The Mediterranean nation of Malta regularly peaks the top of the list of the best gay friendly countries in Europe and even the world! And for many good reasons. Find out what Malta has to offer as one of the best gay destinations in this gay travel guide!
LGBT Laws
Gay marriage has been legal in Malta since 2017 when it passed in parliament in a 66-1 vote! It may have been a bit late but it must be one of the largest if not largest margin for a yes vote anywhere. And of course gay public displays of affection, day or night, like holding hands, a kiss, etc in the streets aren’t an issue.
Gay Bars
There’s only one official gay club in Malta. Called Michelangelo’s, it’s located in the Paceville area, the biggest club scene in Malta. It’s a bit more of a cruise club in that it’s dark with booming dance music, smoke machines, a small dance floor and dark rooms.
There’s no other exclusive gay bar for more laid-back vibes to start off the night and meet new people, but there are several popular LGBT friendly clubs.
Located in Valetta, the historical and smallest European capital, is MonaLiza a premium and artistic cocktail bar. And just a ten minute walk down the street is Maori a small unassuming chill bar across the street from an ocean facing harbour wall that can skew towards a lesbian and young LGBT crowd, especially if an event is on.
Bar Native, another bar in Paceville, is also popular with a lesbian crowd.
Gay Events
For upcoming gay events check out event pages for parties like “Hallelloo” and “Lollipop”, drag and club events reoccurring every few weeks, “Chilled Rainbow Nights” which are relaxed, but busy, gay networking bar events managed by the Malta Pride committee meet and where we met plenty of friends that we partied with the rest of the trip!
And visit the Station2Station Events Facebook page to see upcoming LGBT events like “Bordello” which is an anticipated yearly foam party.
Gay Beaches
Pembroke Beach is the main nude gay beach. It’s more of a rock faced beach but it’s a beautiful place, but a thick towel is a nice to have.
Aside from the gay specific beach, there are plenty of beaches and lagoons across Malta’s three islands. The Blue Lagoon, and the less visited Crystal Lagoon on Comino Island are the most famous for their turquoise blue waters and amazing cliff-scapes. Watch our video below for more:
LGBT Pride
Malta Pride is a week of LGBT events across the country, usually early to mid-September. Including events from film nights, pool parties, boat parties, the pride march and more.
To see the upcoming schedule and event list visit Maltapride.org
Gay Accomodation
Any hotel or resort on Malta is likely to be gay friendly. But for our own recommendation we stayed at Corinthia Hotel St. George’s Bay. Right next to the main city central beach, the hotel has 3 pools, ocean front access for swimming and lounging, room bay views, several restaurants and bars, only a 10 minute walk past the beach to the main party area and Michelangelo’s. Overall a fantastic place to spend days lounging, getting yo’ tan on and prepping for evenings out on the town. But for even more ideas for LGBT accommodation check out GayMalta.com.
When To Go
Your peak times are likely from July, maybe even as late as August up to mid-September culminating in pride.
Meeting People
If in any doubt or struggle to meet the local gays or to see what’s going on, just do what we do! Whenever we are in a new place, especially if didn’t do our gay travel guide homework before we arrived, we hop on Grindr to see who’s around, chat to a few people, find out where to go, and even meet some people for drinks. On this trip, without getting some local advice, it may have been a very uneventful gay trip!
But everyone is so lovely that once you get chatting, you will sparsely have trouble getting lots of advice, help and making plenty of new friends.
What Did We Miss?
If you’re from Malta or have been before and we missed anything please let us know!
Huge thanks to David of The Tequila Diaries and Clayton from the Malta Pride Committee for all the local LGBT background and advice.
Enjoy your time in Malta guys! And for more Gay Travel Guides, LGBT events, Pride blogs and more, follow us on:
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Thanks guys!
Chris and Larry
