While we visited Malta, we sought to get out to see the best of what Malta had to offer. Our first trip was over to the island of Gozo, where we got in a stop to visit the world famous Azure Window. We travelled by private boat from the Westin Dragonara boat launch in St Julians to the harbour at Mgarr. We used the Hop On Hop Off bus to get around the island of Gozo, enjoying the many sights of the region.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Malta, Italy and Germany. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and credited to Alaska Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Activity: Boating to the Island of Gozo and a last look at the Azure Window at Dwerja, Malta.

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Booking the Trip:

On our second day, we had booked a day trip to Gozo through the Westin Dragonara Resort hotel. We had booked the night before without any space challenges or issues. I didn’t really know the best way of doing the Gozo day trip, since if you take a car you have to pay a ferry fare to get across to the other side. The busses also seemed to be local busses that stopped at most places on the way up to the ferry terminal, making for a long experience.

Getting to Gozo:

At 8 AM, we departed via boat to Gozo. The self directed tour schedule was for a Gozo island day tour courtesy of hop on hop off bus and an afternoon at the Blue Lagoon at Comino.

We were picked up directly at the Westin Dragona’s hotel boat launch. Our driver was a little bit eccentric, doing these day trips for the love of boating. He brought his two dogs on today’s travels.

We had a 60 minute journey up the eastern coast of the island of Malta. It was a bit rough with lots of splashes today. In practical terms, this meant “hang on” at all times. The few times that I had both hands on the camera taking pictures, I was thrown around quite a bit! There were some spectacular views along the way that grew ever more interesting the further north we traveled.

As we got further north, the landscapes got rockier and a bit more natural. There were several rocky outcrops with natural caves, making this region ripe for exploring.

Arriving to Mgarr:

Our boat arrived to hillside Mgarr. Mgarr is the port harbour on the island of Gozo. It’s a beautiful place, set cascading into the hill side, which was really scenic.

Hop On Hop Off Bus on Gozo:

After arriving at Mgarr and disembarking our speed boat from St Julians, we hopped onto the Gozo Hop on Hop Off bus and started our morning of exploration on the lovely island of Gozo. The first sight was the Rotunda of Xewkija, which was built between 1951 and 1971.

We continued on through the heart of Gozo, the main town on the island. While we could have disembarked any many stops, we opted to continue on to the Azure Window, which is the primary attraction on the island of Gozo.

A Last Look at the Azure Window at Dwejra:

We then headed onward through to the main attraction of Gozo the famed Azure window at Dwejra. We planned the most of our time on Gozo surrounding this beautiful feature.

The forces of nature have collided with the limestone coast and produced a beautiful natural bridge. Today’s visit was not crowded, and we were able to get some lovely photographs. Unfortunately, the bridge is in natural decline. Regular movie goers may recognize the area from the Games of Thrones that was filmed here in 2011. You are no longer permitted to walk on top of the natural arch, as in the past.

The Azure Window was truly an interesting experience in Gozo. It was really incredible to get the opportunity to see this magnificent arch. It was truly a breathtaking scenic view and natural feature. Although the arch has since collapsed, it was worth the trip to get here to see it.

A Summary of Getting to Gozo and the Azure Window:

The Island of Gozo was definitely worth the trip from St Julians in Malta. Although it took a little while to get there, it was truly an interesting experience to get in a little sightseeing around the island. The Azure Window was a neat experience and I am happy to have had the opportunity to see it before it collapsed a year after our visit.

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If you’ve travelled to the Island of Gozo, did you manage to visit the Azure Window before it collapsed ?

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