Malta

We did the 10 day holiday with 7 nights on Gozo followed by 3 on Malta. The walks in the countryisde took in very interesting locations with excellent spots for a swim / snorkel and it was possible to adapt walks to suit by using the bus routes. The suggested town trails and other sights in Victoria, Valletta and Mdina/Rabat were also very well described in the notes.

Road signs are rare on Gozo because the locals know where they are going.  Plan to get lost most days even if you are a seasoned walker!  Drinks are cheap on Gozo and Malta.

Another first class holiday with Inntravel. The knowledge of your representatives we spoke to before the holiday and the speed of answering was first class and a credit to your organisation. We ate at the Ta'Klarick, just up the road from Maple Farm, ideal after a long day. The staff were very friendly and the food we ate was varied and of good quality.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our single centre walking holiday Glorious Gozo with our Malta add on

GOZO - We had a very pleasant week on Gozo despite the heavy winds on our arrival and the first day of walking. There was a couple of days of rain but did all the trails starting with the Qala Circuit. Following other reviews, we combined the visit to the Neolithic Temples at Xaghra with the Victoria Town Trail. This enabled us to do enjoy the Nadur Circuit as this was our best day for the weather. We were impressed with the cliffs of Ta’Cenc but had to cut short the part to Saguna cliffs as we had a tremendous rainfall so we caught the bus back from this village. We were made most welcome in the Inn in the square with a pot of tea and cake and given advice for the next bus. Really enjoyed Ghasri walk as we had good weather and the salt pans were amazing. The walk along the coast here was stunning. The buses were very good on Gozo and locals were helpful in advising the stop to get off at. Everyone was very friendly and most spoke English. Did not get the array of wild flowers we had hoped for as we were a little late in the season. The Grand Hotel was very well situated at the harbour and we enjoyed the 2 meals in the hotel and breakfast. We had some excellent meals at Ta’Tona and the Country Terrace dining at both on 2 occasions. We frequented the Gleneagles Bar - a good stop off after our days walk taking the bus down to the harbour. We had a great cocktail in the one80 Kitchen. We dined at Ta’Philip and we were really looking forward to it following previous reviews but we were disappointed as they were short-staffed and not on their best performance for which they apologised.

MALTA – We extended our stay by 5 nights in Malta staying at the Chapel 5 Palazzo Suites. Verena and Omar made us most welcome. They had only taken ownership from November 2022 and their first guests arrived in March. The buses to Valletta were good but often busy so we also used the Bolt app which worked well when we needed a taxi to visit other places that required more than one bus. Valletta was very walkable and we went a couple of days. St Johns’ Cathedral is a must see but we were very fortunate as they had a special exhibition of 25 16th century Tapestries on display, which were exceptional. So was the cathedral and we must have spent over 2 hours in the building. We also had coffee and a cake in the legendary Caffe Cordina. We had another bonus as one very sunny morning in the main square there was a Classic Car exhibition where my husband was in his element. We enjoyed vising the War Museum and we pre-booked the Underground Tunnels which gave us a very good insight about Malta’s history especially during WW2. Another must see is the Palace Parisio in Naxxar it has the most amazing ballroom and the gardens are stunning too. We pre-booked in the UK an evening meal in the Luna di Sera Restaurant having a cocktail in the garden under the full bloom of the jasmine trailing over the pagodas. Dinner was exceptional and very well served and a very nice treat. Note the venue is extensively used for weddings so check first if the restaurant is going to be open. We ate at Ta’Stringi in Naxxar but we would really recommend the Brass and Knuckle. We had a super dinner of meat and returned to have the cheese fondue with the platter of continental meats. Staff very friendly and service was good. We enjoyed the Mnajdra and Hagar Qim temples and combined this with a visit to the Blue Grotto where we took the boat to go around the 7 caves. Several museums were closed in Valletta: Grand Masters Palace, Manoel Theatre, Maritime Museum and Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa.

Enjoyed the trip and thanks again to Inntravel for all the notes and maps etc.

Our favourite walk was Ghasri/Marsalform. Note that there is a small supermarket & toilets in Ghasri. As said by previous reviewers the kiosk down the road from hotel in Mgarr was great for picking up provisions and the Cupcake at Victoria bus station provided welcome refreshments whilst waiting for bus. We ate mainly at the Grand Hotel as portions were more appropriate for us. We bought an extra tallinja card with 12 single day journeys from the Grand Hotel in Mjarr which we could use in Malta. This was particularly useful as our stay in Malta was unexpectedly extended. We had some health issues but having our EHI card gave access to Malta's reciprical agreement with UK for free health care. We enjoyed staying at the more rural Maple Farm.