Malta 2026 - Part 1

Traveling Day

 

Friday - April 10th 2026

 

Finally it was time for another much needed vacation. After work we hit the road and drove to Vienna International Airport from where our KM Malta flight departed. About three hours later we arrived at the airport, dropped of the luggage and spent some time at the Vienna Lounge while waiting for departure. Around 9:00pm we left Vienna and two hours later we landed at Malta Airport. There we got picked up by a hotel shuttle and soon we arrived at out hotel. We stayed at the Verdala Wellness Hotel AX Privilege in Rabat and once we had checked in and got our room, we called it a day and went to bed.

 

Vienna International Airport

 

Vienna Lounge

 

Vienna Lounge

 

Our Room

 

Our Room

 

Our Room

 

Our Room

 

Malta 2026 - Part 2

Exploring Mdina And Rabat

 

Saturday - April 11th 2026

 

Since we arrived in the middle of the night, we didn't get to see a lot of our hotel except our room. So we were really stunned by how beautiful the hotel was. First we headed downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast and since the weather was so nice, we were able to sit outside at the pool. After our delicious breakfast we got ready to explore Rabat, where our hotel was located, and Mdina, Malta's former capital city. It was just a short walk from our hotel to the beautiful fortified city. 

View from our Room

Hotel Pool

Verdala Wellness Hotel

Breakfast

Verdala Wellness Hotel

Our Room

Verdala Wellness Hotel

Rabat

Rabat

Mdina City Wall

We entered the medieval town through Mdina Gate and suddenly we were in transported back in time. Our first stop was the amazing Mdina Metropolitan Cathedral, also known as St. Paul's Cathedral, and its museum, before strolling through the ancient town. Until now we had the city basically to our own, since the tourists hadn't yet arrived. Mdina is located on a plateau from where we had a wonderful view over the small island. Next we stopped at a little bar for a drink before it was time leave Mdina. In Rabat we found a lovely bar, where we got a couple of drinks and a snack for lunch. After checking out the catacombs of St. Paul, we decided to walk back to the hotel to spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

Mdina Gate

Mdina

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

Cathedral Museum

Cathedral Museum

Cathedral Museum

St. Peter's Church

View over Malta

Mdina

Mdina

Rabat

Drinks

Lunch

St. Paul's Cathedral of Rabat

St. Paul's Cathedral of Rabat

St. Paul's Catacombs

St. Paul's Catacombs

Rabat

Rabat

 

Pool Time

In the evening we headed back to Mdina to have dinner at Coogi's, only one of two restaurants that has a terrace on top of the city wall, from where we got to enjoy the beautiful sunset while overlooking the island. Coogi's offered a huge plant based menu and so Claudia ordered the veggie burger and I got nuggets with fries. After a wonderful dinner we got ice cream at the gelatteria next door and walked around the empty town with all the tourists gone for the day. Back at the hotel we spent a quiet evening in front of the TV trying different sweets from the convenient store.

 

Coogi's

 

Coogi's

 

Coogi's

 

Dinner

View over Malta

Ice Cream

Mdina Gate

Back at the Hotel

Malta 2026 - Part 5

Dingli Cliffs

 

Tuesday - April 14th 2026

 

After breakfast we ordered a Bolt taxi that took us to the Dingli Cliffs, because today we wanted to hike along the coast of Malta to the Blue Grotto. We started our tour at a radar station for air traffic traffic. Soon we passed the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene and from there we continued our hike along the beautiful coast with its stunning cliffs. Unfortunately most of the time we had to walk on roads, but from time to time there had been some nice paths too, like through limestone rock formations. The weather was really nice today and luckily the view was so much better compared to yesterday. 

 

Our Hotel

 

Breakfast

 

Our Hiking Tour

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Although it was quite warm, we made good progress and after about two hours we arrived at the Mnajdra and Hagar Qim Archaeological Park. Those ancient temples are about 5000 years old and apparently the megalithic temple complex of Hagar Qim is one of the oldest religious sites on Earth. After exploring both temples we took a break at the visitor centre and bought some snacks and drinks. Then we continued our hike towards the Blue Grotto, where we arrived about half an hour later. Once we took some pictures, we headed to a nearby village and got some ice cream while waiting for the Bolt taxi to pick us up.

 

Ancient Temples

 

Ancient Temples

 

Ancient Temples

 

Ancient Temples

 

Ancient Temples

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Hiking along the Coast

 

Blue Grotto

 

Blue Grotto

 

Blue Grotto

 

Ice Cream

 

Back at the hotel we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the pool. Of course we had to get some drinks as well, while enjoying the lovely weather and the warm sun beams. Later we headed out again and walked into the city centre of Rabat to get dinner. Today we chose to eat at the Bottegin Restaurant, but to be honest we were a little bit disappointed, because the food was just mediocre. After dinner we just strolled around Rabat before walking back to the hotel.

 

Relaxing at the Pool

 

Relaxing at the Pool

 

Relaxing at the Pool

 

Rabat

 

Bottegin Restaurant

 

Bottegin Restaurant

 

Bottegin Restaurant

 

Dinner

 

Dinner

 

Back at the Hotel