This was a random little mini vacation squeezed in between all the working I had been doing.

I had a few days off, felt like travelling somewhere on my own again, and Malta happened to have the cheapest flight.

So… Malta it was.

At first, I booked a hostel called Hostel Malti. But then I suddenly got stressed that it was going to be boring and that I wouldn’t meet anyone, so I changed my booking to Marco Polo Hostel instead.

Luckily, I did.

I ended up having the absolute best time there.

Even before leaving Belgium, I had already started getting involved in the hostel social life. I was on the Hostelworld app when a girl called Sophie posted that she wanted to rent a boat and was looking for people to join.

I told her I was definitely interested.

Before I knew it, I had been added to an Instagram group chat, transferred her €50 and was just hoping this random girl I’d never met wasn’t actually scamming me.

So that was a great start.

I still had to work until 4 PM on Saturday, then babysit until around 2 AM, work again on Sunday until 3 PM and then catch my flight at 8 PM.

Because apparently I don’t know how to take a normal holiday.

Main Story

Sunday: Arriving in Malta

I arrived in Malta on Sunday evening and honestly didn’t do much anymore.

I got to the hostel around 11 PM, collapsed into bed and went straight to sleep.

I hadn’t even plugged my phone in because I saw the British-style sockets and thought my charger wouldn’t fit.

I was already looking forward to figuring that out tomorrow.

Monday: The Boat That Didn’t Happen

I woke up, grabbed something quick to eat and went looking for a universal adapter.

I found one at Spar and proudly bought it.

Then I got back to the hostel and realised they actually had normal European sockets too.

So that was €10 well spent.

Today I was supposed to spend the day on a boat with eight complete strangers.

Exciting.

And slightly terrifying.

Sophie had asked in the group chat if anyone wanted to go to Valletta earlier, so I said I’d join.

Once we got there, we found out that Sophie had already gone drinking with two of the guys the day before and wanted to see them before the boat.

They were apparently about a 20-minute walk away.

So we walked all the way there.

I really wasn’t in the mood for that.

The guys were nice enough, though, and we ended up sitting with them for about half an hour before having to leave again.

We went to Spar to buy food and drinks for the boat.

And then I saw a very handsome guy.

We made eye contact.

I went to buy some things, and when I came back, I saw him again.

This time, he came up to me and asked for my number.

Wow.

I gave it to him.

He turned out to be Danish and was apparently a DJ living in Malta.

Interesting.

We started messaging, and I asked if he wanted to show me around since he had been living there long-term.

He said he was busy, but that he could meet me “at my place tonight.”

Uhm.

This guy was going for it.

I told him I was staying at a hostel, and suddenly he sent me two locations where we could meet: a park and an abandoned old prison.

Excuse me?

Are you going to kill me?

I told him I wasn’t going to meet him there and suggested we could just get a drink somewhere.

He wasn’t really interested in that.

Okay then.

Thank you, next.

Anyway, we had everything for the boat and were on our way when Sophie suddenly got a call from the captain.

Apparently, there was something wrong with the boat.

He said it might be ready in about three hours, but definitely not at the time we had originally booked it.

Instead, they offered us soft drinks.

Sophie absolutely lost it.

She was like, “ARE YOU MAD?!”

I was trying to calm her down like, “Girlie, maybe relax a little because this man still has our money.”

After a lot of discussion, we eventually decided to move the boat trip to the next day.

We finally met the rest of the group and had to explain that the boat wasn’t happening that day.

Luckily, everyone was really chill about it.

So we decided to go to St Peter’s Pool together instead.

And honestly?

It turned into such a fun day.

We went cliff jumping, talked, sunbathed and drank the drinks we’d originally bought for the boat.

Sometimes the plans that go wrong end up being the best ones.

Afterwards, we went back to the hostel.

That evening, we all went for dinner in Valletta, which was really nice.

Back at the hostel, I also properly met my roommates: around six guys from England.

They were young, like 19, but actually really funny.

After dinner, they asked if I wanted to come to the club with them.

I wasn’t sure for quite a while, but eventually I thought:

Okayyy, why not?

So we went to Paceville.

I stayed for a little while, but I wasn’t really feeling the vibe, so I decided to go home.

Tomorrow was supposed to be boat day.

Hopefully.

Tuesday: Blue Lagoon, New Friends & Way Too Much Drama

Tuesday started with breakfast at a place I’d found online that served Australian-style breakfast near St Julian’s.

Obviously, I had to try it.

I love Australian breakfast spots.

