Malta - The World's Biggest Open Air Museum
We recommend Malta as the perfect starting place for a yacht charter holiday, just because it's a wonderful location from where to start exploring the Mediterranean, with many things to offer to the intrepid sailor. Being located at the border of Europe and Asia, the island has a long culture and thus there is a lot of exploring to be done here. Perfect for those interested in shoreline sailing.
General Info
For thousands of years the Maltese archipelago has been an important port stop for any trip in the Mediterranean basin which is why history left its mark on this group of islands that are located off the southern coast of Italy. Its geographic position in the Mediterranean helped it develop its economy so that today it’s a thriving tourist destination that boasts impressive numbers of Yacht Charter visitors year after year.
So many cultures and peoples have lived in Malta that the country has been called the world’s largest outdoor museum. From Neolithic temples to the templar monasteries Malta has it all, an important lesson in history for any Yacht Charter tourist who wants to see the old Mediterranean.
Yacht Charter sailors who come to Malta usually hang out on Golden Bay known for its beautiful beaches or at the Blue Grotto famous for its natural crock formations and deep waters. Others that prefer a more secluded location can head out to St. Thomas Bay where you’ll also find some very spectacular white cliffs.
A bonus is the proximity to other popular tourist destinations like Tunisia, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. This is especially convenient for Yacht Charter sailors who can island hop without any time-consuming journeys.
Law & Order
Like many other countries in the region, Malta has a warm climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters making the Yacht Charter season last longer than in other sailing destinations, from April until October. The local Yacht Charter industry is very well developed so you shouldn’t have trouble finding a vessel for you and your group.
Permits are needed to operate a boat but the Maltese take kindly to papers emitted in foreign countries. The person looking to charter a boat should have a valid skipper license or a sailing certificate compatible with the type of yacht he will charter. This also applies for motorboats as well.
As always, when you want to enter a foreign country, you should have in your possession a valid passport and a travel visa, enough money for the trip and proof of the return ticket. American citizens are exempt from travel visas and citizens of EU countries don’t need to provide proof of return ticket. The period a Yacht Charter tourist can stay in Malta is 3 months, after that the visa has to be prolonged.