Gozo is the second-largest island in the Maltese archipelago, behind the main island of Malta. Compared to Malta, Gozo is more rural and has fewer developed areas. It feels very similar to Malta’s main island since the history and culture are the same.

You can get to Gozo via ferry or private boat from Malta or Comino (the smallest inhabited island in the Maltese archipelago). Gozo does not have its own airport and cannot be reached via air or land. The only option is to cross the sea!

Gozo is about a quarter of the size of Malta, but still has so much to offer! From beaches and salt pans to cathedrals and museums, you can easily spend a few full days exploring Gozo.

If you’re planning a trip to Malta, make sure you leave space in your itinerary for a day trip to Gozo!

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How to Get to Gozo

Ferry to Gozo from Malta

One of the best ways to get to Gozo is via a ferry. It’s affordable and pretty quick! Plus, the views as you go across the Mediterranean are gorgeous.

You can either go from Cirkewwa to Gozo on the main ferry line (Gozo Channel Line) or from Valletta to Gozo via a fast ferry (Gozo Highspeed).

Ferries from Cirkewwa to Gozo

The main way to get to Gozo from Malta is by taking the Gozo Channel Line, also known as the Malta to Gozo Ferry. This is the one we took and it was fast and easy.

Getting to the ferry terminal: If you’re coming from Valletta like we were, you will need to get a ride or drive yourself (if you rent a car) to Cirkewwa, which takes about 45 minutes. We ordered a Bolt early in the morning to take us to the ferry terminal since we didn’t rent a car.

Tickets: You do not need to buy tickets at the terminal in Cirkewwa or even online — just hop on the next ferry and find a spot to sit or stand! Tickets are required for the ferry ride back to Malta, which costs about €5 per person and can be purchased at the ferry terminal in Mgarr, Gozo.

Ferry terminal: The ferry runs every 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the time of year. We made the mistake of arriving way too early for the first ferry and ended up waiting in the terminal for about an hour. There is a small coffee shop inside the terminal building if you want to get a drink and a small bite to eat while you wait!

Ferry ride to Gozo: The ride to Gozo is just about 10-15 minutes across the Mediterranean. It departs from Cirkewwa and arrives in Mgarr. You will also pass Comino, another one of Malta’s islands, on the right about halfway through the ride.

It was a mostly smooth ride in both directions, with some swaying. Once you board the ferry, head to the top level and outside for the best views! We stood at the very front of the ferry both ways and it was lovely.

Ferries from Valletta to Gozo

The ferry from Valletta to Gozo is known as the fast ferry or Gozo Highspeed. It takes you from Valletta to Gozo in just 45 minutes.

Getting to the ferry terminal: The Lascaris Wharf Terminal terminal is located in Valletta’s Grand Harbour. You can get here by car or walking. One easy way is to visit the Upper Barrakka Gardens and take the elevator down from there to reach the harbor.

Tickets: You must purchase tickets for both directions, as they are one-way tickets. It costs €15 for a round trip, which is more expensive than the main ferry, but still a low price. Book a round trip online to save a few euros!

If you are staying in Valletta or nearby and did not rent a car, it’s much cheaper to get tickets for the fast ferry compared to hiring a ride share and taking the main ferry.

Ferry terminal: I did not visit this terminal myself so cannot speak from experience. I’m also unable to find anything online or on Google Maps about whether there is an actual indoor ferry terminal or just an area to wait outside.

Ferry ride to Gozo: The reviews are mixed on the ride. When the sea is calm, the ride can be quick and pleasant, but on choppy days people say the ride is scary and many people get sick in the vomit bags provided.

As someone who gets seasick easily, I’m glad we opted for the ferry out of Cirkewwa instead!

Unlike the Malta to Gozo ferry from Cirkewwa, the fast ferry requires all passengers to remain in their seats unless they get up to use the restrooms or get something from the onboard snack bar (which is only sometimes open).

