Gozo Wedding Venues: Hotels, Farmhouses and Ferry Tips

In short: Gozo has a handful of wedding venues, from five-star hotels to a farmhouse restaurant, and suits couples who want a relaxed weekend celebration. Every guest crosses by ferry (about 25 minutes from Ċirkewwa), rooms book up early in summer, and banns for a Gozo wedding are applied for in Victoria.

Gozo is quieter, greener and slower than Malta, and for a lot of couples that's the whole appeal. A Gozo wedding feels like a weekend away for your guests, not just a day out.

The catch is logistics. Everyone crosses on the ferry, rooms book up quickly in summer, and your banns go through the Gozo office of the Marriage Registry. This guide covers the Gozo venues in our directory and the planning that makes a wedding in Gozo work.

Wedding Venues in Gozo

These are the Gozo venues currently in our directory. We're adding more as we verify them.

Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz

Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz is a five-star hotel in the west of the island with indoor and outdoor spaces. It lists banquet capacities of 220 in Il-Kappella, 250 on the Il-Kappella Terrace and 200 at the garden Gazebo. Couples can choose an indoor ceremony or an outdoor garden one, and the chef creates a personalised wedding menu. It suits mid-sized to large weddings where most guests stay on-site, so nobody has to drive after the party.

Ta' Ċenċ Hotel & Spa

Ta' Ċenċ in Sannat describes civil ceremonies within its grounds, with celebrations also offered in the gardens of Palazzo Palina and events at Kantra Lido. Menus and arrangements are tailored with the hotel's team, so ceremony, reception and guest rooms can all be handled in one place.

Ta' Frenc

Ta' Frenc is a restaurant in an old farmhouse at Għajn Damma, near Xagħra. It has indoor dining rooms and gardens with a marquee, and the food comes from its own restaurant kitchen. It's the pick if food matters most to you and you want a traditional Gozitan farmhouse feel.

Cesca Boutique Hotel

Cesca Boutique Hotel sits in Xlendi Valley. Its restaurant, Berta's, advertises weddings and intimate events, with seated dinners and standing receptions. The hotel has guest rooms, so the couple and close family could stay on-site (ask about availability). It's best suited to small weddings and elopements.

See them alongside Malta venues on our wedding venues page.

Planning a Wedding in Gozo: The Ferry

There's no bridge, so every guest crosses by sea. There are two main options:

• Car ferry from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr (Gozo Channel). About 25 minutes, running frequently through the day and night. It's the only option that carries cars and coaches.
• Fast ferries from Valletta to Mġarr. About 45 minutes, foot passengers only, with far fewer sailings than the car ferry. Handy for guests staying in Valletta, Sliema or St Julian's, but check the last sailing back.

These are crossing times. Add the drive to Ċirkewwa, in the far north of Malta, plus queuing on busy summer weekends.

Tips for guests on the day:

• Put recommended ferry times on your invitation or wedding website, with a buffer.
• If many guests are staying in Malta, consider a coach that goes on the car ferry and drops them at the venue.
• Check the last return crossing if guests aren't staying overnight. Better still, encourage them to stay.

Our wedding transport listings include coach and car hire, and our destination wedding guide covers guests travelling from abroad.

The Paperwork Is Done in Gozo

Getting married in Gozo works exactly like getting married in Malta. The only real difference is the office: you apply for your banns at the Marriage Registry in Victoria, Gozo, instead of in Malta. That's the case whether you marry in a civil ceremony or in church, according to Identità's pages on civil marriages and religious marriages. The rest of the process and timeline is the same. Our guide to the legal process of getting married in Malta walks through the forms and deadlines.

The same venue rules apply too: the ceremony location must be public and accessible and approved by the Registrar. Our guide to civil ceremony venues in Malta explains them.

For a church wedding, there's one extra step: ten days before the wedding, you collect the Act of Marriage and the Certificate of Banns from the Registry and hand them to the parish priest of the church where you're marrying.

Accommodation Books Up Early

Gozo has far fewer hotel rooms than Malta, and summer weekends are busy with holidaymakers. If guests are staying over:

• Agree a room block with your venue hotel as soon as you book the date.
• Look at farmhouses with pools for groups of friends and family. They're a big part of Gozo's holiday accommodation.
• Tell guests early. Many will plan a long weekend around your wedding.

Suppliers: Bring Them Over or Use Local Ones

Many Malta-based photographers, florists, bands and DJs work in Gozo, but some charge for travel and ferry time. Ask every supplier up front:

• Do you cover Gozo, and is there a travel charge?
• What time do you need to arrive, and which ferry are you planning to take?
• Will you need to stay overnight?

A wedding planner who regularly works in Gozo can coordinate all of this for you. For seasonal advice (summer heat, wind, and which months are quieter on the ferry), see our guide to the best time of year to get married in Malta.

Is a Gozo Wedding Right for You?

It's a great fit if you want a relaxed, weekend-long celebration, most guests are happy to stay over, and you like the idea of a quieter, more rural setting.

Think twice if many guests are older or have mobility needs, you have a large guest list of locals who'd rather go home the same night, or your budget is tight. Extra transport and accommodation add up.

Honestly, I wouldn't have married in Gozo myself, because I have no connection to it. But plenty of my friends have, either because they have family there or because they wanted something a bit more special. Strangely enough, a Gozo wedding can feel like a mini holiday, almost a destination wedding. People often end up staying for the weekend, and it's a lovely way to make the celebration last that bit longer.

Whichever island you choose, start with our wedding venues page to compare settings.