Anyone been to malaga area round new year?
Used to do christmas and new year in nerja. Spectacular
Was in nerja 4 years back for a week in summer.
Go on
New years on the balcon, not superficially touristy, great food, Christmas markets. A wonderful place
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Very quiet.
Nearly everything closed.
So it’ll be just your own complex really…
Just back from Malta.
Interesting place, generally sound people. Lots to see and do for a couple of small islands. There is history everywhere, with places like Mdina ‘The Silent City’ going back to 4,000BC. If scenery is your thing, there’s the Blue Grotto on Malta and Blue Lagoon on neighbouring island of Gozo. The road network is good, but traffic on the northern part of the island can be brutal as it’s where everyone lives. The southern half is sparsely populated by contrast. Marsaxlokk in the south is one lovely fishing town we went to that had a massive market.
We stayed in Bugibba, which is in St Paul’s Bay on the northeast of Malta for all but one night. The international airshow was a welcome distraction from the heat on Saturday, although it was cancelled on Sunday as it was deemed too windy. St Paul’s Bay is half a hour up the road from St Julian’s/Paceville which is a mad area, the Las Vegas party central of Malta. It wouldn’t be for me but the young people seemed to love it. Sliema & Valletta are next to St Julian’s. Valetta is worth seeing because of all the forts & churchs/palaces on it, although it’s not as highly populated as the other areas on the island. I did manage to find the worst hotel on the island in Sliema to stay in for the first night, nothing worked, including the air con, but as it was cheap and only for one night, I put up with it.
Prices in Malta for food are generally cheaper than Ireland - anything from €1.70 to €2 for a takeaway coffee. A three course meal in a restaurant costs around €25. The Maltese are similar in their ways to southern Italians, it’s not hard to see how they are descended from Etruscans way back. The language is mad though - a Maghreb Semitic Arabic base language, that has been heavily influenced by Italian, English and French. They can throw in whole or half sentences in any of the other three languages before flipping back into Arabic again. It’s mad. Thankfully, almost all Maltese natives can speak and/or understand English (it was a British colony from 1813 after the Napoleonic Wars through to 1964 when it gained independence). Daytime temps were between 27 and 30 Celsius for the five days I spent there. It never went below 23 at night.
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What sort of temperature is it that time of year
it was pleasant, 18 or 19 degrees. The continentals were going around in their jackets and I had the O’Neills shorts and factor 30
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Grand.
We are on for that. Flights booked.
All junior cchas can now look after themselves.
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I hope ye have a great time
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Do you need a visa for Dubai/UAE?
Not for holidays
Canary Islands with kids in may any recommendations for places to stay. Preferably Lanzarote
What age are the kids?
7, 9 and 11
The H10 hotels are good especially Rubicon Palace
This is a good start @Arthur - there’s a few in Playa Blanca and one in Costa Teguise. All Inclusive and self contained sort of job.
Or if you want self catering apartments then you’re better heading for Puerto Del Carmen. All depends what sort of stuff you want to do with the kids
When mine were small we took them to Puerto Rico a couple of times and it was great, stayed in Marina Suites, might not even be called that anymore but it was good.
Puerto Rico is a bit quieter than other resorts I think, Gran Canaria though
A roaster pic. Drinking that piss over the local beers !
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