon. Any ideas for locations for some good landscape or cultural pics?
 
It's been a long time since I went, (late 80's) and i was very young, but from I do remember, the Capital, Valetta, is full of culture, the whole city is beautiful, esp the harbour and central church.

Also I remember going on a boat trip around some stunning sea caves, but unfortunately I can't remember exactly where these were. I'm thinking near the channel between Malta and Gozo but :shrug:

Hopefully someone with more recent experience will be along soon
 
You may be thinking about the Blue Grotto caves on the south side of the island.

Architecture wise, as well as Valletta, it might be worth a trip to Mdina, sometimes know as the silent city since there are no cars allowed. It's and old walled medieval city with good views of the surrounding island from the walls
 
AlanoDale said:
Also I remember going on a boat trip around some stunning sea caves, but unfortunately I can't remember exactly where these were. I'm thinking near the channel between Malta and Gozo but :shrug:
Click to expand...

You've got the small island Comino which lies between Malta and Gozo. I think that's where the Blue Lagoon is. My brothers and sisters got a nice boat trip there when I was a kid. I didn't get to go because i'd got sunburnt the day before!

The church in Mellieha is quite nice
 
I visited in 2004 and enjoyed it.

As mentioned earlier, there's lots to see in Valletta. Second vote for Mdina.

Marsaxlokk has a charming harbour with some very colourful boats. Mosta church is has a rather impressive dome. Dingli for the church and cliffs.
 
I haven't been for nearly 30 years but apart from the previous suggestions there is also Mosta church (cathedral?) which I believe has the 2nd largest dome in Europe (if my memory serves me right) and also survived a direct hit from a WW2 bomb which failed to explode.
For what it is worth there is Popeyes village and some of Gladiator was filmed there but I'm unsure if anything survives.
Went to the Blue Lagoon once but the sea was a bit choppy and the boats weren't running so best to check if you are interested.
Again from memory, the south of the island is largely undeveloped and I do recall, as we hired a motorbike once, that the signposts are pretty rubbish.
 
taz said:
I do recall, as we hired a motorbike once, that the signposts are pretty rubbish.
Click to expand...

I can't disagree with that. I spent a lot of time scratching my head.

A not entirely atypical Maltese road sign. :)

crw_1778.jpg




P.S.

FWIW My pics from 2004 http://www.cybertects.co.uk/gallery2/v/travel/200404_malta
 
Last edited:
Also, If i remember rightly, the public transport Buses are very colourful and probably a great photo project in their own right
 
AlanoDale said:
Also, If i remember rightly, the public transport Buses are very colourful and probably a great photo project in their own right
Click to expand...

They used to be certainly but I understand from friends that most, if not all, of the old bone-shakers have now disappeared.

A boat trip around the harbour is interesting. I would have loved to have been able to do that when the fleet was in.
 
Thanks for the ideas ill see what i can get to see and hopefully have some pics to post when i get back.
 
taz said:
They used to be certainly but I understand from friends that most, if not all, of the old bone-shakers have now disappeared.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Just got home - literally - from Malta and all the old buses have been replaced with Arriva buses, including bendy buses which keep breaking down (as they didn't like the hot weather in Manchester Malta is an odd choice for them - was 100 degrees on Monday :cuckoo:)
Lots of the original Maltese drivers stopped attending work after 2 days so you will find lots of British drivers on the buses and lots of irate locals because the routes have changed and they are not exactly running to schedule.

On Gozo don't forget the Azure Window, everyone has done it before but you know you just have to :)
If you want to do the noon gun at Valletta avoid Wed & Fri as they are the days the cruise ships are in and the place becomes crazy with people.
 
I'm off there on the 8th of September for two weeks, it will be my 4th and probably last time.

Mdina ( silent city is great )

Go to the old Airbase at Medina, theres a craft village and a fantastic little aircraft Museum.

I'm trying to think of names but they slip my mind, maybe because I just love jumping on a bus and going nowhere in particular. For me one of the greatest parts of a holiday where the old busues. I shall go this year and then part company with such a lovely island.

Cisk beer is great on a hot day, and get yourself a snack at a PaDELETEDia ( think thats how it's spealt )
Ricotta and peas, yummy.

If I'd give you one tip, go on amazon tomorrow and buy a cheap copy of

Fortress Malta

Read it before you go or whilst your there , you will have a different outlook on the island.
 
Im going back to Gozo again this year, lovely island thankfully still living in the past. Gozo pics here are a few of mine last year. Enjoy the place and the pace ;)
 
I did go there on my Honeymoon .............never been back.........now why's that:lol:

Seriously,we had a fortnight with free car hire for one week.
So I did the tours the first week and went back to where I wanted more time than the tour buses allow in the car.

There was if my mind doesn't play tricks on me some 2 or 3000 year old stone dwellings there.
we had a cheap hotel but at nightime went down to a 5 star for drinks and entertainment.
Drinks dear but bought a few in the happy hour,but shows very good.

