Blue Lagoon, Comino and Victoria, Gozo
Often known as ‘Malta’s little sister’ Gozo is less than one quarter of the size of Malta and being less touched by tourism it retains a more traditional feel.
Getting to Gozo
Zoe and I took the Gozo Fast Ferry from Valletta which was busy even in February! We purchased our €15 per person return tickets online the night before which meant we didn’t have to join the long queue at the ticket office. This also ensured we had a seat each!
As a purely functional ferry all seats were inside so we didn’t get a glimpse of Gozo until we arrived 45 minutes later. The crossing was smooth and the cabin is air conditioned which would be appreciated in the summer.
Mgarr is pronounced ‘Im-jar’ and is the port of arrival from Valletta.
Blue Lagoon, Comino
As soon as we disembarked from the ferry in Gozo we were approached by a woman selling tickets to the famous Blue Lagoon in Comino island.
After a short list of important questions such as:
- “How long does it take to get to Comino?” (10 minutes)
- “Can we get a drink on Comino?” (Yes)
- “How much is the round trip?” (€15 per person)
- “Can we pay by card?” (Cash is preferred)
- “Is there an ATM nearby?” (Yes, a commission free ATM can be found in the main ferry building)
We decided that all sounded good and we were soon on the smaller boat and on our way!
Comino is tiny and is located between Malta and Gozo. The Blue Lagoon is an incredibly clear and blue area of the sea and it is best to visit in the morning when the sun is shining to see it at its bluest!
We soon arrived and went to look at the lovely sandy beach and crystal clear turquoise water.
Stalls lined the path overlooking the beach and were selling pineapples containing a choice of cocktail. I had pina colada in mine and Zoe had margarita in hers.
The taste of each cocktail was pretty average but the novelty factor was excellent!
Armed with our pineapples we walked around the low cliff path taking photos.
We crossed to the other side of Comino which took a few minutes before we headed back to catch the next boat back to Gozo.
The boat leaves every hour so you can choose how much or how little time to spend on Comino.
The return journey was spectacular! The boat took us through the Blue Lagoon on a tour of the caves and dramatic rock formations.
What a wow factor and a great start to the day!
Victoria, Gozo
We arrived back in Gozo and from Mgarr we made our way to Victoria, the capital of Gozo. Victoria was renamed by the British in 1887 although it is sometimes referred to as Rabat, its previous name.
Victoria is located right in the middle of the island and is easy to get to. While there are buses, as with Malta, Uber and Bolt both operate in Gozo too.
It was lunch time when we arrived by Bolt (for around €10) into Victoria. We found a restaurant in historic St George’s Square called Roza’s and shared a ‘Flavours of Gozo’ platter with local cheeses and warm crusty bread and some tasty dips.
For dessert we both had traditional date fritters which were served warm with homemade Maltese halva ice cream and a local almond liquer.
Not knowing the almond liquer would be served separately, we had also ordered a shot of bajtra to finish the meal off!
After lunch we visited St George’s Basilica which is also at the square, opposite the restaurant.
The interior was ornate and magnificent!
And there was an impressive collection of mosaics!
Overlooking Victoria is the Cittadella so we crossed over to there from the Basilica.
At the Cittadella you can walk around the top perimeter which gives you 360 degrees of the island. With gently rolling hills, Gozo is much greener than Malta.
We took an Uber back to Mgarr and were on the 4.45 pm fast ferry back to Valletta.
Summary
A wonderful day trip to Gozo where the highlight of the day, and probably the highlight of the trip was visiting the Blue Lagoon. A good spur-of-the-moment decision 🙂
That’s the end of my 3 Malta posts! Next up will be a walking weekend in the UK’s Malvern Hills with my friend Bridget!
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