Malta And Gozo Walking

Our trip begins at Malta International Airport (MLA) at 4.30pm. If you would like to join this complimentary airport transfer, the latest your flight can arrive is 4pm. We will then drive together as a group for about an hour to catch the ferry to the island of Gozo, followed by a 30-minute drive to our hotel located in Marsalforn. Gozo features more rugged terrain than the main island, is picturesque and has retained much of its traditional rural character with more agriculture. If your flight arrives earlier, there will be another complimentary transfer from the airport departing at midday. If you would like to join this transfer, please mention while booking, the latest your flight can arrive is 11.30am. Explore will add you onto whichever of these two transfers is best for your flight arrival time. The Tour Leader will conduct the introductory briefing, followed by the opportunity to get better acquainted with your fellow guests over dinner.

After breakfast this morning we start our exploration of Gozo. Only 15 kilometres in length and 7 kilometres wide, it is quick to get around the island and on our drive to the start of today's walk we will stop to visit a couple of places of interest. The island's capital, Victoria is a tiny city named after Queen Victoria in 1887 but locally known as Rabat. The ancient Citadel sits guard over Victoria and has been aptly called the crown of Gozo. A visit to the Citadel is a must and offers a superb view of the whole island with a patchwork of tiny fields. We start today's walk from Gharb, joining the northern coast around and back to our hotel in Marsalforn. From San Dimitri chapel we follow the coastal footpath towards Wied il- Mielah - a limestone natural arch. At Wied il Ghasri we encounter a secluded inlet with a tiny pebble beach wedged between high cliffs whose clear turquoise waters are popular with divers exploring the surrounding underwater caves. From a cave at the water's edge a shaft has been dug to reach the top of the steep cliffs above. In times gone by ropes and buckets were rigged up so they could pull up sea water to fill the neighbouring saltpans. At Xwejni and Qbajjar Bay you can see many salt pans that are still harvested today in the height of summer.Finally the Marsalforn Valley comes into view and we walk the final stretch back to our hotel. You may fancy a dip in the sea at the end of this rewarding first day. Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5-6 hours and will cover a distance of 10 kilometres with a total ascent of 20 metres and descent of 140 metres.

We check out of the hotel this morning and your main luggage will be taken directly to the hotel on Malta. Driving south across the island we soon reach Xlendi, a small seaside village where we commence our walk. Following the coastal path on the south on the island we encounter Xlendi Tower. Built in 1650 to keep watch and raise the alarm against the threat of raiding parties, this is the oldest of four surviving watchtowers on Gozo. Proceeding to Sannat village the terrain becomes more rugged with very high cliffs, particularly Sanap Cliffs & Ta` Cenc, and near the village evidence of ancient cultures can be found in the temples, dolmen and ancient cart ruts. The cliffs finally give way to the small but picturesque bay of Mgarr ix-Xini, whose protected waters served as a small harbour for galleys during the rule of the Order. Nowadays it remains perfectly secluded as it cannot be reached by car and the crystal clear waters make it popular with divers. Rounding the final headland, we walk past Fort Chambray - a bastioned fort built in the mid-18th century - before reaching Mgarr Harbour and the end of our walk. We hop on a ferry and cross back to Malta mainland, then drive to our hotel in St Julian's, near the capital. Urban development stretches along the coast from the historic capital of Valletta along various bays with busy marinas. A seafront promenade skirts all the way along this coastline and is great for people watching, and the area near our hotel offers many restaurants and bars. Today's moderate-graded walk will take approximately 5 hours and will cover a distance of 14 kilometres with a total ascent of 190 metres and descent of 160 metres.