Typical Malta and its islands coastline by Martin Lopatka

Adventure Sports

If your idea of a holiday doesn’t involve being solidly sedentary, take a walk on the wild side, and get some adventure filled adrenaline coursing through your veins. Rock climbing and bouldering are great way to get super fit and super focused, while having fun and meeting new people. The heat of summer will no doubt limit your activity to early morning and late evening, but you can fill the rest of your day with kayaking, water skiing, wind surfing, sailing, and of course, swimming.

Diving

Malta is renowned for its fantastic and diverse dive sites. There is plenty of marine life to see, and wrecks and caves to explore. Dive schools can be found all over the island offering certified courses and beginner dives.

Beach combing

Nothing beats the feeling of sand between your toes, a cool breeze on your neck and the aroma of the sea all around. Malta’s coastline is beautiful and there are many beaches to choose from, each different to the next, and each with its own unique style. Spend your holiday discovering a new place to sunbake every day.

Valletta, Malta by Vicki Burton

Fishing

They say there’s nothing more relaxing than spending the day with a quiet companion; sitting by the water with a fishing rod in one hand and a cool beer in the other. Either hire your own equipment and find a good spot, or go out on a boat fishing trip with a local company.

Village Festa

An evening spent at a village festa is a unique way to get to know the local people and experience the local culture. Every village on Malta and Gozo will celebrate their saint during the summer and there is a festa every weekend, so just ask a local and they’ll tell you which village to visit at any given time. There will be music and dancing; food and drink, colourful characters and possibly a little mayhem. The feast is a family affair so take the kids with you and join in the fun.

Popeye village

Another one to enjoy with children is Popeye village, at Anchor Bay in Malta. Originally the set for the Popeye movie starring Robin Williams, the village is now a small theme park that attracts tourists all year round. It’s great for kids because there are loads of attractions that will keep them entertained, including; animators, puppet shows, an indoor play area, a funfair, a shaded play pool and a swimming pool. Anchor Bay is also a lovely area to go for a swim in the sea and enjoy the scenery.

Popeye village, Malta by njaminjami

Live Music Events

The Malta Jazz festival takes place in July and draws high profile musicians from around the world. The backdrop for the event is the Valletta waterfront and Grand Harbour; the event is spread over three days and the experience is priceless. If Jazz is not your thing, the Isle of MTV is in late June; it rocks a massive crowd, and draws big names from the world of pop music, and it doesn’t disappoint.

The Malta Experience and The Mdina Experience

Sometimes in summer, the best thing to do is get out of the sun. Spending a little time getting lost in Malta’s spellbinding history is highly rewarding and will give you a much better understanding of the hearts of the Maltese people. Whether you’re visiting Valletta or Mdina, be sure to take the time to sit back and watch Malta’s story unfold before you.

Mdina, Malta by Brian Brake

Amanda Webb enjoys writing about Malta. Malta offers a variety to tourists where they can stay in one of the luxury four star hotels renowned for their peaceful location in Bugibba.

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The national park is popular with hikers and mountaineers, but not suitable for beginners. Sarek National Park has no marked trails, no accommodation possibilities.

Sarek National Park was established in 1909 (in this year the first national parks in Europe have been established) and protects nearly 2000 km2 of wilderness.

Sarek National Park is best reached from Kvikkjokk. Another way is by ship from Ritsema on the north side through the lake Akkajaure. Whether you choose any path you will get into absolute wilderness. You will find here more than 100 peaks that are higher than 1,800 meters and over a hundred glaciers.

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Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians was established on July 9, 1977 with the original area of 96 810 ha. Part of the area was included in the National Park of Poloniny in 1997 and the rest stayed as Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians with only 25 307 ha. Best preserved parts of the Eastern Carpathians are protected as national nature reserves.

The area is characterized by rich forests, which are a major component of eco-stabilizing the country and a suitable environment for flora and fauna bound on the forest environment. In the small protected areas are still preserved natural fir beech forests located on flysch slopes of Laborecká highlands.

Natural forest stands are also suitable environment for protected and endangered animals, which live here, like wolf, bear, otter, Ural owl, black stork, black woodpecker, lesser spotted eagle and other species.

Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians follows the border with Poland. It stretches from southeast to northwest, in the Low Beskydy.

There is Europe’s largest complex of beech forests and native forests in the Eastern Carpathians. You can enjoy there beautiful and wildlife forests, but various national cultural monuments as well. The greatest tourist attractions are wooden churches.

Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians is suitable for activities like hiking, biking, fishing, horseback riding and skiing in winter.

THE MOST INTERESTING PLACES
Snina Stone (1005m above sea level) providing spectacular views of the surrounding of Snina.

Marine Eye – the largest volcanic lake in the Slovak Republic, is under Snina stone. It is one of the most beautiful natural lakes in the Slovak Republic.

Astronomical Observatory – located in Kolonica village – is equipped with the largest astronomical telescope in the Slovak Republic.

CULTURE
You can visit the main and essential festival of the region Snina, which is the presentation of local folklore (at the turn of August and September). The name of festival is “Podvihorlatský folklórní festival pod Sninským kamenem”.

Or visit Snina fair which held annually on the anniversary of the first written mention of the town Snina (in September).

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The most popular spot to watch sunset is by the Kastro Walls.

Oia is connected with Thiru by paved path that is about 10 km long. Just as in the main city, you will find typical small Greek houses built on rock here as well. Former residents of the town of Oia created here the fishing town, which gradually turned into a rich prosperous town. At that time the village was decorated with non-traditional buildings, which are still there.

The dominant of Oia is the church of Aghia Sazontos, which was built before the year 1680. Sun lovers should not miss the unique opportunity to see one of the most beautiful sunsets from all over Greece and maybe also from all over Europe.

In 1956, Oia was affected by the devastating earthquake, and after extensive renovation, this area is among the favorite places.

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Faaker See, Austria by Thomas G. Graf

This lake is surrounded by the Karawanken mountain range, and it is located just south of Villach. The nearby Drava River is located at the northern slope of these mountains. The village of Faak is located to the southwest of Lake Faak, which is how it originally got its name. Faaker See has an average depth of 16.1 meters and a surface elevation of 554 meters. The Faak, Egg, and Drobollach settlements which are located on the northern shore all belong to the city of Villach.

There are numerous hotels, resorts and campsites around this lake, attracting thousands of tourists for fishing, swimming, and other water sport activities throughout the year. The striking beauty of this lake has attracted many people from around the world who wish to visit and see this historical natural landmark for themselves. The Faaker Lake was the primary inspiration for the classic Slovene folk song known as Nmav čez izaro, or “Over the Lake”, which is also considered to be the official anthem of the Carinthian residents.

Faaker See, Austria by Hans Peter Schaefer

The Gail River is the primary outflow for Faaker See, and the primary inflow is Wourounitza, Rotschitza. The village of Faak, which the lake has been named after, is part of the Finkenstein municipality. There is no doubt that Faaker See is one of the most popular vacation spots in the entire area for those who want to relax in a beautiful and scenic region. Its position is also great for one-night stay for the people going from the north of Europe further to the southern countries like Italy or Croatia.

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