Wild Rose Travel

Gozo Travel Guide

July 2023

The word Gozo translates to “Joy” in Castilian Spanish.

Gozo is an island I had never heard of, before starting a little European holiday search a few weeks prior to visiting. Known as the ‘quiet untouched Malta’ it was appealing to me in seconds. The island itself is just a stone’s throw away from Malta, accessed via a 20-minute ferry trip. With only a total approximate transfer time of 2-hours from Malta airport to our accommodation in Gozo, it had the feel of a serene, off the beaten-track escape.

The island dates back to 5000BC, with history to be explored around every corner. From the first settlements in caves on the North of the island, to limestone cliffs and an inland sea. Despite being small, the island offers a plethora of sight-seeing and hidden gems to explore.

I only spent 5 days, 4 nights on Gozo, however could have happily extended this to more. Whilst you can see all the sights in this time, I still left feeling as though I only experienced a snippet. Here is your Gozo Travel Guide:

• Ramla Bay Beach
• Victoria Cuitadella
• Xaghra
• Marsalforn Bay
• Marsalforn Salt Pans
• Ta Pinu Basilica
• Dwerja Bay

Ramla Bay Beach

From Xaghra centre (opposite pharmacy and lighthouse supermarket), you can catch the 322 bus.

Considered the “best” beach on the island, Ramla Bay hosts a large number of tourists daily. Whilst beautiful and definitely worth a visit for that “beach day” vibe, this isn’t the spot to run to if you’re wanting a serene, quiet escape.

With golden red toned sand, Ramla Bay stretches wide over the North-East coast of the island, approximately 10-minutes by bus or a 45-minute walk from Xaghra town centre. The waters are warm and clear, perfect for a swim. We arrived early in the morning and spent approximately 2 hours here, before the sun got that little bit too hot. On our walk down from the bus stop, the cars began to pile in and so did local street vendors selling souvenirs, clothes and beach essentials. There’s just one cafe built at the beach entrance, however a few pop up food trucks and ice cream vans also come later.

Whilst there are sandy areas, you mostly have to hobble over a few stones at the waters edge before the soft underfoot begins. For this, beach shoes may be handy!

Victoria Cittadella

From Xaghra centre (infront of BOV bank), you can catch the 307 bus to Victoria.

The visit to the Cittadella turned out to be one of my favourite days. I had no expectations and had done little to no research on Victoria, which is perhaps why I was pleasantly surprised. The ancient walls can be seen from almost anywhere on the island, resting high in the city. Occupied since prehistoric times, the area is rich in architectural, military and historic value.

You can spend anything from 1-4 hours here, depending how much of the individual sights you see inside of the Cittadella. The Cittadella itself is free to visit and you can walk around the walls and explore the alleys and shops inside, however if you want to visit the individual museums you need to buy a ticket. You can buy a ticket for 5 euros to include: Gozo Museum of Archaeology, Gran Castello Historic House, Gozo Nature Museum, The Old Prison, and the Citadel Visitor Centre. This is definitely worth it!

The Gran Castello Historic House and The Old Prison were the most interesting for me, as you got a real glimpse into the lives led here hundreds of years ago. In the prison, you could still see the original carvings on the walls and floor made by the inmates and go inside some of the original cells.

Xaghra

During my time in Gozo I stayed at the “Cornucopia Hotel” – which you can book here.

Cornucopia is located approximately 15 minute walk from Xaghra centre, which comprises of a few bars, supermarkets, shops and restaurants. It was the perfect location, with stunning views over the bay below in the distance, a town to explore with quirky streets and never ending architecture and history. Xaghra hosts one of the main attractions on the island being Ġgantija temples, a UNESCO World Heritage site, demonstrating one of the first settlements on Gozo.

The views over Marsalforn down below are also stunning – I enjoyed the sunset here almost every evening.

Marsalforn Bay

From Xaghra centre (in front of BOV bank), you can catch the 322 bus to Marsalforn.

Marsalforn Bay was up there with one of my favourite areas on the island. It really had everything to offer from cafe’s and restaurants, the best swim spots, souvenir shops and water-sports. Whilst there were some beach areas, it was more a harbour with swimming spots reached via ladders off the wall or sandstone edges. This was one of the best places to swim, dive and snorkel – all without getting sandy.

Marsalforn is also famous and probably most visited for its salt pans – still used to farm sea-salt today. The pans are in geometric patterns along the cliff edge for what feels like miles. The salt harvesting season begins in April, with salt collected twice per week until August. This happens early in the morning so if you want to see the pans in action, it’s probably best to arrive at sunrise to avoid the midday heat, but they do continue work until sunset.

The centre photo above reads: “At this rock Nicky Farrugia landed on 28-7-1985 World Record swim Sicily to Gozo in 30 hours 17 minutes”.

Ta Pinu Basilica

Ta Pinu Basilica is a Roman Catholic shrine located near the village of Gharb. You can reach Ta Pinu easily by bus (Route 308 from Victoria), with a bus stop right in front of the Basilica. The Basilica is worth a visit if you’re interested in the architecture, or of course for religious purposes. The mosaic’s located in front are beautiful to look at. There was a service running when we arrived, therefore we only looked around from outside.

Note: If you do want to go inside you must wear appropriate clothing (shoulders and knees covered).

After visiting the Basilica we missed the bus (they run hourly) so walked into the village, and ended up coming across a cute cafe called “Lick-a-licious” where we stopped for coffee to wait for the next bus. As well as coffee, we ordered some freshly made truffle balls to boost our energy whilst waiting, and natural dog treats to take back home!

Dwerja Bay

From Gharb village we hopped on the bus to Dwerja Bay. Dwerja was once famous for the Azure Window, a 28-metre natural arch over the ocean, used in many film and TV locations such as Game of Thrones. The arch however collapsed during storms in 2012, but you can still see the rock formations that once created it.

Now, Dwerja bay is a popular site for scuba diving and swimming. There are natural pools within the cliffs and lots of areas to swim, as well as boat trips and boat hire excursions. We just enjoyed a quick swim in the “inland sea” (centre photo below) and a walk along the cliff’s before hopping back on the bus to Victoria.

Overall, Gozo island has something to offer everyone. Whether you just want a sun and sea filled holiday, or historic city break. Something we didn’t do, but would definitely have added in if we had longer, was a day trip to Malta. As previously mentioned, the ferry is only approx. 20-minutes between the two, making it an easy transfer. It’s also a car ferry, so if you have a hire car you could add this in easily for a chance to see both islands! Maybe next time.