A B O U T    M A L T A

Located in the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Sicily, the Maltese archipelago basically consists of three islands, Malta, Gozo and Comino with an area of about 316 sq.km.
Their total population is about 400 000.The largest island of the group is Malta with 237 sq.km in area, from which the archipelago takes its name. It has a population of about 400 000. Valletta, the capital, is the cultural, administrative, and commercial centre of the archipelago. Malta is well served with harbours, chief of which is the Valletta Grand Harbour. Its international airport is at Luqa, five kilometres from the capital.
The second largest island is Gozo. It is topographically quite different from Malta, and is quaintly attractive for its less industrialised way of life. Gozo can be reached from Malta by ferry-boat.
Comino, Cominotto, Filfla and St Pauls Islet are the other major features of the archipelago. Of these, only Comino, straddled between Malta and Gozo, sustains a tiny population of 4 persons. Turned into a popular resort because of a couple of very fine beaches, Comino can be reached either by boat or by excursion ferries during the summer months.

The distance between Malta and the nearest point in Sicily is 93 km. The distance from the nearest point on the North African mainland (Tunisia) is 288 km. Gibraltar is 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria is 1,510 km to the east.
This strategic position has allowed Malta to develop as an important trading post. The Malta Freeport is one of the leading ports in the Mediterranean for container transshipment.

 The climate in Malta is warm and healthy. There are no biting winds, fog, snow, or frost. Rain falls for only short periods and averages about 578 mm in a whole year. The temperature averages 14.1° C in winter (Nov-April) and 32° C in summer (May-Oct). Here you can enjoy nearly 300 sunny days during the year

U s e f u l  I n f o r m a t i o n

Currency Euro

Time - Malta is one hour ahead of GTM

Languages - official languages are Maltese and English

Shopping
Shops are usually open between 9 am and 7 pm with three or four hours lunch break .In commercial areas most shops remain open till 8 pm. There are open area markets in most towns and villages. The largest is the one in Valletta on Sunday mornings.
Major Credit Cards, Travelers’’ cheques and Eurocheques are accepted at most leading shops and restaurants.

Driving is on the left side

Bars, restaurants and cafes - normally open after 11 a.m. till early morning (for bars)
Discos - There is a number of lively discos, particularly in Paceville, the most poplar entertainments’ place in Malta with more than 50 discos, bars, cafes, restaurants. Several open-air discos operate only during summer.

Casinos-
There three casinos in Malta: in St. Julian’s, Bugibba towns and Cospicua towns.

Sports Facilities
Golf, tennis, squash, badminton, scuba diving, windsurfing, sailing and yachting, paragliding. Football, bowling, horse riding, horse racing, clay pigeon shooting, archery, basketball, table tennis, swimming, etc.