United Travel Malta

For our third post in this series, I will be focusing on the village of L-Imgarr which is located in the northern part of the island. This village is surrounded by rich farmland and vineyards, meaning it is quite isolated. Most of the locals work in the agriculture industry, and throughout the years the village has managed to retain it's charm and tranquillity. The rustic environs surrounding Mgarr provide a number of picturesque spots ideal for a nice walks (and even a couple of pretty beaches). These include Bingemma, Wardija, Fomm Ir-Rih, Gnejna Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha. Although Mgarr is quite a remote village, it has quite a long history with many of Malta's historical rulers leaving a footprint in Mgarr. For example one can find some examples of megalithic temples, punic tombs, ancient quarries, Roman remains (specifically the baths situated near Golden Bay) and the two towers left by the Knights of St. John.  What to See & Do: Festa Frawli 2015 Festa Fr...

Naxxar Parish Church Although it is not easy to determine when Naxxar started to become a village, it is considered to be one of the oldest villages in Malta. Cart ruts that can be found on the outskirts of the village date back to the Bronze Age and are proof at how old Naxxar actually is. Nowadays, Naxxar is more like a town rather than a village as it has grown to around 11sqkm in size and has a population of over 13,000. As a whole, the village, or town, is divided into 8 districts - Naxxar centre, Sghajtar area, San Pawl Tat-Targa, Birguma, Maghtab, Salina, Bahar ic-Caghaq and part of Madliena. According to tradition, the people of Naxxar were amongst the first to help St. Paul when he was shipwrecked in Malta. For this reason, it is thought that the name Naxxar comes from the word "nassar" (Nasra) which means "conversion to Christianity". Other scholars believe that the name comes from the words "nsara" or "nazaroei" which mean ...

Since we are at the start of the cooler, rainy season in Malta I have decided to write a series of blogs that talk about a number of smaller villages that are not usually busy with tourists, and that will give visitors an insight into village life in Malta. To start this series, I have decided that my first blog will be about what locals call the Three Villages. The Three Cities found in the southern part of the Island are quite well known amongst tourists, and a trip to Malta will generally include a visit to the Three Cities; however the Three Villages are not as well known. These villages go by the names of Attard, Balzan and Lija, and although they are now a bit bigger than your typical village, they are still too small and not busy enough to call them towns. These three villages merge into each other, however each one has it's own parish church and village square complete and their own parish church means that they also have their own village feast at some point during th...

Valletta, the city which we proud to call our capital city, is often described as a big open-air museum. It is a living experience of Baroque architecture, a monument donated by the Knights of St. John's four and a half centuries ago. The Baroque feel and structure is what truly defines Valletta, and it is really worthy of a celebration.  This is where the Valletta International Baroque Festival is just that, a celebration of all that is Baroque. The festival is now in its fourth edition and will this year, like in the previous ones, incorporate "an eclectic variety of music including pianistic transcriptions and 20th Century orchestral music inspired by the baroque idiom." The festival will take place between the 16th and 30th January 2015, and besides the beautiful Baroque music, visitors can also look forward to seeing the finest Baroque buildings come to life.  Some of the venues that will host the concerts are the following:  Manoel Theatre  1. Mano...

Maltese cuisine is very similar to other Mediterranean cuisines and is a result of the long relationship between the locals and the many civilisations who occupied the Maltese Islands throughout history. Traditional Maltese food is very rustic and relies on local produce such as honey, tomatoes and olives, it also varies according to the season. Wondering what typical foods you can taste in Malta? Here's a list of some of our favourite local items... 1. Pastizzi Pastizzi are the most popular savoury snack in Malta amongst the locals. They look a bit like small croissants and are traditionally made of flaky pastry and are filled with ricotta cheese or mushy peas, however nowadays one can find them filled with a variety of ingredients. If you would like to try the best pastizzi in Malta we suggest visiting Crystal Palace in Rabat, known amongst the locals as Tas-Serkin (the owner's nickname). This shop is popular, not just because they serve the best pastizzi, but also bec...

So the weather has finally cooled down a little bit, and summer is slowly reaching an end. If you're wondering what to do this October in Malta, here are a few events that we suggest going to: Notte Bianca  Where?: Around Valletta When?: Saturday, 3rd October 2015 Notte Bianca, is one of Malta's most popular and well attended cultural events and will be celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year! This year's event is set to be that little bit more special, with the organisers promising to have something lined up for everyone's tastes - from Drifting to Flamenco, to Maltese cuisine with a twist and gravity defying acrobats. The newly restored Fort St. Elmo will also be open for visitors during this event. For more information, you can visit the official Notte Bianca website by clicking here. Paqpaqli Ghall-Istrina Where?: Malta International Airport When?: Sunday, 4th October 2015 Paqpaqli Ghall-Istrina, is the annual car show held in aid of charity. ...

