As the UK and most of Europe gets colder in November, Malta was a fantastic place to go to get some sun and 25 degree weather. 

The main purpose of the trip was to do my Advanced Diving Course but it was also great to be back for the second time (last visit being in 2018), as well as spending time with friends and eating our way through. 

Day 1 – Settling In

I arrived in the morning from Rome and caught the X1 bus from the airport to my hotel in Bugibba. I strategically chose this area as it was close to the dive school but it’s pretty quiet and it wouldn’t be my first choice of location when staying in Malta. 

I went to Familija Serbian Restaurant for lunch and tried the sarma (stuffed cabbage with meat and rice) which wasn’t bad but a bit too salty. 

In the evening, I met Courtney and Ryan at Tarragon Restaurant for dinner. We had a cocktail and shared the seafood spaghetti and pistachio crusted fish which were both good. 

Day 2 – Dive Course

There are so many dive schools in Malta but I chose Ok Diving Malta based on good reviews and the location. I would highly recommend them. 

As it’s low season, I was luckily the only one doing the Advanced Course meaning I had the full attention of the dive instructor, Oskar which was great. We did two dives (Buoyancy and Navigation) in the morning.

I went to Gourmet Bar & Grill for lunch where I had the cevapi with chips and salad and then relaxed in the afternoon. 

I went back to the dive school at 5pm to do a night dive. We drove to Cirkewwa and it was a cool experience to do a dive at night as everything is super heightened. 

Afterwards, I met up with Courtney and Ryan again for dinner at Peppinos. We shared the mussels and I had the seafood risotto. For dessert, we shared a chocolate fondue. 

Day 3 – Dive Course

The last two dives of the course was the Deep Dive and Wreck Dive which were both in Cirkewwa. It was great to see the wrecks and even dive through them.

I also moved hotels to St Julian’s which is has more of a buzz. In the evening, we went to Wigi’s which was amazing. We had complimentary bread, cheese, olives and salami and shared the calamari starter and I had the duck as a main. For dessert, we shared the tiramisu and deconstructed cannoli.

Afterwards, we went to The Thirsty Barber and had some cocktails with live music playing.

Day 4 – Mdina

We started the morning with brunch at Two Buoys. It’s a Melbourne inspired cafe and I had the breakfast board with avocado on toast, bircher museli with fruit and orange juice which was good.

At Mdina, we went to Is-Serkin Crystal Palace Bar for pastizzis. We then walked around the city and went to Fontanella Tea Gardens for cake and tea.

For dinner, we went to San Giuliano Restaurant where we shared the burrata, proscuitto, seafood pasta and salt crusted fish.

We then headed back to The Thirsty Barber for more cocktails and live music where we stayed til close.

Day 5 – Three Cities

Courtney and I went to the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua) and walked around Birgu and Senglea. 

We went to Terrone for lunch which was a great spot! We shared the wood fire calamari and pan fried scallops as well as the spaghetti with sea urchin roe and taglierini with red mullet. Everything was delicious and the service was really friendly! 

We then drove to see Marsaxlokk and St Peter’s Pool.

In the evening, Courtney and I caught the bus to Valletta and went to Alchemy for a pre dinner cocktail.

We decided to do our final dinner at Noni in Valletta, a Michelin starred restaurant. The tasting menu was four courses for €85 but came with five different snacks and bread at the beginning which were delicious.

I had an early morning flight the next day so called it a night after but the vibe in Valletta was good!  It was great to get my Advanced Dive Course and spend some quality time in Malta with good friends!