Cathedral Cave is definitely one of Gozo’s most spectacular sites. It is a dive for all levels of divers. Surfacing inside the huge BLUE dome and the scene from the inside of this cavern is an unforgettable experience. This dive site is found at Wied il-Għasri, north of the village Għasri and west of Marsalforn. Divers are not limited to the cave as the huge boulders and steep walls outside are also very interesting.
Cathedral cave is on the North coast of Gozo and is mostly accessed from the shore through the Għasri valley or from the ladder at Għar il-Qamħ. It is sheltered from the south winds. Shore access is quite demanding and at Gozo Dive Aqua Sports we often take groups there by boat and anchor directly in front of the cave. It is a 30 minute boat ride from Xlendi Bay along the cliffs of Gozo’s spectacular North and West coast.
From the shore, Cathedral cave can be reached by walking down the 100 or so steps into the valley bed and a 10 minute swim along Wied il-Għasri. The cave can be found on the right hand side at the valley exit. In the summer months a 4 metre long ladder at the nearby dive site Għar il-Qamħ can be used to access this cavern. Divers go down the ladder and follow the wall westward for about 15 minutes to reach this famous cave.
When accessing this dive site from the valley, divers park their vehicle just above Wied il-Għasri, kit up, walk down the steps, walk over the pebbles into the water and surface swim a distance out of the valley before descending to five or six metres to continue the trek out of the valley underwater. On exiting the valley, divers drop to twelve, sixteen, and then eighteen metres before following a wall on the right-hand side to reach a boulder field that slopes up into Cathedral cave. These boulders are covered in algae, sea urchins, and brilliant-colored starfish (Ophidiaster ophidianus).
Divers accessing the dive site from Għar il-Qamħ, walk down the long ladder, dive across to the cliff face and follow it to the west. Those wanting to go deeper can dive around the large boulders at thirty or forty metres before climbing to reach the shallow cavern. Divers that prefer to stay shallow can follow the wall for about fifteen minutes to reach Cathedral cave.
The highlight of this dive is Cathedral Cave itself with its huge mushroom-shaped opening between six and eighteen metres deep. Divers usually follow the many boulders up the gentle slope that lead into the cavern where they can zigzag to perform a safety stop before surfacing in the huge domed vault. Divers can remove their regulators and have a chat because a small window above sea level allows fresh air into the cave. The acoustics are amazing, a great place to practice singing.
The walls inside the cavern are covered in delicate corals, hydroids, sponges, and golden zoanthids (Parazoanthus axinellae). The cavern’s sloping floor is an uneven carpet of large and small boulders. The view to the Mediterranean deep blue sea outside is simply breath-taking and perfect for diver-silhouette photographs. Since the cavern mouth faces west, there is more light in the afternoon, therefore darker blue in the morning and lighter, more bright in the afternoon.
On exiting the cave, divers start making their way towards the exit, usually staying shallow. Tuna, Dentex, and Amberjack can often be seen hunting on the drop-offs while Groupers are more stationary on rocks deeper down. The shallows are also home to shoals of Damselfish (Chromis chromis) and seahorses (Hippocampus ramulosus) can occasionally be spotted, perfectly camouflaged among the spiky algae near the valley.
EXCELLENTBased on 317 reviewsVerifiedBrigitte SSuper organized diving center with great equipment and varied diving spots This year I went diving on Gozo. As I was looking online for a diving center that offers diving to the "Tuna Farm", I came across Gozo Dive St. Andrews, which turned out to be a great find. I was able to clarify everything in advance by email, so all the paperwork was already done when I arrived. Well organized and very friendly. I was looked after by Anthony, who chose the right equipment for me with me. Everything was very new and well maintained :-) As it wasn't that busy yet, there was only one other diver in our group. Anthony gave us good information about the spot and we went straight across the street into the water. Everything was very relaxed. As we realized on the second day of diving that my qualifications were not sufficient for the spot, Anthony and Lean immediately looked for options. They offered me the "deep diving" course so that I would no longer be restricted in the future. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for this course this time. Even during the trip across the island to the spots, Anthony gave us interesting details about the island. Thanks again for the all-round support :-) I will definitely come back to Gozo and my choice will again be "Gozo Dive St. Andrews".Verifiedthel6710/10 for Gozo Dive Second time with St Andrews. Fab instructor Ericka for my OW course, learned loads & went on further dive with Simon, hugely informative. Sites were amazing, what an island under & over water. Mark, Natalie & staff very welcoming, & organised our transfers, accommodation & gave suggestions. Very impressive team, working hard to cover everything & ensure safety. 