Malta At War by Air
About the tour: Malta At War by Air
Tour Introduction
The island of Malta has sat at the heart of British history for many centuries. In both World Wars it was part of our gateway to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Join us on this fascinating tour as we explore the military history of Malta.
Tour Includes
- 4 nights hotel with continental breakfast
- Specialist Battlefield Guide
- Return flights to Malta with hand luggage allowance
- Airport transfers in Malta
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -
- Use our balance payment facility online to make and track your card payments. You can pay as much as you want up until your final due date or pay it all, the choice is yours.
- Send payments via online banking.
- Send payments via cheque.
- Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.
Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.
Tour Itinerary
For customers living outside of the UK, if you want to make a booking you will need to provide a UK postcode on our online booking system. If you are not able to provide a relevant UK postcode then you can enter the postcode for London Victoria Coach Station – SW1W 9TP. You should then be able to proceed to complete your booking.
If you do encounter a problem then you can speak to one of our friendly advisors who will be happy to help.
Please Note : After completing your booking, a member of our Customer Service team will be in touch to make sure everything is okay.
Either e-mail our Reservations Department or call on 01709 830 333 and they will check to see whether you can visit a particular cemetery on any of our Battlefield Tours, if we are not able to fit it into our itinerary then you could take some time out of the tour and do this independently by taxi or public transport.
Day 1
Fly to Malta and transfer to our hotel for four nights.
Day 2 - Malta in WW1: Bases & Hospitals
Today, we begin our tour by looking at the role of Malta in the First World War. A British garrison in 1914, we start the day looking at the rapid expansion of the military hospitals which were set up to receive casualties from the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.
At Imtarfa, we visit the outside of buildings that remain of the then Mtarfa Military Hospital, where VAD nurse Vera Brittain (author of 'Testament of Youth’) was treated for fever before going on to work at St. George’s Barracks Hospital.
Moving on to Ghajn Tuffieha, we see where five huge convalescent camps were set up. After lunch at Golden Bay, we travel to Valletta, seeing where St. Andrew’s, Cottonera and Tigne hospitals were located and used for Gallipoli casualties and later for men brought in from Salonika.
We then visit the unusual Pieta Military Cemetery where many headstones lie recumbent, although there are many poignant private markers placed throughout the cemetery. Here we pay our respects to many of those servicemen and women, including medical staff, who died of wounds, disease and cross-infection many miles from home.
Included meals: Breakfast
Pieta Military Cemetery (5)
Key Visits
- Mtarfa Military Hospital
- Pieta Military Cemetery
- Ghajn Tuffieha
- Valletta
Day 3 - Malta in WW2: Air War over Malta
Today, we start our study of Malta in the Second World War by looking at the role of the British Army’s Malta Garrison troops, in particular, the Royal Artillery in the anti-aircraft role as they defended both the island and its marine assets as the ‘Siege of Malta’ began in earnest in June 1940.
The CWGC Imtarfa Military Cemetery is then our stop, in the shadow of the ancient city of Mdina. The role of the Royal Air Force on and over the island is our next focus this morning, beginning with a visit to the old RAF airfield at Ta’Qali – base to many legendary units tasked with defending Malta.
At the Malta Aviation Museum, we discuss the air war over Malta and see a preserved Hawker Hurricane IIa and a later Supermarine Spitfire IX.
We take our lunch at the Hotel Point de Vue, at Rabat, which was used by fighter pilots as an officers’ mess during the war. The hotel still bears many visible scars of bomb damage from WW2.
After lunch, we see Addolorata Cemetery where over 250 casualties of the Second World War are buried, including men killed in the initial raids on Malta in 1940.
We then travel to the Malta Memorial to the missing which remembers over 2,200 British and Commonwealth personnel. In the old city of Valletta, we visit the National War Museum housed in the magnificent Fort St. Elmo. This important museum tells Malta’s story during the two World Wars.
Later, we have a boat tour of Marsamxett Harbour and Valletta’s Grand Harbour, seeing the dominance of island’s defences and discussing the naval aspects of Malta’s wartime experience.
Included meals: Breakfast
Malta Aviation Museum (5)
Key Visits
- Malta Aviation Museum
- Imtarfa Military Cemetery
- Addolorata Cemetery
- Malta Memorial
- Valletta National War Museum
- Marsamxett Harbour
Day 4 - Malta in WW2: Malta GC
On our final day, we look at the devastation caused to both the lives of the Maltese people and their island. Walking through Valletta we see many visible signs of the WW2 siege, including visiting the remains of the Royal Opera House, which was destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing in 1942.
