Gozo

A One-Day Itinerary

Out of everywhere I visited during my three months in Malta, Gozo was easily my favourite place.

I think it was because it finally gave me what I had been missing on the main island. Nature. Instead of apartment blocks, traffic and construction everywhere, Gozo feels much more rugged and authentic. There are dramatic cliffs, quiet country roads, little villages and some surprisingly beautiful viewpoints. It still feels Maltese, just… calmer.

If you’ve read my Malta blog already, you’ll know that Malta itself wasn’t completely my cup of tea. Living around St. Julian’s wasn’t exactly a dream for someone who’d rather spend their weekends looking for wildlife than partying until 3 a.m. Gozo, however, completely changed my opinion. If I ever come back to Malta, I’d probably spend most of my time here instead.

If you’re only visiting Malta for a few days, I genuinely think Gozo deserves at least one full day of your itinerary. Here’s exactly how I spent mine.

How to Get to Gozo

I decided to rent a car for the day, which made exploring the island incredibly easy. I rented ours through Baron Car Hire, one of the most affordable companies we found. An automatic car cost us €55 for the day, including insurance, with a €150 deposit. Many other rental companies were significantly more expensive, so this ended up being a great choice. The staff were genuinely friendly and returning the car could be done at any time, making the whole process very flexible.

One thing to keep in mind is that driving in Malta isn’t for the faint-hearted. Cars drive on the left-hand side of the road, traffic can be quite chaotic, and I had more than a few moments where my heart rate definitely exceeded the speed limit. If you’re comfortable driving, though, having a car gives you complete freedom to explore Gozo at your own pace.

From northern Malta, simply drive to Cirkewwa Harbour, where ferries to Gozo depart roughly every 30 to 45 minutes day and night.

A nice surprise is that you don’t pay on the way to Gozo. The crossing is free when travelling to the island. You’ll only pay when returning to Malta, with the ferry costing around €15 for the car plus approximately €5 per passenger.

The ferry crossing itself only takes about 25 minutes and already offers beautiful views over the surrounding islands.

Things to Do in Gozo

As soon as I arrived on Gozo, I drove straight towards the Sanap Cliffs and the nearby Falesie di Gozo Observation Platform.

It turned out to be one of the prettiest places on the island. There’s an easy walking path following the edge of the cliffs with ridiculous views over the Mediterranean. Every five minutes I stopped to take another picture.

But of course, the highlight wasn’t even the cliffs.

I’d been looking for chameleons ever since arriving in Malta and had completely accepted that I probably wasn’t going to find one. Then suddenly: a Mediterranean Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) just sitting there pretending to be invisible. The species isn’t actually native to Malta, it was introduced, but I honestly didn’t care. I was ridiculously happy. Wildlife always seems to find me when I least expect it, and this was no exception. Safe to say I spent quite a while taking far too many photos.

By lunchtime I ended up in Victoria, the little capital of Gozo. It immediately reminded me a bit of Mdina and Rabat back on the main island, just a little quieter and less polished. It’s one of those places where nothing spectacular has to happen for it to be enjoyable. I simply wandered through the narrow streets, I spent way too much time taking street photography (as usual), and eventually made our way up to the Citadel, which you can visit completely for free.

From up there you get a really nice view over a big part of Gozo, and it’s worth taking your time walking around the old walls. It’s not a huge place, so an hour or two is plenty before moving on. My camera barely left my hands.

For lunch, I stopped at a small place called Beehive, which turned out to be one of those hidden gems you accidentally stumble upon. They serve freshly made wraps, pizzas, sandwiches and other snacks that are surprisingly affordable and genuinely delicious. Perfect if you’re travelling on a budget.

After lunch, I continued north towards Reqqa Point and the famous Gozo Salt Pans. The pans have been used for centuries to harvest sea salt and, if you visit during the summer months, you’ll often see little piles of salt left out to dry.

Even if you don’t know anything about salt production (I definitely didn’t), it’s a cool place to stop for a bit. The geometric patterns look great in photos and the coastline itself is beautiful. I spent some time just walking around before continuing further along the coast.

If you’re visiting during summer and fancy cooling off, there are several great swimming spots nearby. Ramla Bay, one of Malta’s few sandy beaches, is perfect if you prefer relaxing on the beach, while Xwejni Bay offers crystal-clear shallow water that’s ideal for a quick swim before continuing your road trip.

Before heading towards Blue Hole, I made one more stop that ended up being one of my favourite places on the island: Wied il-Ghasri.

From the parking area it doesn’t really look like much at first, but once you walk down the staircase, you suddenly find yourself between these steep limestone cliffs with crystal-clear water flowing into a tiny little pebble beach. It almost feels like you’ve stumbled across a secret canyon hidden away from the rest of the island.

If the weather is nice, definitely bring your swimsuit. The water is incredibly clear and it’s such a nice place to cool off after driving around Gozo all day. I didn’t stay too long because we still had quite a few places we wanted to see before sunset, but it ended up being one of my favourite stops of the day.

I finished the day at the Blue Hole, and honestly I couldn’t think of a better place to watch the sunset. If it looks familiar, it’s because parts of Game of Thrones were filmed around here before the Azure Window collapsed.

Even if you don’t dive, it’s worth coming here just to sit on the rocks for a while. Watching the sun disappear behind the cliffs after a full day of driving around Gozo was probably my favourite moment of the trip.

While driving back to the ferry, I couldn’t resist making a quick stop at the Santwarju Bażilika tal-Madonna ta’ Pinu, better known as Ta’ Pinu Basilica.

Even if churches aren’t normally your thing, this one is worth pulling over for.

It kind of stands in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by open fields, which makes it feel completely different from the churches squeezed into Malta’s towns. If you’re interested in the history, it’s one of Malta’s most important pilgrimage sites after reports of miracles in the late 1800s. I mainly came because it looked impressive, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s one of those places where ten minutes is enough before continuing your road trip.

Diving in Gozo

Of course I couldn’t leave Gozo without getting underwater as well.

Diving here is honestly on another level compared to most places around Malta. I only managed to do one day of diving, but it immediately made me want to come back. My favourite dive was the Cominoland Wreck, closely followed by Karwela. If you have your Deep Specialty (or equivalent certification), I’d definitely recommend both. The Blue Hole and Inland Sea are also iconic dives, not necessarily because of marine life, but because the underwater landscape is just incredibly dramatic.

Final Thoughts

Gozo was the Malta I had imagined before arriving. It’s quieter, greener, more rugged and simply feels more authentic than the main island. The dramatic coastline, relaxed villages, scenic viewpoints and incredible diving make it a destination that’s easy to fall in love with, even if you’re only visiting for a day.

If your Malta itinerary is tight and you’re wondering whether Gozo is worth the effort, my answer would be an easy yes. In fact, if I ever return to Malta, there’s a good chance I’d skip most of the main island and spend my time exploring Gozo instead.