They are always so good.

The place was called Two Buoys, and it was honestly amazing.

After breakfast, I headed to Valletta for our boat.

And somehow, against all odds, we were actually allowed on it.

We still think the captain had simply double-booked the boat and made up the whole “something is wrong with it” story.

But whatever.

We were finally on the boat.

We sailed towards the Blue Lagoon, sang, danced and went for a swim.

At one point, we even borrowed a SUP from the Americans on the boat next to us so we could explore a little cave.

We also swam over to the shore and asked a random woman if she could take some photos of us because all our phones were back on the boat.

She took them, added me on Instagram and said she’d send them to me.

Spoiler:

She never did.

WHY?!

Those photos were probably so good.

After the boat trip, we went back to the hostel to rest and change before meeting everyone at the beach again.

We had some drinks and played games together.

It was honestly hilarious.

One of the boys, let’s call him Lenny, was sitting next to me while we played this game where you ask someone a question and then you have to name the person you think the question applies to.

Then you flip a coin.

If it’s heads, you have to tell that person.

If it’s tails, you don’t.

Basically, a very dangerous game.

Lenny kept saying, “Ask me a really bad question. Ask me a really bad question.”

He was such a troublemaker.

At some point, we also found out that one of his friends had a little crush on me because Lenny told me to ask him who he thought was the prettiest girl there.

He said me.

Which was very obviously planned by Lenny.

Another guy in the group was Adam, from New Zealand.

And he was so lovely.

We clicked immediately, and I had such a good time with him.

There was also another girl called Ine, I think she was Danish, and she was absolutely gorgeous.

Actually, about half of our group was LGBTQ+, which is always nice.

But then I found out that Lenny had apparently been making comments behind my back about how he thought I was attractive..

The only problem?

Didn’t he have a girlfriend?!

Hello?!

I did think he was absolutely hilarious, though.

We would probably have made a very funny duo.

Just as friends.

Obviously.

Eventually, we all went out to the clubs in Paceville.

I’d already told Lenny that nothing was going to happen between us because he had a girlfriend, and he agreed.

Good.

Later that night, Ine and I kissed, which was actually really fun.

We decided to sleep together, but somehow I eventually made it back to my own bed and apparently just never got back out of it.

I also kept running into my hostel roommates throughout the night.

There was one of them I actually thought was cute, but he was so young.

Way too young for me.

He kept asking if he could come into my bed when he got back from the club, and I kept saying no.

He even messaged me afterwards saying he liked me.

And then deleted it a few days later.

Lol.

Wednesday: Golden Bay & A Very Good Dinner

Wednesday was a much calmer day.

I finally slept properly, and then Ine messaged me saying that she and Sophie were at Golden Bay.

So I took the bus there.

The bus took forever to arrive, and I was genuinely close to ordering a Bolt.

But eventually, it showed up.

Woehoeee.

We spent the day lying on beach beds, getting some sun and having ice cream.

It was exactly what I needed after the previous night’s chaos.

In the evening, Sophie had booked a table at San Paolo Naufrago in Valletta.

We went there for dinner, and the food was so good.

The restaurant was also on such a cute little street.

Definitely one of those places that makes you want to take a million photos.

After dinner, I went to bed fairly early.

Thursday: Two Buoys, Drinks & A Very Chaotic Pool Party

I went back to Two Buoys for breakfast again.

This time, I went with two of the guys from the hostel.

It was really nice.

Later, I posted in the Hostelworld app that I was going to a nearby beach and asked if anyone wanted to join.

A guy from the hostel came up to me and asked if I was the girl who had posted it.

He said he’d come once he had received his room.

And he was cute.

So obviously I thought:

Okayyy.

Eventually, Daniel, one of the guys from the boat, and this guy, let’s call him Ward, joined me.

We bought some drinks at Spar and drank them together.

Adam had also left that day and had given us his bottle of vodka before leaving.

So we bought some mixers and made use of that too.

Later, we went to Café del Mar because there was a techno party happening.

Sophie, Daniel, Ward and I went together.

It was still early when we arrived, so we took some fun photos and went to get our wristbands.

Because we were so early, the staff apparently didn’t really know what they were doing yet.

They gave us VIP and four-day wristbands.

I noticed that the colours didn’t make any sense, so I went to ask about it.

Probably shouldn’t have.

They told us to go inside to exchange them.

So I told Daniel to go in and say that they’d already cut his wristband off.

Then he’d apparently be able to come back the next day and get in for free.

And he actually did it.

It worked.

OMG.

