North Cyprus or Malta for oldies

I lived in Malta as a child and took several holidays there.

The pluses are English is spoken everywhere, the food is an excellent fusion of Mediterranean and Italian cuisine . The bus system whilst quite old, is regular and covers the whole island even tourist spots.

The downside is beaches are small and limited . Most areas have rocky access without a beach. The best beaches are Mellieħa Bay, Għajn Tuffieħa and Golden Bay. For smaller, quieter beaches, try those at the tip of Malta, overlooking Gozo - Paradise Bay and Armier.

I like the old world charm and general lack of hustle and bustle. Lots of historic interest too.

I think Famagusta sounds so poetic. I don't know the reality. I had a holiday in Paphos recently. I gather it's extremely hot now. I would make sure you had a hotel with top rate air con. There have been power cuts because of the heat and people running air con for 24/7
I have yet to go to Malta.

Not been to Malta but didnt like N Cyprus at all, though it was in October.

I wouldn't go to n Cyprus as you can't fly direct, you have to land in Turkey and then take off again, so it's an extra take off and landing, the politics are a bit dodgy as well, isn't it an illegal state? The Greek part of Cyprus I have been to , it is lovely we went one November and it was really hot, I would recommend the Elysium hotel, just outside Paphos, fabulous food,private beach. Theres a lot of British influence there , I think they have an M and S and Debenhams (!) but we avoided them There are lots of interesting historical sites which have been discovered, nice walking along the coast and some traditional tavernas in the harbour. I wasn't mad about Malta, but the buses were good, I much preferred Madiera. Sorry this isn't answering your question!

We live in The Republic of Cyprus ( the Greek South), for half the year the South is very like home to most Brits in a lot of ways. Nearly everyone speaks English, plugs are same as UK, most UK type foods are available, if that is what you like. We drive on the same side of the road, etc. As suzied comments there are UK shops as well, should you need them. (M&S, Debenhams, Monsoon, Alpha Mega supermarket sells over 2000 lines from Tesco, to name but a few) The summer months (July and August) are very hot where ever you are on the island, at present it is 40 degrees and very humid, OK if you just sit and swim, but if you want to hire a car and explore and there are lots of fabulous places to see then June or September will be better. We live in the Troodos Mountain range and it is still incredibly hot here at present, (catching a plane this afternoon to UK for a couple of months), but we do get snow in winter!!

I have been wondering about N.Cyprus for myself, aged 73. I know people who love the place, but I`ve never been there although we've been to Greek Cyprus twice and loved it. It is possible to fly direct to Larnaca and most of the hotels do airport transfers into the north. My problem is wondering how much extra I would be charged as a solo traveller.