hello lyn, I would say go to Gozo for your first week (better for getting the plane back home) it does not have much in the way of night life, but it has good diving schools, the place that does a lot of it is the Marsalforn. One of the local hotels that also run a Dive school is the Calypso Hotel I think it is a 4* but don't know if it does A I.
Second week you could then do at St julians with all its night life and lots of A I hotels, this way you get the best of both.
Not many of the big tour firms do twin centre holidays these days so you may have to look for a Malta tour firm to do it, we did our first holiday to Malta years ago and did a twin centre, if you hire a car on Gozo there so much to see and with the diving you should not get bored, you are best the look at the hotel reviews to see what are the good hotels.
Dave.

Thanks Dave.

If it was a go'er I would probably do DIY anyway . Book some flights and sort out accomodation at my leisure . Was looking at Marsalforn and thinking there would be our best option on gozo but I'm happy to look at all suggestions. The calypso does appear to do a half board option that you could pay for there but looks more geared towards adults and not our noisy bunch of teenagers .

I'm assuming I would need to fly to/from Malta anyway . How long would the travelling take from the airport to Gozo and then back to St Julians if we were to choose there for a 2nd week.

I appreciate this would be a very different holiday for us and no doubt would take a lot of research.

lyn

Lyn..Gozo definitely is a great destination. It does not have banging night clubs that your boys might be interested in after a days diving but it does have plenty of bars and restaurants. We are staying there again ourselves in August. We have rented an apartment right on the sea front for very reasonable price. The Calypso hotel is owned by some friends and if you want to be part of the hotel but not part of the hotel, they do have some apartments next to the hotel. I think they are being refurbed at the minute which is why we are not staying there. Calypso diving school is well recommended. We are diving with them...

Fly into Luqa airport and then from there get a taxi up to the ferry port at Cirkewwa. Now they have built a new motorway you shoudl be able to make the transfer in less than an hour ( depends on the driver though!). The ferries run at regular intervals and the crossing takes about 15 to 20 mins..if that. The boat is well equipped and the ride is always enjoyable. Your bags etc and everything will be loaded on for you and taken off at the other end.

Arrivial at Mgarr is a little hairy sometimes as when you get off the ferry there are loads of taxi drivers etc queuing for business..one of those will take you to Marselforn, (best place to stye, although Xlendi is very nice also but quieter). If you wish, I can arrange for a mini bus in advance which will be able to carry any dive gear etc and give you more room..prices are the same regardless.

If you want to stay in Malta, there is a good dive school at Cirkewwa itself, but the hotel is nowt to write home about..and there is nowt else there other than the ferry port. The best nightlife is in St. Julians your lads would love it. Beware in Malta though, if it says 4*..it is really a 3* and so on.

PM me if you have any questions..

Thanks Val. I think that Gozo which sounds lovely and the calypso would suit us fine for a few days but no more than a week .It would need to be somewhere I can enjoy whilst the others are out for the day . Still struggling to find anywhere I like the look of either HB or A/I that we could move on to in malta and this is why i never took it further last time I looked .Those that do look nice and there arnt many either cost an arm and a leg or look way too upmarket for us (like the hilton) in St Julians . Are there any other resorts I could look at on Malta that are nice , have something going on of an evening but not too in your face .

Does gav usually go with you ?? . Trouble is whilst Dave and youngest son would be happy to dive as much as poss I know the older two are at that stage where they are getting a bit fed up with it and never want to do more than a couple of days . The beer and late nights seem to have taken priority now and as you know diving and late nights dont mix too well.



It really is the 2nd week I'm struggling as I would need to find something similar to what we/they are used to doing which is a family friendly , good quality hotel with plenty going on . A/I option if possible . so far I've found nowt
lyn

I'm no expert on family AI hotels Lyn as I stayed in the Westin Dragonara which is a bit like the Hilton, but not as grand, but it was only BnB so we had to pay for all our food & drink. The kids were something like 7&9 so this really wasn't a big deal for a week & the hotel had a brilliant busy pool scene.

