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The Package
Calypso offer an all-inclusive package, for a little over £200 each, to include:
* transfers to and from Luqa airport on Malta
* accommodation (in self-catering apartments)
* jeep-hire
* unlimited unaccompanied ... Read review
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Advantages: The friendly locals Disadvantages: The wind!
...pint, having to pay Air Malta upwards of £200 for a return flight to Malta makes a big difference to your holiday budget. It is possible to get cheaper flights, but they are invariably from Gatwick, in the middle of the night. As I am based in Scotland I had to pay the extra to get down to Gatwick.
It's also necessary to ... ...was a helicopter transfer from Malta Luqa airport to the heliport on Gozo, but this is due to end during 2004. For most dive groups this is no great loss, as the cost is much greater than the ferry and the departure times are not always convenient.
On arrival in Marsalforn, on the north coast, I found the apartments we were ... more
Legend has it that Odysseus was tempted to Gozo by Calypso and was so entranced, he stayed for seven years.
George Vella and his team at Calypso Diving run a pretty good operation and are happy to accommodate experienced to novice divers. Calypso Divers is one of the oldest dive shops and SCUBA schools on the island and I have dived with them on many occasions. George Vella the owner is one of the nicest and most accommodating people I have ever met.
All you have to do is arrange your flights to and from Malta. Flights are the most costly item of a Maltese holiday. Now that EasyJet will fly you to Spain for little more than the price of a pint, having to pay Air Malta upwards of £200 for a return flight to Malta makes a big difference to your holiday budget. It is possible to get cheaper flights, but they are invariably from Gatwick, in the middle of the night. As I am based in Scotland I had to pay the extra to get down to Gatwick.
It's also necessary to remember that once you get to Malta you've still got a minibus ride to the ferry terminal at Cirkewwa (about 45 minutes), a ferry to Mgarr on Gozo (about 30 minutes plus hanging around time), and then another minibus transfer to your resort. During the summer the ferries continue all night, but the summer schedule finishes at the end of September.
You cross to Gozo on the ferry as a foot passenger (one minibus leaves you at Cirkewwa, and another picks you up at Mgarr). Beforehand, I wondered how I would cope with heavy dive bags on the ferry. However, the bags were loaded, airline style, into a baggage container (for which we were given a receipt) and then we collected them on the other side - simple.
In 2003 there was a helicopter transfer from Malta Luqa airport to the heliport on Gozo, but this is due to end during 2004. For most dive groups this is no great loss, as the cost is much greater than the ferry and the departure times are not always convenient.
On arrival in Marsalforn, on the north coast, I found the apartments we were allocated to be clean and tidy, with plenty of room. The family who own/manage the apartments live in the next-door building and are very helpful and friendly. There were four of us, so we had two two-bedroom apartments in a building just off the seafront at Marsalforn.
That evening we decided to hit the town and went out for a meal. The choice of places to eat in Marsalforn is fabulous and we ended up eating somewhere different ever evening. We usually had lunch in St Paul's Bar or Smugglers Restaurant as they were very close to the beach and served excellent food.
We were provided with a Maruti jeep (with lots of ground clearance and 4WD) that was ready for our collection from the dive shop after we arrived. Some of the dive sites have rough road access, and we took the jeep down some "roads" that I wouldn't have wanted to take a normal hire car along. With the jeep there was plenty of room for the four of us, plus dive bags and cylinders.
The one concern is that there is nowhere to lock valuables (or your clothes etc) while you are diving. If you have a non-diving member of your party, they can keep keys, money and so forth, but if not, I would suggest you take as little cash and valuables out with you as possible. Gozo is not quite the crime-free island that it once was.
------------------------------------------------------------------- The dive sites
As an island, there is always a sheltered lee side, regardless of the wind direction. The Maltese islands are prone to winds, particularly from the Northwest. The major dive sites tend to be around the north and west coasts, and so a period of high winds can severely limit the dive options. It is strong winds that tend to stop divers getting in the water.
The two sites that regularly feature, when discussing Gozo diving, are the Blue Hole / Azure Window, and the Inland Sea. These are both on the West coast of the island, in an area called Dwerja. The Inland Sea takes you through a tunnel and out into the Mediterranean. This is a spectacular dive going from the cloudy green of the Inland Sea to the pure crystal blue of the Med through a very atmospheric tunnel some 200m long. Both the Azure Window and the Inland Sea feature the potential to be in 50 metres of water, with good visibility and the possibility of bigger fish life - predominantly grouper. We managed to dive both sites - which are very close together - during the week, despite strong winds, but the north coast sites, such as Reqqa Point and the Billinghurst Cave, eluded us.
The underwater geology of Gozo is some of the most stunning in the Mediterranean with caves and tunnels to provide that little bit extra. During the week we saw shoals of Saddled Bream that enjoyed being fed with bread, Flying Gurnards, Octopus and some small Barracuda. On one of our dives we swam out and saw a truly huge (for Malta) Moray Eel with a length of around 2m. It was simply lying coiled up on the sandy bottom sunbathing. We stopped and watched it for a while and then it decided to move on, it seemed to uncoil forever and then swam off. George had never thought that they had such an animal in the bay.
