There are two ways to get to Gozo from Malta, and both are by sea. The Gozo Channel ferry leaves Ċirkewwa, at Malta’s northern tip, around the clock and takes about 25 minutes; foot passengers pay €4.65 return, and only on the way back. The Gozo Highspeed fast ferry goes straight from Valletta in about 45 minutes for €7.50 each way, and also runs from Sliema and Buġibba. Which one is best depends on where you are staying. This guide covers both, door to door from every main base, plus what to do when you land in Mġarr and the fare changes coming in 2027.
25 min
Gozo Channel crossing, Ċirkewwa to Mġarr
€4.65
Return for a foot passenger, paid in Gozo
24/7
Gozo Channel sails all day and all night
45 min
Fast ferry from Valletta, €7.50 one way
Gozo Channel Ferry or Fast Ferry?
All boats arrive at the same place, Mġarr Harbour in Gozo. The difference is where they leave from, what they cost and how late they run.
From Ċirkewwa
Gozo Channel ferry
€4.65 return, paid in Gozo
- About 25 minutes
- Runs 24 hours a day, all year
- Cars, bikes and foot passengers
- No ticket needed on the way over
- Best from the north and with a car
From Valletta
Fast ferry
€7.50 each way, ages 4–10 €3
- About 45 minutes
- Leaves the Grand Harbour below Valletta
- Foot passengers and bicycles only
- Roughly hourly, early morning to late evening
- Best from Valletta, the south and the airport
From Sliema or Buġibba
Fast ferry
€8.50 from Sliema, €6.50 from Buġibba
- About 1 hour 15 minutes from Sliema, calling at Buġibba
- About 30 minutes from Buġibba
- Foot passengers and bicycles only
- About a dozen sailings a day
- Best if you are staying on the seafront
The Best Way to Gozo From Where You Are Staying
| Starting from | Best route | Time to Mġarr | Adult cost, one way |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valletta | Fast ferry from the Grand Harbour | About 45 min | €7.50 |
| Sliema | Fast ferry from Sliema, via Buġibba | About 1 hr 15 min | €8.50 |
| St Julian’s | Bus 222 to Ċirkewwa, then Gozo Channel | About 1 hr 30 min | Bus fare, ferry paid on return |
| Buġibba and Qawra | Fast ferry from Buġibba | About 30 min | €6.50 |
| Mellieħa | Bus to Ċirkewwa, then Gozo Channel | About 40 min | Bus fare, ferry paid on return |
| The airport | TD4 bus to the Valletta fast ferry, or TD1 bus to Ċirkewwa | About 1 hr 15 min, or about 1 hr 30 min | €3 bus plus €7.50, or €3.50 bus |
Times include the crossing but not waiting for a connection. Bus times come from Malta Public Transport’s current timetables and stretch in summer traffic.
The main crossing
Gozo Channel Ferry from Ċirkewwa
Gozo Channel’s big roll-on, roll-off ferries are the backbone of the crossing. They leave from the terminal building at Ċirkewwa, the end of the road past Mellieħa, and take about 25 minutes to Mġarr. They sail through the night too, so you will not get stranded in Gozo.
You pay on the way back. There is no ticket to buy in Malta: you walk or drive straight on, and buy your return ticket online or at the booths in Mġarr before you leave Gozo.
- Foot passenger: €4.65 return
- Night fare: €4.05, leaving Mġarr after 20:00 between November and March
- Children aged 3 to 12: €1.15, under-3s free
- Car and driver: €15.70, or €12.80 at night in winter
- Bicycle: €1.15
Driving over? Our Gozo ferry guide covers the car lanes, queues and taking a hire car across.
Ċirkewwa to Mġarr
Daytime departures, current schedule
- 05:45
- 06:15
- 06:45
- 07:15
- 07:45
- 08:15
- 09:00
- 09:15
- 09:45
- 10:30
- 10:45
- 11:15
- 12:00
- 12:45
- 13:30
- 13:45
- 14:15
- 15:00
- 15:15
- 15:45
- 16:15
- 16:30
- 16:45
- 17:15
- 17:45
- 18:00
- 18:15
- 18:45
- 19:15
- 19:30
- 20:15
- 21:00
- 21:45
- 22:30
- 23:15
Mġarr to Ċirkewwa
Daytime departures, current schedule
- 05:30
- 06:00
- 06:30
- 06:45
- 07:00
- 07:30
- 08:15
- 08:30
- 09:00
- 09:45
- 10:00
- 10:30
- 11:15
- 11:30
- 12:00
- 12:45
- 13:30
- 14:15
- 14:30
- 15:00
- 15:30
- 15:45
- 16:00
- 16:30
- 17:00
- 17:15
- 17:30
- 18:00
- 18:30
- 18:45
- 19:00
- 19:30
- 20:15
- 21:00
- 21:45
- 22:30
- 23:15
Through the night the ferry keeps running about every 45 minutes. Times vary slightly from day to day, so check Gozo Channel’s schedule for your date.