I think your best bet for your two eldest would be to factor in the cost of cabs to and from St Julians for 4 or 5 evenings (maybe even all 7 evenings) as they would probably have a blast. From what I remember the island is full of young Italian students at that time of year partying so would imagine 19 & 17 year olds would be well up for the fun. I'm sure the Island is pretty small so don't think there would be much problem staying in one part and budgetting for cabs in another part, if you checked distrances.

Don't know of the hotels personally, but the two that spring to mind are the Melliaha Bay (might have spelt that wrong) which Thomson have been doing for years and years, also there is a hotel called the Coastine, I seem to remember driving past it as we had a car for a few days. Was on its own a bit but seemed large and looked like it would have a lot going on. Perhaps you could read reviews of these.

There is also a newish hotel I think at Paradise Bay, type of spa hotel I think.

All the good hotels in St Julians are 5* BnB and even for a week it may cost a fortune to feed and water 4 adults and a 12 year old. Although the breakfasts might last you through to dinner lol. They have good specs though, normally a choice of pools and restuarants and rocky sunbathing lidos to the sea.

Malta isn't really a peaceful place in the summer it's more kind of buzzing, full of people and traffic, but I imagine that wont be a problem for you. I think it's just a matter of finding the right hotel.

The hotel we stayed in Gozo was called the Ta Cenc but it would be to quiet for you. By the end of the week my 9 year old was getting bored. Me & DH loved it.
Also you will love the temps in July/Aug just like Turkey, Greece etc baking hot.

Thanks Chris . I had a quick browse at the coastline and Melliaha bay hotels yesterday .Both look possibilities . The Coastline actually gets reasonable reviews and seems like it would suit us but there is mention of it being turned over to Saga this year so will have to have a good read . There is also the Ramla bay hotel which is A/I. Again not the best reviews but acceptable if just for a week.

If I had the choice I would probably just go to Gozo for an extra week Oct half term if the weather was still reasonable then . Probably a good diving time as the sea would still be warm. 3 holidays however might be pushing things a bit . but I will certainly look at the options .

As you say if we went B+B/ half board I would have to factor in handing the older 2 over a wedge of cash every night

lyn

The Melliaha Bay used to get really good reviews some years back I worked with a girl who went there for her honeymoon and loved it, but these things change so you need to keep an eye on the reviews. Think the hotel at Paradise Bay is new but not sure if its HB or AI. Not sure how Malta has gone pricewise. Wasn't too bad went we were there as they didn't have the Euro. One of the things I remember is that in certain parts there are tons of bars, cafes and restuarants, so I would imagine there is a huge amount of competition in summer, maybe that plays its part to keep prices down.
You also have lots of the things that people deplore on holidays like fast food places as well as quality restaurants so there is endless choice, i imagine people can have whatever kind of holiday they fancy there, from a kind of home from home, to something posh if they are prepared to spend.

I loved Valetta, the architecture and history of the place. Its unique.

Three holidays might be the way to go. I would think the temps there are pretty good in April and October, not up to Egypt but probably as good as Greece and Turkey.

I think the Coastline is only for Saga customers this year. We have been in this hotel twice and had no complaints. We went half board in the Mellieha Bay Hotel and it was okay but Mellieha is a long way from St. Julians Bay and the taxi fares in Malta are expensive.

Thanks Jean . Just been reading the coastline thread and yes they are now signed to saga until 2011 when they close for refurb . Shame as that could of been a go'er.

I'm beginning to think just a week on Gozo during one of the half term weeks would be a better idea and then if the older 2 wanted to stay at home hubby, I and 12 year old could go alone and do it at a
much more sensible cost . hmm .I am quite liking that idea

lyn

Paradise Bay is a half board hotel..but there is nowt else there other than the hotel, a diving school and a bit of beach. It is not far from the ferry port.If I was you, I would go straight to Gozo and stay there for a week. it will be starting to cool down in October but still warm enough for diving in a 5mil wetsuit. If your eldest lads go, there is a nightclub near Xlendi....it is famous for being underground. Haven't been myself as I am way to old and past it for that stuff, but the locals tell me it stays open until 4am every night. If you are going in October, beware as the peak of the season will be over and alot of places go into hibernation. Getting back from Xlendi to Marselforn is not really a problem as the island is so tiny and taxi's are a plenty and are cheaper than in Malta.

