Published: 07 July 2026
Listen on: Original podcast page
In this episode Tolene laughs about it: she’ll join a video call and find her whole Malta team bundled up in coats because it’s sixteen degrees and, to them, that’s cold. To her, coming from a British winter, it’s practically summer. That small moment tells you almost everything about Malta out of season. While much of the Mediterranean pulls down the shutters at the end of October, Malta simply carries on.
In this episode, Ged sits down with Tolene Van de Merwe of the Malta Tourism Authority, who has spent seven years sharing these islands with travellers across the UK and Ireland, to make the case for Malta as a year-round destination and for the quieter months as the time it shows its best side.
They wander Valletta as an open-air, UNESCO-listed museum you can actually enjoy at your own pace, then cross to Gozo, the slower, greener sister island with its hand-worked salt pans and the hilltop shrine at Ta’ Pinu, tiny Comino and its Blue Lagoon sitting in between. Tolene talks temples older than the pyramids at Ħaġar Qim, the cool hush of the catacombs at Rabat, and a food scene with its own Michelin guide, including a local wine you can only drink if you come, because Malta doesn’t make enough of it to export.
There’s the practical steer too: which months to choose, with November her own favourite and October to April the sweet spot, how easy it is to get around by bus, ferry and car, and why nothing sits more than half an hour from the coast. Low season in Malta, as Tolene puts it, isn’t off season. It’s when the island is at its best.
Plan your trip: https://www.visitmalta.com
More low-season Malta and Gozo: https://www.lowseasontraveller.com