Travel + Leisure Magazine, the monthly travel magazine published by Time Inc, recently published the results for their 20th Annual Poll . The pool asked their readers to cast their votes for the hotels, destinations and companies that define the very best in travel. The different categories included Hotels, Cities, Islands, Cruise Liners, Airports, Airlines, Family, and more. Each category was then divided into sub-categories according to region with an overall list, summarising the other categories. Malta came in 10th place in the Top 10 Overall World's Best Island. The beautiful Galapagos Islands, Bali and the Maldives took the top 3 places, with islands such as Santorini, Maui and the Greater Barrier Reef also making the list.  The lovely island that we love to call home also appeared in 2nd place in the Top 5 Best European Islands. Santorini took the f irst place, with Crete, Mykonos and Majorca also making the list.  According to the official ...

Last week Malta was celebrating the end of the Great Siege of Malta that took place in 1565. During this time Malta was ruled by the Knights of Malta, also known as the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. Many historians describe the siege as the climax of an escalating battle between the Ottoman Empire and a Christian Alliance for control of the Mediterranean Sea and Malta's location right in the middle of the Mediterranean meant that it was an important strategic position for both sides. The history books tell us that the Ottomans had hundreds of ships and an army that was made up of around 40,000 soldiers. While the Order only had an army of 700 knights and around 8000 regular troops mostly made up of peasant soldiers. Being so greatly outnumbered meant that Grandmaster Jean Parisot De La Vallette had to keep his troops motivated because despite the odds, he refused to accept the Ottoman's terms of surrender.  This battles is said to be...

This week's blog is inspired by Vogue, the international fashion and lifestyle magazine because last Thursday they posted an article on their website entitled "Eight Unexpected Honeymoon Spots That Will Make You Rethink Your Plans" and Malta featured in fifth place so we decided to recommend some of our favourite romantic places.  1. A Karrozzin Ride Around Valletta Valletta is Malta’s capital city and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is quite busy during the day, but in the late afternoon and evening it gets a little bit quieter. When visiting Valletta, I would suggest taking a ride on a karrozzin, Malta’s version of a horse-drawn carriage, around the outskirts of Valletta. Then I would suggest having dinner at Giannini restaurant, or maybe visiting Strait Street where you can choose from a variety of trendy wine bars.  2. Dining in Mdina Mdina is Malta’s old capital city and is known as the “Silent City”. As its nickname suggests Mdina is...

Emirates is an airline that most people fantasize about travelling with, this might be because their marketing campaigns are always very original and nearly always feature dream destinations as they connect the East with the West. Their campaigns portray the airline as being one of the world's most luxurious airlines and are not only aimed at business travellers but also at the everyday holiday makers. Emirates' latest campaign has been given the title "Be There" and it's aim is to motivate  "travellers to explore more of the world through the eyes of our very own travel experts." They chose seven members of their staff who have a passion for travelling the world and exploring different places, and gave them the task of creating a short video highlighting their favourite places from the countries they are visiting. These videos encourage travellers to "take the road less travelled and be there." Travellers are then encouraged to post pictur...

As most people around the world know, last month the youngest member of the British Royal Family was christened amidst a lot of fanfare in England. Undoubtedly Princess Charlotte has received a shower of gifts from all over the world, including from Malta. Last week, almost a month after the official christening, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle presented the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with a traditional Maltese lace summer blanket on behalf of the Maltese public. The design for the blanket was adapted from old, traditional patterns. The centre piece was worked using the English stitch with sprays of small flowers and leaves scattered on it. The eight-pointed Maltese Cross is also included in the centre of the blanket. Another feature of the blanket are the Princess’ initials CED – Charlotte Elizabeth Diana - that are monogrammed on the blanket. The lace used is fine pure silk ordered from silk manufacturers in the UK.  Dating back to the reign of the Knig...

It's summer, it's hot (at least in Malta it is) and let's face it, everyone feels a little bit more laid back and relaxed in Summer. So this week we decided to post a blog about a little dog that has taken the internet world by storm. The Jack Russell terrier, who goes by the name Titti, became a global sensation after photographer Mark Cassar captured the dog diving with her owner and sent it to a local radio station. The radio station posted the video on their Facebook page and received thousands of comments and likes from all around the world. The video of this cute dog and her owner diving into the crystal clear blue water at St. Peter's Pool in Malta, even attracted attention from news agencies like the BBC , Daily Mail, CNN, Sky, and Australia's Channel Nine. Watch the video below to watch Titti in action and to hear more about her from her owner.