Failing that, if you want to stay in Xlendi, there are 3 or 4 good hotels there and a couple of good diving schools. Bus service is good but runs on gozo time. If you want to hire a car or get a taxi, that is all pretty reasonable too.

if you stay in Malta for a 2nd week, Mellieha Bay is also good for your lads age group but I am not sure of how many hotels are AI over there. Now Malta is in the euro, you may not get much value for money as you would have done when it still had the maltese lira so staying HB or BB may turn expensive especially when you take into consideration beer money for the boys!

Thanks Val. It's certainly giving me plenty to go on .

lyn

I have heard of that nightclub in Gozo as well Lyn. Forgot about it till Val mentioned it above.

Trying to remeber if Xlendi is the place with The Grand hotel. We went all over Gozo the week we were there as we had a car. We ate out at nice hotel a couple of evenings that looked out at the sea watching the sun go down. Lovely food. I remember walking round afterwards to an ice cream parlour that was being mobbed by locals and buying icecreams, great fun.

Perhaps plan b is going to be best for you Lyn. But I think Gozo will be really quiet in October, whereas in July and August I would imagine it still gets many visitors.

Oh decisions decisions .Everything I've priced up at this years prices are way over what we would pay for our 2 week summer holiday. Even doing DIY ,For anything half decent Over 2K just for B+B without flights or spends . At this rate I'd be looking to pay at least 5K which would be a non starter .

hello again lyn, I was looking to go back to Malta this October, just me and Mrs Holidaymaker and the cost put us off. for some reason Malta has gone the way of Greese, over priced and poor hotels, unless you have the money for a 5* and then they are just over priced.
It is a pity as we both like Malta and have had some great holidays there, if you hav't been to Egypt before, we went for the first time last new year, they have lots of good A I hotels and some of the best diving in the world on the Red Sea resorts and at better rates than you will find in Malta.
Dave.

Hi again Dave . Yes the prices do seem very high although I am basing that on booking something late for this year where as I would be early for next and would hope to get a better bargain if that makes sense .

I shall have to see how prices fair when they are released soon .

Yes Egypt has become our regular week's A/I for Easter . Not long come back from our 4th visit there and during the summer we usually opt for Turkey.

I'm very much in two minds because we do enjoy both but I'm also aware that we are becoming a bit samey with our approach and should try to shake things up a little but I certainly wont be paying 5K for a hotel that is far more inferior to what we can stay at in Turkey for under 4K .If I was going to spend that sort of money I would head to the carribean or mexico

lyn

We have gone DIY in Marselforn for this August, we got the flights for £120 (that was both of us) and have rented a place right on the seafront for 166 euro's..which at the time was £141. The place is in really good condition, 2 bedroomed apartment but he has others in the same complex that are 3 bedroom. They are right next to Calypso Hotel. I can put you in touch with them if you want to try and get a price. I have Joes' email address somewhere.

Definitely do not spend a wedge of cash, the hotels in Malta or Gozo are not that good. The best hotel on the island of Gozo is at Ta Cenc, and that is reflected in the prices. Way too much to pay. There are 3 hotels in Xlendi that will be far cheaper but i am not sure what basis they are on..definitely not AI I don't think.

Definitely do not spend a wedge of cash, the hotels in Malta or Gozo are not that good

I'm beginning to come to the same conclusion Val . We just need to broaden our horizons a little more .Even the calypso is expensive . I cant believe the prices. I dont know where I've been for the last few years

lynwestie wrote:

Definitely do not spend a wedge of cash, the hotels in Malta or Gozo are not that good

I cant believe the prices. I dont know where I've been for the last few years :rofl

I can answer that one Lyn. In Turkey and Egypt.

The Ta Cenc was the hotel we stayed in, but it isn't suitable for teens really its too quiet. Also its BnB and then you need to eat out.

It's a difficult one trying to do something that is a little bit different to the norm, like a twin centre Gozo and Malta as there doesn't seem to be any tailormade AI packages and it sounds like its got quite dear there as well.

The Ta Cenc was the hotel we stayed in

You clearly had plenty of spare cash when you visited Malta Chris .