This rare situation is of no importance if all you want of a break is a lounger and a tan – but can be of real interest if you wish to wander along one of our continent’s key cultural fault lines. It is also, uniquely for Europe, a divided island, its north separated from its south by 48 years (and many prior decades) of enmity between its Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot populations.
Cyprus is the third biggest outcrop in the Med (behind only Sicily and Sardinia) – a far larger creature of 3,572 sq miles. Malta is one of the world’s smallest nations, a dot on the map of just 122 sq miles. And each snoozes under a bright sky in those precious weeks when school is out, revelling in temperatures creeping into the low 30s countries that are all but identical due to their shared latitude – both lie at a summer-friendly 35°N. Each has a well-developed tourist industry, which allows for everything from bargain beach breaks to luxury escapes via getaways steeped in history, scenery and cuisine.Įach is well-connected to the UK, via a number of flight routes. Each has been a crucial crossroads of Europe’s great sea since the mists of time. Neither Malta nor Cyprus would bridle at being described as either “old” or “reliable”. You should be able to find all of these things on two of the Mediterranean’s most popular islands. To offer travel reassurance, holiday certainty – and the guarantee of an untroubled place in the sun. For all its difficulties, 2022 needs to do better.
We have endured two years where the hope of relaxation has come weighted with rules, restrictions and the nagging sense that even the best-laid plans can fall apart. There is much to be said – in these times of inflating prices, the rumble of war and the endgame of a pandemic – for the steady presence of an old reliable.
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