10/10. Thanks Gozo Dive 💝VerifiedErik SSt Andrew’s dive shop, Gozo Amazing dive shop! Martin made our week dive experience. Easy to work with and very accommodating. Recommended for diver with experience. My group is all advanced open water and Nitrox certified with no need for dive guide. Very knowledgeable about conditions and very accurate daily dive site recommendations.VerifiedRory KIncredible people and excellent place to learn I did my Advanced Open Water padi course with St. Andrew’s Divers Cove the experience was exceptional. my instructor Simon is one of the best instructor I’ve had, friendly, excellent knowledge and amazing instructor. Simon has made me better and a more confident diver through conducting the padi course in a knowledge able and entertaining way!Verifiedthel67Comes with Free bananas 😂😎 New to this dive school - happy customers. Well experienced staff, confident, informative, attentive & fun. Owner presence & oversight ensures well run system & quality delivery with good vfm. Thanks for the fun days out, til next time 🤗💚VerifiedSandraGreat Great ! Very well organized club, attentive, multilingual. For a stay with 10 dives, the objective has always been to introduce us to new sites each time. A special mention for Simon, who was our guide, and who is great.Verifiedchris gSt andews dive shop gozo As a diver I have always known of this dive shop in Gozo and have had air fills from there . On a recent holiday we visited Gozo and my friends car who keeps his car in malta to use on holiday/ diving trips broke down with a broken clutch cable . I suggested we go to see Mark at St Andews dive shop to see if he could recommend a good mechanic . Well to cut a long story short Mark the governor was so helpful he arranged his mechanic to fix the problem and the car was fixed within four hours . We were delighted as we were only on gozo for one day and were due to fly out a few days later so thankyou Mark and his mechanics !! On my many visits to Gozo the St andrews dive shop is always busy and customer friendly . If your planning a diving trip give that diving shop a goVerifiedOlivier LBeautiful diving holidays For a first in Gozo, a perfect success... Very professional center, both in terms of well-structured dives and safety, both in terms of magnificent sites, both in terms of pleasant and really available supervisors as well as the organization of transfers and accommodation. A truly relaxed vacation, to be repeated without a doubt.VerifiedLaetitia WTo do Great instructors, very professional and caring. A good pre-dive brief, a good debrief, excellent advice. Thank you ! However, be careful, this is not clear, you cannot share a diving pack with several people. Prices are per person! So 3 people doing a dive the price is 3 times a dive... Too bad 😢VerifiedEvercuriosGreat days diving We had the best refresher day with st Andrew’s dive centre. We hadn’t dived for 15 years or more and we eeee a little apprehensive but that evaporated very quickly. We were set up so just the two of us went out with our dive master Erika in xlendi bay. She really helped us to feel comfortable and in control and we had full faith in her. She obviously new the bay well and gave us a beautiful experience pointing out various fish and squid then ultimately taking us through the ledge. She went above and beyond by taking many great photos of us diving and the things we saw which she sent to us as a memento. Mark in the office was reliable and well organised and all the team were super friendly. Really recommend
EXCELLENTBased on 223 reviewsTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Elvan GökgürThey are very friendly and super helpful. We rented equipments and they were very professional. I would recommend this dive center to all divers.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Tim L. HellerAmazing people, service & dive center. We rented equipment for a day and discovered the beautiful Xlendi Bay and Xlendi Tunnel. There are several fantastic routes you can take here directly from the shore. The equipment served us well and was worth every penny! We could see conger & morray eels, squid, octopus, gar fish, and a barracuda!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Josienne WongHad my first diving experience here and they were super informative and helpful teaching me how to dive as a beginner.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Marc VanvlaenderenTop club avec un moniteur Charles qui nous a fait rêver. Que de bons souvenirs MerciTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.laurent clavelBon club de plongée mais avec un cout très élevé alors que les plongées se font à pied sans bateau (104 eur pour 2 plongées avec le matériel). De plus les chaussons fournies étaient basiques et très glissant inadaptés au site. Un grand merci à Charles pour son partage d'expérience et les plongéesTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Antoine G.We had 6 great dives with Sandrine and Bruno, professional but easygoing, they gave great advices and loved diving with them ! Thanks again !Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Miłosz ŁuczkoSuch a cool adeventure for us. We had Been at one of the beaches inside tha land due to a windy weather. That was my 3rd diving, my GF first. Our instruktors name was Marcello (i really believe that's correct) hes such a cool guy, never left US in a trouble, always look after and he was able to make US laugh even if we were paniced. All best for him and this company. If your reading this - thanks a lot, that was a pleasure :)Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Sophie MLTMany thanks to Mark, Nathalie and their team for organizing my stay and for their advice (from renting the apartment to managing the various transfers) and to Bruno and Sandrine for the wonderful dives despite the sometimes capricious weather. A great week spent togetherTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Vladimir IvanovskiWe was diving for a first time and it was amazing. Erika was very professional and amazing trainer! I really recommend St Andrews and Xlendi bay for beginners like us 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Vincent DemollienUne bonne expérience avec une bonne instructrice comme Sandrine ! Au top !
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