Diving in Gozo
Wreck-and-cavern shore diving off Gozo: the Xatt l-Ahmar scuttled-ferry trio, Dwejra's Blue Hole and Inland Sea tunnel, and the Reqqa Point wall.
Last updated July 2026
Overview
Gozo is the Maltese Islands' scenery-and-wreck neighbour to Malta: smaller, calmer, and built around dramatic eroded limestone rather than Malta's harbour-scale wreck fleet. Off Xatt l-Ahmar on the south coast lie three deliberately scuttled ferries reached from one shore entry: MV Karwela, upright and photogenic with its wooden staircase; MV Cominoland alongside it; and, further west, the upside-down MV Xlendi for experienced divers only. At Dwejra on the west coast, the Blue Hole drops through a limestone shaft and out an underwater arch onto an open-sea wall, beside the boulder field left by the Azure Window's 2017 collapse; a short fin away, the Inland Sea's 80-metre natural tunnel is Gozo's gentlest overhead dive. The north coast adds Reqqa Point's wall, the long Cathedral and Billinghurst caverns, and the Ras il-Ħobż pinnacle for the technical crowd, while Mġarr ix-Xini and Ħondoq offer sheltered, easy bays instead. Fish life leans grouper, amberjack, dentex, moray and octopus, with barracuda working the open walls. Wind, not water temperature, decides the day here: because the island is small, operators reach a sheltered coast within about 20 minutes, and Xatt l-Ahmar's south-facing wrecks stay workable when the west and north coasts are blown out.
Planning your visit
Fly into Malta International Airport, then drive to Cirkewwa for the Gozo Channel car ferry, about 25 minutes, to Mġarr. Most marquee dives are shore entries; boats cover Fungus Rock, the exposed walls and the Comino sites. Gozo has no site permit, quota or per-diver charge. What it does enforce is a depth-linked training rule: divers need a 30-metre qualification, Advanced Open Water or equivalent, to dive unsupervised, and anyone below that books a guided dive with a licensed instructor instead, exactly what governs the 30-44m Xatt l-Ahmar trio. Warm water and calm seas run May through October, though a thicker suit keeps the island diveable through the cooler months too. Local centres, based mainly in Marsalforn and Xlendi, choose the day's site by wind, sending beginners to the sheltered bays while advanced groups take the wrecks and walls.
Geology & underwater terrain
Coralline and Globigerina limestone coast eroded into arches, caverns, tunnels, chimneys, V-trenches and sheer drop-offs, with Posidonia oceanica meadows over sand and no hard coral reef. The 2017 collapse of the Azure Window added a submerged boulder field at Dwejra.
Top Dives
The must-do dives in this area, picked by our editors.
Gozo's only shaft-to-arch shore dive linking three zones in one entry
Gozo's most penetrable ferry wreck and its signature staircase photo
Gozo's fullest single entry: easy reef, advanced wall, deep tech chimney
Gozo's easiest overhead-environment dive, a long lit tunnel to open water
A shallow guided loop above a rock trimix divers use to train past 100m
Dive sites map
Diamonds mark nearby dive areas — tap to explore.
Dive sites in Gozo
Azure Reef (Dwejra)
Malta's Azure Window collapsed in March 2017; the dive today is the boulder field left in its place, beside the Blue Hole.
Billinghurst Cave
A near-100m overhead passage on Gozo's north coast, widely called one of the island's longest caverns, ending in a natural air pocket; advanced-diver-only.
Blue Hole (Dwejra)
Gozo's signature shore dive: a limestone shaft dropping through a 6-15m underwater arch onto an open-sea wall, beside the collapsed Azure Window boulder field.
Cathedral Cave (Gozo)
A wide, air-domed cavern at Wied il-Għasri on Gozo's north coast, known as the 'Blue Dome' for the blue light where divers surface inside.
Coral Cave (Dwejra)
A naturally lit cavern at Dwejra, Gozo, entered via Coral Garden: a 30m-wide chamber from 17m walled in orange Mediterranean false coral.
Crocodile Rock (Dwejra)
A low crocodile-shaped rock at Dwejra, Gozo: a 4-12m plateau of fissures drops to a wall running 35m to 65m+ depending on the route.
Double Arch (Xwejni)
Twin stacked limestone arches off Gozo's Xwejni coast, reached by a long surface swim, with a wall dropping past 30 metres.
