Ritual Dive

Ritual Dive is a full service dive centre in the middle of Xlendi Bay, a small resort cove on the south coast of Gozo. It runs everything from a first taste of scuba to instructor training, with daily boat and shore dives to the best known sites around Gozo, Comino and Malta. The centre opened at the end of March 2019 and describes its approach as inclusive: the mathematical symbol in its name, the A without a crossbar, means for all.

For a UK visitor the appeal is simple. You can arrive with no experience, complete a certification in a few days, then stay in the hotel directly above the dive centre. Ritual is listed in our directory of dive centres in Malta, and if you are still planning the wider trip, our Gozo guide covers the island above the water.

Try dives for first timers

If you are not ready to commit to a course, the try dive is the easy way in. The one dive option costs €75 and takes half a day. An instructor goes through the equipment, basic theory and a short quiz, then takes you to a very shallow area for a comfort check where you can stand in the water, breathe through the regulator and test the mask. Once you are happy, you descend, practise a couple of basic skills and explore, with about 45 minutes of underwater time.

The two dive option costs €130 and also takes half a day. It follows the same briefing, and on the second dive you do not need to repeat the skills if you feel comfortable. If you decide to carry on to the Open Water course, one try dive can be credited towards it and its cost deducted, which makes it a sensible starting point for a holiday that might turn into a qualification.

Scuba Diver and Open Water courses

The Scuba Diver course is a shortened route for people with limited time. It costs €310, takes one and a half days and includes two open water dives, confined water skills sessions, theory, an equipment workshop and digital kit. On completion you are certified to dive to 12 metres with a professional, and you can upgrade to the full Open Water course by completing the remaining requirements.

The Open Water course costs €470 and runs over three days with four open water dives. It leads to an internationally recognised certification that allows diving to 18 metres with an equally or more qualified buddy. You learn to assemble and take down equipment, handle mask, regulator and emergency ascent skills, and practise with full equipment. You need to be able to swim comfortably. The water around Gozo is warm, visibility is good and many sites can be reached from the shore, which keeps training relaxed.

Beyond these, the centre teaches Advanced Adventurer and Rescue Diver, plus speciality courses including deep, nitrox, navigation, night and limited visibility, wreck, search and recovery, DPV, sidemount, cavern, decompression, first aid and underwater photography.

Technical and fun diving

Experienced divers are well served. Ritual teaches the SSI Extended Range and Technical Extended Range programmes and a gas blender course, and offers guided open circuit and closed circuit rebreather diving, alongside equipment rental and a gas price list for certified divers. The newest Gozo wreck, the MT Hephaestus, scuttled in August 2022, lies at around 45 to 46 metres, which makes it a technical dive.

Dive sites range from reefs and shallow caves to caverns, tunnels, pinnacles and wrecks. Favourite spots named by the team include Ras il-Ħobż, Reqqa Point, Xlendi Bay itself, Ta' Cenc, Gudja Cave and the Cathedral Cave, so there is plenty to explore whether you prefer a gentle shore dive or a boat trip. Conditions change through the year, and the centre publishes articles about diving conditions in Malta and Gozo, a useful read before you pick your dates.

Gozo's wrecks are a highlight. The MV Karwela and MV Cominoland were scuttled off the south coast in August 2006 and now sit about 40 metres down, 20 to 30 metres from each other. The MV Xlendi, a former Gozo ferry, was sunk in 1999 and lies upside down at around 42 metres. Fun dives are offered daily by boat and from the shore, and a photo and video service can record the day. For other approaches to Gozo's waters you may also like Atlantis Gozo Diving Centre or Apnea Total freediving.

Becoming a dive professional

Instructor development is taken seriously. The staff include an assistant instructor trainer and a master instructor, and the centre runs crossover courses so that divers certified with other agencies can move across without starting again. If you are curious about a career change, a Divemaster programme is a common first step into working underwater.

The centre also trains people who want to work in diving. Courses include SSI Divemaster, the Instructor Training Course, Assistant Instructor Trainer and crossover programmes for divers moving from another agency. Its instructors hold SSI, PADI and RAID certification, speak several languages and know the local waters well.

Alongside training, the centre promotes conservation. It runs eco projects and workshops, including beach and dive site clean-ups, and has launched Ritual Eko, led with a resident marine biologist, to build links with local environmental groups.

The team and how groups are run

Groups are small: no more than four divers to one instructor. The dive department is led by founder and instructor trainer Rach, who is Maltese and trained as a pharmacologist before becoming an instructor, with Sim and Kev as co-managers and Alex as assistant manager and eco specialist. Further instructors include Rebe, Luca, Ewan, Tom, Isabella, Jonas, Christina and Clarisse, while Ell is the resident underwater photographer and Emily the marine biologist.

Beyond the dive staff, the centre describes a wider ethos: employees are treated like family, and the business aims to leave a positive mark on the local community by working with Gozitan partners for accommodation and extra services. It also tries to keep its carbon footprint low and to teach divers about local environmental issues.

The team brings experience from Thailand, South East Asia, the Maldives, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and many have settled on Gozo. The centre has fully equipped classrooms, a training pool and certified gear, so even the theory and first breaths can happen at the centre before you head to the sea.

Dive and stay at Block

Many visitors choose to stay close to the dive centre so that kit, classes and dinner are all within a few minutes. The setup suits couples where only one person dives, because the rooftop and the village offer plenty to do between dives, and the centre can help organise taxis and tours for non-divers.

Directly above the dive centre is Block, Ritual's own hotel, with rooms and apartments. On the ground floor is the Front bar and restaurant, and on the roof is Above, a two floor rooftop bar with cocktails, snacks and what the centre calls Gozo's first rooftop pool. Dive and stay packages cover fun dives, courses and personalised plans, and the contact form also lists help with rooms, farmhouses, taxis, car rental, transfers and tours.

If you are comparing places to stay, our guide to hotels in Gozo shows other options on the island. To plan the best time of year for visibility and water temperature, see the Malta weather guide.

Getting there and booking

There is also a sightseeing side to a Gozo break. Between dives you could explore the Citadel in Victoria, the island's beaches and the coastal walks, and our things to do in Malta page gives a wider list of ideas for non-diving days.

The centre is at 2/4 Triq il-Gostra in Xlendi, right by the bay. From the UK, most visitors fly to Malta and take the ferry across to Gozo; our flights to Malta guide helps with the first leg. Once on the island, you could add a trip to Blue Lagoon on Comino on a rest day.

To get started, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and tell us which course, try dive or package you would like and your dates. We will pass your message to Ritual Dive, and the centre will reply with availability.