If you like beach days you will have to go to Golden Bay, only a couple of sandy beaches in Malta.
PS.
There is or was a big Hotel at Golden Bay,and if you go in and get drinks ,then go down to the private part of the beach in the Hotel lift...
Free deckchairs.........:clap::naughty:
 
Last edited:
Hi. Just got back from my hols. Was it ever hot!? There were 4 of us on this hol, one owned the flat we stayed in at Marsalfon. Got to Malta at 3am, all stuffed in a tinny Chev, driving round Malta trying to find the road to the ferry in the dark. Eventually got to Gozo, spent all but 2 days there. Trouble with being a photographer when the rest aren't is that they don't understand why you want to do things, go places at odd times etc. Although I think I got some nice shots (will post when I get round to dealing with them), my impression of Gozo is that it is being massively over-developed. They are building flats like there is no tomorrow, all basically boxes, crammed in. Most are unfinished (some for tax reasons) and loads are unsold. The result is that they are spoiling the resorts big time. Everyone said tourism is low. If all the flats in Marsalfon were occupied, it would be hell on earth, a ghetto in paradise. The roads are terrible, even by UK standards the potholes are awful. Mind you, we took the car down some pretty hairy cart tracks to get to the dive sites, and returned unscathed.

The Photographers Ephemeris app was good for figuring out where/when to get sunrise and sunsets. The chap who owned the flat argued that I couldn't get a sunrise at Marsalfon, but he was wrong! Only trouble was getting up early enough ...

Had to laugh at the Arriva buses, too blinkin' big for the roads, esp on Gozo. Money must've changed hands for that outfit to be given the contract! Malta and Gozo seem to attract bucket loads of finance from the EU, and although there are some good roads, you get the impression that they never actually finish a project. So much is half-built, or they change the use of it half way through. Health and safety - never heard of it there.

Food was amazing, if a tad expensive. Did the usual stuff, Azure window, Ramla Bay, they were also having their Festa's. Went to one, and I'd have loved to have strolled around snapping but was bothered about finding the others later in the crowd and they weren't inclined to wander about.

Went to Malta twice, once essentially to find a hotel for the last night, as we had a 8.00am flight. Wondered around the centre, saw those poor horses pulling carts of people round the town. Had lunch in Cafe Cordino and drove round a bit. It was maddening trying to find a hotel. Eventually booked into the Grand Harbour, a small, old-fashioned place, but with spectacular views over the harbour. Spent the rest of the day on St paul's beach.

Last day, hoped to get to Malta, drop off the cases and go to Mdina. It never happened. It was so difficult trying to find the hotel again, the driver had had enough. Spent the day tramping round Valetta. I was really disappointed, but hey ho.

Camera got well-used. Top place.
 
Last edited:
Looking forward to seeing your photo's. It's such a lovely place to take landscapes. The Azure Window was my favourite.
 
Brings back memories of 2 years ago , would love to go back but it's not going to happen too soon as we have a baby on the way . It sounds as though you had a nice time , I can't wait to see your shots .
 
A week today and I'll be cooling off in my pool in Gozo. Can't wait!!!!!

Hope to see some pics up before i go ;)
 
It certainly was when we were there 2 years ago . We were told be a local bar owner that since they joined the EU they'd been give 3 years to get it all sorted out and the buildings finished . Guess they have a differant calender out there lol
 
Finally got a few pictures done, and loaded them to Flickr - not something I do usually.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57712904@N00/
The day we went to the Azure Window there was something of a storm out in the Med, made the seas around seem more like a washing machine, the Inland Sea was pretty 'rough'.
Please feel free to have a look and comment.
 
Last edited:
Like the set. It's still a lovely place that's got a rustic charm. Every English person we bumped into that lived there kept telling us to enjoy our stay but dont tell anyone how nice it is, they wanted to keep it's stillness and not get swamped with tourist ;)
 
Thanks for the comments. In reply to the shot of the statue with the sun behind, I did attempt one with the sun behind the head, but it just got lost in the glare! It was hard to take a bad picture, the place is very photogenic. I gather that the Maltese authorities have always promoted Gozo as a 'day trip' and apparently intend to change that to a 'holiday destination' so who knows what monstrosities of hotel complexes might evolve. Would be a shame.
Here's a pic I found showing just how much development is going on in and around Marsalfon. Says it all really. Wasn't there an old song about 'little boxes'?
marsalfon.jpg
 
Last edited:
its bit late but whole Malta looks like a one big fantastic photography oportunity obviously you have some ''must photograph'' locations (grotto azurro, Marsaxlokk, famous buses) but apart of that you have loads of silent streets where you can catch specific mood so specific in malta. On the top of it i found malta very safe to photograph even in night time.
SOME PHOTOS
 
superiwan said:
its bit late but whole Malta looks like a one big fantastic photography oportunity obviously you have some ''must photograph'' locations (grotto azurro, Marsaxlokk, famous buses) but apart of that you have loads of silent streets where you can catch specific mood so specific in malta. On the top of it i found malta very safe to photograph even in night time.
SOME PHOTOS
Click to expand...

Nice shots, Tom. I didn't get a whole lot of time to shoot in Malta. I agree everywhere seemed pretty safe, which was a nice feeling. I've a lot more shots to look through, will add them to the flickr as I get time.
 
Last edited:
Photodiva said:
Nice shots, Tom. I didn't get a whole lot of time to shoot in Malta. I agree everywhere seemed pretty safe, which was a nice feeling. I've a lot more shots to look through, will add them to the flickr as I get time.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate,
nearly two years after visit still have 8gb of Raw's to process. (doubt if it will ever happened)
 
I spent couple of weeks on Malta and to be honest found it a bit of a dump. Over-developed, noisy, too busy, not to mention the gun toting locals who will shoot anything that moves - and the rarer the better.

Having said that I seem to remember Gozo being a bit more pleasant, and I found some salt pans hacked out the rock on the north coast of the island which made really interesting subject matter. They're marked on the locally available maps.

The buses were great but it sounds like they've gone.

Edit: obviously too late |I now realise....
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top