Ramla Bay, Gozo's red-sand beach

Ramla is the beach in every photo of Gozo, and for once the photo doesn’t oversell it. It’s an open bay of reddish sand between two hills, without a single building on the shore, with protected dunes behind and a valley of terraced fields running down to the water. The Ministry for Gozo calls it the island’s best beach, and even ventures that it might be the best in all of Malta.

What Ramla il-Ħamra is like

In Maltese it’s Ramla il-Ħamra, literally the red sandy beach, which says it all. It’s a broad stretch of reddish sand, quite unlike the rocky coves that dominate on the island of Malta. Behind it is a dune system, a rare habitat in the archipelago, which is why the whole area is a Natura 2000 site, officially L-Inħawi tar-Ramla, covering 7.42 hectares.

What I like most is that it’s still undeveloped. The Ministry for Gozo mentions a few cafés and a small stall set back from the sand, and that’s it. No promenade, no seafront hotels. From higher up, the bay is framed by the stone walls of the fields, which look like a patchwork quilt on the slopes. On the sand, the landmark is a white statue of the Virgin Mary, and VisitMalta reckons there always seems to be space even in peak summer, while in winter you may have it to yourself.

There’s history underneath, too. According to the ministry, Roman remains lie under the sand, along with features from the Knights’ era. You won’t see them, but they explain why people have been coming here for centuries. VisitMalta places the Roman ruins near the present-day cafés and mentions a fougasse, a kind of primitive mortar the Knights fired from a shaft cut into the rock to defend the bay in the 18th century.

Getting down to Ramla

You reach Ramla from two villages. From Xagħra, on one of the hills overlooking the valley, and from Nadur, across the other side. VisitMalta suggests coming down from Nadur or Xagħra through a bamboo-lined valley, and warns that the road from Marsalforn past Calypso’s Cave is steep and rough, though passable by car. On foot, the Ministry for Gozo suggests its Ramla Walk, which leaves Marsalforn, crosses the valley, passes Ta’ Kola Windmill and Ġgantija and ends on the sand. That’s my preferred way in if you’ve half a day and it isn’t the height of August.

Before heading down, look out from the edge of Xagħra. From there, Calypso’s Cave acts as a lookout over the whole bay, and that’s where the classic Ramla photo is taken.

Without a car

Ramla is harder without wheels, but not impossible. Gozo’s 15 bus routes fan out from Victoria, most of them hourly, so the trick is to get to Xagħra or Nadur and walk down, remembering that the climb back is steep. The Gozo HighSpeed operator also sells a green open-top hop-on hop-off bus with a stop at Ramla, though I couldn’t confirm what its advertised price includes.

What to do and what to bring

Ramla is for swimming, sunbathing and snorkelling, as the ministry puts it. VisitMalta calls it safe for swimming, with clear, clean water, and flags some smooth underwater boulders a few metres out in the central strip, which are easy to get round. On windy days white surf rolls onto the sand, which children love. With facilities kept to a minimum, I’d bring water, food and some shade if you’re staying for hours. The Malta Tourism Authority uses a flag system on its beaches that’s worth knowing. Red over yellow marks a lifeguarded area, green a calm sea, yellow medium hazard, purple jellyfish, red high hazard, and double red means no swimming at all.

One more point for visitors, noted by the Spanish Foreign Ministry in its Malta profile. Nudity and topless sunbathing aren’t permitted on Maltese beaches, which may catch out anyone used to the Continent.

The Ramla Walk, step by step

With half a day to spare, arriving on foot changes the beach entirely. The Ministry for Gozo’s route starts at Marsalforn Bay and climbs through the Marsalforn valley, at its liveliest, the ministry says, after the first rains. In Xagħra it passes Ta’ Kola Windmill and the Ġgantija temples, and from there a country path leads down to Ramla, with its red sand, Roman remains and dunes. I’d walk it in spring or autumn and, if you’ve a car, leave it in Marsalforn.

Ramla or San Blas, and when to go

A little further east is San Blas Bay, which the Ministry for Gozo calls Ramla’s little sister. It has the same reddish sand, is about 100 metres long and is reached down a very steep lane from Nadur, so it gets fewer people. Pushed to pick just one, I’d go for Ramla for space and ease. If you already know it, or want fewer people, San Blas.

As for timing, the ministry says Ramla is worth a visit all year round thanks to Gozo’s mild off-season weather. For swimming, summer and into mid-October. For a walk along an empty beach, I’d go in spring or autumn. To compare it with the rest of the coast, I cover them all in my guide to Gozo beaches.