Ms Shewell says...
We booked our own hotel in Valletta as wanted it to be an old hotel in the old area – and would suggest you do offer that option to travellers on Malta. ...
Read reviews »
Gozo is the second largest of the Maltese islands, yet at only 14km by 7km at its widest point, nowhere in Gozo is too far away, making it the ideal choice for a walking holiday. The slow pace of life along with the air of tranquillity also makes Gozo the perfect place to relax. Rich in history and culture you must visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ggantija Tombs at Xaghra, the oldest freestanding temples in the world dating back to 3500BC, and the Ta' Pinu sanctuary.
The walks guide you around the island's impressive coastline and through the cobbled streets of the traditional towns and villages and you'll have plenty of time for exploring, swimming and just soaking up Gozo's tranquil atmosphere. Its rugged landscape ensures spectacular views including Fungus Rock, a natural stone outcrop in the centre of Dwejra Bay, and the Inland Sea. Between autumn and late spring, the countryside bursts into life, revealing an incredible wealth of flora and fauna, with colourful wild flowers and scented herbs.
You stay at the Hotel Ta'Cenc, wonderfully secluded, set in 400 acres of private grounds and built on one level to blend in sensitively with the natural surroundings. The hotel offers complete serenity, a friendly atmosphere and a regular, complimentary shuttle service to the island's capital of Victoria. There are swimming pools, a hydro-massage Jacuzzi, a fitness centre and tennis courts. You stay in tastefully furnished, air-conditioned single storey stone buildings, each with its own terrace. Breakfast is a delicious hot and cold buffet, and evening meals offer a mouth-watering selection of Gozitan and Italian specialities, served al fresco on the patio under a 200-year-old carob tree.
The terrain is moderate with some small hills and the walking is often along ancient roads and old farm tracks. There are some steep descents to the coast and the occasional rough, stony section. Otherwise the walking is essentially 1-boot level.
Our taxi meets you in Malta and takes you to the ferry for the 25-minute trip across to Gozo.
You stay at the Hotel Ta'Cenc (breakfast and evening meal)
Mgarr is Gozo's port, full of traditional and colourful luzzu fishing boats, and dominated by the 18th century Fort Chambray, built by the Knights of St John. The path from here hugs the coast as far as the narrow creek of Mgarr ix-Xini where Turkish raiders landed in 1551 - the perfect place for a picnic and swim. From here, you follow an old mule track up through the hotel's rocky grounds with fine views across to Malta, stopping to explore the remains of a copper age temple and Neolithic dolmen.
The north western corner of the island is only accessible on foot, along easy to navigate farm tracks. First stop is the remarkable neo-Romanesque basilica Ta' Pinu, a huge national shrine built on the site of a miracle in 1923. Your route then leads through unique ravine-like wieds (streams) to Gharb with a stunning Baroque church dating from 1699 and traditional stone houses. The final stretch takes you along the striking cliffs of the north coast where you are rewarded with fantastic views across Gozo's famous salt pans.
To the west coast and the fascinating Punic burial site at Wardija Point. There's a mythical feeling here, like being on the edge of the world. Narrow stone-walled lanes lead down to bamboo groves and to Fungus Rock (named after the 'magic' plant which grew there) and the Inland Sea.
If you'd prefer a slightly longer holiday, take a look at our 7 night Walking on Gozo - Calypso's Isle.
This single-centre holiday is based at the following hotel. If you'd like to extend your stay here, or upgrade your room, just let us know at the time of booking.
To find out more call our sales team on 1-800-267-3347 or email usa@exodustravels.com
Find out more on the hotel website.
Read customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
Room upgrades: Trullo Room, Deluxe Junior Suite or Suite.
