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Ben Farr
Travel writer. Football obsessive. Malta local. The voice behind Route & Stay.
In his forties, based between Valletta and a weekend home in Gozo, Ben has spent the better part of a lifetime finding reasons to be somewhere else — and writing about it when he gets back.
Malta, Gozo, and the Mediterranean at the door
Ben lives close to Valletta — Malta’s compact, UNESCO-listed capital — with a weekend home in Gozo that he escapes to most Saturdays. That dual base gives Route & Stay something few travel blogs on the islands can offer: genuinely local coverage written by someone who takes the ferry regularly, knows the port crowds, and has strong opinions about which Gozitan restaurant is worth the drive.
Living at the centre of the Mediterranean also means Europe is effectively on the doorstep. A weekend in Madrid, a few days in Budapest, a quick flight to Rome — the geography of Malta makes short-haul travel almost frictionless, and that’s reflected in how Route & Stay is built.
How Ben travels — and why it shows in the writing
Ben travels frequently and with intent. The range is genuinely broad — weekend city breaks across Europe with family, longer long-haul trips to destinations further afield, and a particular passion for cruising combined with pre and post-cruise stays. When a ship docks somewhere interesting, he stays longer. The cruise is the vehicle; the destination is the point.
Italy features regularly — not just as a destination but as a recurring fixture, driven largely by an allegiance to AS Roma that requires periodic in-person attention. The football trips to Rome have produced some of the best travel writing on the site, partly because the emotional stakes are higher when your team is playing.
What Route & Stay actually is
Route & Stay isn’t a bucket-list blog or a destinations directory. It’s a record of trips that actually happened — written with enough honest detail to be genuinely useful to someone planning the same thing. When something was frustrating, that goes in. When something exceeded expectations, that goes in too.
Every affiliate link on the site points to something Ben has personally used or would recommend to someone he actually likes. The disclosures are clear because they should be.
What you’ll find on Route & Stay
Collaborations & Press
For collaborations, press trips, or questions about a destination covered on Route & Stay.
All opinions are Ben’s own. Sponsored content and affiliate relationships are always disclosed clearly.