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Small Med island that’s uncrowded in winter has seven-night holidays for £179 each

JUST three hours from the UK, there’s an island where the sun doesn’t stop shining for more than 300 days a year and February holiday packages are extremely affordable.

Over the past few years, Malta has become increasingly popular with Brits – and with good reason, as the destination offers cheap holiday packages with direct flights.

Marsaxlokk harbor in Malta, with colorful fishing boats and a church.
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Online travel agent loveholidays has a sale on, with last-minute packages to Malta from £179 per person[/caption]
Outdoor cafe on a sunny street in Valletta, Malta.
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Malta boasts 300 days of sunshine each year[/caption]

Online travel agent loveholidays has a sale on, with last-minute packages to Malta from £179 per person, including flights.

Holidaymakers will fly from Liverpool Airport to Malta with Ryanair and stay at the four-star Maritim Antonine Hotel and Spa in Mellieha, Malta.

Located in Mellieha, near Malta’s largest beach, the hotel boasts panoramic views from its rooftop terrace.

Other on-site amenities include indoor pools, a spa and a diverse range of dining options, including a Thai à la carte restaurant.

The seven-night stays are room-only — although that doesn’t matter because there’s so much to do and so many places to eat in Malta.

Malta boasts 300 days of sunshine per year, with maximum temperatures reaching 16C in February.

Because of the milder weather, tourists crowds will be quieter on the Med Island in the winter months and the shoulder season.

Its capital city, Valletta, is a Unesco World Heritage site.

And if the surroundings start to look familiar, it’s because Malta is a famous filming destination for films such as Gladiator, Jurassic World, and Game of Thrones.

Malta has it all – watersports, diving, cycling routes, 12 Blue Flag beaches, and more than 300 days of sunshine yearly.

There are more than 100 diving sites spread across the three Maltese islands, making it one of the top locations in Europe.

From complete beginners to expert divers, there’s a spot to suit every ability.

Divers can get up close to a 2,700-year-old shipwreck and many plane crash sites, in addition to the many species to observe.

Situated in the channel between Comino and Cominotto, the Blue Lagoon is a pristine blue lagoon surrounded by white-sand beaches.

The island is filled with restaurants and bars, and according to a local holiday company, local beers are available for £4, while imported pints are slightly pricier at around £5.

Malta has two official languages: Maltese, the national language, and  English.

Malta is currently one hour ahead of the UK, and the local currency is the Euro.

There are no restrictions for Brits, and they can stay in Malta for up to 90 days without a visa.

However, your passport must have a ‘date of issue’ less than ten years before your arrival date and an ‘expiry date’ at least three months after your planned departure date.

What's it like to visit Malta?

THE Sun’s Mia Lyndon visited Malta last year, here’s what she thought…

I’m gazing up at a swirling, gold-leaf ceiling that took one man five years to paint.

Surrounding me are oil paintings, marble sculptures and an altar so bejewelled that I almost reach for my sunglasses.

No, I’m not at the Vatican or Versailles – I’m in Malta, in Valletta’s 450-year-old St John’s Co-Cathedral, which took artists more than a century to decorate.

And the entry fee of £13 per adult is most definitely worth it (Stjohnscocathedral.com).

This fortress-like building is set in the beating heart of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s smallest capital cities.

After my spiritual experience, there’s time to dip into nearby Stephen Cordina Aroma & Therapy shop to buy a heavenly lavender and bergamot room diffuser, £14 (Stephencordina.com), before climbing the cobbled streets to Upper Barrakka.

This quaint, leafy park is nestled between limestone fortress walls and is the perfect spot to snap pictures of the glistening Grand Harbour.

At Upper Barrakka Kiosk, I sample traditional pastizzi – flaky, clam-shaped pastries stuffed with peas, 85p each, washed down with a can of Maltese Kinnie, £1.70, a zesty, Negroni-like soft drink, before I find family-run Trattoria da Pippo and my friends, who’ve been saving the table!

We tuck into large, sizzling pans of delicious Fillet Tartuffe, a creamy mushroom pasta, and Marina, a tagliatelli loaded with prawns and calamari, £17 per person for two sharing dishes (Facebook.com/dapippovalletta). 

Keen to catch the four-hour-long happy hour back at Barceló Fortina, our home for the weekend, we board the seven-minute ferry, £1.70, across the bay to the resort town of Sliema and are soon poolside, sipping tangy Flower Lemonades – gin, lime and watermelon, £11 for two during happy hour.

The Instagrammable alfresco pool is perched on the edge of the Med, complete with DJs and club vibes.

Premium rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows with views across the bay to Valletta, Jacuzzi baths, couples’ sinks and wraparound balconies with hot tubs.