Day Cruise Around Gozo and Comino

If you prefer to skip the ferry and spend some more time on the water, you can hire a boat to take you around Gozo and Comino! This private boat tour stops at the famous Blue Lagoon in Comino, Crystal Lagoon, and around the shores of Gozo where you can get off the boat and go snorkeling.

Transportation Around Gozo

If you take the ferry from Cirkewwa, you can actually drive your car onto the ferry so you have your own transportation on the island. This is a great option if you rent a car during your trip!

You can also take taxis or rideshares, like Bolt, to get around the island. I prefer rideshares since it’s easy to hail them via the Bolt app if you have service.

Gozo is small, but walking from place to place isn’t feasible since it is more rural, and things are spread out.

You can also book a private tour that includes transportation and a driver. They will take you all around the island to the best spots, and some include lunch as well!

Things To Do in Gozo: Day Trip From Malta

What to Bring to Gozo

For a day trip to Gozo, you don’t need to bring much! Below are my recommendations:

Anti-theft backpack: Get the large size for a day trip backpack! It’s still small but fits a surprising amount of things.
Water bottle: Gozo is hot and sunny. Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated as you explore around the island.
Swimsuit: Don’t miss the opportunity to swim at one of the beautiful beaches in Gozo!
Wet bag: Bring a wet bag to put your swimsuit in after a dip in the ocean. I wish I had brought one on our day trip.
Turkish towel: You can definitely air dry, but a Turkish towel is thin, packs small, and dries quickly. It’s the perfect towel for travel!
Water shoes: The shores of Gozo have some rocky beaches and water shoes are ideal for walking over the rocks and shells.

I also wrote a whole blog post about places to get travel clothes if you’re looking for some new outfits for your trip!

Things To Do in Gozo - Day Trip Itinerary

Although there are plenty of things to do in Gozo to fill a few days—or even a week—we opted for a day trip to Gozo from Malta, which was easy to fit into our Malta itinerary. If we didn’t have dinner reservations in Sliema the day we went to Gozo, I would have loved to stay on the island for a few more hours!

This is my recommended itinerary based on all the activities we did, but slightly adjusted for a more seamless day trip!

Azure Window

Once you arrive in Mgarr, Gozo, head straight to the Azure Window! This is a gorgeous area of the coast with views of some of the uninhabited rocks off the coast of Gozo: Fungus Rock, Crocodile Rock, and Ufo Rock.

This is a popular tourist attraction due to it being the filming location of Danery’s Targaryn’s wedding with Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones! There was once a beautiful arch here that can be seen in the scenes of the show, but it sadly fell in 2017 during a storm.

The area is still worth a visit despite the arch now being gone! The water here is a rich blue with bright white seafoam and makes for a perfect photo backdrop.

When you arrive in the parking lot, there is a food truck with snacks and drinks, as well as a small cafe if you want to sit and grab a bite to eat. You will then walk out onto the limestone towards the right to reach the area where the arch once stood. If you walk towards the left, you will see Fungus Rock in the distance.

Azure Window was my favorite spot in Gozo, which is why I recommend heading here first! It gets crowded in the afternoons with everyone visiting it, so the earlier you can get here the better.

Blue Hole

Blue Hole is a deep swimming hole in the same area as Azure Window. We missed this while we were here since we only explored from the top of the cliffs, but if you walk down the rocky pathway you can reach this geologic wonder.

The Blue Hole was formed through erosion by wind and waves over many years. It is now a popular spot for divers since there is a natural arch formed from limestone about 6 meters down that leads to the open sea.

From above it almost looks like an eyeball with the tan limestone wall surrounding it, a shallow perimeter resembling an iris, and a deep blue center pupil.

Lunch at Cafe Jubilee

After exploring the Azure Window and Blue Hole in Dwerja, head to Gozo’s capital, Victoria, for lunch! There are tons of lunch options around here since this is Gozo’s biggest city, so you’ll be spoilt for choice in this area.

We got lunch at Cafe Jubilee, right near the citadel. The food was great and the interior had London-like pub decor.

