We wanted to check out a bit of the North so we booked our ecab and decided to go to the Golden Bay then with a bus to Cafe del Mar and back to Marscascala by taxi. It's a definitely interesting experience but with some ups and downs. 

We wanted to check out also other beaches in Malta and one of the very popular ones is Ghajn Tuffieha in Golden Bay. The positive to it is that is has gorgeous golden sand and amazing turquoise sea, but it is extremely crowded, not a surprise with all the hotels over there.  

if you want a more quiet place with a great view, take the very short hike to the local tower. 

Built in 1637 on the cliffs overlooking Ghajn Tuffieha Bay the tower has Lippija and Nadur Towers in its line of sight. The tower was designed by the Italian architect Vincenzo Maculani. It is almost identical to Lippija Tower, having a square plan and two floors topped by a flat roof with a parapet. Each floor has a single room, and access to the upper floor was originally by a wooden ladder.(Source)

And the view from up :) 

To also explore the nightlife in Malta we decided to give Cafe del Mar a try. From Golden Bay, there is bus that leaves you very close by the club

oh, the infinity pool :) (daydreaming).
The place is super nice with tasty food and great service. From the restaurant we moved on the dance floor where we had a great time with some DJs who created excellent atmosphere.

and the view before the party started .... not bad, right?

But...unfortunately a wonderful day did not end that well.....as once the music stopped we were all thrown out with no consideration; no time to pee, no time to get our staff and the security guys were incredibly rude....and as good as the party and the place might be, it is not worth it!

I am in love with this view....coming over from The three cities by ferry is definitely a must to get a great view of the port.

We unfortunately were in Valletta on a hot July afternoon, so the heat drastically reduced the amount of things we were able to do and see, but the city is amazing and I am sure you'll love it as much as we did. 

St. Publius church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Floriana, Malta, dedicated to Saint Publius. It was constructed at several stages between the 18th and 20th centuries.

The facade of the Church of St. Publius consists of a neoclassical portico topped by a triangular pediment, flanked by a bell tower on either side. A statue of Christ the King stands on the top of the facade. The church has a cruciform plan with a dome and a richly decorated interior.

I could have taken 1 million pictures, all the little streets with the colorful balconies looked so incredibly cute. 

look at them they are so suuuuuuuper adorable, and there are so many especially up at the Upper Barracca Gardens...relaxing on the tables of the local terrace. 

"The gardens were originally used to offer recreation to the knights of the Italian langue of the Order of Saint John, but were opened to the public following the end of the French occupation of Malta in 1800" (Source)

It is the highest point of the city walls, and thus its bordering terrace offers a clear view over the Grand Harbour, the Three Cities, as well as over the shipyard and the lower-lying parts the capital

A replica of the statue Les Gavroches (The street boys) by the Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino is also located in the garden. The original is to be found within the National Museum of Fine Arts (Source)

Is an artillery battery in Valletta, Malta. It was constructed in the 16th century by the Order of Saint John, on or near the site of an Ottoman battery from the Great Siege of Malta. (Source)

You can visit the saluting batteries and also get the chance to hear the full gun salutes. More on

I read online that the best place to try them is Cafe Cordina, but to be very fair, you can for sure find far better ones at random pastry places around. The Qassata is definitely tastier if you are eating at Cafe Cordina ;)

At the end of the day (on Fridays) make sure you pass by the Bridge Bar, people are gathering to listen to live jazz concerts. 

You should certainly make yourself some time to enjoy a couple of hours of music, good atmosphere together with some Prosecco :) 

"The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta. The oldest of the Three Cities is Birgu, which has existed since the Middle Ages. The other two cities, Senglea and Cospicua, were both founded by the Order of Saint John in the 16th and 17th centuries." (Source)

As per recommendation from our host, we only stopped in Birgu as we had a good bus connection from Marsascala. 

"Birgu is a very old locality with its origins reaching back to medieval times. Prior to the establishment of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. In fact, it served as the base of the Order of Saint John and de facto capital city of Malta from 1530 to 1571. Birgu is well known for its vital role in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565." (Source)

As we were there on a very very very hot day, not that many people were on the streets, which was quite cool as you had the city to yourself 

the streets are so incredibly cute, I could add 100 pics, but I will limit myself as otherwise it will be nothing for you to discover ;) 

As I was saying it was a super hot day so, we every 1-2h had to stop for a break, and it was a delight to try the local cheese (Gozo cheese)

Crossing over to Valletta is by ferry which is great as you can just easily get an amazing 360 view. 

of course the boat above was not the ferry unfortunately ;).
To visit the whole city in detail you won't need more than half a day, so I say you can easily plan a full day for all the 3 cities and you might even get enough time to have dinner in Valletta itself ;)

When going to Malta, it is not extremely important where you stay as everything is very close by. The reasons why we decided to chose Marsaskala for our accommodation were: one of the few locations that has also a sport of sandy beach, it's proximity to Valletta and the cute traditional fishing boats that can be found in the area 

Here what we discovered in this little place during the hot summer days. 

As in most of the times when we travel in group we always aim from an apartment. Whether it is Airbnb or via booking or recommendation, we prefer to stick together and not to stay in boring hotel rooms. This time we stayed at Julie's place which we found via Airbnb. Unfortunately the apartment seems to longer be available :( 

We did a combination of taxi and buses based on the time of the day and distance we needed to cover. Our host recommended to use ecabs and it is a very cool service as you book your taxi online for whenever you want. 

The village place is small, so there are not a lot of things to do, but mainly beach and food, ah and yes the boats....nice! right?

One of the places where you can find a bit of sand is called St Thomas Bay. It has 2 beach bars which is quite convenient if you want to have a drink or snack something, though very crowded of course. On the way to the bay you have the best (as our host said) fish restaurant called Tal-Familja.

and yes, the view is amazing 

These colorful boats are known as the Maltese luzzu, and they date back to the time of the ancient Phoenicians.​

"There is quite a lot of superstition surrounding the luzzu, the most prominent of them all being the painted or engraved pair of eyes on the front of the boat. These eyes are believed to be a modern survival of an old Phoenician tradition, and are normally referred to as the Eye of Orisis, or the Eye of Horus - the Phoenicians' god of protection from evil. They are a symbol of protection and good health, and are believed to protect the fishermen from any harm while they are out at sea. In addition to this, luzzus are normally inherited from a person's father and grandfather. However, although the exact colours of each luzzu vary from one another, the colours of each luzzu are normally kept exactly the same due to superstitious belief. Therefore, when the old paint is completely stripped off the boat every five years, in order for the fisherman to closely inspect his boat for anything that needs to be replaced, the boat is then re-painted in exactly the same colours that the person’s father and grandfather had used. (Source)

You should definitely try the fresh fish and the gozo cheese as it is the most traditional things you can try. 

as said, the village is very small, but extremely cute, we went from here to Valleta passing through the 3 cities and then another trip to Golden Bay and finishing off the night at Cafe del Mar, so stay posted for more info on how to enjoy a long weekend in Malta.