Taking your hire car to Gozo: the Cirkewwa ferry explained

More than half of our Gozo bookings are people who only decided to make the crossing after they’d already picked up the car. It’s an easy decision to make late: the ferry is short, the process is simpler than most visitors expect, and once you’re across, having your own car is the difference between seeing three or four places on Gozo and seeing one. This is the walkthrough I give customers at the desk, written down properly for once, from a family that’s been handing over keys at this garage since 1945 and has watched three generations of customers make this same crossing.

Do you need to book the ferry in advance

No, and this is worth saying plainly because it’s the question we get most. There’s no vehicle booking system for the Cirkewwa to Mgarr route the way there is for some longer European ferry crossings. You simply drive to the terminal on the day, join the lane, and board the next sailing with space. The only scenario where it’s worth checking ahead is a major public holiday weekend, when Gozo Channel sometimes runs a reduced or altered schedule, in which case the current timetable on gozochannel.com is the source to check, not a travel forum.

Where you’re driving to: Cirkewwa

Cirkewwa is the northern tip of mainland Malta, past Mellieha and Golden Bay, roughly 40 minutes from St Julian’s in normal traffic, longer if you’re leaving St Julian’s or Sliema during the morning school run. The terminal is well signposted once you’re on the coast road, and there’s no way to miss it: it’s the last thing before the road runs out at the sea. Sat nav will get you there without drama; just allow extra time in July and August, when the approach road backs up with day-trip traffic from the resort towns.

Driving onto the ferry: what actually happens

You don’t book a vehicle ticket in advance and you don’t pay anything at Cirkewwa. Marshals in hi-vis direct cars into lanes as you approach the terminal, and when a sailing is loading, they wave you straight onto the car deck, park close, engage the handbrake and head up to the passenger lounge. No ticket, no counter, no queueing at a booth on the Malta side. It genuinely is that simple, which surprises people who’ve done vehicle ferries elsewhere in Europe and expect a booking reference.

The crossing to Mgarr takes about 25 minutes according to Gozo Channel’s own schedule, and the boat itself is roomy enough that the short trip barely registers: most people go straight up on deck for the view of Comino rather than staying with the car.

The fare: what you pay, and when

This is the detail that trips people up, in a good way. Gozo Channel only charges the vehicle fare on the leg from Gozo, not on the way over. Checked directly against gozochannel.com, the car-and-driver fare is currently €15.70, and because that single payment covers the whole round trip, you drive onto the ferry at Cirkewwa for free and pay once, at Mgarr, when you’re heading back to Malta. Foot passengers work the same way. It isn’t a Princess arrangement or a discount we’ve negotiated, it’s simply how the route has always been run, and it means there’s nothing to sort out before you leave for Gozo in the morning: just drive up and go.

Keep a card or cash for the return payment (both are accepted at the Mgarr booths), and hold onto your hire agreement in the glovebox. It’s rarely asked for, but Gozo Channel staff do occasionally check that a Malta-plated car boarding is legitimately hired, and having the paperwork to hand saves a hold-up in the lane.

Check the current passenger fare structure on gozochannel.com if you’re travelling as a group, since foot-passenger tickets are priced separately from the car-and-driver fare. Either way, for a family or group of friends, having your own car waiting at Mgarr generally works out simpler than coordinating taxis or buses on the other side once you’re there.

Timing your crossing

Sailings run right through the day, and Gozo Channel keeps a live timetable at gozochannel.com that’s worth a quick check the morning you travel, since the frequency shifts a little with the season. In practice, day-trippers rarely wait long for a crossing in either direction outside of the very busiest summer weekends, when it’s worth building in a buffer.

The queue that actually catches people out isn’t the ferry, it’s the road to it. If you’re travelling in July or August, or on a Sunday when half of Malta is also heading to Gozo for lunch, leave St Julian’s by mid-morning rather than after breakfast, and if you can, aim to come back mid-afternoon rather than in the 5 to 6pm crush, when everyone else has had the same idea to beat the evening rush. A weekday crossing is noticeably quieter than a weekend one at both ends.

Are Princess cars allowed on the ferry?

Yes, without exception. Every car we hire out is registered, insured and documented to cross to Gozo, and we’ve never had a customer turned away at the terminal. Some visitors ask because they’ve read forum posts about certain rental firms restricting Gozo travel; that isn’t a Princess policy, and we don’t charge anything extra for taking one of our cars across. If you’re planning the trip when you book, mention it and we’ll make sure you’re in a category that’s comfortable for the day, but there’s no separate paperwork or surcharge involved.

What to see once you’re across

With your own car on Gozo, you’re not tied to a bus timetable or a coach tour’s fixed stops. A typical day for our customers: the Ggantija temples near Xaghra in the morning, lunch in Victoria or down at Xlendi, then the cliffs and inland sea at Dwejra before the light drops, or the red sand at Ramla Bay if swimming is the priority. None of it is far by car, most of Gozo is a 20 to 30 minute drive end to end, but it’s spread out enough that walking or waiting on buses between stops eats a whole afternoon you don’t have on a day trip. Our visit Malta guide has more on driving conditions generally, and if Gozo is one stop on a longer trip rather than a single day out, our 3-day Malta road trip itinerary shows where it fits alongside Mdina and the south.

Which car to take across

Any of our cars can make the crossing, there’s no restriction by category. For a couple or a small family doing Gozo as a day trip, the Hyundai i20 is the one we point people to most: enough boot for beach gear and a cool box, easy enough to park on Gozo’s narrower village streets around Victoria and Xlendi. Bringing a bigger group or planning to stay over on Gozo with luggage for everyone, our 7-seater is worth a look instead. The full breakdown of what’s available and current rates by season is on our fleet page.

A few practical notes

Fuel up before you leave the terminal area on Gozo if you’re running low; stations are fewer and further between than on Malta, and you don’t want to be hunting for one with a ferry to catch. Roads on Gozo are quieter but often narrower, especially around Xaghra and the Citadel, so take corners a little slower than you would on Malta. And if your day trip runs long, the last sailings back to Malta do get busy in summer, so don’t leave Dwejra at sunset assuming you’ll walk straight onto the next boat.

If you’re weighing up whether to add Gozo to your Malta trip, get in touch and tell us your dates: we’ll talk you through timing, and get you into the right car for it. Get a quote, or go straight to search available cars for your dates.