Some other restaurants in this area that get great reviews:

Mojo’s
Eat & Live Italy
Roża | Traditional Food Restaurant
Pasta Republic
Ottavo Senso

Cathedral of the Assumption

The main area of Victoria is where the cathedral stands. You can walk to it from the restaurant and explore everything in the citadel!

The cathedral is the backdrop of the citadel and has a large staircase that leads up to it. Tickets are available for purchase if you want to tour the inside of the cathedral. It was once a Roman temple before it became a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and later a Roman Catholic cathedral, which it remains today.

The Old Prison

I find prisons fascinating and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit a historical one that has been preserved!

The Old Prison is tiny! It has just six cells that you can peer into to get a glimpse of what life was like as a prisoner here. Beware of the jump-scare mannequins in some of the cells — they startled many people while we were there!

There is a small courtyard that you walk through to look into the cells that have plaques with information about the prison. Out front, they have the original wooden stocks that you can put your head and wrists into for a silly tourist photo (guilty!).

You can buy a combo entry ticket here that will also get you into other museums in this area: Gozo Museum of Archaeology, Gran Castello Historic House, Gozo Nature Museum, and the Citadel Visitor Center.

Gozo Museum of Archaeology

We unfortunately missed the Museum of Archaeology during our visit. It’s located in a townhouse that used to be a private residence but has since been converted into a museum.

The museum is split up into three sections: Prehistory, the Classical Period, and the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Each section has a small range of artifacts and displays with additional information.

If you’re planning to visit one of the museums in Victoria, Gozo, you may as well visit all the ones included on the combo ticket!

Gran Castello Historic House

Walking through the Gran Castello Historic House gave me insight into how people lived in 18th-century Gozo. It’s a few interconnected houses with narrow stairwells, small rooms with little natural lighting, and a mill-room with a large mill.

Despite these once being the houses of wealthy families, they were pretty lackluster in terms of luxury or comfort. The furniture was simple and the rooms were not grand, especially compared to Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar, Malta.

While the house and rooms are slightly claustrophobic, the outdoor areas offer spectacular views of the citadel and a glimpse of the sea.

Gozo Nature Museum

The Nature Museum is a small museum with a collection of natural artifacts, such as minerals and fossils. They even have a few moon rocks that were donated to Malta by President Richard Nixon after the Apollo II moon landing!

This museum has two levels, with the ground level containing minerals, fossils, and information about marine life. The second level contains information and displays about the insects and flowers of Malta.

You can also visit this museum with the combo ticket, so make sure to stop by and get your money’s worth!

Citadel Walkway

The best views of the citadel are from the walkway that goes around the perimeter of the citadel. There are a few entry points to get to this walkway, but to reach the best spot:

Turn left when you exit Gran Castello Historic House and walk to the end of the street.
Take a right and walk through the tunnel and follow this street until you reach the set of stairs.
Go up the stairs and walk down the right until you reach the end of the walkway.

This spot has views of a large area of the island on one side and views of the citadel ruins and cathedral on the other side. It’s a great photo spot!

You can then walk back towards the stairs and instead of going down, continue along the walkway around the entire citadel. You will eventually reach a bridge that crosses right in front of the cathedral, giving you a unique perspective of it from above.

Snack at Hondoq Bay Cafe

If you’re hungry after exploring the citadel, head to Hondoq Cafe for a bite to eat before going to Hondoq ir-Rummien Beach. This cafe is right above the beach and is one of the only restaurants in the area.

We didn’t stop here, but it gets great reviews and has affordable prices! If I could redo the day, I would have grabbed some food here and then headed to the beach.

Hondoq ir-Rummien Beach

One of the best beaches in Gozo is Hondoq ir-Rummien Beach. It’s a small beach with gorgeous blue waters protected by rocky cliffs on either side.

The waves were mild when we were here and it was nice to swim in. Older people and young kids were swimming here as well! Being the Mediterranean Sea, the water was warm and easy to walk right into on a warm day.

