GOZO - MALTA'S LEGENDARY SISTER ISLAND :: A Dash of Domestic Tourism

For a small country like Malta, it may seem difficult to grasp the concept of domestic tourism or the meaning of holidaying locally. But it does exist. Maltese ‘city-dwellers’ have summer houses located by the sea, even if this means 30 minutes away by car from their regular place of residence. Others own or rent a converted farmhouse lost in a rustic countryside setting or a village core.

But perhaps the most popular place for the Maltese to travel to for a short break on home turf is the island of Gozo. Maltese people (which in this context can be narrowly defined as those who actually reside on the main island - Malta) will make the 25-minute channel crossing by ferry, sailing past the smaller island of Comino, and landing on the quay of Mgarr - Gozo’s main port of entry. Some go for a long weekend, others for a week or longer. Some just go for the day, but I guess these day-trippers don't really count as tourists - domestic or otherwise.

I must admit that in spite of my globetrotting antics over the years, I always held and still hold a special place in my heart for the little sister island, and will gladly visit when I can.

My wife and I prefer Gozo in Winter, Spring and Autumn, and less so in Summer. Not because the sea around Gozo is not spectacularly blue, and its beaches outrageously pristine in a rough-and-ready sort of way. It’s just that Gozo’s true savage beauty really comes into its own in the cooler months, when it’s less crowded and there are fewer cars around. And yes, when there are fewer Maltese (like us) to share the grassy hills, the winding country roads, the sheer cliffs, the wayside chapels, the herds of goats ...and the occasional donkey.

My collection of Gozo photos contains thousands of images compiled over the past decades. These are just a few...