Hi,

Wow - EUR15! Thanks for that - I noticed that the Gozo trip with Malta Direct and a few other online excursion companies is somewhere around EUR45-50 :omg. Just goes to show how much money a little local knowledge can save!! If I find myself in Qawra I'll definitely look up those places for my excursions. If I'm somewhere else I'll be sure to shop around before accepting whatever price the reps / major companies quote me.

Thanks for saving me my hard earned pennies!

I will be giving Mellieha a miss this time round. It sounds perfect for a holiday when I just want to get away from things. But, as I often go away on my own, and this time I'm going with a friend, I'd like to be somewhere with a bit more going on.

A.

We have used Mary's many many times over the years, she used to run a couple of outlets in Trik it-Turisti along with her dad before he died years ago, yep we still go and visit her for a blether everytime we are over in sunny Malta.

We always stay in Qawra or Bugibba.....

Until recently we were the same staying in Bugibba, Qawra or St Pauls however we have now started staying down in Maraxlokk, but I wouldn't say anything against Bugibba / Qawra or Malta for that matter.

Malta is the only place we really go back to and have been going very regularly for the last 20 odd years, seen many changes.

October is a nice time to go, still warm during the day althought it is a bit chillier at night so you may require a cardigan or light jumper, also not as many tourists about.

I must admit I love to go early in the year around about March / April time when Malta is blooming and all lovely and green before the heat of the summer changes it to the honey colour most people see, these 2 pictures were taken from Mdina one in March and the other July (ish?)

This is a view from Mdina taken during the summer


The same view taken in March


It is very easy to get to Gozo on your own, take the bus up to Cirkewwa and then go as a foot passenger on the ferry across to Mgarr on Gozo, you can then get a taxi or a local bus meets the ferry and takes you to the capital Victoria (Rabat) from where you can take other buses to see the island, there is also a sightseeing bus that will take you around the island (see link below) or get off and go a wander around Victoria and up to the Citadel for stunning views over Gozo also worth going in to the Cathedral of St. Mary, inside the Citadel, this church didn't have a dome built so an illusion of a dome was painted on the flat ceiling.

Looking over Gozo from the Citadel


Still pleasant enough weather wise to do as much or as little as you like in October, something you might like are the Hop On / Hop Off buses that tour the island, there are 2 routes one doing the North and one doing the South as well as the one I mentioned going around Gozo http://www.exploremalta.com.mt/TourTypeList.aspx?ttid=1

What a difference between those photos! The last time I was in Malta was January, so it was all green then. I expect it'll be all parched from summer when I go this time. And I like the idea of there not being quite so many people around - it's a big plus to being able to go away out of the main season.

So... I'm now all booked We'll be staying at the Marina at the Corinthia Beach in St Georges Bay. Not the most ideal location, but it's 2 minutes from the hotel I stayed at last time, and I remember it being convenient enough. And as luck would have it the price came down a bit over the last few days, so we actually get a few pounds change from our budget.

Am now getting all excited and starting to think about all the things to see and do. No doubt I'll be asking more questions on here at some point before we go!

A big thank you to everyone who's replied with helpful advice and suggestions etc.

A.

Hey, glad to see you got yourself sorted out

Enjoy!

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

Thanks Shell - I'm sure I will!