Passengers only
Fast Ferry to Gozo from Valletta, Sliema and Buġibba
The fast ferry is run by Gozo Highspeed, the single service formed when Malta’s two fast-ferry companies merged. Its catamarans carry foot passengers and bicycles, not cars, and every route ends at Mġarr.
- Valletta to Gozo: about 45 minutes, €7.50 Boats leave the Grand Harbour terminal at Ta’ Liesse, below the city walls by Lascaris Wharf. From the city, take the Barrakka Lift down from the Upper Barrakka Gardens.
- Sliema to Gozo: about 1 hour 15 minutes, €8.50 The boat calls at Buġibba on the way. With a personalised tallinja card the fare drops to €6.50.
- Buġibba to Gozo: about 30 minutes, €6.50 The quickest crossing of all if you are staying in Buġibba, Qawra or St Paul’s Bay.
Children aged 4 to 10 pay €3 (€4 from Sliema), and under-4s travel free. Bicycles go free, up to nine per sailing. Sailings can be cancelled in rough seas, so check before you set off.
Valletta to Gozo
Every day
- 06:45
- 08:45
- 09:45
- 10:45
- 11:45
- 12:45
- 13:45
- 14:45
- 15:45
- 16:45
- 17:45
- 18:45
- 19:45
- 20:45
- 21:45
- 22:45
Gozo to Valletta
Every day
- 05:45
- 06:45
- 07:45
- 09:45
- 10:45
- 11:45
- 12:45
- 13:45
- 14:45
- 15:45
- 16:45
- 17:45
- 18:45
- 19:45
- 20:45
- 21:45
- 22:45
Sliema to Gozo
Calls at Buġibba 45 min later
- 05:45
- 06:45
- 08:45
- 09:45
- 11:45
- 13:45
- 15:45
- 16:45
- 18:45
- 19:45
- 21:45
Later sailings run on some nights: a 23:45 from Valletta and Gozo every night from April to October and at weekends in winter, plus 00:45 boats on summer weekends. Boats back from Gozo to Sliema leave Mġarr at 05:15, 07:15, 08:15, 10:15, 11:15, 13:15, 15:15, 17:15, 18:15, 20:15 and 21:15.
How to Get to Gozo, Step by Step
From Sliema
- Easiest: the fast ferry Board at Sliema and stay on through Buġibba to Mġarr, about 1 hour 15 minutes for €8.50.
- Cheapest: bus 222 and the Gozo Channel ferry Catch the 222 along the seafront to the last stop, Ċirkewwa, a little over an hour. Walk into the terminal and board. The bus is the only thing you pay for on the way over.
From Valletta
- Walk or ride down to the harbour Take the Barrakka Lift from the Upper Barrakka Gardens down to the waterfront, then follow the road to the fast ferry terminal.
- Take the fast ferry About 45 minutes to Mġarr for €7.50 each way.
- Late back? If you miss the last fast ferry, take a Gozo Channel ferry to Ċirkewwa, which runs all night, and the X300 or 41 bus back to Valletta; buses run until about 23:30.
From the airport
- To the fast ferry: TD4 The TD4 Airport Direct bus runs every 30 minutes to Valletta and the fast ferry terminal in about 15 minutes, for €3.
- To Ċirkewwa: TD1 The TD1 runs hourly via Rabat, Buġibba and Mellieħa to Ċirkewwa in about an hour, for €3.50. Then walk on to the Gozo Channel ferry.
- By taxi Book a fixed-fare taxi at the arrivals hall or use Bolt, eCabs or Uber, and ask for the Ċirkewwa ferry terminal.
From Buġibba, Qawra and St Paul’s Bay
- Fast ferry from Buġibba About 30 minutes to Mġarr, €6.50.
- Or bus 221 to Ċirkewwa About 40 minutes from Buġibba Bay, then the Gozo Channel ferry.
