In reply to Chad123:
I visited Malta and Gozo for the first time last November, not to climb but to do self guided walks, mainly coastal. The walking is very good, and we walked most of Gozo's coast with some circular inland routes. The trad sea trad cliff climbing looks amazing.
As has been said driving about is a navigational nightmare and sign posting appalling. Also at that time of year we had the morning sun straight into our face driving east from Gozo to catch the plane home at Malta's airport. This made it impossible to read what signs there were, and in spite of having set out with lots of time to spare, we got lost over and over nearly missing the plane.
Road surfaces are appalling and do check your car when you hire it or you will get stung for pre-existing damage (which they all have) when you return it. We refused to take the one we were first offered because it was not only very scratched and dented but filthy inside. Trying to get it changed for a better one was a hassel.
There is an excellent bus network, and we tended to use buses more than the car to get around. The buses are modern and air conditioned. Don't bother arriving at a bus terminal in good time to get a place. The moment the bus arrives, any semblance of a queue disintergrates into a rugby scrum. The drivers don't seem at all worried about overloading them and just keep piling people in. It's all very friendly once you are on and the Maltese are lovely people. When standing in the corridor I was offered a seat by younger Maltese (both of whom had fought to get on!) on two separate occasions.
Both islands are heavily built up, particularly Malta, which is a massive urban connurbation. In the country the fields are tiny and surrounded by stone walls with a big variety of crops interspersed by tracks and paths, but you are never really out of sight of the towns and villages which sprall into each other.
English is widely spoken and understood, and most villages have well stocked supermarkets tucked away, usually in an old stone building. There are British red telephone boxes and blue lamps outside of the police stations.
One pass time which seems unpleasant to our British eyes is the widespread shooting and trapping of birds. Shooting is a major sport and there are hides everywhere. They shoot everything from sparrows to hawks. The only place that it's banned is on the mainly uninhabited island of Comino - well worth a visit (regular ferries) with good snorkelling, I'm not certain about the climbing here but there are limestone cliffs and dramatic sea caves.
