Malta Travel Forum

Hi,

in preparation for our trip to Malta a few more questions came up, that I hope you can help me with:

1. I am unable to find anything on ferries to Comino for the off-season. The infos either refer to masses of boats in summer or that the hotel boat is not running between Oct.-Mar.
Does someone know if and when ferries are going to/from Comino to/from either Gozo or Malta in March?
On the other hand.. is it even worth going to Comino when it is too cold for swimming? Ideally we would like to do a stop-over on the way from Gozo back to Malta, so we are talking a half-day here.

2. Does anyone have email addresses for Valletta's guesthouses e.g. Asti, Royal, Midland, Coronation etc.? Or a booking website? Does the tourism office take/forward requests? Our needs are be bit complicated, so I would rather give it in writing and avoid misunderstandings.

3. The ATP website lists the buses 32, 34 and 35 as "passing near Airport outskirts". Do they let you off on the highway and you have to dive underneath landing airplans or is it actually reasonably possible to get to the terminal? (Hey.. had it all happen before.. Anyway, this would just be an alternative to bus nr 8, since there is just one bus 8 to get us to the plane on time Sunday morning. And thirdly taxis, of course.)

Thanks in advance for all your help!

I suspect there is no call for ferries to Comino when the hotel is closed and it is out of season. I can certainly find no information about them online. It is possible that boat trips will run in March, but rather doubtful. http://gozo.com/ozzi1/main.php is one possibility.

You will find contact information for the guesthouses if you ggole their name + 'valletta'. Many will have only telephone contact (unless booked through an agency):

http://www.mol.net.mt/asti/

Royal: 356 234077

Midland: info@mol.net.mt

Coronation: 35621 237652

Other guesthouses etc can be found on the Malta tourist info site.

http://www.visitmalta.com/booking-page

You could try contacting the tourist info people, but I am not sure they would be willing to forward detailed requests.

As for the buses, 'passing near the airport outskirts' could leave you with a rather long walk. Obviously this will not be across the runways (Luqa is a modern international airport with appropriate security regulations) but may be a bit of a trek. Airports are large places!

There are many number 8 services to the airport on Sunday, so I assume you need to catch the 0600?

http://maltairport.com/page.asp?p=17162&l=1

Winter timetables for the 32, 34 and 35 are here:

http://www.atp.com.mt/atp/servlet/ControllerServlet?action=listWinterBusRoutes

You cold, perhaps, just wait until you are in Malta and then ask the tourist info peole (or the bus people, or your guesthouse) whether these three services are feasible alternatives.

Hi,
There is only one hotel on Comino as I am aware of which closes in winter.
There is not much on Comino but in summer the blue lagoon is great for swimming and also there are caves reached by sea worth a look at.

We stayed in Bugibba, I booked and payed for a taxy beforehand from and to the airport on the internet through www.travelrepublic.co.uk.May be a bit pricey but a good service.

Michael

I don't think they have ferries to comino, captain morgan and some other companies do boat trips to comino they take a day all there is to do is swim and see the blue lagoon it is lovely but if it isn't hot enough to swim I wouldn't go but then I have been befor. Ian

Thanks for your opinions on the Comino ferries.

I had googled the guesthouses already and found the websites/phone numbers, but I would rather contact them in writing and was hoping there was some information not displayed on outdated websites. I guess I'll try to explain over the phone.

I have the bus timetables too, thanks.
Obviously my reference to "dive underneath landing airplans" was meant as a humorous exaggeration of the effort involved and not to label Luqa as a bush airfield. I'll remember to add the :) next time.

;)

I think you may find that many guesthouses/b&bs in Malta do not yet have the facility (or, perhaps, the desire, or the need?) to support their own website with direct email contact.

It is the same in many European countries for small-scale accommodation, although this is (of course) gradually changing.

You will find that the Maltese generally speak good English so phoning should not be a problem