Have a brilliant time Dave Keep us up to date on your trips etc

So here we are again, had a nice day out yesterday we got the bus to Valletta,got some nice photos. It's a pity I still don't know how to put them on here, did all the tourist sites marvelled at the wall art in the Grand Masters palace, and st John's Co Cathedral, walked all round the battlements in the war museum, had lunch on Merchants street and got the bus back to our hotel.we booked into the Italian restaurant 8.30 sitting with waiter service very nice as we had,had pizza for lunch we went for the anti pasta, rib eyed steak followed by ice cream with a lemoncheno and espresso all very nice. Today we are just hanging round the hotel as it thundered and lighting last night and is still a bit wild today.

It's lovely Valletta isn't it Dave? Glad to hear you are out and about seeing the sites. I loved the history of Malta, so interesting.

Bet it's not as cold as it is here, are you staying for New Year?

Could we do a 4th year on Gozo. We probably ought to try somewhere else now but we could just as easily go back

We popped into Gozo Lyn & both hubby & I thought it'd be an Island we could stay for our hols. Maybe a idea for 2016

Its really lovely Glynis. Good food, lovely people and so laid back. You will need a car though. We've spent the last 3 years there now. We get cheap flights with Easyjet, book our hotel direct (always stay in the bungalows at the Cornucopia) and car hire and transfer with Majo.

Yeah we did say we'd definitely get a car for Gozo.

The off putting thing for me is the transfer from the airport up to Gozo and then the crossing adding time to your journey. Is it quite easy? Plus the return of course. I presume you'd have to take care when booking flights etc.

It's really not that Bad at all Glynis.. The crossing is only 25 minutes and as it's a small island nowhere is more than about 20 minutes on the other side. There are various options.
Option 1. Probably the cheapest If you don't mind navigating your way to the ferry, is hiring a car at the airport and driving straight on/off the ferry yourself. (really very easy)
Option 2. Booking a transfer from Airport to ferry, going on as a foot passenger and getting a transfer/taxi the other side.
Option 3. which is what we choose but only because there have always been 5 of us travelling and we wouldn't get 5 cases (including dive equipment) into a hire car from the airport, is to get someone like Majo (based on Gozo) to collect us from the airport , do the whole job..leaving our cases in the car for the ferry crossing, dumping us and our cases at our hotel and delivering us a hire car either the same day or next morning. Same on the return.

Plenty of budget flights to Malta, usual precautions if you are booking via a 3rd party but I've never felt I'm taking a risk with Easyjet or Ryanair direct. Only thing to watch is the return flight times. Many of the flights are early. For us looking for a London flight EJ do the latest at around 11.30 but still meaning we have to leave gozo around 7am. Many are much earlier and you could face getting up in the middle up the night for your return.
Lots of lovely eating places in Xaghra which is a good choice if you don't mind staying inland. Marselforn and Xlendi are your choices for coastal.

Thanks Lyn that's really helpful and definitely given me food for thought for 2016.

I think, if our return flight was very early, we would maybe have 1 or 2 nights nearer to the airport.

I think I'll have a mooch around this year and see what's what.

Thanks again

The beauty of booking separately is you have the flexibility to do just that Glynis . The first 2 years we did 9 nights and last year 10. It's a beautiful island but you need to stay there to appreciate it properly. We have all our favourite restaurants now which we always visit at least once and have made lovely friends who visit the same time as us each year.. don't worry about feeling like you need to stay on the coast, it's not needed really as it's such a small island.

I agree you need to stay there to appreciate Gozo. I honestly don't think you would get the laid back vibe of the place on a day trip at all, infact you might wonder what all the fuss was about as probably at first viewing you just wouldn't get it, if that makes sense.

Even though it was years ago, loved our holiday there. Was talking about it with friends over the Xmas Break and was surprised how much the kids who are now adults remembered about the place, we did stay in a beautiful hotel, but if we went back would go in a farmhouse. Gutted they did away with the Helicooter transfer though, that was brilliant.

I get exactly what you mean Chris. It kinda feels like downtown Beirut when you first arrive. Our first trip out in the car was to Marsalform, we must have all thought.. omg, where have we come to here ! By day 2 we had relaxed and loved everything about Gozo. yes it takes a day or two to "get" it's charm. Once you stay on Gozo I would bank on you possibly not returning to Malta mainland. Now there's a challenge

Ha Ha at downtown Beirut - not that I've been, but you did say you were looking for a new Citybreak destination Lyn maybe you can be the first to do a trip report. Gozo certainly grows on you the longer you are there, we will go again at some point hopefully.

I did like the countryside even though in places it can be very arid due to the great temperatures, there was something about the place, the first sight of that massive church sitting in the middle of nowhere is surprsing for want of a better word, wish I had managed a look round it.

Also that stepping back in time (but still with relatively good plumbing) feeling that many easyish to reach places have now lost.

I am a weirdo though and liked Malta which sadly the rest of the family didn't. Visiting Valetta was enough to make it worth the stay in its own right for me and Mdina (spelling) the old capital city.

Yes, would still like to try Malta mainland and maybe instead of trying and failing miserably to come up with another European dive destination we should just consider Malta.

Gozo is like a step back in time and is certainly what Dave likes about it.. The island that time forgot and the way it really ought to stay. Some of our favourite restaurants are on Xaghra square which has to be one of the most stunning settings anywhere on the island but we have a good laugh at the amount of young people that cruise around in their old ford escorts and cars that we all loved from our youth. These are not collectors cars they are what they drive and are in a remarkably good condition and well cared for. The locals love showing them off . The boys think it's hilarious but we sit there thinking Aw those were the days

We had 3 nights on Gozo when we got married in Malta in 2010. Loved it!