Gozo is worth it even as a day trip from Malta, though next time I’d rather stay the night. I wouldn’t skip Victoria, the fishing village of Xlendi, the Ta’ Pinu shrine or the beach at Ramla Bay with Calypso Cave. The hop-on hop-off bus is handy for getting around the island.
- How long
- One day with the hop-on hop-off bus is enough, but next time I’d stay the night and hire a car
- Ferry to Gozo
- From the Ċirkewwa terminal; you only pay for the return ticket on the way back, at Mġarr harbour
- Eating in Xlendi
- At Il-Kcina Ghawdxija, go for the seafood, not the pizza; I waited 40 minutes for mine
- Victoria
- Walk up to the Citadel for the view over the island; Capitan Spriss café below St George’s Basilica does an excellent cheesecake
- Ta’ Pinu Basilica
- In my view the most beautiful church in Malta; they won’t let you in wearing shorts or with bare shoulders
- Azure Window
- You won’t see it at Dwejra any more; a storm destroyed it in March 2017
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I wrote this article in 2018. Prices, opening hours and timetables may have changed since then, so check them before you travel.
Gozo is a favourite stop for just about everyone who visits Malta. I spent a whole day there myself. In this article I’ll explain how to plan a trip to Gozo: where to go, what to see and where to eat. I’ll also add a few tips and observations of my own. Unfortunately, the sky stayed grey all day while I was travelling round Gozo, but I still saw everything worth seeing.
A day trip to Gozo from Malta
You don’t have to squeeze Gozo into a single day, though, and when I come back I’m definitely staying on the island. My friend Jesika suggested I try Airbnb, which is very good value here. So what are your options if you want to visit Gozo?
- Do Gozo as a day trip and get around it on the hop-on hop-off bus.
- Hire a car and stay the night on Gozo. This is the option I personally recommend.
How to get to Gozo by ferry
Ferries to Gozo run regularly from the Ċirkewwa Ferry Terminal on the main island of Malta. In 2026 a return ticket costs €4.65 if you travel without a car, and you only pay for it on the way back, at Mġarr harbour. So if you’re planning to start a new life on Gozo and stay for good, the crossing is free.
The boat between the islands carries cars below deck as well, so get ready for a real Titanic experience (not literally). There are shops and snack bars on board, and free Wi-Fi everywhere. Our boat was tossed about quite a bit, as it was terribly windy all day. I enjoyed it all the more. During the day the ferry runs roughly every 15 to 45 minutes, and you sail past Comino, home of the famous Blue Lagoon.
TIP: If you’re planning to use the hop-on hop-off buses on Gozo, buy your tickets on the ferry and ask for a discount. You’ll get one.
The hop-on hop-off bus on Gozo
We got a 50% discount, and all you have to do is ask for it. Maybe it had something to do with the accident a few days earlier (on 9 April 2018) on the main island of Malta, where a hop-on hop-off bus killed two people. They were sitting on the top deck when the bus ran into tree branches. The lady sold my mum and me two tickets for the price of one without batting an eyelid.
Two companies run buses around the island: the green buses and the red buses. They’re competitors, yet their routes are almost the same, and so are the buses. I took the red one, and we even had Wi-Fi on board. The whole point of a hop-on hop-off bus is that there are several marked stops around the island, always at places worth seeing, and you can get off at any of them. Once you’ve seen everything, you wait for the next bus and carry on. If you have a ticket for the red bus, you can’t use the green one, and vice versa. If you don’t have a car, I’d definitely recommend it, because public buses on Gozo don’t run all that often. I’ve also learnt that nothing in the world is less reliable than public transport in Malta.
That said, what I really recommend is hiring a car. In Malta it’s the best and quickest way to get around, and hiring one there is very easy.
What to see on Gozo
As this was my first visit to Gozo, my mum and I did the main sights, the ones you simply have to see. Next time, though, I’ll explore the small towns and out-of-the-way corners with no tourists. Gozo is a rural island.
The fishing village of Xlendi
It was overcast, so I didn’t try the sea, but you can tell from the photos alone how lovely it is, can’t you? The place for lunch here is Il-Kcina Ghawdxija, which serves fresh seafood. Order whatever you like, as long as it isn’t pizza. I never want to see another pizza that’s topped with sardines and isn’t even round. Malta has clearly not mastered the art of pizza. On top of that, I waited 40 minutes for it. My mum ordered seafood pasta, and that was brilliant.
Apart from its many restaurants, Xlendi is a very popular spot for swimming and, above all, for diving and snorkelling. Xlendi Tower is worth a stop too; in the past it helped defend the island.
Victoria, the capital of Gozo
Some people call Victoria by another name: Rabat. It’s the capital of Gozo and home to only 7,000 people, yet it’s still the most populated part of the island. I’d recommend a stroll through the whole town, a look at St George’s Basilica and the walk up to the Citadel (Cittadella). From there you get a perfect view over the whole island.
Tip from Milan The weather wasn’t on my side, so I sat in a café for half an hour and found out that they make very good cheesecakes. If you’re passing, stop at Capitan Spriss, the café just below the basilica. Y-U-M.
The Azure Window at Dwejra: what the site looks like today
The Azure Window really was a lovely quirk of nature: a stone arch 28 metres above the sea. How did it form? The waves and the surf carved it over several thousand years. Sadly, a storm destroyed it on 8 March 2017, when the whole window collapsed into the sea and broke apart.
Diving is very popular in this area, and there are several caves you can only reach with diving gear. The biggest draw for divers, though, is the Blue Hole, a pit 14 metres deep. The window also appeared in Game of Thrones. I’ve never watched a single episode.
Ta’ Pinu Basilica, a place of pilgrimage
Ta’ Pinu Basilica is without doubt the most beautiful church in the whole of Malta. A chapel reportedly stood here as early as 1534, but work on today’s basilica only began in 1920. Because of where it stands, the views from it are genuinely remarkable. Admission is free, but watch what you wear: they won’t let you in wearing shorts or with bare shoulders.
San Blas Bay and Ramla Bay on Gozo
These are the most beautiful beaches on Gozo, but with the weather I had, I skipped both. Next time. Near Ramla Bay, it’s also worth visiting the viewpoint at Calypso Cave (the cave itself is closed because of rockfalls) and the remains of a Roman villa built 2,000 years ago. I really liked Gozo and had a great time there. Together with Malta and Comino, it’s one of the three islands you really have to visit when you travel around Malta.
Also worth reading: how to apply for a scholarship for a language course in Malta with Maltalingua.
A Slovak travel blogger who has been getting Slovaks out of their office chairs since 2013. Author of the book Influencer and founder of the Bez Mapy blog.
