Intermediate Malta
Gozo
Caves, chimneys, and the Blue Hole: the island where you dive the rock
Malta's sister island is smaller, quieter, and geologically more spectacular underwater: a natural well carved into the rock, tunnels that run clean through headlands, and vertical chimneys you climb up and down.
In this profile you'll find what sets Gozo's diving apart from the main island's, what the Blue Hole is and how it's dived, what the shore tunnels and caves involve, when to go, and what level each formation demands.
It's the best geological diving in the Maltese archipelago, and a destination where an overhead ceiling shows up often enough that it deserves to be taken seriously, even when the sites look simple.
Geography and access
Gozo is the second island of the Maltese archipelago, smaller and less populated than the main one, with a limestone cliff coastline cut by deep coves.
Erosion has worked that limestone for millennia and produced an unusual repertoire of underwater formations: wells, through-tunnels, arches, vertical chimneys, and caves of very different sizes.
The best-known site is a natural well connected to the open ocean by a submerged arch: you enter a rocky pool, descend, and exit into the blue through the arch. It's a simple dive that becomes complicated with ground swell.
The same stretch of coast once had an iconic arch that collapsed years ago; its blocks now rest on the bottom, forming a diveable debris field that is itself a recent geological record.
Access is via Malta and a short ferry. Almost all diving is done entering from shore, which means moving by road already geared up and climbing down stairs or ramps to the water.
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