The shores are made up of rocks and shells, so I recommend wearing water shoes or sandals that can get wet. I wore my sandals and wished I had water shoes! Most of the beaches I’ve been to in the Mediterranean have been rocky, including the ones in Corfu. Water shoes are always ideal for these types of beaches!

There are also bathrooms here and outdoor showers if needed. Next to the beach, you can rent water sports equipment such as kayaks or jet skis and a snack bar with food, drinks, and ice cream.

We visited this beach as our first stop on Gozo and ended up carrying around wet swimsuits and had salty hair the rest of the day. That’s why I added it as the last stop for a day trip to Gozo so you can enjoy it in the late afternoon before heading back to Malta.

Other Things To Do

If you’re looking to add more items to your Gozo day trip itinerary, below are some of the spots I saved but didn’t end up visiting.

Tal-Mixta Cave: Walk through a narrow tunnel to reach a cave that opens out to views of Ramla Bay!
Salt Pans: Gozo is known for its many salt pans throughout the island. Check out the ones at Reqqa Point, which is the most northern point of Malta!
Xerri’s Grotto: Go underground to admire the stalactites and stalagmites in a cave that was discovered under a house just a century ago. The owner will give you a quick tour of the cave for a few Euros, for those who don’t get claustrophobic just thinking about being underground!
Qolla I-Bajda Battery: This battery is a historical landmark that has been slowly falling into disrepair. You cannot go inside safely, but you can explore around the outside and admire the building and surrounding salt pans.
Big Cave - Ghar tal-Qrewis: Take a walk around this area to see the Big Cave, a giant cave that the sea flows into. You can then walk to the nearby Sand Waves—limestone that has been undercut by erosion to create a wave-like formation.
Wied II-Mielah: If you’re hoping for a window rock formation since the Azure Window is no longer standing, check out Wied Il-Mielah! There is a walkway you can use to reach the natural window and take some great photos.
Sanap Cliffs: Take in the amazing views of the Sanap Cliffs, which show the many layers of the island’s rock. Put on some walking shoes and walk the trail from the Sanap Cliffs to the Sannat Sunset Viewpoint at golden hour for a spectacular sunset spot.

Photos via Unsplash:

Salt Pans at Qolla l-Bajda Battery

Weid Il-Mielah Window

Book a Private Tour

For a more structured day trip, book a tour that plans everything for you! This tour includes ferry tickets from Malta to Gozo, visits to some of the best towns and bays in Gozo (like Ramla Bay!), a trip to Victoria to explore the citadel, and a private boat ride back to Malta past the Blue Lagoon. A three-course lunch is also included!

The tour includes all transportation to and from Gozo, as well as around Gozo, which is a full Jeep tour! Transportation can be frustrating if you’re reliant on rideshare like we were.

Booking a tour that includes all the transportation (and driver) would be much less stressful so you can focus on enjoying the sights instead of worrying about calling for a ride.

Beaches in Gozo

Gozo has many beaches around its perimeter! Unfortunately, I only had time to visit one during the trip, but these are all the beaches I saved that looked gorgeous and had great reviews.

Dahlet Qorrot Beach: This is a pretty tiny beach, but has crystal clear turquoise waters! There are also public restrooms and a highly-rated restaurant across the road.
Ramla Beach: One of the more popular beaches in Gozo is Ramla Beach. It‘s a long stretch of beach with orange sand and turquoise waters. There are public restrooms, public showers, water sports rentals, and nearby restaurants (although they don’t get great reviews).
Ix-Xtajta: A small, secluded series of bays with rocky shores. You can walk to it from the more popular Ramla Beach (about 10-min).
Ghar Qawqla: This is a limestone beach on the north shore of Gozo. It’s a great swimming area and has a snack bar, sunbeds, and umbrella rentals.
Hondoq ir-Rummien Beach: This is the beach we went to! It was a nice, little beach with calm waves and crystal clear water.