I didn’t really need it because I was leaving the next day anyway, but still.

Then I went to the toilet and started talking to two American girls.

They were really sweet.

Eventually, we went inside and started partying.

The event was advertised as a pool party.

Except…

We weren’t allowed to swim.

Okay?

Why are you calling it a pool party then?

Suddenly, a few people were in the pool anyway, so I started taking my clothes off too.

And then security came over and told us we weren’t allowed to swim after all.

Great.

So Ward helped me get dressed again.

And honestly, Ward was really cute.

I wanted to kiss him.

Eventually, we did kiss while we were dancing.

Then suddenly another guy grabbed my hand and started dancing with me.

We literally danced for about two seconds.

I turned around.

Everyone was gone.

I had completely lost the group.

Eventually, I found them again and discovered that Ward had apparently told everyone I was busy with another guy.

I literally rejected that guy immediately.

Apparently, he wasn’t very happy about it.

Okayyy.

A little later, I started talking to another girl.

I am apparently incapable of not socialising with everyone.

I introduced her to all my friends, and not long afterwards…

She was kissing Ward.

LOL.

Okayyy.

At first, I was a little sad.

Then I didn’t care.

And then, somehow, I started finding the whole thing kind of funny.

Crazy, Saar.

After the party, Daniel, Ward and I went to get some food.

Then we took a taxi back to the hostel.

And once we got there, I discovered that Ward was actually staying in the same room as me.

Somehow, despite everything that had happened that evening, we ended up kissing again and sleeping together.

So yeah.

It was quite the holiday.

Friday: Hungover & Heading Home

Friday was basically hangover day.

I checked out of the hostel and spent some time sitting on the couches.

I had some really nice conversations with Nick and Daniel, two DJs who were also staying at the hostel.

It was a really nice way to end my stay.

And then it was time to head home.

Just like that.

My little Malta adventure was over.

What a holiday.

Romance & People

I think Malta might actually have been one of the most unexpectedly social solo trips I’ve ever taken.

I arrived knowing absolutely nobody.

Within a few days, I had a whole group of people to go on a boat with, hostel roommates, random people from Hostelworld, people I’d met at the beach, and somehow several different romantic storylines happening at the same time.

There was the Danish DJ who wanted to meet me at a park or an abandoned prison, absolutely not.

There was Lenny, who was hilarious, clearly found me attractive, but also had a girlfriend, so that was never going anywhere.

There was Adam, who I instantly clicked with and really enjoyed spending time with.

There was Ine, who I ended up kissing on a night out.

And then there was Ward, who somehow went from random guy from the hostel to beach drinks, a techno party, jealousy, another girl, kissing and eventually ending up in the same hostel room.

All within a few days.

Honestly, Malta was a lot.

But in the best possible way.

Tips & Tricks

• If you’re travelling solo, stay somewhere social. Changing from Hostel Malti to Marco Polo was probably one of the best decisions I made on this trip because I ended up meeting people immediately.
• Hostelworld is actually great for meeting people before you arrive. I met Sophie through the app before I had even landed in Malta.
• Don’t assume the boat is happening until you’re actually on it. Our trip was cancelled one day and somehow happened the next.
• Bring the right adapter. Or, you know, check your hostel first so you don’t buy one for absolutely no reason.
• Australian-style breakfast in Malta? Yes. Two Buoys was genuinely one of my favourite food stops of the trip.
• If you’re going out in Paceville, don’t feel like you have to stay. I went, didn’t love the vibe and simply went home. There was always another night.
• And maybe don’t meet random men at abandoned prisons. This one should be obvious.

Looking Back

Malta was never supposed to be some big, life-changing trip.

It was literally just a few days off work.

I wanted to travel somewhere alone, found a cheap flight and booked it.

And somehow, those few days turned into one of the most social trips I’ve had.

I think that’s what I love about solo travel.

You arrive completely alone, but you don’t necessarily stay that way.

You have to put yourself out there. You have to talk to people. You have to say yes sometimes, even when you don’t know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.

And sometimes that leads to a boat trip with eight strangers.

Sometimes it leads to cliff jumping.

Sometimes it leads to a random techno party.

Sometimes it leads to meeting someone from New Zealand who you instantly click with.

And sometimes it leads to kissing someone you met at the hostel and somehow ending up in the same room.

You really never know.

Malta was short, chaotic, social and completely spontaneous.

And honestly?

I’m very glad I changed that hostel booking.

Wherever I am next, I’m learning that even chaos can feel like a beginning.

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