Thing to doMarsalforn (Xwejni Bay)
Gozo Salt Pans
We've been. Visited May 2026.
A striking checkerboard of ancient rock-cut salt pans along Gozo's northern coast, free to wander and photograph.
With kids
Checked by us, in person.
Good forYoung kidsOlder kids
- Changing: don't know
- Buggy friendly: don't know
- Pool: don't know
- Parking: yes
- Shade: no
- Book ahead: no
- Good for a date: don't know
- Grown-up & quiet: don't know
- Sunset spot: don't know
The Gozo Salt Pans stretch along the coast at Xwejni Bay, just west of Qbajjar and a short way from the resort town of Marsalforn. Cut by hand into the flat limestone shore, these shallow rectangular basins form a chequerboard pattern running for several kilometres beside the sea. Salt has been harvested here for a very long time, with the practice dating back to Roman and even Phoenician times, and a handful of Gozitan families still work the pans by hand today.
The method is simple and still going strong. Seawater collects in the pools, the sun evaporates it over several days, and the salt crystals are then swept up and collected. Harvesting generally happens across the warmer months, roughly May to September, with June and July the busiest, so summer is the time to see the families at work. When they are on site you can usually buy their sea salt from a small shop by the road.
It is a free, open-air spot rather than a ticketed attraction, easy to combine with a stop at nearby Marsalforn. There is little natural shade, so hats, water and sun cover are sensible in summer. Please do not walk on the pans themselves, as they are working, fragile and part of a living tradition.
From our visit
Our own photos and video, from the day we were actually there.
Last checked 22 July 2026. Places change, so if something here is out of date, tell us.