Trullo rooms: Super King size (75' width) bed and are larger and round in shape with a beehive style roof. They have an additional seating area and a patio area. Deluxe Junior Suites: larger with a contemporary feel and a King size (69' width) four poster bed. They have a seating area and an outdoor terrace and offer tea and coffee making facilities, satellite TV, Ipod dock, hairdrier, safety deposit box, air conditioning/heating, modern bathrooms including a jacuzzi bath and a separate double shower. Suites: larger than standard rooms with a Super King size (75' width) bed and an additional seating area with a private patio or terrace. Suites also offer tea and coffee making facilities.
Extra nights: Please contact us for details.
If you'd like to extend your trip with extra nights at the start or end, or if you'd like to arrange a stop off point en-route, then we recommend the following hotels.
Find out more on the hotel website.
Read customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
NEARBY:
Find out more on the hotel website.
Read customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
NEARBY:
Transfers can be arranged at a supplement from Malta Luqa airport at 15:35, and back to Malta Luqa airport at 11:15.
Call now to speak to our specialist team at 1-800-267-3347 or email us at usa@exodustravels.com for enquiries or to book your trip.
Everyone who goes on a Headwater holiday will be emailed a link to our post-holiday questionnaire where they can give us an honest assessment of all aspects of their holiday - everything from how quickly we answer the phone to how clean the hotels were - plus an overall rating and comments about their holiday.
Any feedback collected is posted to our website, so that people can make an informed decision based on past experiences before heading off on holiday. We don’t edit the reviews, the only thing we do is proofread them and alter any typos, where necessary, to ensure they are easy to read for everyone. All reviews will be published (except in certain extreme circumstances), and a member of the Headwater team will respond to any constructive criticisms/comments under the reviews, at their discretion. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of our holidays, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.
We booked our own hotel in Valletta as wanted it to be an old hotel in the old area – and would suggest you do offer that option to travellers on Malta. We were disappointed that at the 5 star Ta Cench hotel we were initially put into a room with clearly broken air-conditioning control and function, and workmen working on the roof from 7.0 a.m. onwards. This was not good for one of your customers, but one of the lovely customer managers was excellent at showing us replacement option rooms and upgrading us to a better room. We greatly enjoyed our stay on Gozo, and appreciated the detail of your walks. Over dinner in the beautiful restaurant on Gozo, we met several other headwater holiday travellers, who were all unanimous on their pleasure at the headwater holiday – as well we. We have limited funds, but if we can ever afford it, we should certainly travel with your company again and recommend it. Thank you
A great experience - we did regret that we hadn’t extended the 5 to a 7 night holiday . Gozo is a very special place. The hotel was excellent particularly the friendly service and the superb evening meals. The walks were delightful .The highlight was joining in a procession through a village streets as part of a local festival.
Absolutely fantastic holiday. Would highly recommend Headwater for their destinations and organisation. Have been with them a number of time now and they are always the first place I look at when going to book a holiday.
Holiday was good and as expected. Ta Cenc is excellent, and all transfers were on time etc. Would certainly recommend. Walks varied and easily accessible on Gozo. A relaxing, quiet place to stay!!
This was our first trip to the Maltese Islands and we had a couple of days staying at the Pheonicia Hotel in Valetta, Malta before going over to our walking holiday in Gozo, which helped us to aclimatise to the area and understand its history a little. Both hotels we stayed in (the Pheonicia and Ta Cenc) were excellent, very comfortable, with great facilities and lovely food. The walks in Gozo were very interesting and helped us to see most of the island using the local bus service to take us to the start point for some walks. Our only criticism is that we needed larger scale maps and some of walk instructions need to be updated. We have done many Headwater Holidays and this was the first one where we struggled with some of the instructions, but a more detailed map would have made the difference. Otherwise it was a most enjoyable holiday- thank you!
Overall I can't grumble, the most significant pain was the airports, going and coming back, the walking holiday was fine.
Gozo was a quiet island, perfect for a relaxing walking holiday. As a self-guided holiday we could adjust each day's walks as we felt necessary which provided great flexibility. The Hotel Ta Cenc was excellent, and although some parts of the room décor were aging slightly, the bar and restaurant service were superb. We fully intend to return to Gozo and Ta Cenc to walk the parts of the island we couldn't reach in the short time we had booked.
