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Travel thread 3.0

Zatara said:
Anyone been to Malta? Worth an extended stay?

How does it compare to Spain?
Click to expand...
Not in my opinion. Valletta is nice in the old town but I'm not keen on the rest. To be honest, the worst thing about Malta is the English and Italian tourists.

Comparing anything to Spain is difficult because it's so varied. Majorca isn't Madrid and Barcelona isn't Seville. I guess it depends on what you're looking for.
 
Bkk Andy said:
Not in my opinion. Valletta is nice in the old town but I'm not keen on the rest. To be honest, the worst thing about Malta is the English and Italian tourists.

Comparing anything to Spain is difficult because it's so varied. Majorca isn't Madrid and Barcelona isn't Seville. I guess it depends on what you're looking for.
Click to expand...

Yeah was looking at Valletta and thought it looked interesting -- then saw that its the main tourist part and not the place to stay beyond a couple of days.

Was looking at the St Juliens and other areas. Seemed nice but looks like theres huge numbers of tourists.

So it looks to me like if you want to he 'in the action' thats going to be full of tourists and not a nice mix of locals with quality lifestlye.

With Spain you had the tourists (ive not been for many years) but not en masse (unless the cheapo places for drinking) and it didnt really ruin the Spanish vibe. Though now of course they are protesting against tourism.

Was thinking of Barca, Madrid, Majorca or Marbella and spending some time in one place...but thought Malta may be worth a look instead.
 
Zatara said:
Yeah was looking at Valletta and thought it looked interesting -- then saw that its the main tourist part and not the place to stay beyond a couple of days.

Was looking at the St Juliens and other areas. Seemed nice but looks like theres huge numbers of tourists.

So it looks to me like if you want to he 'in the action' thats going to be full of tourists and not a nice mix of locals with quality lifestlye.

With Spain you had the tourists (ive not been for many years) but not en masse (unless the cheapo places for drinking) and it didnt really ruin the Spanish vibe. Though now of course they are protesting against tourism.

Was thinking of Barca, Madrid, Majorca or Marbella and spending some time in one place...but thought Malta may be worth a look instead.
Click to expand...
I stayed in St. Juliens a few years ago and it had an unpleasant loutish clientele. I was disappointed in Malta.

I was in Barcelona late last year and it was fine. It definitely wasn't as friendly as precovid but then I've seen that in a number of places. The protests wouldn't put me off going. My personal opinions are that Barcelona is one of the world's great cities - it has everything including a beach. I would do that and rule out Majorca and Marbella. Madrid is well worth a visit too. It's a capital with plenty to see and do but less touristy than a lot of capital cities. Majorca and Marbella are beach resorts and you have much better beach resorts in Asia.

I have a mate who swears by Bilbao. I haven't been personally but he's well travelled and claims it's an food haven and the lack of tourists makes it a dream visit for a few days of relaxing and eating.
 
Bkk Andy said:
I stayed in St. Juliens a few years ago and it had an unpleasant loutish clientele. I was disappointed in Malta.

I was in Barcelona late last year and it was fine. It definitely wasn't as friendly as precovid but then I've seen that in a number of places. The protests wouldn't put me off going. My personal opinions are that Barcelona is one of the world's great cities - it has everything including a beach. I would do that and rule out Majorca and Marbella. Madrid is well worth a visit too. It's a capital with plenty to see and do but less touristy than a lot of capital cities. Majorca and Marbella are beach resorts and you have much better beach resorts in Asia.

I have a mate who swears by Bilbao. I haven't been personally but he's well travelled and claims it's an food haven and the lack of tourists makes it a dream visit for a few days of relaxing and eating.
Click to expand...

Issue i have with Barcelona is that if I like it and want to buy a place there to use X amount of time a year -- it would be good to be able to rent it out the rest of the time.

Also if i decide to buy there anyway for a long term investment then the rental risks are frightening with it being 11months max before the rights of tennant are greater than the owner. So a bit of a tangent but thinking ahead.

With Malta i was thinking its a tiny country so the value of an investment should increase while if like spain it could be a good alternative.

Didnt realise it has such a massive tourist side.
 

Zatara said:
Issue i have with Barcelona is that if I like it and want to buy a place there to use X amount of time a year -- it would be good to be able to rent it out the rest of the time.

