Walking on Gozo – Calypso's Isle

The hotel and the walking

The Ta'Cenc cliffs rise above the south coast of Gozo, and the hotel that takes their name is scattered across 400 acres at the highest point of the island. Everything is built on a single level in honey-coloured stone, so the place reads more as a village than a resort — air-conditioned cottages with private terraces, two large outdoor pools, an indoor pool in the spa, a fitness centre, tennis courts, and a bar terrace that looks out over the countryside towards Malta and Comino. Dinner is taken outside on the patio, under a 200-year-old carob tree, with a menu that leans on Gozitan and Italian cooking. Sannat is on the doorstep and Victoria, the capital, is a short taxi ride away.

The walking itself is leisurely-plus, graded 1+ on Headwater's four-point scale. Most days are two to five hours, often on ancient lanes and old farm tracks, with the occasional steep descent to the coast and the odd rough, stony stretch. No head for heights required. You're free to pick your route each morning depending on how you feel — the holiday is single-centre, so there's no luggage to move, and walks can be mixed and matched across the week.

What Gozo is like

Gozo is the second-largest of the Maltese islands but still only 14km by 7km, so distances are short and the pace is unhurried. The character is a curious mix — honey-stone houses with an Arabic feel, lemon groves and palm trees, but also red GPO phone boxes and police stations that wouldn't look out of place in Dixon of Dock Green. The coastline is the headline act: cliff paths, the Inland Sea, and Fungus Rock standing out in the middle of Dwejra Bay. Inland, you walk through cobbled village streets and across a landscape that, between autumn and late spring, fills out with wildflowers and scented herbs.

History runs deep here. The Ġgantija temples at Xagħra are the oldest freestanding structures in the world, predating the pyramids by a thousand years, and the Ta' Pinu sanctuary is worth the detour. The climate is temperate year-round, which makes this a sensible choice well outside the usual Mediterranean summer window.

The practical side

This is a self-guided, seven-night, single-centre holiday with trip code W07GO. A taxi meets you in Malta and runs you to the ferry for the 25-minute crossing to Gozo; you stay at Hotel Ta'Cenc throughout. The price includes all seven nights in four-star-equivalent accommodation, buffet breakfasts and evening meals, and access to the Headwater Navigation App, which provides turn-by-turn route guidance so you can keep your eyes on the scenery rather than the map.

Optional upgrades cover flights from London or regional airports, transfers for tour-only bookings, room upgrades, extra nights, airport parking and hotels, lounge access, fast-track security, priority boarding and extra-legroom or premium-cabin seats. Extending the trip with a few nights in Malta is straightforward. Headwater holds a full ATOL licence and is ABTA-bonded, so booking flights as part of the package gives full financial protection.

It suits walkers who are reasonably fit and enjoy the occasional weekend outing, including mixed parties where some want to be out every day and others would rather spend the afternoon by the pool. Regular hill-walkers may find it gentle and should look at Headwater's level 2 grades instead.