"Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side". The Maltese islands are blessed with some amazing coastline. Built on a slant, the southern coast of the islands rocket out of the sea in spectacular cliffs. Surely to ward off any attacking Africans. The northern coasts melt away into the Mediterranean providing some nice beaches for white-washed British tourists. The smaller island of Gozo is a good place to explore the coast. Slightly less touristy than Malta, it allows for moments of solitude..
As almost a certainty, most travellers first experience of Gozo will be the port city of Mgarr. This is where the
ferry from Malta pulls in. A quaint little harbour, with pretty little boats and little hill-top churches, most people never take the time to see it. They simply hop on the awaiting bus to Victoria, the "capital". But seeing as there's a bus every 30 minutes or so. A wee jaunt into the town of Mgarr isn't such a bad idea. The views from the churches are pretty and it's not more than a 10 minute walk (uphill). The bus is number 25 (it's the only bus) which will take you right into the capital. As a matter of fact, ALL buses go to Victoria. Unfortunately, the public transport system isn't the best on the island, as they usually stop going to some of the cities around 12. But considering that you can see that whole island from the Citadel in Victoria, it's easy to walk to anywhere you want to go. My favourite being Xlendi. 
Built in a narrow wedge splitting the cliffs in a Moses like action, Xlendi is a nice village. A great little resort town to sit and have a beer/lunch, Xlendi is a fairly easy 3 km 
walk from Victoria (there are buses too). Being there in the winter meant that it wasn't exactly ideal for swimming, but i imagine that in summer it can be quite busy. But the best part of the village lies along the path which lead out of town, along the shore. After crossing a Lord-of-the-Rings type bridge and scale the side of a hill, the intrepid traveller is awarded with magnificent views of crashing waves and towering cliffs. When i was there there wasn't any sole around. But even more interesting, just below the old fort tower are several "salt farming" holes and bizarre rock formations, making for some spectacular photos (title picture).
Likely the most hyped place to visit in Gozo is the Azure Window on the west coast. Bus loads of tourists
show up for a few minutes to take a photo of a hole in the rocks, just to get back on their bus to some other place. But the "village" of Dwejra Bay warrants more time than that. There are little boat rides (Euro 3.50) which take you through a hidden little tunnel out to the sea. For about 15 minutes you pass in and out of natural caves. Perhaps not a spectacular life changing event, but if you say "Arrrrr, matey" enough times, you can feel like a pirate. I actually quite like the rock formations around the Azure window a fair bit. A rather lunar like appearance (except or all the water, oxygen and tourists) it makes for some really pretty photos. And not to be missed is the nearby tower. Mario the tower keeper, and avid CouchSurfing host, is a wealth of knowledge. It's free, although tips are gratefully accepted. Getting here can be a pain, especially in the winter. Buses don't go all the way down to the sea. You need to get off at San Lawrenz and walk the 1.5 kms to the shore. It a fully exposed walk and would suck in the summer, most certainly on the trek back uphill. But try hitchhiking..
There are a few other beaches and resorts scattered around the island. All within sight of the central capital. It's definitely a beautiful area to explore and well worth the trip out of Malta.
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