Malta’s small sister island, Gozo, is the perfect place to unwind with its high-quality accommodation and laid-back ambience.
Just nine miles by four and home to fewer than 10% of Malta’s 350,000 population, Gozo enjoys a gentle pace of life. In the heat of summer, the pace slows still further.
This is where mainland Maltese head on extended weekend breaks. Though just a 20min ferry ride away, it looks and feels different to the bigger island.
Gozo is very much greener, even in summer. It has no large centres of population and no major highways. All roads lead to the capital, Victoria. Many Gozitans are farmers and part-time fishermen, supplying much of Malta’s fruit and vegetable produce. Self-governing under the Romans, Gozo has again enjoyed a degree of autonomy since 1987, following the setting up of the island’s own government ministry.
With fewer cars, Gozo’s roads are in better shape than those on Malta. With fewer people, the villages are pristine and tidy.
The Maltese government has long cultivated Gozo as an upmarket destination, restricting new building and allowing only four and five-star hotels to be constructed.
The latest is the five-star San Lawrenz Leisure Resort which opened in June. It joins established properties Ta’ Cenc, L’Imgarr, the Cornucopia and St Patrick’s. In the centre of the island sits Victoria, a smaller version of Mdina in Malta, with its hilltop citadel visible for miles around.
There are two small seaside resorts in Gozo – Marsalforn, with the three-star Calypso on the north coast and tiny Xlendi, dominated by the four-star St Patrick’s, in the south.
Most sun worshippers head for Ramla Bay. Tiny San Blas Bay, beneath the cliffs of Nadur, offers a relaxing alternative. Rural settlements are dotted about the island, each with a church that holds the entire village.
Those after a country retreat should go for the five-star Ta’ Cenc at Sannat or the Cornucopia, a converted farmhouse at Xaghra.