Waterfront Hotel Malta

Banks - Opening hours vary from bank to bank, but normally they are from 08:00 or 8:30 to 13:00 or 14:00 from Monday to Friday throughout the year. on Saturdays, most banks only open untill 12:00.

Offices - From 1 October to 30 June from 08:30 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 17:30 Monday to Friday. Some offices reopen at 15:00.
From 1 July to 30 September working hours are from 07:30 to 13:30 Monday to Friday.

Shops - From 09:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00 Monday to Saturday. On Saturdays, most shops are only open in the morning.
Shops in tourist areas do not normally close at lunchtime and remain open until 22:00 in summer.

A valid driving license from country of origin is required. In Malta, driving is on the left hand side. Of course this should not discourage you from hiring a car to see the various places of interest.

There are some 200 chemists in Malta and about a dozen in Gozo; these are open during normal shopping hours. On Sunday chemists open on a roster basis from 9:00 until 12:30; check Sunday newspapes

Veterinary pharmacies - There are eight such chemists, all in Malta, and they are open during normal shopping hours.

Malta`s climate is strongly influenced by the sea and is typically Mediterranean.
Winters are mild with occasional cold weather brought by northerly and non-easterly winds from central Europe.
Summers are hot, dry and very sunny. Cooling sea breezes often relieve daytime temperatures, but in spring and autumn a very hot wind from Africa occasionally brings unpleasantly high temperatures. This is the scirocco, which also affects Greece and Italy; in Malta the air is usually drier because of the short sea track from the African coast.
Rainfall is low, averaging 578mm a year, and the dry season in summer is longer than in southern Italy.
The islands have a very sunny climate with a daily average of five to six hours of sunshine in mid-winter and more than 12 hours a day in summer.

A five-day weather forecast are available on: www.maltaweather.com

The unit of currency is the Malta Lira, abbreviated as 'LM' and divided into 100 cents.
Malta will adopt the euro as its national currence on 1 January 2008. The exchange rate between the euro and the lira has been pegged at €1 = Lm0.4293

As in many Commonwealth countries, driving in Malta is on the left. There is a speed limit of 80kph (50mph) on a highways and 50kph (90mph) in urban areas.
Third party insurance is advisable, as the islands` accident rate is one of the highest in Europe with an average of 37 incidents a day.
Visitors should be extremely cautious, as local drivers may be erratic. Roads flood easily and are often narrow, winding and congested. Arterial roads are prone to bottlenecks and serious accidents, often due to drivers` inexperience in merging or because of speeding.

Licences - Any foreigner holding EU licence and who is over 18 may drive in Malta until the licence`s expiry.
Holders of non-EU driving licences may drive in Malta for up to 12 months, but must apply for a Certificate of Local Registration of Visitor`s Driving Licence from the Licensing and Testing Directorate in Floriana.This is a straightforward procedure that requires a passport showing the last date of arriving in Malta and valid foreign driving licence. The certificate is issued on the spot and is free.
Visitors driving their own car do not require having their licenses endorsed.

The eletrical supply is 240 volts, single phase, 50 cycles. The 13amps, three pin rectangular sockets are used in Malta.

Travellers do not normally require certificates of vaccination or inoculation to enter the islands. However, yellow fever immunisation is needed by the travellers over nine months old if arriving within six days of leaving an infected area.
Malta has reciprocal health agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom. Nationals of Australia may receive free emergency care up to six months after their arrival in Malta. UK nationals visiting the islands for no longer than 30 days are entitled to free medical and hospital care in Gozo and Malta.
Visitors from EU and EEA member states are also entitled to publicly funded health care services on presentation of their European Health Insurance Card. If relevant card is not presented, bills must be paid in full before leaving the hospital of health centre. All medicines used in in-patient treatment and for the first three days after discharge are free.
Persons undergoing medical treatment - and who may need to bring medicines to Malta, or buy fresh supplies locally - areadvised to obtain a letter of introduction from their family doctor. Most European prescriptions are available on the islands
There is one general hospital in Malta and one in Gozo. There also are government health centres in several towns and villages, these open from 08:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday and from 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturday and Sunday. The centres are open 24-hours a day for emergencies only

Public holidays observed in Malta are:

01 January-      New Year`s Day
10 February-    St Paul`s Shipwreck
19 March-        St Joseph`s Day
31 March-         Freedom Day
06 April-           Good Friday
08 April-           Easter Sunday
01 May-            Labour Day
07 June-           Commemoration of 7 June 1919
29 June-            L-imnarja (SS Peter and Paul)
15 August-       Assumption (Santa Marija)
08 September- Our Lady of Victories
21 September- Independence Day
08 December-  Immaculate Conception
13 December-  Republic Day
25 December-  Christmas Day

Parish festas - in addition to public holidays, each parish in the islands - there are 68 in Malta and 15 in Gozo - celebrates the feast of its patron saint.
Most parishes celebrate their festas in summer. The peak day for festas is 15 August, when seven parishes clebrate the Assumption of Our Lady.

Maltese and English are the official languages of Malta. Italian and German are also widely spoken and an increasing number speak French and Spanish.

There are two types of petrol in Malta - lead replacement petrol (LRP) and unleaded. Because of relative cheapness of diesel, diesel-powered autos are common. Service stations are open 07.00 hours till 18.00 hours in winter and 07.00 hours till 19.00 hours in summer. On Sundays manned service stations open by roster from 08.00 until 12.00. Self - service pumps are available 24 hours a day.

Malta is on Central European Time (CET); one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in winter and two hours from the last Sunday March until the last Sunday in October.
Malta is six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST) in winter and seven ahead from the last Dunday in March until the last Sunday in October.
Dial 195 for a time check.

Frequently Asked Questions