United Travel Malta

Malta's mysterious, 7000 years of history together with it's strong religious background makes it the perfect backdrop to a number of legends, myths and folk tales. Most of the stories find their foundations in truth and historical facts, with each story being embellished by every generation that narrated it. Other stories were used as explanations of different phenomena that people could not explain. Here are some of our favourite myths & legends... St. Paul & The Venomous Viper This is legend is probably the best known amongst the locals, as it is about Malta's Patron Saint and can be found in the Bible. The story says that when St. Paul was shipwrecked in Malta, he was gathering wood to make himself a fire, as he lit the fire a viper was driven out by the heat and bit him. The Maltese, who were very superstitious people, expected St. Paul to die of poisoning, however, he simply shook the snake off into the fire and no harm came to him. It is said th...

Last Wednesday was a very sad day for Malta, as it was the day that we lost one of our most loved and treasured natural beauties - Gozo's Azure Window. We all knew that this iconic landmark was being worn away, and that it was a matter of time until we lost it, what we didn't know is how soon this would happen. A few years ago geologists claimed that it will eventually collapse, but that it was in no imminent danger. Unfortunately though, last Wednesday was the day it succumbed to mother nature. Below is the official press release which we received from the Malta Tourism Authority... Nature Claims Gozo’s Iconic Azure Window Tragedy Strikes as Landmark Collapses into the Inland Sea March 8 th  2017:  A sad day for the Mediterranean island, today saw the tragic collapse of the iconic Azure Window in Gozo. A breath-taking structure that is believed to be thousands of years old, rough seas have finally taken their toll as the magnificent limestone arch has finall...

On the 9th of July, the completion of the extensive restoration to the Cittadella in Gozo was inaugurated. The Cittadella rises above the town of ir-Rabat, also known as Victoria, Gozo's capital city. Like Mdina, the Cittadella is strategically perched high on a hill, and from here one can enjoy stunning views of Gozo.  It is believed that the Citadel has been at the centre of activity in Gozo from as early as Neolithic times, what we do know is that it was definitely fortified during the Bronze Ages, which is around 1500 BC. It was further developed throughout the years, and the Romans used it as a complex Acropolis. After almost two centuries of being under attack by the Turks and Berber corsairs, which was in fact Gozo's darkest period, the Knights decided to reconstruct the Citadel between 1599 and 1603. Over the past few years the Cittadella has had some major works done thanks to two restorations and rehabilitation projects which were co-financed by the Europea...

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...

The Maltese Islands are currently going through the effect of having more than one celebrity spending time on our little island… currently we are going through what the tabloids are calling “The Brangelina Effect”. As anyone who has access to social media, or the internet in general knows, a couple of weeks ago everyone’s favourite couple – Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie – got married in their estate in Correns, France. Lucky for Malta and especially for Gozo, Brangelina were booked in to film their latest production entitled “By The Sea” in Gozo for the next three months… So guess where this power couple are spending their working honeymoon? Yes, that’s right in the lovely island of Gozo! Aren’t we a lucky bunch? Brad Pitt and his family are no strangers to Malta, he was here filming Troy in 2003, and more recently filming World War Z. This time however, he chose the smaller, more rustic island of Gozo to base his film. This would be the first time that this duo are starring in a ...

Exciting News for Divers The Maltese Islands have often been voted as one of the best diving destinations in the world. The latest accolade of the sort came at the beginning of 2014 when they were voted as the 2nd “Best Diving Destination” at two award ceremonies held in London, the award ceremonies where from Diver Magazine and the Sport Diver Awards. The islands came second to Egypt and beat of some stiff competition from the Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia. The reason for obtaining such a positive result came due to the wide range of exciting wrecks, variety of marine life, topography and shore-diving. The past couple of weeks have been an exciting time for divers in Malta for two reasons. The first bit of excitement came when a rather large Sunfish, also known as a Mola Mola, was spotted just off Wied il-Mielah on the north coast of Gozo. According to the diver the fish was filmed at a depth of around 15m. Click here to view the footage taken of this very docile fis...