Blue Hole, Victoria

You look straight down a round shaft in the rock of Gozo's west coast, where the water turns electric blue and an underwater arch opens to the sea, right next to where the Azure Window stood.

Landmark, Victoria. Meridian Dispatch.

Best time

May to OctoberSettled sea, warm water

Effort

Rough rock pathUneven limestone

Season

Sea 24 to 26 °CSeptember and October

Access

Car park nearbyBus towards San Lawrenz

Entry

Is the Blue Hole in Gozo free to visit?

Visitors report no entry fee and no set opening hours. Sea conditions, not the clock, decide when it can be used for swimming or diving.

Walk from car park

How long is the walk from the Dwejra car park to the Blue Hole?

About 200 m from the Dwejra car park, over ancient coral limestone. The path is rocky and uneven in places, and small children can find it hard going, so sturdy shoes are the right choice.

Depth

How deep is the Blue Hole?

Dive guides put the bottom of the shaft at about 15 m, where the archway leads out of the pool. Beyond the arch the dive continues over the seabed to a maximum depth of 25 m.

Snorkelling

Can you snorkel or swim in the Blue Hole without diving?

Yes, when the sea is calm. Snorkellers and swimmers enter from the shallow rock shelf straight into the natural pool, and the shaft is clearest from the surface on a still day.

Azure Window

What happened to the Azure Window at Dwejra?

The Azure Window, the rock arch at Dwejra, has collapsed. Its remains now form the Azure Reef, a field of boulders and arch remnants that divers cross after the arch.

Dive reputation

Is the Blue Hole in Gozo a well-known dive site?

Yes, internationally. The vertical chimney in the limestone is an acclaimed dive site, and Jacques Cousteau once listed it among his top 10 dive sites in the world.

What makes it special

The Blue Hole is a circular, deep-water plunge pool carved into the limestone at Dwejra, in San Lawrenz on Gozo's west coast, a few steps from the open sea. Its Maltese name is Ħofra tal-Berwin. The sinkhole is about 10 m wide, and on a flat day a fringe of rock shelters the pool inside it.

From the cliff edge on a calm day, the depth gradients and the shape of the shaft show clearly, and the water shifts tone with the light.

Below the surface the shaft opens sideways through a wide opening into the open sea. Thousands of years of wave energy and weathering cut the near-vertical shaft, which also reaches the sea through other submerged openings.

Visiting

Divers and visitors on foot both start at the Dwejra car park. Walk out over the rock to the viewpoint above the pool in sturdy shoes, since some stretches are steep.

Divers gear up at the car, cross the shallow shelf at the water's edge and drop into the natural pool.

The dive runs down the shaft, out through the arch and over the Azure Reef, or along the Coral Gardens instead. Many dive days add Cathedral Cave as a shallower second dive; it lies within 500 m of the hole on the surface.

Afterwards, follow the coastal paths for more angles on the hole, then continue to the Inland Sea, about five minutes away.

Tips

Pack swimwear, a towel, water shoes, sunscreen and a waterproof camera for the underwater scenery. Shade is limited, so carry water and a hat in summer.

If you are diving, match the suit to the month: a 3 or 5 mm wetsuit from June to October, and a dry suit from January to March, when the water is 15 to 16 °C.

Know before you goDive operators advise that a north-westerly swell makes the entry unusable. Ask your operator for a go or no-go call 24 hours before, rather than assuming the trip will run.They also warn of currents once you are outside the arch, especially when the dive continues to the Azure Reef.