All activities / Scuba Diving / Gozo
Scuba Diving in Gozo
Malta's greener sister island, with a dramatic limestone coastline that holds some of the Mediterranean's best-known dive sites, from the Blue Hole at Dwejra to the purpose-sunk wrecks at Xatt l-Ahmar.
Why here
Gozo packs Malta's most dramatic diving into a small island, and much of it is shore- or short-boat-accessible within minutes. The signature site is the Blue Hole at Dwejra, a natural limestone chimney on the west coast that opens through an underwater arch onto a reef wall, still spectacular after the collapse of the neighbouring Azure Window. On the sheltered south coast at Xatt l-Ahmar lie three purpose-sunk wrecks, the passenger ferries MV Karwela and MV Cominoland and the patrol boat MV Xlendi, sitting upright between 20 and 40 metres and among the most photographed wrecks in the Mediterranean. Add the Inland Sea tunnel and the caverns and drop-offs around Dwejra, and Gozo rewards several days underwater. Two long-established, instructor-led centres anchor the island's dive scene.
Best months
Gozo dives best from May to October, with warm water and visibility often over 30 metres. The Karwela wreck deck at around 40 metres and the Blue Hole's outer wall are Advanced-level dives, while the Inland Sea, the shallow reefs and the Xlendi and Cominoland wrecks suit newer divers and course students. West-coast sites like Dwejra are exposed and close in strong northwesterlies, while the south coast at Xatt l-Ahmar stays diveable in most conditions.
Getting there & around
Gozo is a 25-minute car ferry from Cirkewwa at Malta's northern tip, and the dive centres sit in Marsalforn and Xlendi Bay on the island's north and southwest coasts. Most Gozo diving is done by minibus to shore-entry sites such as the Blue Hole and Xatt l-Ahmar, with some boat dives, and centres run daily guided dives and multi-day packages. Staying on Gozo itself saves the daily ferry trip from Malta.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Atlantis Diving Centre Gozo
SchoolA PADI 5 Star IDC centre in the seaside village of Marsalforn, founded in 1993 and diving Gozo for more than thirty years. Its multilingual team runs guided dives and the full range of PADI courses from beginner to instructor, plus technical and mixed-gas training, and knows the island's signature sites, the Blue Hole and Inland Sea at Dwejra and the MV Karwela wreck at Xatt l-Ahmar. The centre also arranges dive-and-stay packages through affiliated Gozo accommodation.
St Andrew's Divers Cove
SchoolOne of Gozo's longest-running dive centres, established in 1989 in the fishing village of Xlendi at the head of a sheltered bay that doubles as a training and night-dive site. It offers SSI, RAID and TDI/SDI courses from complete beginner to technical level, and runs a fleet of dive trucks and its own hard boat, Divemania, to reach the Blue Hole, the Xatt l-Ahmar wrecks and sites around Comino and mainland Malta. The bay outside the door is an easy checkout dive.