We see the plaque remembering the award of the George Cross to Malta on the wall of the Palace of the Grand Master. We then visit the Lascaris War Rooms. This huge underground complex, built almost 50 metres deep in the limestone underneath Valletta, served as the Combined War Headquarters.
We then attend the Noon Day Gun Ceremony at the Saluting Battery located high along Valletta's eastern historic ramparts, where it enjoys unrivalled spectacular views of the Grand Harbour and its surrounding fortified towns.
After lunch, The Three Cities ferry takes us across the harbour to visit the Malta at War Museum, housed in an 18th century army barracks which served as a police station and air raid precautions centre during the war. We experience the underground shelters which protected hundreds of civilians during enemy air raids.
We end at Malta (Capuccini) Naval Cemetery CWGC. Here we visit the graves of men and women who died in defence of Malta during WW2.
Included meals: Breakfast
Noon Day Gun Ceremony (5)
Key Visits
- Ruins of Royal Opera House, Malta
- Lascaris War Rooms
- Noon Day Gun Ceremony
- Malta at War Museum
- Malta (Capuccini) Naval Cemetery
Day 5
Transfer to Malta airport for your return flight to the UK.
Included meals: Breakfast
Specialist Battlefield Guides
All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.
Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.
Hotel
If you prefer, then you can join the tour at the hotel. To do this, we will require a copy of your passport for identification purposes and you must advise us at the time of booking.
No reduction will be given if you should choose to do this.
All hotel rooms benefit from private bathroom facilities.
Some hotels have tea and coffee making facilities. Please check the tour pages for more information or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333
Most hotels have a lift, please call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 for more information.
Some hotels have ground floor rooms. Please email for information on individual hotels or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333.
Your hotels will supply towels in your room.
We are unable to guarantee that the hotel will be able to meet your dietary requirements. We find that the majority of European countries do not generally cater for vegetarians and that the meal supplied may well be what everyone else is having minus the meat.
We will of course endeavour to arrange for a vegetarian meal at the hotel. We do however suggest that you advise us of your dietary requests at the time of booking and recommend that you speak to the receptionist on arrival with regard to your request.
Travel Options
Departure times given for each region are approximate. Please check your travel documents to confirm the actual timings.
Front row seats can be reserved for £14pp (up to 6 days duration), £22pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £25pp (9 days duration and over) on all European tours. In addition to this seats on the second row can be reserved for £7pp (up to 6 days duration), £14pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £15pp (9 days duration and over). This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on the front row and is subject to availability. Guaranteed front/second row seats cannot be reserved on feeder journeys to/from the U.K. port. Children under 15 years cannot occupy a front row seat due to French Law. Central view seats are free.
Please note: On some coaches the legroom on front seats may be slightly less than that available on other seats due to the presence of a modesty board in front.
If your tour is cancelled for any reason and front/second row seats are not available on your new tour you will be refunded the supplement. No other compensation will be payable.
Alternatively, we can take seating requests on your booking. However, requests are not guaranteed. All seat numbers are confirmed on travel documents approximately 7-10 days prior to departure.
We guarantee that all passengers on the same booking will be seated together on the main tour coach. Seats on the transfer coaches to and from the U.K. port are not allocated.
Hot and cold drinks are served on the main tour coaches. Prices are approximately £1 or 1.25 Euro per drink. Prices will be confirmed by the driver. Drinks may also be served on the transfer coaches but this is not guaranteed.
Transfer vehicles are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure and will depend on where passengers are booked to travel from on any particular date as to which route is taken. If you require further detailed information regarding the route to the port you can contact our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 two weeks before you are due to travel.
With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
All main tour coaches have on-board toilets. Transfer vehicles to and from the U.K. port may not have on-board toilets. When non-British coaches are used on transfers and tours (air holidays only) an on-board toilet may not be available. However, comfort stops will be made during long journeys.
All coaches feature air-conditioning. Should the air-conditioning system break down for a period exceeding 12 hours, compensation will be awarded up to a maximum of £10 per fare-paying passenger per tour.
Depending on the location of your pickup point, you may be picked up by coach (not necessarily the on you are touring on), minibus, taxi, National Express or Megabus service. You may then be taken to another centralised pickup location or service station. We operate a passenger interchange at Stop 24 Services, where you will meet the tour coach you are holidaying on and then continue on with your outbound journey. Similarly, on the way home, you may also change transfer vehicles at another location, to take you to your final drop off point.
One medium sized suitcase per person, which should weigh no more than 20kg when full. We may refuse to carry larger or heavier cases. Hand luggage can be stored in the overhead racks aboard the coach.
It could be either - This will be confirmed in your travel documents.
When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.
Travel Extras
With an overnight stay or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...
Join coach at Interchange
+ Find out moreJoin your tour coach at the interchange.
On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.
Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.
