This was a trip of incredible surprises. Sure, I expected my four day weekend in Malta to be awesome, filled with fun history from the capital of Valletta. (Click here to read more about Valletta and the history of Malta.) But the rest? I wasn’t exactly skeptical – after all, every place has amazing aspects – but neither was I truly excited. Beaches aren’t really my thing, nor are crowded party vibes.

Well, beaches and parties are still not my favorite activities, but Malta is so much more. And all of it, literally everything I did, saw, and ate, was amazing!

When I checked in for my flight to Malta from Athens, I was informed that the time had changed, from being an early afternoon flight to one departing Athens at 7am. My first thought – after figuring out maneuvering to the airport in Athens at such an hour – was: what am I going to do with that first day, which is now basically a full day? After an easy deplaning and quick Uber to my hotel, Malta came through with its first wonderful surprise.

My hotel, the Strand Suites by Neu Collective, was just off the waterfront in Gzira, one of the Valletta suburbs. (Gzira and next door Sliema make for a hotel, cafe, bar, and shop-lined tourist hub across the harbor from the capital.) “Your room won’t be ready until 2pm,” the front desk attendant informed me, “but I can offer you free passes to our waterfront pool club if you’d like.” Apparently, Neu Collective, which runs a few hotels in the area, also owns Aqualuna, a lovely waterfront pool with music, food and drinks, and a ton of lounge chairs under various amounts of umbrella depending on the sun.

Now as mentioned earlier, I’m not a club scene guy, but the loungers upstairs are quieter, and after a dip in the pool, a pitcher of sangria, and a great flatbread, my sunglasses-adorned face was smiling as I relaxed back on my chair. Life in Malta was off to a solid start.

There is no question that Gzira and Sliema are crowded with tourists, many of them younger and in various phases of intoxication as they get on and off party boat cruises. But amongst those overcrowded floating bars are other craft offering day trips to Malta’s other islands. Did you know Malta is actually three islands? Malta itself is the main one, but Gozo and Comino are also part of the country. (Gozo has a population around 60,000 compared to Malta’s 450,000, while Comino is basically uninhabited.) And what’s more, some of these day cruises offer beach time while still allowing for guests to remain on the boat and in its shade if they want minimal time in the water or on the rocky shore. And even more, a select few also include a bus from the port on Gozo into the capital of that island, Victoria, for some free time there before heading to Comino and beach time.

Again, score one for Malta, providing an option for people like me who prefer a slightly more wholesome and more cultured way to experience the beach life of a Mediterranean island. It is €42 per person for the day, plus another €5 for rental snorkel equipment, and I wound up getting to experience all three of Malta’s islands, with a narrated tour of the coast as we sailed along and a couple hours to head to the fortified citadel complex in Victoria.

And while it’s still not my favorite thing, and is itself overcrowded, a couple hours on the clear water of Comino’s Blue Lagoon weren’t so bad, either.

Malta was definitely doing well, especially combined with the history in Valletta. But for any destination to truly shine, the food has to be incredible. And my guess was that Malta, both for cultural and touristic reasons, would basically be your generic Italian food and bar/pubs. I was very wrong.

Ta’ Kris is billed as having authentic Maltese cuisine, so I figured a dinner there would be a good way to see if there was really such a thing. Turns out that not only does Malta have a unique cuisine all to itself, but that it is darned good! The meal began with bigilla, a garlic-forward bean dip that I’ve determined to learn to make at home for game days.

Next came a breaded sheep’s milk cheese served with a bitter orange sauce. Truly divine!

And then the piece de force, Malta’s famous rabbit, stewed and literally falling off the bone.

But it isn’t just Ta’ Kris that offers amazing local food. In Valletta, I discovered Nenu the Artisan Baker, a restaurant specializing in Maltese flatbreads called ftira. I got mine with cheese, veggies, and spicy Maltese sausage. Paired with a Kinnie, a local bitter orange cola, it is incredible. Malta surprises again!

And honestly, this is all only scratching the surface of what Malta seems to have to offer. I didn’t even get to walk through the only accessible-to-the-public Neolithic burial chambers, explore the oldest megalithic temples in Europe, watch the sun set into the Med, or try the rest of the menu at Ta’ Kris and its ilk.

I expected to like Malta. I really did. I didn’t expect to fall in love with it. This tiny island nation truly surprises, and in an incredible way. If you go, you’ll see for yourself.

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