MALTA NATURE TOURS

Dates and Time: – Mondays or Tuesdays (or Saturdays)* 9.30 am – 4.30 pm  

1. We meet at 9:30am at the parking area of the Xemxija Fire Brigade - also known as the Xemxija Civil Protection - very close to Xemxija rebuilt church.
2. An introduction speech is given, while we start our tour in the wonderful countryside of Mistra/Selmun area adorned by various local and Mediterranean flora. Accompanying our walk are also several spectacular views, secret lanes and sites of historical importance. Our resident expert will fill you in with all details about wild flowers, or sites explored.
3. Around noon we rest at Selmun Bar & Restaurant (specialising in Maltese food, such as rabbit). We have negotiated a selection of set menus at the very nice price of 12.95 EURO per person (children 6.95 EURO), including a glass of wine or a mineral drink, which you can choose from at the start of the walk. Food will be served on arrival, no wasted time! Please bring your own food if not interested to eat at the restaurant.
4. We should finish our adventure around 4:30 - 5:00pm. Be sure you have plenty of space in the memory card of your digital camera !!!

* The official dates are every Monday or Tuesday of every week from 15 October to 15 June. In some ocassions, the tours take place also on Saturdays, but this availability has to be confirmed in advanced.

To make reservations, please contact Mr. Stephen Mifsud at res@maltanaturetours.com by phone on (00356) 79546987 or fill the reservation in the [contacts page].

Season Special Events:

Oct - Dec 2007:

1. After a long hot and dry Summer, nature comes back into play on the Maltese islands, By mid October our Mediterranean islands will take again the green countryside colour, and MaltaNature Tours start to operate again.
2. During these 2-3 months, one can experience the autumn flowering plants, while enjoying a mildly warm sunny days (22-25C) and fresh cool air from the North West.
3. For this period, a CD with Maltese folk music is to be drawn as a lottery during the mid-day launch.

Meeting Place and Transport

The meeting place of the tour is near the church of a small village known Xemxija, which mostly is found lining Xemxija Coast. Few metres ahead from this church there is a parking lot, where there is also situated the Xemxija Fire Brigade (Xemxija Civil Protection). This parking area is the meeting spot of the tour.

There are 4 types of transportation:

1. 1) Public bus (cheapest)
2. 2) Your hired car
3. 3) Organised mini van (ideal for groups)
4. 4) Taxi (fastest!)

Transport by Bus:

Buses are frequent and do not take much time to travel across the small island of Malta. All buses go and leave from Valletta, so what you have to do is pick the bus from the nearest bus stop of your hotel, and once in Valletta follow the extremely easy guide (with true aerial views) prepared for you on this link [Click here]. The prices of buses are very, very cheap in Malta (less than half an Euro) and the time from Valletta to Mistra during the week should be around 45 minutes.

Hired Car:

The main destination is Xemxija Bay. Unless coming from Mellieha or Ghajn Tuffieha, you have to pass from Saint Paul's Bay which is well marked location in any local map. Once you are on the road that outlines most of Xemxija bay, follow Part 5 to Part 7 in the webpage dedicated to bus route guide

Transport by Mini Van or Coach:

If you are a group of tourists from same hotel, or hotels from same area namely:
1) Bugibba/Qawra area or
2) Sliema/Saint Julian area,
This transport option may appeal to you. The minivan gives the comfort of picking you up from your hotel and takes you to the meeting spot in 30mins or so. However this comes at an extra cost including return (depending number of tourists and area of your hotel). Please contact us for details about this option as it changes according time.

Transport by Taxi:

This is by far the fastest and easiest method of transportation, but can come at an extra cost of Lm10-Lm12 for one way transport.

Personally, we think that you should take the bus option!!! The ride itself is an experience while it drives through the urban cities of central Malta and observe the daily working lifestyle of the Maltese. Additionally, the bus passes by the largest dome-church of Mosta, countryside slopes of Burmarrad and the tuoristic town of St.Paul's Bay. It's true that you have to wake up earlier, but on the other hand it adds adventure, and by far the cheapest option. We made the online guide of bus transport too much easy!

Photo Gallery of this tour:

Pic 01		Picturesque view of Mistra Bay and Selmun area in hues of blue and green during Winter and Spring.
Pic 02		This area is beautified by several limestone slopes and cliffs that offers many scenic views.
Pic 03		Cliff edges are part of our guided tour and they give lovely views like this, azure sea and St. Paul's islands further away. /td>
Pic 04		Photo of St.Paul's Island which is the belief of many that it is the location where the Apostle St. Pail shipwrecked in 60 AD
Pic 05		Some part of the walk are easy and plain as this way lined with several trees,
Pic 06		Other parts are slightly more roughly terrained as seen here but compensated by air filled with native herbal aroma or flower fragrance along most of the way in the countryside. The Mediterranean heather, with conspicuous pink flowers, is a delight of many tourists.
Pic 07		In Winter, we would encounter the native French daffodil, one of the most elegant and fragrant flowers in Malta. Mistra at the background.
Pic 08		On the other hand, we also meet strange non native species (alien plants!) like this large Agave.
Pic 09		Some places of historical or archaeological importance are part of our way. This is the coat of arms of the GrandMaster Pinto of the Order of Saint John (17th cent).
Pic 10		Here is another masterpiece from the Order of Saint John - the palace of Selmun.
Pic 11		This is the restaurant that we will take our Maltese-style launch including local wine and beer. This restaurant specializes in Maltese rabbit, much hunted in this area hundreds of years ago.
Pic 12		Traditional wine recipients also from the same restaurant.
Pic 13		The chapel of Selmun situated on one side of Mistra valley.
Pic 14		Another photo of St.Paul's island.
Pic 15		Photo from one of the previous tours
Pic 16		Group photo near Selmun Palace in Spring 2006.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Is there a limit of tourists attending the tour?

