Gozo - Diving

Gozo is smaller than Malta, and has a character all its own. The Island is more rural and quieter than Malta. The countryside is greener and has some spectacular cliffs and inland scenery. Gozo’s coastline has picturesque bays, coves and rugged cliffs penetrated by steep gorges created by rivers during the ice age.

Here are just a few of the possible 15 or so dive sites around the island of Gozo:

Mgarr - The Xlendi (Maximum depth - 42m)

This site is a small bay southwest of Mgarr. The dive starts across a wide horizontal ledge, about 9 metres deep, which is covered with seaweed where sprats and sardines can be found. At the edge, the ledge drops down to around 22 metres, where the seabed is covered in boulders ranging from small ones to extremely large ones. These rocks apart from providing habitats for small octopus, goatfish, seam breams and more, also act as swim throughs. Throughout the dive, one can also come across parrotfish, scorpionfish and shoals of damselfish. In 1999, the Gozo ferry boat, the Xlendi was sunk here, as an artificial reef.

Dwejra Point - Crocodile Rock and Coral Cave (Maximum depth - 45m)

This is probably the most colourful and coral rich place on the islands. The crocodile-shaped rock is just offshore between Dwejra Point and Fungus rock. The cliff drops vertically down to 38 metres, where the seabed is covered in boulders. In this area one can see groupers and shoals of salema. Keeping the cliff-face to the right, one will eventually reach the Coral Cave. This is a huge semi-circular opening with 20 metres across the sandy bottom, at a depth of around 22 metres. Within the cave, using a torch, one can see different types of coral sponges, virgin lace, and the quite rare marine goldfish.

Dwejra Point - The Blue Hole and Chimney (Maximum depth - 50m)

This is a natural rock formation carved out over the centuries by wind and waves which goes down to a depth of 26 metres. The dive mainly consists of descending thru the blue whole, swimming out and around the leg of the big arch (The Azure Window). A large cave can also be found at the bottom of the hole. The Chimney is entered one diver at a time through a fissure in the almost vertical rock. This opens up at a depth of around 8 metres. Throughout the dive, one can see various species of fish, starfish and bristle worms. This dive is perfect for photography.