Fungus Rock
A freestanding islet at Dwejra, Gozo: a sheltered bay wall to 14m opens onto an open-sea drop past 40m, on to a technical extension beyond 60m.
Ħondoq ir-Rummien
Sheltered shore-dive bay near Qala on Gozo's east coast, an easy Posidonia-and-reef training site to about 16m, facing the Comino channel.
Inland Sea (Dwejra)
A shallow Gozo lagoon linked to the open Mediterranean by an 80m natural tunnel, a relaxed, light-filled swim-through leading to a sunlit wall beyond.
Mġarr ix-Xini
Sheltered fjord-like bay on Gozo's south coast with two shallow caves, easy shore access, and a 1661 watchtower on the headland above.
MV Cominoland
Upright ex-Royal Navy minelayer scuttled off Xatt l-Ahmar, Gozo; two penetrable decks and a mine-laying winch at 32-40m for advanced divers.
MV Karwela
Upright ex-German ferry off Xatt l-Ahmar in Gozo, famous for a portholed staircase; three decks on sand at 30-41m for advanced divers.
MV Xlendi
Gozo's first artificial reef: an ex-Gozo Channel car ferry that sank upside-down off Xatt l-Ahmar in 1999; propellers at 32m, hull to 44m, experts only.
Ras il-Ħobż (Middle Finger)
A Gozo rock pinnacle whose summit sits 7-8m down but whose base drops past 100m: a shallow guided dive above a genuine technical one.
Reqqa Point
Gozo's most-cited wall dive: a north-coast headland from a 17m reef past a 60m+ wall, with groupers, dentex and hunting barracuda.
Photos
Videos
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best dive sites in Gozo?▾
Five families define it: the Xatt l-Ahmar wreck trio (Karwela, Cominoland and the upside-down Xlendi), the Dwejra Blue Hole and Inland Sea tunnel, the collapsed Azure Window's boulder field, the north-coast caves and walls around Reqqa Point, and the Ras il-Ħobż pinnacle for technical divers. Most are shore dives from a handful of access points, with boats covering the more exposed sites.
Can you shore-dive the Gozo wrecks, or do you need a boat?▾
All three Xatt l-Ahmar wrecks, Karwela, Cominoland and Xlendi, are reached from the same shore entry, boat optional. Given their 30-44m depth, most divers plan them as two dives across a day rather than one long profile.
What certification do you need for the Xatt l-Ahmar wrecks?▾
The trio sits at 30-44 metres, so Advanced Open Water is the practical floor. Malta's independent-diving rule also applies here: divers need a 30-metre certification to dive unguided, and anyone below that certification needs a licensed instructor alongside them.
Can you still dive the Blue Hole after the Azure Window collapsed?▾
Yes. The Blue Hole itself, the natural shaft and arch, was untouched by the 2017 collapse. What changed is the view from it: the arch that once stood above water is now a boulder field beside the dive, still explored on the same entry.
How deep is the Blue Hole at Dwejra, and is it beginner-friendly?▾
The shaft opens through an arch at around 8 metres, and the site continues to 42 metres or more along the open-sea wall. Divers can turn around at the arch, but the full profile and the adjoining wall are an advanced dive, not a first-timer's site.
How do you get to Gozo to dive?▾
Fly into Malta International Airport, drive to Cirkewwa at Malta's northwest tip, and take the Gozo Channel car ferry, about 25 minutes, to Mġarr. Most dive bases are a short drive from the ferry terminal.
When is the best time of year to dive Gozo? Can you dive in winter?▾
May to October brings the warmest water, longest days and fullest centre schedules. Gozo dives year-round, though: winter surface water drops to the mid-teens and calls for a thicker semi-dry or a drysuit, and the deep wrecks and pinnacles stay cool below the summer thermocline whatever the surface reads.
Is Gozo a marine reserve, and do you need a permit to dive?▾
No. The Dwejra formations sit within a Natura 2000 habitat designation, not a no-take marine reserve, so no permit, quota or charge applies there either. Most of the island's wrecks, bays and north-coast sites carry no special protection status at all. You pay only for a centre's services.
Which coast do you dive in Gozo, and why does it change day to day?▾
Wind, not temperature, decides. The island is small enough that operators can reach a sheltered coast within about 20 minutes, so Xatt l-Ahmar's south-facing wrecks tend to stay diveable when the west or north coast is blown out, and the reverse holds when the wind swings around.
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