Health and Wellness
Taking time out is what holidays are all about. The Maltese Islands are an ideal destination if you're looking for some exercise or just wish to revive and relax. The warm climate, clear Mediterranean light and fresh sea air alone help increase energy levels.
It is the aim of some forty health and spa outlets to focus on your overall wellbeing. They provide state-of-the-art equipment and highly qualified staff, making it easy to enjoy the best treatments and products.
If you want to raise fitness levels, and enjoy some leisure and culture as well, it’s a great idea to walk or cycle. The autumn through spring season is ideal for enjoying the Islands' stunning scenery and explorative inland.
The Islands offer opportunities for a wide variety of sports – for amateurs and experts alike. Choose from adventure activities like rock climbing and paragliding to a sociable or competitive round of golf. Malta also plays host to teams seeking a professional but comfortable location to train in, especially during the winter months when the climate is perfect for outdoor sports.
Spa and fitness facilities can be found at most of the five star hotels as well as other private outlets. Most wellness centres offer well-equipped gyms and pools, and will arrange tailor-made programmes to suit individual needs. Beauty, body and spa treatments, dedicated fitness training and physiotherapy are widely available. Many hotels offer packages, which include specialist treatments along with unlimited use of the fitness facilities.
Medical Tourism
Throughout history, Malta has often been referred to as "The Hospital of the Mediterranean", due to the prominent role the island played over the centuries as a prime location for medical treatment and the care of the sick. Today, Malta is building on this reputation and is an excellent destination where one can receive medical and surgical treatment.
Combining a high level of medical expertise and an ideal climate, the Maltese Islands are also the perfect place to improve recuperation.
With a growing list of services and treatments, ranging from the simplest to the most complex and a variety of private clinics and hospitals to choose from, Malta offers everything you're looking for and more.
Why Malta?
There are many places around the world where one can go to recieve medical treatment and related services. So why choose Malta? Well, for a number of reasons....
The islands boast a very high standard of specialists who have studied, trained and qualified in the UK and the USA.
As Malta is part of the European Union, medical standards meet and exceed European requirements, with Malta ranking highly amongst nations in terms of health levels and overall health system performance (World Health Report 2007).
The list of services and treatments offered in Malta is vast and varied, ranging from the simplest to the most complex.
The comfort levels at the private clinics and hospitals are also very high, providing five star ambiences, multilingual doctors and nurses and cheerful staff.
Most clinics are located in city centres, so everything needed is practically within walking distance.
There are no waiting lists and prices are very competitive.
Due to Malta's central location, there are excellent flight connections from all over Europe and beyond.
The small size of the territory means that distances from the airport to the healthcare centres, the hotels and everywhere else are short and getting around is easy.
For all of these reasons, Malta is fast becoming one of the top choices for those seeking medical treatments abroad.
Services and Treatments
The services offered are comprehensive, ranging from simple blood tests to diagnostic scans, from cosmetic surgery to dental services, from hair removal by laser to complex cardiac surgery - all available with state-of-the-art equipment.
Some of the common interventions requested and performed include total knee replacement surgery, bilateral knee replacement, uni-compartmental knee replacement, hip replacement and hip resurfacing.
Some private hospitals offer a comprehensive range of cardiac services from out-patient consultations to angiography, angioplasty, pacemaker insertion and open-heart surgery.
Amongst the latest high-tech equipment available on the island is a top range dedicated ophthalmic unit where sutureless cataract surgery and refractive procedures are performed daily.
Specialised cosmetic surgery procedure demands continue to grow and a result, a substantial number of dedicated cosmetic surgery and beauty clinics have opened. The medical treatments offered include face lifts, otoplasty (prominent ear correction), rhinoplasty (cosmetic nose reshaping), abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), liposuction, breast augmentation, breast reduction and other cosmetic interventions.
More details are available on the websites of the Hospitals and Service Providers listed here.
Pampering Yourself
Due to the almost guaranteed sunshine climate, healthy Mediterranean cuisine and friendly people, the Maltese Islands have always been a favoured destination for wellness and relaxation holidays. Within the last ten years the Islands have seen heavy investment in new five star hotels and resorts with excellent wellness facilities. High quality wellness package prices are now extremely competitive and the Islands offer a variety of special facilities, such as the world's first all-inclusive, innovative therapeutic spa bedrooms (Fortina Spa Resort).
The Islands' small size, climate, heritage, diversity and hospitable natured people make it possible to meet all tastes and interests. If visitors want to immerse themselves in a complete wellness holiday, they can easily do so at any of the excellent facilities. The use of spas is not only restricted to wellness holidays, but is also a perfect compliment to any kind of holiday and offers the diversity to meet the most specific of demands. A wellness break can be combined with other activities such as a conference or meeting, a recovery trip, a cultural mini-break or even an active holiday.
The Islands' beautiful sunny weather with a cool Mediterranean breeze is already invigorating in itself and immediately increases energy levels. The mild climate also permits the Islands to be accessible all throughout the year. Even winter is an excellent time of year to visit for a wellness holiday - the Islands are greener, the air fresher and the villages less busy.