Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, but probably not for the reason you think.
I used to assume quad bike tours were one of those things that exist to extract money from tourists who haven’t planned properly, a novelty activity dressed up as sightseeing. I booked one anyway because I’d run out of better ideas for getting around Gozo, and it turned out to be one of the better days I’ve had on the island, which I say as someone who has had quite a few days on the island at this point. I’ve been living in Malta for a couple of years now and Gozo does that thing where you keep going back and finding something new, which is impressive for somewhere you can drive across in about twenty minutes.
Anyway. Here’s what I actually think about quad bike tours in Gozo, including the things nobody bothers to mention.
Why Gozo specifically
If you’re wondering why quad bikes are so associated with Gozo rather than Malta, it’s because Gozo is the one where they actually make sense. Malta is too busy, too many cars, narrow roads everywhere and not enough open landscape to make the experience worth it. Gozo has lighter traffic, genuinely wild coastline, and a lot of the best spots are at the end of tracks that buses can’t manage and hire cars find uncomfortable. A quad bike is not just a fun thing to do there, it’s a genuinely practical solution to a real problem, which I say as someone who tried to do Gozo by bus once and ended up stranded in a car park for an hour waiting for a connection that never came.
What the tour actually is
The standard full-day quad bike tour runs about seven hours on the island, not counting travel from Malta. If you’re coming from the main island you get picked up from your accommodation, driven to Ċirkewwa on the north coast and put on a private boat to Gozo rather than the public ferry, which means you arrive at Mġarr Harbour and go straight to the operator’s garage without dealing with queues or schedules. This is a better start to a day than it sounds.
At the garage you get a safety briefing, helmets, hairnets (yes, really, the hairnets are non-negotiable) and a rain cover. Then you get your quad. They’re 570cc ATVs, proper machines rather than the underpowered things you find at beach resorts, and each one seats two. If you’re a couple you can share and take turns driving (both people need to be 21 or over and hold a valid licence), or book separate quads if you both want to drive the whole day. Either works.
The tour runs in convoy behind a guide who genuinely knows the island, and I mean that seriously rather than as a thing you say. They take you through back roads and coastal tracks that cars can’t access, stopping at each place to give context before letting you wander. The standard tour covers the Church of St John the Baptist in Xewkija (enormous dome, completely worth a look), the Sanap Cliffs near Munxar, Xlendi Bay, the Knights’ Wash Houses at Fontana where some locals still actually wash laundry by hand which is a strange and lovely thing to see, Dwejra Bay with the Inland Sea and Fungus Rock, the Wied il-Mielaħ arch (an offroad ride to reach, which is the point), Wied il-Għasri valley, the Xwejni salt pans, Marsalforn Bay and Tal-Mixta Cave above Ramla Bay. That’s most of Gozo’s highlights in one day including several places that most visitors never find at all, which is the whole point of doing it this way.
Lunch is included, a traditional Maltese spread with local bread, cheeses, olives and dips. On the way back to Malta the boat passes Comino’s sea caves and the Blue Lagoon. In summer there’s a swim stop.
Tour versus just renting one
This is the question people ask most and the answer is genuinely it depends, which I know is the most annoying possible answer but bear with me.
A full-day guided quad bike tour costs around €110 per person, or €185 for two sharing one quad, including transport from Malta, the private boat crossing both ways, a local guide all day, lunch, safety gear, insurance and fuel. The tour operator books out quickly between April and October so booking a few weeks ahead is sensible rather than assuming you’ll sort it when you arrive.
Quad rental runs around €90 for a full day. That sounds cheaper until you add the public ferry (around €4.65 per person each way), your own lunch and the fact that you’re navigating Gozo without anyone who knows it. Rental operators give you a GPS map with points of interest marked, which helps, but you’re on your own from there.
My honest view: rental makes sense if you’re already staying in Gozo for a few days and want to potter around at your own pace. For a day trip from Malta, or for anyone visiting Gozo for the first time, the guided tour is better value even at the higher price. You just see more, and see it properly.
One thing about rentals nobody mentions upfront: operators tend to resist cancellations in bad weather and prefer to reschedule, so if you’ve flown in for a specific week that’s worth thinking about before booking. And in the event of an accident there’s usually an excess of around €300 before the insurance does anything, which catches people out when they assumed “insurance included” meant no financial exposure at all.
The things nobody actually tells you
The minimum driver age is 21, not 18, and this catches more people out than anything else about this tour. Under 21 you can ride as a passenger but you cannot drive. You need your original driving licence on the day, not a photo on your phone, not a copy, and provisional licences aren’t accepted. I have seen people turned away for this. Don’t be one of them.
The convoy system means you move at the group’s pace. If you want to spend an hour at Dwejra and barely stop at Fontana, that’s not something you can negotiate on the day. Most people find this fine because the guide reads the group and adjusts, but if you need total spontaneity the rental option suits you better.
The quads aren’t difficult to ride, and the guides take you around the block first to make sure everyone is comfortable, so if you’ve never been on one that’s fine. The tracks are uneven in places and you will absolutely get dusty, so wearing your worst clothes is smarter than whatever you’d wear to dinner. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
In summer, go prepared for actual heat. July and August on Gozo regularly hit 33-35 degrees and you’re on a quad in full sun for most of the day. Sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and water are not suggestions. Water is available at stops along the route but if you’re not used to Mediterranean summers in that temperature range, take it seriously.
The sunset tour, if you’re visiting in summer
Between mid-May and mid-October, there’s also a sunset version of the tour that starts later in the day and builds in a swim stop at the Blue Lagoon in Comino before the quad section. The route on the island is slightly shorter but finishing with a sunset over Gozo’s west coast is genuinely worth the trade-off, and if you’re visiting in that window and have any flexibility on timing it’s the one I’d pick. Priced similarly to the standard tour.
Who shouldn’t bother
If you’re not comfortable driving a powered vehicle at all, you might find the day stressful rather than enjoyable, particularly on the more uneven tracks. In that case a tuk tuk tour of Gozo, where a driver takes you around in a three-wheeled vehicle while you sit back and look at things, covers some of the same ground with none of the driving.
If you have mobility issues, the quad tour is not wheelchair accessible and involves getting on and off the bike at each stop.
If you are coming to Gozo specifically to spend time in one place, for example you want a long afternoon at Ramla Bay or a morning of diving at the Blue Hole, the structured itinerary of a tour won’t suit you and you’d be better off with a hire car or rental quad.
So is it worth it
For most people doing a day trip to Gozo from Malta, yes. You cover more of the island than you’d manage independently, you get to places that are genuinely hard to reach otherwise, and you don’t spend half the day sorting out logistics. The price is higher than renting but what’s included makes the difference.
Book in advance if you’re going between April and October. The tours sell out.
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