Mġarr Harbour
When You Arrive in Gozo
Every ferry lands at Mġarr, on Gozo’s south-east coast below the village of Għajnsielem. The bus stop for the whole island is just outside the terminal.
- Route 301 to Victoria: the main link, about 15 minutes to the bus station in Victoria (Rabat), Gozo’s capital, with buses roughly every 15 to 20 minutes from early morning until about midnight.
- Route 303: loops through Nadur and Qala.
- Route 322: runs to Ramla Bay and on through Xagħra to Marsalforn.
- On to Comino: boats to the Blue Lagoon leave from beside the terminal. See our Comino ferry guide.
Bus fares are the same as on Malta. Victoria is the hub: almost every route on Gozo starts there.
Gozo Ferry Fares Are Changing in 2027
What has been announced
From 1 January 2027, foot passengers on the Gozo Channel ferry travel free if they are Maltese citizens, Gozitans, EU nationals or long-term residents.
Budget 2027 also raises Gozo Channel fares for tourists to €11 for an adult foot passenger, €7 for a child and €22 for a car and driver, and adds €3 per trip on the fast ferry for tourists. No start date has been confirmed for the tourist fares yet.
We will update this guide as soon as the new fares take effect.
Via Comino: Three Islands in One Day
You can also reach Gozo by way of the Blue Lagoon. Comino Ferries sells a ticket from Ċirkewwa or Marfa to the Blue Lagoon that carries on to Gozo for the same €15 as a return, with boats from the lagoon to Gozo every hour from 11:00 to 16:00. You then come back to Malta on the Gozo Channel ferry. Details are in our Comino ferry guide.
Tips for the Crossing
- Keep your ticket for Gozo. On the Gozo Channel ferry you buy and validate your ticket in Mġarr before the trip back, not in Malta.
- Book the fast ferry in summer. Tickets for all three routes can be bought online in advance.
- Check the last boat. The fast ferry stops in the evening; the Gozo Channel ferry never does.
- Allow time on Sunday evenings. Queues for the car ferry back to Malta can be long, so leave plenty of time if you have a flight.
- Look out for Comino. Every crossing from Ċirkewwa passes close to Comino and the Blue Lagoon.
How to Get to Gozo: FAQ
How do you get from Malta to Gozo?
By ferry. The Gozo Channel ferry sails from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr in about 25 minutes, around the clock. The Gozo Highspeed fast ferry sails from Valletta in about 45 minutes, and from Sliema and Buġibba. There are no scheduled flights.
How much is the ferry to Gozo?
On the Gozo Channel ferry a foot passenger pays €4.65 return, children aged 3 to 12 pay €1.15, and a car with driver pays €15.70, all paid in Gozo on the way back. The fast ferry costs €7.50 each way from Valletta, €8.50 from Sliema and €6.50 from Buġibba. Higher fares for tourists were announced in Budget 2027.
What is the quickest way to Gozo from Sliema?
The fast ferry from Sliema, which calls at Buġibba and reaches Mġarr in about 1 hour 15 minutes. By bus 222 and the Gozo Channel ferry it takes a little longer but costs less.
Can you get to Gozo from the airport?
Yes. Take the TD4 bus to the Valletta fast ferry, about 15 minutes, or the TD1 bus to Ċirkewwa, about an hour, then the Gozo Channel ferry.
Does the Gozo ferry run at night?
The Gozo Channel ferry between Ċirkewwa and Mġarr runs 24 hours a day, about every 45 minutes through the night. The fast ferry stops in the late evening.
Do you need to book the Gozo ferry?
Not for the Gozo Channel ferry: you just turn up. For the fast ferry, booking ahead is wise in summer.
How we wrote this guideThis guide was researched and written by us at Experiences Malta, using the official and local sources listed below, and we review it through the year. Prices, timetables and opening hours change, so please check before you travel. More about Experiences Malta.
Sources: Gozo Channel: passenger fares, Gozo Channel: car and driver fares, Gozo Channel: fares and how to pay, Gozo Channel: schedule, Gozo Highspeed: schedule, Gozo Highspeed: fares, Gozo Highspeed: FAQ, Who’s Who: Malta’s fast ferry companies merge, Scene on Gozo: Valletta to Gozo ferry (November 2026), Malta Public Transport: Airport Direct, Malta Public Transport: route 301, Malta Public Transport: route 222, Gozo Today: free foot passenger travel from January 2027, Gozo Today: tourists to pay more for the fast ferry, TVM News: Budget 2027 Gozo ferry fees, Comino Ferries: timetable and 3-Island Connection.