You can be confident that our pricing includes all the standard requirements of your holiday and many additional extras. Always ensure that you are comparing like for like when booking your holiday.
This 4 night self-guided walking holiday includes:
Single-centre accommodation in a hotel
All buffet breakfasts and evening meals
Management by local hotelier
Route directions and maps
Standard transfers to/from your hotel (if booking inclusive flights)
How to book:
For further details, or to check availability, speak to our sales team on 1-800-267-3347 or click on the 'check availability' links below to complete our holiday enquiry form (we'll contact you at a time that's most convenient for you).
To enquire about this holiday, or for further information, call our sales team on 1-800-267-3347 or click on the 'Check availability' links below to complete our holiday enquiry form.
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
11th Feb 2023 | US$1349 | Tour only: US$1349 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
18th Feb 2023 | US$1349 | Tour only: US$1349 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
25th Feb 2023 | US$1349 | Tour only: US$1349 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
4th Mar 2023 | US$1349 | Tour only: US$1349 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
11th Mar 2023 | US$1349 | Tour only: US$1349 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
17th Mar 2023 | US$1379 | Tour only: US$1379 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
18th Mar 2023 | US$1349 | Tour only: US$1349 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
25th Mar 2023 | US$1349 | Tour only: US$1349 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
1st Apr 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
8th Apr 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
15th Apr 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
22nd Apr 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
29th Apr 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
6th May 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
13th May 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
20th May 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
27th May 2023 | US$1649 | Tour only: US$1649 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
3rd Jun 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
10th Jun 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
17th Jun 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
24th Jun 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
1st Jul 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
8th Jul 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
15th Jul 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
22nd Jul 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
29th Jul 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
5th Aug 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
12th Aug 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
19th Aug 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
26th Aug 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
2nd Sep 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
9th Sep 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
16th Sep 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
23rd Sep 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
30th Sep 2023 | US$1779 | Tour only: US$1779 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
7th Oct 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
14th Oct 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
21st Oct 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
28th Oct 2023 | US$1579 | Tour only: US$1579 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
4th Nov 2023 | US$1379 | Tour only: US$1379 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
11th Nov 2023 | US$1379 | Tour only: US$1379 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
18th Nov 2023 | US$1379 | Tour only: US$1379 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
25th Nov 2023 | US$1379 | Tour only: US$1379 | Check availability |
Check availability |
Departing | Tour only | Prices ![]() |
|
---|---|---|---|
2nd Dec 2023 | US$1379 | Tour only: US$1379 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
9th Dec 2023 | US$1379 | Tour only: US$1379 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
16th Dec 2023 | US$1749 | Tour only: US$1749 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
23rd Dec 2023 | US$1799 | Tour only: US$1799 | Check availability |
Check availability | |||
30th Dec 2023 | US$1799 | Tour only: US$1799 | Check availability |
Check availability |
The prices quoted for each individual departure supercede those published in our current brochures. Air prices are subject to change and we advise early booking to obtain the best prices. Please see our Planning your holiday and What's included in the price? pages for additional information.
Children
Please contact us for child prices.
Holiday type
Self-guided walking Managed locally by hotelier.
Departures
Selected dates from 11th Feb 2023 to 30th Dec 2023, for 4 nights. All dates are subject to availability, please contact us to check.
Meals
All buffet breakfasts and evening meals
Tour only
Transfers can be arranged at a supplement from Malta Luqa airport at 15:35, and back to Malta Luqa airport at 11:15.
For further details, or to check availability, speak to our sales team on 1-800-267-3347 or click on the appropriate 'Check availability' button above to complete our holiday enquiry form, we'll contact you at a time that's most convenient for you.
To enquire about this holiday, or for further information, call our sales team on 1-800-267-3347 or click on the 'Check availability' links above to complete our holiday enquiry form.