Yes, not more than 24 persons per tour, so as to keep the walk peaceful and uncrowded. First come first served basis, so book now before it gets full up! Minimum 3 persons, we don't mind it!

Q: How can I book this tour?

You make your reservation from the contacts page [click here] either by writing an email or by filling the online form. We correspond back with you. If you are in Malta and do not have an internet access, you can phone (20c/min) or sms (2c/sms) on our helpdesk mobile phone and tell us your name/hotel room and hotel accommodation, then we phone you back. There is no obligation upon making a reservation, unless you order coach transport from us (in that case there is a deposit fee)

Q: We are a group of 12 tourists and would like to order a minivan. How it is done?

This will involve a transport service so be sure that you can come, as the transport company gets upset with us if you cancel in the last minute. Although there has been no trouble of this sort, we ask a deposit fee which is not refundable if you do not come. Full details and prices on request by email since conditions vary from season to another.

Q: If I take the bus option and I get late or lost?

The bus routes in Malta are far more simple than rest of Europe/US and the [bus guide] provided on the website makes life so easy that it is impossible to get lost (unless you fall asleep in the bus!) In case of delays of few couple of minutes, please phone the excursion leader from the Xemxija Fire Brigade Department (just at the meeting spot) for a feasible solution.

Q: What if it rains in the middle of the excursion?

It's still nice :-) unless you forget a light waterproof jacket and/or boots. Please have a look in the morning at the local weather forecast. (also on TV teletext of your hotel). The forecast of the day is quite accurate. If it gets impossible during the tour, we stop till the restaurant (half way) and you get half the money back.

Q: Can the tour be cancelled?

Yes in very difficult weather conditions (storms, ice hail or extreme wind) the tour is cancelled, or better to say postponed to the next date. In such rare cases, you will be informed at your hotel or own phone number early morning.

Q: I am old and not physically active, shall I come?

Although it is mostly plain walking, there are some elevated slopes that one should consider, and perhaps it is safer not to risk if you know that you have such fatigue trouble. Please bear in mind that we cannot nurse people who get too much tired quickly, as it will ruin the fun and value of the others. Despite this, the walk has several mini breaks and discussions stops about Maltese nature, so it is not a marathon sort of thing.

Q: When we should decide if we want to eat at the restaurant?

For practical purposes, the tour leader have to give the order about 1 hour before dining (that is around 11am), so please co-operate and decide in advance about this option. Please be advised that there are no other food options so if you are not eating at the restaurant, please bring food and water with you. The set-menu will be announced at the beginning of the tour.

Q: Does the restaurant serve food for vegetarians?

Yes, the set-menu includes vegetarian dishes.

Tourists Feedback!

Dean Gugler and Fleur-Ange Lamothe, Canada

Read their letter on Sunday Times of Malta: [click here]

Capricorn, The netherlands

I really enjoyed this tour, observing all these flowers with detailed explanations from the expert tour leader. Despite a bit long, time flied quickly because there is always something new to see, and if not there are some interesting flower to keep our ears listening. The scenery was spectacular most of the way. Pity we got dull clouds at the end.

Olaf and Niklas, Stockholm

Malta is really nice, and this selected area is probably one of the best on the islands. What made the tour superior from others was the tour leader who knows a little of everything and a lot on wild flowers and geography. He also helped me to take some great photos from his keen knowledge on photography and kept us all motivated with his cheerful and explorative manner. There should be more different tours when I come next year!

Patricia Johnson, UK

If I was rich I would buy a farm house in Misstra as I really liked the views and landscape+seascape. I did not know that there are so much different flowers on a small island, including one named for my country (England). The up-slope was quite tough, but rewarded by the views and daffodil fragrance.

Jeremy and Susan, Ireland

This was an enjoyable tour mostly because there was no time pressure. The tour leader gave us enough time to take our photos, have small rests and remove some thistles from our socks. We had to finish at 4:30 but we took till 5:15 due the numerous breaks, mostly because of me and my wife. Despite that, the guide and the rest of the tourists where not angry at us and felt as one big group of friends. The restaurant was great - pity we could not stay more!

Karl & Anna Struber, Austria

I was skeptical about this walk, but my wife carried me with her. It turned out to be the best day of our holiday, thanks also to the fine weather. It made me feel young again and not fond to go back to snowy Austria. The guy organising the walk was very involving to make the best for all the group.

Svetlana, Moscow

While moscow is snow, Malta is full of flowers and warm sun. I got nice red skin from this beautiful walk. Pity I could not understand much English as the guide was full of information to us.