Hello charliegirl, Like you and most of the others to this forum I have been to Malta more than once, I always said that I would like to go to as many places as I could and never the same hotel more than once.
That said I have to admit that I have been to some places more than once and find that they are never what you remember them as, you only have to go back say 4 or 5 years after the first visit and the nice bright hotel you remember is now in need of a refit or the chef has left and the food has gone down the hill, as was the case with this summers holiday to Malta.
Since my kids left home and we have been going on more holidays aboard, we have been to.
All four of the main Canary Islands and will be going to Lanzarote again this new year, (not the same resort)
The Algarve four times, the Lisbon Coast, and Lisbon twice
Spain four times along with two visits to Mallorca and once to Ibiza.
Greek Islands,Cyprus,Crete,Corfu twice,Zakinthos and Rhodes to see what the Knights got up to there. with day trips to Simi, Kefallonia,Paxos.
Austria.
France four times
Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.
Malta five times with a week in Gozo
Once I even went north of the boarder to visit Scotland, but of all the places I have got to I think that Portugal has the most to offer with its great beaches some good bars with things for all age groups a wealth of history good roads to get about on, prices that don't leave you skint for your food and drink, with most of all nice people who don't offer you help with there hands out for a tip all the time.

Well thats me,
Dave.

Good post that Dave

Oh well, I think this could be an interesting thread although I don't really qualify as someone looking at the site for the first time!

Also I haven't exactly 'chosen' to come to Malta either, although we've been here since March which is the equivalent of about 16 years worth of holidays (pedant).

The interesting bit would be finding destinations that are similar to Malta - Charliegirl, do you mean places that have been occupied by the British and have a British 'veneer' so to speak or just historical places in general with lots to do in a small area, or even somewhere that combines sunshine and history? I would imagine that Cyprus or Gibralter may have similar characteristics, although I haven't been to either. India is a fascinating place both for the colonial remnants and fascinating history, as well as being English speaking and having fantastic beaches.

For condensed history Granada in Spain is very interesting with the exquisite Alhambra Palace and the Moorish Quarter (known as a medina funnily enough), the south of France with it's fortified city of Carcasonne is also reminiscent of Mdina, there are also many other remnants of Cathar heritage in the area. Britanny is somewhere you could find ancient stone circles as well as castles and fabulous cathedrals, although perhaps not quite sunny enough. I've been to both so am speaking from experience here. Other places that spring to mind are parts of Slovakia because I've just seen an excellent photo exhibition, bits of Germany for the castles or the prizewinner would have to be Greece for the sheer volume of stuff, particularly the Peleponnese and the ruins of Mycenae! Although maybe Turkey would also be pretty good.

Other places I've been to include:

Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, France, Yugoslavia (as was), Germany, Greece, Spain (Canaries & mainland), Portugal, Czech Republic, Russia, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Australia (Queensland), USA (West Coast & Florida), Canada (Vancouver and Banff) and Taiwan.

Places I want to go to include:

Hawaii, Iceland, more of Australia, New Zealand, more of USA and Canada, Egypt, more of Russia, particularly St Petersburg, somewhere in Africa to see the wildlife, Seychelles and several others that I think of when browsing Google Earth.

Like Dave above, we don't tend to go back to the same places very often for similar reasons, although we're going back to Disney in Florida in December! The world's too small and diverse to keep going back! Being an expat is a great way to get to the places that are a bit further from home.

Ciao

Susan

Well what do I mean by 'similar to Malta'. I mean somewhere that you will feel safe. We are going to Barcelona this weekend and from the reports I think I will sellotape my purse to my body!!.
I want somewhere that is not a purpose built 'holiday' resort. We went to Cyprus and the only other people in the 'resort' were other holiday makers. I like to mix with the (friendly) locals and feel welcome in their country.
I want a lot of places to visit. We went to the algarve and to see anywhere but the immediate area you had to travel miles away. One trip was 3 hours before we got to anywhere of interest.
All this sounds like i am sooooooo picky, well I am, but I have been to several paces in Italy and loved them all.
It will be interesting to see why people going to Malta for the 1st time have chosen it. This thread may pick up a bit after the new year

I don't think you are any pickier than most people when it comes to holidays. Perhaps you've been unlucky in your choices though.

I know that when we went to the Algarve we chose a resort made up of apartments, these were mostly owned by Portuguese and our neighbours were a Portuguese family on holiday from Lisbon. We spent some time getting to know them quite well and were told that during the summer most of the Portuguese head south to the Algarve for their holidays!

With regard to Barcelona, I daresay that if you read travellers reports of London then you'd probably get a similar message. Generally you have to take sensible precautions in most destinations and Malta is no exception.

Last Friday I had my purse stolen while at a function at Pembroke Fort, despite being a limited population of guests, the purse was never recovered - even minus the cash. Just yesterday I was out on the back balcony when I heard a commotion in the street below and witnessed a group of teenage boys throwing stones down the steps towards the restaurants beside Spinola Bay. They smashed table settings and a window by all accounts (this was about 6pm). Now, if you'd read about these incidents in a travellers report you might get a rather unfair view of Malta. But they are isolated incidents and generally this is the case elsewhere as well. I have been pickpocketed in Milan and Singapore too (you'd think I'd learn to be a bit more careful by now!)

My parents travel extensively in France and they always choose a pension or guesthouse to stay in and they usually find a warm welcome and friendly 'locals'.

If you choose your accommodation carefully, and perhaps use a website like Expedia/Travelocity you may find better options available than those offerred by a local travel agent. In fact I think it is far more interesting to wade through all the information on the internet and tailor make your own holiday. That way you can really find what you're looking for!

Ciao

Susan