Visitors to the seaside town of Sliema in Malta are being greeted by a large street art mural depicting a man climbing into a hole in the wall. The mural was created by the French artist that goes by the name MTO as part of the Sliema Arts Festival which was held in July.  According the to artist's Facebook Page , the mural is called "The Mediterranean Tunnel" and he was inspired to paint it after reading a quote by an Italian lawyer who had been living in Malta for a number of years and who jumped to Malta's defence when we were receiving negative criticism about the migrants tragedy which took place earlier this year. The quote that he refers to was the following: "The Maltese have accepted the dead, but not the living. Malta is too small to take in thousands of persons. But if someone is in danger at sea, they pick him up: it is not true they push him back in the water. Then they try not to keep him: that is true. They have a pragmatic approach, but not ...

Filming for Michael Bay's latest film wrapped up just a few weeks ago. Yesterday we got a glimpse of the full title and the first trailer. I must admit, I never thought that Malta could become famous for being Benghazi, but after watching the trailer and listening to an interview with actor John Krasinski and producer Scott Gardenhour I feel proud that Malta played a part in helping them tell the true story of the attack on a U.S. compound in Libya back in 2012. The film tells the story of how the security team struggled to make sense out of the chaos.  Actor John Krasinski seems to have been mesmerised by the beauty of Malta, especially by our capital city Valletta. In an interview with a local media channel Television Malta (TVM), Krasinski said the following about Valletta: "Waking up there every morning was such an incredible treat because you leave this pretty wild set and you'd wake up in the beautifully quiet, old historic city and it's totally inspiring. I...

Last May, together with the Malta Tourism Authority and Hilton Malta, we hosted a Malta Experience and Showcase trip for Delion, one of our clients, and their key accounts. Paul Harvey, the Deputy Editor for M&IT, also joined us on this trip so that he too could get an experience as to what Malta has to offer MICE clients.  The trip included an iPad City Trail in Valletta, a day charter of a private luxury yacht, a selection of different types of vehicles including a karozzin (traditional Maltese horse drawn carriage), a vintage bus and vintage cars. The group were also treated to delicious meals at Guze in Valletta, the Gazebo at Hilton Malta, Ta' Frenc in Gozo & Caviar and Bull at the Corinthia.  Paul wrote an article in this month's M&IT magazine discussing what Malta has to offer (if you would like to read it, it can be found on pages 61 & 62). Throughout the article he talks about the different things he experienced while on this trip, includ...

United Travel have been the local partners for Tauck Travel for the past 20 years. Tauck is one of the leading tour operators for high-end, escorted travel with over 130 programs in over 60 countries worldwide.  When we received an email back in March telling us that Robin Tauck was organising a birthday cruise for her friend and family and that she wanted it to start from Malta we felt honoured and excited by the prospect of helping her celebrate her 60th birthday!  Tauck friends and family arrived from all over the world including the USA, Egypt, Greece, France, Australia and Iran. In the morning of the 29th June there was a pre-arranged half day tour organised for those who arrived early; this included a panoramic tour of Malta visiting some of the villages in the centre of the island, as well as a short walking tour in Mdina which included a wine-tasting session.  The guests were then expected to start embarking the Le Ponant in the afternoon, when they were ...

Malta, only 316 square kilometres in size, and home to an impressive 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. OK, so if you visit the UNESCO World Heritage Convention website you will find only 3 properties on the Maltese Islands inscribed on the World Heritage List - these are the City of Valletta, the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, and the Megalithic Temples of Malta. However, under the title of "Megalithic Temples of Malta" one can find seven temples around Malta and Gozo, so that makes the total of 9 sites in all. The oldest of all these temples are the two  Ġgantija temples that can be found on the island of Gozo. These temples are renowned for their gigantic Bronze Age structures. Dating from around 3600 to 3200 BC, they are the oldest, free-standing monuments in the world and are evidence that Gozo was inhabited for at least 1000 years before the Egyptians built the pyramids in Giza. Due to the gigantic dimensions of the monuments, locals believed that the temples were built by...

In Malta Summer means days at the beach, and nights out partying… We literally find any excuse to party, whether it is a team winning some championship, a bank holiday or a religious village festa we just love to get together and celebrate! Over the past few years, Malta has gone from just being a place where old people go on holiday, to one of the best nightlife destinations in the Mediterranean. Most clubs have free entrances, and drinks are relatively cheap making Malta an inexpensive clubbing destination. Add this factor, to the fact that most of the top 100 DJs choose to perform in Malta and you have a recipe for the perfect club scene. One of the highlights of Malta’s party calendar is the Isle of MTV concert – MTV’s biggest, free, open air concert in Europe. This concert has been taking place in Malta for the past nine years and manages to attract thousands of local and foreign music lovers every year. Acts that have performed at Isle of MTV include Nicole Scherzinger, E...