Hiking the Gozo Coastal Trail: how many days it takes, and where you actually sleep

The Gozo Coastal Trail is a walk of about 50 kilometres right around the island’s coast, and most people do it in two to four days. The single question that trips walkers up is where to sleep, because Gozo has no legal campsite — so instead of pitching a tent, you break the walk in one of the seaside towns and stay in a guesthouse. This guide covers the realistic day-by-day route from Mġarr, why wild camping is not an option here, where hikers actually stay each night, and the two things that catch people out: the navigation and the terrain.

The Gozo Coastal Trail, in brief

• Distance: about 50 km (sources say 48–55 km, depending on the exact route) around the whole coast
• Time: two to four days — three is the most common, four is relaxed, two is for strong walkers
• Start: Mġarr Harbour, the ferry port — easy to reach, and you can walk it in either direction
• Sleeping: no legal campsite on Gozo, so hikers stay in guesthouses in Xlendi, Marsalforn or Victoria
• Navigation: not one signed trail — the waymarks are faint, so an offline GPS map app is essential
• Best season: spring (March–May) or early autumn (September–October); avoid the June–August heat

The route: a realistic two-to-four-day itinerary from Mġarr

The trail is a loop, so you finish where you start. Almost everyone begins at Mġarr Harbour, because it is where the Gozo ferry arrives and it is easy to reach by bus from anywhere on the island. From there the path follows the coastline all the way round, passing Ramla Bay, the dramatic cliffs at Dwejra, the deep inlet at Xlendi and the resort bay of Marsalforn before returning to Mġarr.

One thing to know up front: this is not a single, official, government-signed trail. Visit Gozo lists nine separate planned walks — village and heritage routes — and the continuous “coastal trail” is stitched together from those paths plus the open coast by hikers and GPS platforms. That is why you will see the total quoted anywhere from 48 to 55 km: there is no one fixed line.

A well-documented first-hand account walked it in three days, and the daily splits give a realistic picture of the effort:

Day	Stage	Distance	Climb
1	Mġarr → Xlendi	13 km	330 m
2	Xlendi → Marsalforn	18 km	510 m
3	Marsalforn → Mġarr	16 km	370 m

That is about 47 km in total — close to the usual “50 km” figure. Split it over four days if you want more time at the bays, or compress it into two long days if you are fit and travelling light. The daily distances look modest, but read the terrain section before you assume they are easy.

Why you can’t just pitch a tent along the way

The obvious idea — carry a tent and wild-camp each night — does not work on Gozo, and it is worth being clear why. Malta has only two official public campsites, and both are on the main island (Marfa Ridge near Mellieħa, and Għajn Tuffieħa). Gozo has no officially designated camping zone at all.

Wild camping is not flatly banned: in theory you can get a permit from the relevant Local Council. In practice that route is obscure — there is no simple online application like the mainland’s, the fee is quoted informally at around €30, and we could not find a single first-hand account of a hiker actually using it. [VERIFY: confirm the current Gozo Local Council camping-permit process and fee before relying on it — there is no published online system, unlike Mellieħa’s.] The honest position is that every documented multi-day hiker skipped camping and booked a room. For the full picture of where camping is legal across the Maltese islands, see our guide to camping in Malta.

Where multi-day hikers actually sleep: Xlendi, Marsalforn or Victoria

Because the route passes through or near several towns, you do not carry a tent — you plan your overnight stops around real beds. Three places do most of the work:

• Xlendi — a small, steep-sided seaside inlet on the south-west coast. It tends to be the quieter and cheaper of the two coastal bases, and it sits naturally at the end of a first day from Mġarr.
• Marsalforn — the larger, busier resort town on the north coast, with the widest choice of guesthouses and places to eat. It makes a natural second night.
• Victoria (Rabat) — Gozo’s inland capital, a little off the coast but linked by bus to everywhere. It is a useful budget fallback if the coastal towns are full or pricey.

As a rough guide, expect around €40–85 a night off-peak, with Xlendi at the lower end and rates climbing sharply on Saturdays and in high summer. [VERIFY: accommodation prices are seasonal — treat this as a ballpark and check current rates for your dates.] If you would rather base yourself on Gozo for a longer stay and walk the route in sections, our guide to basing yourself in Gozo covers the trade-offs.

Navigation: the waymarking is unreliable

This is the part every guide agrees on, and the part that catches people out. The Gozo Coastal Trail is not consistently signposted. In some places you will find faded red or blue dots painted on rocks; in others, nothing at all. Because the “trail” is really several paths joined by the open coast, it is easy to drift onto the wrong track.

So an offline map app is essential, not optional. Load the route onto Wikiloc, AllTrails or Komoot before you set off, download the map for offline use, and check your position regularly rather than trusting signs that may not be there. This matters even more on the exposed stretches, where taking the wrong path can mean a long backtrack along a cliff.

Terrain and safety: the scrambles, the cliffs, and one private stretch

Do not be fooled by the modest daily distances. The Gozo Coastal Trail includes real scrambling — the descent into the Mġarr ix-Xini cove and the climb out of Xlendi both need hands as well as feet — and long exposed sections along the cliff edge where sure footing matters. Every guide is clear that this is not a casual family stroll. Wear proper walking shoes, keep well back from crumbling cliff edges, and do not attempt the exposed parts in strong wind.

A smaller point on access: some stretches cross land marked “private, no entry.” The hiker consensus is that these signs can generally be ignored where a public footpath runs through — with one exception, a short private section near the north-west tip that needs a short detour. Follow your GPS track and the local waymarks here rather than pushing through anything fenced.

Best season to walk it

Walk it in spring (March–May) or early autumn (September–October). Avoid June, July and August: Gozo’s coast is largely treeless and shadeless, and the summer heat turns the exposed sections genuinely risky. This is the same reasoning behind treating trail running in Malta as an October-to-May activity — no shade, strong sun, and not enough water on the route. Spring adds green hills and wild flowers; early autumn gives you warm sea for a swim at the bays along the way, such as the salt-pan coast at Dwejra. Whenever you go, carry far more water than you think you need.