Getting there: the Cirkewwa to Mgarr car ferry
Gozo sits just off the north-west tip of Malta, and the only way to take a car across is the Gozo Channel ferry between Cirkewwa, at the northern end of Malta, and Mgarr harbour on Gozo. The crossing itself is short, roughly 20 to 25 minutes, and boats run frequently through the day, usually every 30 to 45 minutes, so you rarely wait long outside the busiest summer mornings.
Driving from the airport up to Cirkewwa takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes depending on traffic, which makes the total airport to Gozo journey around 70 to 85 minutes plus any queue at the terminal. There is no road tunnel between the islands, despite years of discussion, so the ferry is your route.
The ticketing works in a way that surprises first-timers: for vehicles you pay on the return leg only, at the ticket booths on the Gozo side at Mgarr. That means you simply queue your car at Cirkewwa and drive on without buying anything first, then pay when you come back. Fares can change and vary by time of day, so check the current Gozo Channel timetable and the fare shown before you travel, and budget a little extra time for the queue in peak season. If you have not picked up your car yet, our airport car hire includes meet and greet at Malta International Airport, Park East, so you can be on the road north within minutes of landing.
Victoria and the Cittadella: start at the top
From Mgarr it is a short, well-signed drive up to Victoria, also known as Rabat, the island's central capital and the natural place to begin your loop. Everything on Gozo radiates out from here, and the roads are short, so you can treat Victoria as your hub and the rest of the day as spokes off it.
The reason to stop is the Cittadella, the fortified hilltop old town that has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. After a major restoration completed in the 2010s, you can walk its restored walls for a panorama that takes in most of the island, and inside you will find the cathedral and a cluster of small museums, including archaeology and the old prison. It is compact and very walkable once you are up there.
A word on parking, because this catches people out: spaces right by the Cittadella and in the centre of Victoria are very limited. The local habit is to park on the outskirts of town and walk in, which is usually only a few minutes and saves a lot of circling. A smaller car makes this much easier, which is worth bearing in mind when you choose your vehicle.
Dwejra and the Inland Sea: read this part carefully
From Victoria it is a quick run west to Dwejra, one of the more dramatic stretches of coast on the island. First, the fact that older guidebooks and recycled blog posts still get wrong: the Azure Window, the famous rock arch that featured in Game of Thrones, collapsed completely in March 2017. Nothing of the arch remains above the water, so do not arrive expecting to photograph it. What is left now sits on the seabed as a scuba dive site known as the Azure Boulders.
Even so, Dwejra is still very much worth the drive for everything else that survives. The Inland Sea is a shallow, sheltered lagoon connected to the open Mediterranean by a natural tunnel cut through the cliff. In calm weather, local boatmen run small traditional boats through that tunnel and out to the cliffs beyond, which is a genuinely memorable few minutes on the water. Offshore you will also see Fungus Rock, a tall limestone islet the Gozitans call il-Gebla tal-General, and the cliffs and rock pools around the bay are striking in their own right.
Parking at Dwejra is limited and it fills early on summer days, so arrive in the morning if you can. There is little shade, so bring water and a hat.
Ramla Bay, Wied il-Mielah and the surviving window
Swing back across the island, which takes only 20 to 30 minutes from coast to coast, towards the north-east and Ramla Bay, written locally as Ramla l-Hamra, the red sandy beach. The name is accurate: the sand really does have a distinctive reddish-orange colour, and because the bay is a Natura 2000 protected site with a rare sand-dune habitat behind it, it has stayed undeveloped rather than turning into a resort strip. It sits near the village of Xaghra and is roughly a 10-minute drive from Victoria.
If you want a natural rock arch to replace the one Dwejra lost, head to the Wied il-Mielah Window near the village of Gharb. It is a limestone arch spanning a valley inlet, in good condition and reachable by road, and since the Azure Window's collapse it has become the natural window many people seek out. It is smaller and far less famous, so think of it as a quiet, photogenic detour rather than a like-for-like replacement.
One optional add-on near Xaghra rewards anyone interested in history: the Ggantija temples, a UNESCO World Heritage megalithic site dated to roughly 3600 to 3200 BC. They are among the oldest free-standing structures on earth, older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids, and they are an easy stop close to Ramla.
Marsalforn, the salt pans and Xlendi to finish
For the back half of the loop, drop down to Marsalforn on the north coast, a relaxed seaside town that is a good place to pause for a swim or a long lunch by the water. Just west of the town are the Xwejni salt pans, a chequerboard of shallow pans cut into the flat coastal rock where Gozitans have harvested sea salt for generations, by one commonly cited figure for around 350 years. The harvest runs roughly through the summer months, and even when the pans are dry they make a very photogenic stop on the island.
End the day in the south-west at Xlendi, a small bay village tucked between high cliffs. It is more sheltered and built up than Dwejra, with a promenade, places to eat and a cliff walk if you still have energy in your legs. It is a fitting last stop because it sums up the Gozo character: a working fishing inlet that quietly became somewhere to swim, snorkel and watch the light change over the water.
From Xlendi it is a short drive back to Mgarr for the ferry home, where you pay for the crossing at the booth. If a single day feels rushed, Gozo is an easy place to stay overnight, and having your own car makes an early start the next morning effortless. For more island ideas once you are mobile, our Gozo car hire page is a useful starting point.