Driving in Gozo: a local's practical guide

Gozo is small, friendly and easy to drive — once you know the handful of local habits nobody tells you about. Here they are.

• White boxes are normal parking spaces.
• Blue boxes are reserved for disabled badge holders.
• Green boxes are for electric cars while they are charging.
• Never park in front of a garage door, or on white or yellow lines painted along the side of the road.

Victoria's timed parking zones. Most of Victoria — car parks included — is a Timed Parking Zone. Parking is free, but you must set your arrival time on a cardboard clock disc displayed on the windscreen, next to the tax disc, and move the car before the time on the road sign runs out. Read the sign carefully: zones are 60, 90 or 120 minutes.

Where to park in Victoria without a clock:

• The large car park behind the bus station is the only free, untimed car park — good luck finding a space.
• Next to it, the football ground is used for parking against a donation of €2–5, which goes to the football club's youth nursery.
• There is a similar donation car park by the Citadel entrance; that donation goes to the Cathedral.

• We sit on the right side of the car and drive on the left, as in the UK.
• Go round roundabouts clockwise, and give way to vehicles already on the roundabout.
• Expect many one-way streets. Watch the road signs rather than following your navigation app blindly — signs sometimes change faster than Google Maps catches up.

Village squares. The square in front of each village church is the social and business heart of the village. The football and band clubs are usually there too, serving cheerful, inexpensive food from a small menu — this is where locals meet for a chat and a beer. Look round the corner for a better parking spot, and please don't double-park (however many locals you see doing it).

• All of Gozo's petrol stations sit on one line between Victoria and Mġarr: four along Victoria's main road and three more on the way down to the Mġarr ferry harbour.
• Prices are set by the government, so every station charges the same.
• Every station sells unleaded petrol and diesel, each in regular and premium, with each fuel in its own standard pump colour. Most hire cars run on petrol — the green pump. Always double-check with your hire company and the sticker on the car.
• Stations are attended Monday to Saturday, 07:00–19:00. Outside those hours they switch to self-service, so fuel is available around the clock — Sundays included.
• Every station takes cash, even at self-service; most also take Visa and Mastercard. If a self-service payment goes wrong, note the time and the amount and return during attended hours to arrange a refund.

• Mġarr harbour is Gozo's only ferry port, with three terminals across the road from one another.
• The car ferry runs the shortest crossing, Mġarr to Ċirkewwa. Four ferries work the route, each carrying about 150 cars and 500–900 passengers.
• Fares are paid on the Gozo side only: buy your tickets at the terminal just before boarding in Mġarr. Crossing from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr needs no ticket.
• Foot passengers and car passengers use different entrances, and the car and each passenger are charged separately.
• Fast ferries run from Mġarr to Valletta, and to Sliema (stopping at Buġibba). They are for foot passengers only; each leg needs its own ticket, which you can buy online.

• The north coast: from Marsalforn along the salt pans to Wied il-Għasri, and on to the tiny hamlet of Għasri beside the Ta' Pinu basilica.
• Sunsets: Xlendi and Dwejra have the best on the island — and the best ice cream.
• The open secrets: Ħondoq ir-Rummien, right opposite Comino and the Blue Lagoon; Daħlet Qorrot; Mġarr ix-Xini; and Xatt l-Aħmar.
• Cliffs and walks: Ta' Ċenċ and the Sanap cliffs for spectacular views.

Most of these places sit at the end of narrow country lanes — look well ahead, and expect to reverse to let others pass.

Cars occasionally break down, however careful the maintenance. Every one of our cars carries a spare wheel and the tools to fit it — but you don't have to: call us and we'll deal with it. We're only a phone call away.