Meanwhile, these are six secret holiday spots in Europe.

And this French holiday spot has been described as “unfairly overlooked”.

Aerial view of the Lady of Mount Carmel church and St. Paul's Cathedral in Valletta, Malta.
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Malta boasts 300 days of sunshine per year, with maximum temperatures reaching 16C in February[/caption]

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Supercomputer predicts 2025 Australian Open with Emma Raducanu given 0.4% shot of winning and Jack Draper not much more

THE Australian Open is set to get underway this Sunday with British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper hoping to shake off injury concerns to make some noise Down Under.

Former US Open champion Raducanu, 22, had been due to get her season underway at the WTA 250 event in Auckland earlier this month.

Emma Raducanu serving at the Australian Open.
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Emma Raducanu has been practising in Melbourne[/caption]
Jack Draper of Great Britain during a tennis practice session.
Rex
Jack Draper is hoping to make some noise Down Under[/caption]

The luckless star, however, was forced to pull out of the event for a second straight year, this time citing a back issue.

She has since headed to Australia and has been on the practise courts at Melbourne Park.

The world No.60 has drawn 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in round one of the Australian Open.

If she can get past the Russian, Raducanu could face Amanda Anisimova in round two.

And if the Brit can log two match wins, she would almost certainly face five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in round three.

Boffins and brainiacs over at Prime Casino have used their supercomputer to crunch the numbers and predict what will happen at the Australian Open.

Despite being ranked 34 places below Alexandrova, Raducanu is given a 61.1 per cent chance of taking her out to reach round two.

The supercomputer then claims that there is a 34.4 per cent chance that she will also take out the winner of Anisimova and Maria Lourdes Carle to advance to round three.

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This is where things would get really tricky, with Swiatek a formidable opponent – and the numbers give Raducanu just a 9.9 per cent chance of reaching the second week.

In round four she would then likely face either Anna Kalinskaya or Victoria Azarenka – and has been given a 6.2 per cent chance to advance to the quarters.

Should she reach the last eight, Emma Navarro or Maria Sakkari would be her projected opponents by seed, although this section of the draw could likely open up.

Raducanu is given a 3.5 per cent chance of reaching the final, and a 1.4 per cent of losing at the last hurdle – where she would meet either Aryna Sabalenka or Coco Gauff – and just a 0.4 per cent chance of winning the title.

Raducanu's route to the final

R1 Ekaterina Alexandrova

R2 Carle/Anisimova

R3 Iga Swiatek

R4 Kalinskaya/Azarenka

QF Navarro/Sakkari

SF Rybakina/Collins

F Sabalenka/Gauff

Britain’s No.1 male player Draper, meanwhile, is 15th seed in Melbourne and has drawn Argentina’s Mariano Navone in round one.

Should he advance he would play Aussie home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis, or Roman Safiullin – and the first fellow seed he could meet is 22nd-ranked Seb Korda in round three.

Draper, who withdrew from the United Cup through injury and asked not to be selected for Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie vs Japan next month, could then be on a collision course with Carlos Alcaraz in round four.

Lying in wait could then be Novak Djokovic – coached by Draper’s pal and mentor Andy Murray.

He is given a 94.8 per cent chance of beating Navone, 65.4 per cent shot of taking out Kokkinakis or Safiullin and 44 per cent likelihood of defeating Korda to book the potential Alcaraz showdown.

The 23-year-old is given an 18.7 per cent shot of beating Alcaraz, and a 7.1 per cent chance of then going on to defeat Djokovic and reaching the semi-finals.

There is a 3.8 per cent chance of Draper advancing past the final four and losing in the final, and 1.1 per cent of winning the title.

Draper's route to the final

R1 Mariano Navone

R2 Kokkinakis/Safiullin

R3 Seb Korda

R4 Carlos Alcaraz

QF Novak Djokovic

SF Zverev/Ruud

F Sinner/Fritz/Medvedev

World No.1 Jannik Sinner is the favourite to win the men’s event at 51.6 per cent.

Despite having fallen to No.7, Djokovic is distant second favourite at 14.1 per cent.

Alcaraz is next at eight per cent, with Alexander Zverev at 6.8 per cent.

As for the women’s draw, the supercomputer believes it is more open.

World No.1 Sabalenka is 23.5 per cent to win it, with Swiatek at 19.7 per cent and Gauff 16.8 per cent.

Reigning Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen is at eight per cent, ahead of former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on 5.7 per cent,

British hopeful Katie Boulter is given a 0.3 shot, marginally less than Raducanu.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray at a charity tennis event.
EPA
Andy Murray is working with Novak Djokovic in Australia[/caption]
Katie Boulter of Great Britain serves during a tennis practice session.
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Katie Boulter is set to be in action[/caption]

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