As the winds prevented north coast diving for much of the week, we spent more time on the less-favoured south coast. Here, is a wreck of a scuttled Gozo ferry, called the Xlendi (not to be confused with the place of the same name further along the coast to the south-west) which is upside down in 40 metres. There is a reef dive at the same place, and a very sheltered site, ideal for night dives, at Mgarr-ix-Xini. On the day when the alternatives were very limited, this site got very busy.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Other things
On non-diving days there is plenty to see and explore; the capital Victoria being a pleasant place to spend a day. The island is much quieter than Malta, and we enjoyed its laid-back style. It's not a place for those who like a lot of night-life, particularly during the winter months (November through to Easter) when many of the more tourist places close down. However, go during the main season, get some good, calm weather and enjoy some spectacular diving. Probably the best evening was when we drove across the island to Hondoq Bay where the locals were having a mass barbecue. It was fantastic - loads of food, wine and beer and really friendly people.
We ate out all the time and the cost was very acceptable, full breakfast for about £2.00, light lunch £2.00 to £3.00 and evening meals at around £5.00 to £700 per head. Local dishes are, I find, fun and a lot of rabbit is used, although I never saw a live one on the island! Local wines and beers are very good and cheap.
The Gozoan people are very warm and welcoming and once they get to know your name you are warmly greeted and looked after.
Whether you are new to diving or experienced Gozo can provide some very exhilarating diving experiences. It is one of the places I simply love returning to both for diving and enjoyment.
Try "The Gozo Experience" you will not be disappointed.
Advantages: A great place to learn Disadvantages: Not such a great place to go back to
...smaller next door neighbour of Malta and typically visited by folk taking a break in Malta who fancy a day out. It lies between the heel of Italy and the Tunisian coast.
But what those people bouncing around the island in four by fours don't realise is that Gozo is also a great place to learn to dive. I'm not necessarily going to say it's a great place to dive - more of that later - but it's great for learning.
Background
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I first got ... ...trip to Rhodes where I did a 'try dive' with a local operator. I was instantly hooked and excited and wanted to do it again. However, the evil red-haired boyfriend I had at the time had totally freaked in the water and was not up for learning which meant, effectively, I was barred. A couple of years passed, we split up, I chucked him out and immediately booked myself on a PADI open water course in Gozo.
I travelled with a company called Aquatours ...
koshkha 29.04.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Malta (Dive Sites)
Advantages: Fairly warm, easy to get around, plenty of wrecks Disadvantages: Lots of deep sites - make sure you're qualified!
...is whether to stay on Malta or Gozo (there's also the option of staying on Comino, the smallest island - though it only has one hotel). I actually got round that by staying a few days on each of the 2 bigger islands. While Malta has a large number of resorts with plenty of restaurants and clubs, Gozo tends to be much quieter - not to say that there aren't quiet areas on Malta. But I'll mainly focus on the diving.
Malta isn't the place to go to dive ... ...which there are plenty in Malta - other examples are the Blenheim Bomber, a plane in about 40m of water, and the Carolita barge, which also lies near Valletta.
The Rozi is a pretty little wreck near to the Gozo ferry which was sunk as an attraction for a tourist submarine, but now serves as a magnet for divers. It can apparently get very busy, but when I was there there was only one other small group on the wreck. She's a small boat, but the upper ...
cathy_m80 06.11.2008 (07.11.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Malta (Dive Sites)
Advantages: Being an island there's almost always a dive available whatever the weather. Disadvantages: Very heavily dived and not enough attention to conservation.
My most memorable dive in Malta was when I mistook a 500 lb bomb for a water jug. I was only a novice then, back in 1982 and this was my fourth qualifying dive. I was doing escorted dives with Divewise Services (of St Georges Bay) and on this hot summer morning we were heading for the wreck of the HMS Maori (a world war two destroyer) which was sunk by the German air force in Marsamxett Harbour, little more than 50m from the Valetta shoreline. En ... ...was a huge broken vase and I tugged and pulled at it for a while before following the dive leader to the wreck. When the dive was over, I discovered that the vase was actually a 500 lb, unexploded German bomb that was badly cracked. The 140 metre long ship had been reduced to about 40 m by the elements but made for a very interesting dive. We went right through the wreck but only the dive leader had a torch, what a pity.
There were many other excellent ...
petehall 09.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Malta (Dive Sites)
I was only in Malta a few years ago. The island itself is beautiful. I had been going on holiday their since i was five and i had fallen in love with the place. My dad Had been interested in diving for years and he suggested that we should go diving now i was old enough. The first time breathing artificially is absolutely fantastic and the dive site was even better. The sea was fantastic and not a bit cold. Going down deeper into the sea my eas began ... ...there are many dive schools and although they may be expensive they are well worth the money. Diving is one of the most exciting experiences i have ever had i would recommend it to everyone especially those who are interested in the sea and sealife. I have been told that there are some excellent ship wrecks in that area also. The dive was organised by a professional school. safety equiptment was fantastic and a full briefing was provided before by ...
chrisbrandon 29.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Malta (Dive Sites)
Advantages: You can go diving every day! Disadvantages: Don't expect English standards.
I've been going to Malta and Gozo for over twenty years so you could say I'm keen. Initially I just went as a tourist, but in 1997 got into diving. I have used several different dive shops in the islands. My favourite is Subway in Bugibba, who win the prize because of their overall helpfulness. Compared to England, the diving in Malta is warm and generally safe. There are two distinct types of dive in Malta:- Wreck and Scenic and ,rather cleverly, ... ...at its best. My favourite wreck is Um El Faroud, a large oil tanker sitting upright in 35 metres just near the Blue Grotto. For scenery I like the caves of Ghar Lapsi which are very light because the shafts go up as well as across. (See my reviews of individual sites on Divesitedirectory.) When making travel arrangements I usually search the internet for a half board package at the north end of the island and hire a car rather than pay for transfers. ...
abdoujarapov 19.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Malta (Dive Sites)
