Sardinia or Malta

postman Jan 13, 2008 20:49:08

In the next week or so I'm booking a holiday for May. I'd really like to see Sardinia but have heard it's an expensive place. The Maltese temples also scream for my attention but i've heard Malta's not a very pretty place. Menorca looks good too .Anything anyone can say about the three places concerning car hire, food, places for kids to play etc etc would be hugely welcome.

sals Jan 14, 2008 09:52:51

Replying to postman

Well, I'm off to Malta tonight, so can't comment on there yet, but .....

Sardinia - can be expensive but not necessarily so! We went end of season and managed flights and a week of sc accommodation for about £350 for two, and as for eating out, a litre of wine and a couple of good pizzas for 20 euros isn't bad imo. Car hire reasonable too. And there's just so much to see! Of course, there are some really expensive areas - just choose carefully. Remember, it's a bigger island that you might imagine - I've already booked a week in May (well, the flights at least) and have enough sites researched to keep me busy for that and another month easily - after the ones I visited last time!

Menorca / Majorca - probably easier to do as a cheaper option, and more manageable sized. Pretty much wherever you stay, you can get to any site in a reasonable time - we drove from one end of Menorca to the other on several occasions. Again, good value for money for car hire and eating out etc was easy enough to find.

Can't comment on kids facilities as it's always just me and the Beardy one who go (except this next trip when I'm on my own!) but staying anywhere in the Ballearics and I'd imagine based around Alghero in Sardinia should have plenty to keep little ones happy.

A note about Malta - Hagar Qim and Mnajdra are closed till sometime in May - so if these are essential to you, go somewhere else this time round.

Check out blogs by me, Moth and Jane, and Fitz for all the islands' sites and our adventures

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/user/328/weblog/

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/user/506/weblog/

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/user/1761/weblog/ but this link takes you straight to Menorca rather than via France, Denmark .....
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/37730/weblog/

and

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/user/1234/weblog/

Back in a week if you need any other info - drop me a mail

Sals

Jane Jan 14, 2008 10:01:58

Replying to postman

Weird you should ask that question postman, as Moth and I decided last night we should go to Sardinia in May - probably for a week sometime after my exhibition ends on Sunday 18 May :-)

Maybe see you there!
J
x

fitzcoraldo Jan 16, 2008 15:35:11

Replying to postman

Howdo Postie
If you chose Malta then you must visit the Hypogeum and you must book your place at least 4-6 weeks before you set off.
Tickets can be booked on line at Heritage Maltas website
http://www.heritagemalta.org/hypogeum.html

cheers
fitz

Hob Jan 17, 2008 01:27:41

Replying to postman

postman wrote:

Menorca looks good too .Anything anyone can say about the three places concerning car hire, food, places for kids to play etc etc would be hugely welcome.

I can't say much about the archaeology of Menorca, as I saw virtually now, but I do know the family-placating aspects will be easy there. And if you're up for car hiring, I reckon you could get to see a fair bit of stuff even if limited to after bairns are gone to kip, as everything is quite close, and the roads don't seem too bad.

Have a great time wherever you end up Postie :)

BuckyE Jan 23, 2008 14:21:14

Replying to postman

Just for historical purposes, I'll add that Loie and I found the cost of a week in Sardinia to be very reasonable. In 2005, we rented an "apartment" that was one floor of a very nice beach house in Torre del Pozzo on the western coast outside Oristano for about 700 USD. Groceries, wine and mirto were relatively cheap. We ferried our rental car from Civitavecchia as we had been on the Amalfi coast the previous week, seeing Greek and Roman antiquities, so I can't say what a car would cost on Sardinia.

Perhaps a travel agent would try to book a party into one of the resorts on the Emerald (north) Coast, and that could be expensive, if easier than trying to rent a house on one's own.

Sardinia was totally cool. We used the expectedly excellent Cadogan Guide as our base research for the island in general, supplemented with listings from here, the Stone Pages and MegPortal.

The Temple Wells were among the most evocative and atmospheric things we've ever seen.