Also if i decide to buy there anyway for a long term investment then the rental risks are frightening with it being 11months max before the rights of tennant are greater than the owner. So a bit of a tangent but thinking ahead.

With Malta i was thinking its a tiny country so the value of an investment should increase while if like spain it could be a good alternative.

Didnt realise it has such a massive tourist side.
Click to expand...
Whilst I'm sure there will plenty of twists, turns and legal challenges I would consider Barcelona a high risk investment for rental properties

Barcelona to BAN SHORT-TERM RENTALS BY 2028 | Rental Scale-Up

On June 21, 2024, Barcelona's current mayor, Jaume Collboni, announced a significant policy change aimed at addressing the city's housing crisis. By November
www.rentalscaleup.com www.rentalscaleup.com
 
Bkk Andy said:
Whilst I'm sure there will plenty of twists, turns and legal challenges I would consider Barcelona a high risk investment for rental properties

Barcelona to BAN SHORT-TERM RENTALS BY 2028 | Rental Scale-Up

On June 21, 2024, Barcelona's current mayor, Jaume Collboni, announced a significant policy change aimed at addressing the city's housing crisis. By November
www.rentalscaleup.com www.rentalscaleup.com
Click to expand...

Yes exactly, though this could also drive the market down.
 
I have stayed in Malta (St Juliens) a couple of times, and also Gozo which is the Maltese version of the Isle of Man (well worth a visit). Never noticed any loutish behaviour, but it was out of the regular holday season. One thing is the Maltese people love to party, we arrived one year on St Patricks Day and it was utter bedlam - everybody was out on the streets drinking and music was all around. The taxi we hired couldn't get near the hotel, so had to drop us off as near as he could and we pulled our cases through the throng of people. We then went out and joined them :pint2:.
 
Off to Barcelona tomorrow for a couple of nights. I paid £25 return for my flights, which, was cheaper than a return train ticket to London, even at the time of booking (start of October)

I've also just booked my flights to Bangkok, in March, I'm flying with Turkish Airlines so it includes a 15 hour layover, which means I'll be able to spend a decent amount of time in Istanbul on my way back:dance:
 

Zatara said:
Anyone been to Malta? Worth an extended stay?

How does it compare to Spain?
Click to expand...
We went to Malta in March after bagging dirt cheap flights. Didn’t like it at all. We stayed in St Juliens. 2 things stood out, at night it was more like Magaluf and also relatively expensive, particularly for eating out.

Also as Andy mentioned there’s a huge British legacy, so you never really escape that influence. Go in many of the bars and you could be anywhere in the UK. The Beggar’s Inn, Black Bull and the Anvil. You’ll never have a language problem and will never be far away from somewhere offering a full English.

There’s big money there now, associated with all the on-line betting mobs based there. Loads of top of the range, flash motors on parade all weekend.

We went over to Gozo, it’s a different world. Laid back, slower and comparatively cheaper. Probably a bit too slow for any length of time, unless you enjoy staring at the sea.

I see @Bkk Andy has suggested Bilbao. We go there regularly. It’s a super city. Has an old historic centre, great food and brilliant nightlife. Plus as a bonus, they love Howard Kendall !

One place we went to this year and were pleasantly surprised, was Albania. Super people, cheap as chips and more countryside and coast to explore, than you can waggle a stick at. I think the Brits have tended to avoid it, but the Italians flock to the Albanian riviera in summer.

We stayed in Sarande, on the southern tip on our way to Corfu, an hour away on the ferry. It’s deffo on the way up and whilst a bit of catching is needed, to fully reach the 21st century, that only added to the appeal and authenticity.
 
Haydn said:
One place we went to this year and were pleasantly surprised, was Albania. Super people, cheap as chips and more countryside and coast to explore, than you can waggle a stick at. I think the Brits have tended to avoid it, but the Italians flock to the Albanian riviera in summer.
Click to expand...
Haydn said:
We stayed in Sarande, on the southern tip on our way to Corfu, an hour away on the ferry. It’s deffo on the way up and whilst a bit of catching is needed, to fully reach the 21st century, that only added to the appeal and authenticity.
Click to expand...
I’ll second that. Lovely country of contrasts and the people were fantastic.
 

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