Gozo, Malta's second island and its quietest

Gozo tends to be sold as Malta’s “little sister”, and I think the label undersells it. There’s a temple complex more than five thousand years old, a fortified citadel above the capital, red-sand beaches and a pace of life the main island lost some time ago. It’s 25 minutes away by boat, and plenty of people rush it in a morning.

What Gozo is, and how it differs from Malta

Gozo (Għawdex in Maltese) is the second island of the archipelago, 67 km² according to the Spanish Foreign Ministry’s country profile. With Comino it had 41,793 residents at the end of 2025, per Malta’s statistics office, spread across 14 local councils. Victoria is the largest locality, with 7,671 people, and Għasri the smallest, with 519. To put that in perspective, St Paul’s Bay on the main island has more residents than the whole of Gozo.

The Ministry for Gozo calls it more rural and much more tranquil, and the figures back that up. In 2025, 589,343 tourists stayed in Gozo and Comino, but 67.4% of them were Malta residents popping over for the weekend. Overseas visitors are the minority, and you feel it the moment you leave Victoria.

Comino, incidentally, isn’t a council in its own right. For statistics it’s lumped in with Għajnsielem, the harbour village, and Comino island is about 15 minutes by boat from there.

Is Gozo worth visiting?

Yes, and here’s why in concrete terms. The Ġgantija temples at Xagħra are part of the megalithic temples UNESCO inscribed in 1980. The Citadel in Victoria has been on the Tentative List since 1998. Ramla is the beach the Ministry for Gozo itself calls the island’s finest, and Dwejra and Ta’ Pinu round off a west coast that looks nothing like Malta. I’ve ranked the lot, with my own scores, under things to do in Gozo.

What I’d avoid is going just to tick it off. If you only have a single day, Gozo can be done, and I’ve laid it out as a Gozo day trip. But the island improves hugely with a night, once the return boats have carried off the day-trippers and the village squares are back in local hands.

Crossing from Malta

The usual route is the Gozo Channel ferry between Ċirkewwa, at Malta’s northern tip, and Mġarr. It takes about 25 minutes, carries cars and can’t be booked; boarding is first come, first served. The ticket is a return and you pay on Gozo on the way back, €4.65 per foot passenger or €15.70 for a car and driver. For timetables, summer queues and the night fare, see the Malta to Gozo ferry page.

The alternative is the Gozo HighSpeed, a fast foot-passenger boat linking Valletta’s Grand Harbour with Mġarr in around 45 minutes, according to the operator. If you’re based in Valletta or Sliema, it saves the long bus ride to Ċirkewwa; from the airport alone, the Ministry for Gozo reckons about an hour to reach the terminal.

Getting around, with or without a car

Gozo’s bus network has 15 routes, nearly all passing through Victoria bus station once an hour, the exception being the Victoria to Mġarr harbour service, every 30 minutes. Fares are €2.50 a journey in summer and €2 in winter, valid for two hours including changes. It works well for a day of citadel, temples and a beach.

If you want to string together coves, viewpoints and the western villages in one go, a car pays for itself. Driving is on the left, as on Malta, which will feel normal to anyone from the UK. The Spanish Foreign Ministry adds a useful warning for anyone taking a hire car across, which is to check the insurance covers the ferry and your time on Gozo.

Where to stay on Gozo

My advice depends on how you’ll get about. Without a car I’d stay in Victoria, the hub of every bus route, with the Citadel, St George’s Basilica and two opera houses within walking distance. With a car I’d pick a village or the north coast, Marsalforn if you want to swim straight from the door. I compare areas and prices in my guide to hotels in Gozo.

Bear in mind the eco-contribution applies here too. Since 1 July 2026 it’s €1.50 per adult per night, capped at €22.50 per stay.

When Gozo is at its most Gozitan

Summer is festa season, and on Gozo the ministry publishes the full calendar. In 2026 the feasts ran from late May to 13 September, with Nadur’s Mnarja on 29 June and the Assumption on 15 August among the biggest. October brings opera to Victoria’s two theatres, and February brings carnival, with the parade in Victoria and Nadur’s after-dark spontaneous carnival. For my money autumn is the best time to go, with the sea still warm and none of August’s crowds.