Gozo Holidays
Gozo Holidays - slow-paced island life
Glorious Gozo is just a 6km ferry ride from the main island of Malta and it is a different world. This still-rural island, 14km by 7km, is dotted with traditional villages and surrounded by beaches, dramatic coastal scenery and some of the clearest blue waters in the Mediterranean. It is the perfect place to kick-back and enjoy a truly relaxing holiday.
You can while away the days swimming, sunbathing, walking in the cooler months, and sitting over a delicious meal of fresh fish or traditional Gozitan pizza. Or if you’re feeling more active, Gozo has some of the best diving in Europe and fascinating historic sites, including the one of the oldest stone buildings in the world and an imposing medieval citadel. A Gozo holiday is a perfect de-stressor for all ages
When to go to Gozo
You can enjoy a holiday in Gozo at any time of year. Summer is best for sunbathing and swimming, although you can often do both well into October or even November. Gozo is a lot less busy outside the school holidays (which in Malta run until mid-September). Spring is the perfect time for walking, with wild flowers in profusion, and even winter can be warm and sunny and is very much cheaper than summer.
The weather in Gozo
Summer in Gozo is hot and dry, with temperatures regularly reaching the upper twenties from June to September with peaks regularly topping 30ºC in August. There is often a pleasant breeze, at least on the coast, and occasional stronger winds as the autumn progresses. Winters are wetter than summer but remain sunny and warm – the average daily high is 15ºC even in January.
Getting the best deal to Gozo
To get the best deal on a Gozo holiday travel outside the peak summer season and the Maltese school holidays. Prices are dramatically lower October to June, particularly December to February (except over Christmas and New Year). You will have most choice of accommodation by booking early and it can be cheaper too - check out our best deals below – or find a last minute bargain in our late offers here.
Airport and transport need to know
A Gozo holiday starts by flying into Malta International Airport (www.maltairport.com), just three hours flying time from the UK. There are plenty of flights from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds-Bradford, Edinburgh and East Midlands Airport.
From Malta airport it is under an hour’s drive to the Gozo Ferry at Cirkewwa. Taxis are readily available and fares from the airport are regulated http://www.maltairport.com/page.asp?p=17163. This trip should cost €32 (about £25). Confirm this with your driver before getting in. Much cheaper is the express bus costing just €2.20 (under £2) and taking a bit over an hour.
The Gozo Ferry (www.gozochannel.com) runs every forty-five minutes throughout the day and takes 25 minutes to make the pleasant crossing to Gozo. A return ticket is €4.65 (under £4).
Gozo has a reasonable bus service (http://www.arriva.com.mt) with a two-hour all-Gozo ticket costing €2.20 (under £2). For greater flexibility though it is worth hiring a car. Gozo drives on the left like the UK and more considerately than the main island, although small roads can be quite pot-holed.
Top Resorts in Gozo
In Gozo you can have it all. Holidays on Gozo roughly divide into ‘farmhouse holidays’ – self-catering in a stone-built property in a rural village setting - and ‘seaside holidays’, the more usual package deals to a coastal resort. On this small island, though, wherever you stay you are never more than a short drive from everything the island has to offer, inland and by the sea, so you really can have it all.
Marsalforn is Gozo’s liveliest and largest resort (though it is still very small and quiet compared with the likes of the Costa del Sol!). Main-island Maltese come here to chill out on summer weekends and it caters for all ages. A few modern hotels and self-catering apartments, restaurants and bars are ranged around the head of a bay of inviting clear blue water, ideal for swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving.
If you fancy something more traditional, Gharb is one of Gozo’s prettiest villages with traditional houses of warm local limestone and carved stone balconies. It even has its own Aladdin’s cave of a folklore museum. Gharb sits in a particularly attractive area of Gozo surrounded by lovely walks and key Gozo sights – historical and natural.
Sannat is a pretty, relaxed village too, with a large parish church and a few shops and bars. It is in the far south of the island, very close to Gozo’s capital and just inland from the dramatic Ta’ Cenc cliffs, towering up to 145m up from the sea. Great walking country with stunning views.
