SHORE DIVES

Anchor Bay – Location: By Popeye Village | Max. depth 18m | Grade: All levels

Anchor Bay is located in the north west of Malta near Mellieha, and is an ideal for all levels of divers and often used for training dives on various courses. Interesting features include an anchor, a reasonably large cave with surfacing opportunities, and overall great site for photography opportunities as there is often abundant marine life.

Cirkewwa – Location: North Island | Max. depth 40m | Grade: All levels

Cirkewwa is probably one of the most popular dive locations on Malta offering several dive sites for divers of all levels. The topography here offers something for everyone, shallow shelves for beginners and entry level courses; wall dives, swim-throughs, two fantastic wrecks for the more experienced divers; beautiful underwater landscape features and fantastic visibility for the enthusiastic photographer.

Cirkewwa: The Anchor – Location: North Island | Max. depth 33m | Grade: Advanced Open Water +

A popular stop off on the way to or on the way back from the Rozi wreck. Covered in marine plants it attracts many of the smaller marine creatures such as colourful nudibranchs and the occasional sea horse. In the spring months it is often decorated in thousands of squid eggs.

Cirkewwa: Left Arch – Location: North Island | Max. depth 18m +| Grade: Open Water +

One of Cirkewwa’s reef dives which takes you to the left, with some nice swim-through opportunities, boulder –hopping and a very pretty little arch at 11m, which is used as the turn around point to bring you back to one of the several exit points at Cirkewwa.

 

Cirkewwa : Right Arch -Location: North Island | Max. depth 18m + | Grade: Open Water +

A pleasant dive which takes you along several reefs to the Arch which is a natural rock formation often attracting huge numbers of barracuda. Several swim-through opportunities are also to be found on this dive.

 

Cirkewwa: Sugar Loaf & Madonna Statue – Location: North Island | Max. depth 18m | Grade: Open Water +

 

An easy reef dive, often one of the first newly qualified divers complete, with some interesting features namely the Madonna Statue which is standing serenely in a little reef recess, and the Sugar Loaf which is a large rock sitting on the sandy sea floor, around which is a lot of marine life for all to see.

 

Delimara Point – Location: East Island | Max. depth 30m+ | Grade: Advanced Open Water +

One of Malta’s less dived sites close to Marsaxlokk consists of an underwater reef that extends in an easterly and southerly direction boasting many excellent reefs, overhangs and depths of over 30m.

 

Exiles & Fortizza – Location: St Julian’s | Max. depth 18m | Grade: All levels

A ‘bad weather’ dive site but still 2 nice little dive sites especially for the less experienced diver. Interesting features include gullies and overhangs, an excellent site in which to practice your navigation skills.

 

Ghar Lapsi – Location: South west Island | Max. depth 25m | Grade: All levels

This location offers several dives for all levels of diver. It has pretty reefs, swim- throughs, a small cave system and an opportunity to meander along keeping an eye out for some attractive marine life on the sand.

 

Ghar Lapsi: The Caves & Finger Reef – Location: South west Island | Max. depth 20m | Grade: Open Water +

Starting off in a sheltered inlet, this dive often provides many divers with their first experience of a shallow cave system. The caves themselves are naturally lit with sunlight penetrating through holes in the cave walls offering a different experience to many divers. Once outside, the dive continues along a reef that points out into the ocean, and eventually brings you back around to the starting point.

 

Ghar Lapsi: The Crib – Location: South west Island | Max. depth 25m | Grade: Open Water +

A longer dive than most, so please consider a larger cylinder! To reach the Crib, you follow a system of reefs which brings you to a Nativity Scene that was placed there by a local dive school as an unusual underwater feature. The reefs are surrounded by grass and sandy bottom, the occasional swim throughs

 

L’Ahrax Point & Cave – Location: North west Island | Max. depth 20m + | Grade: Open Water +

A pleasant but lengthy reef dive takes you parallel and around an outcrop of the coastline to a collapsed cave that can be accessed from underwater bringing you into a unique site in which you can surface and take some fun photos.

 

Qawra Point – Location: Qawra | Max. depth 25m + | Grade: Open Water +

A nice gentle dive off the coastline of Qawra that slopes off to a sandy and grassy bottom – interesting features include a small arch and swim-through and a collapsed cave and inland sea in the shallows.

 

Sirens Harbour – Location: St Paul’s Bay | Max. depth 12m + | Grade: All levels

Primarily used as a training site for try dives and courses, this site can offer a surprisingly good dive if you fancy a quick refresher dip. Abundant in marine life such as cuttlefish, octopus and moray eels, this is a great place to practice your photography and navigation skills.

 

Blue Grotto – Location: Wied iz-Zurrieq | Max. depth 20m + | Grade: Open Water +

One of the most popular dive sites, the Blue Grotto offers many types of dives for all levels of diver – reef dives, a fantastic wreck dive, a cave, and other interesting features.

 

Blue Grotto: The Reefs & Valley – Location: Wied iz-Zurrieq| Max. depth 20m + | Grade: Open Water +

Using the valley as your starting and end point, you have the choice of two fabulous reefs: the East Reef is a good wall dive with depths going to 30m+, clear visibility and much fish life. The West Reef is more of a gentle slope of with rocky outcrops and sea grass, but also offers much marine life. Be mindful of the current direction on these dives (if there is any!)

 

Blue Grotto: The Diver Helmet – Location: Wied iz-Zurrieq| Max. depth 30m | Grade: Advanced Open
Water +

Placed to mark the 50th anniversary of a local diving club, the Dive Helmet doubles as an interesting underwater feature and a marker towards the Um El Faroud wreck. Sitting on a sandy bottom amongst fields of sea grass, it is not far from the entrance of the valley.

 

Blue Grotto: The Bell Cave – Location: Wied iz-Zurrieq| Max. depth 26m + | Grade: Advanced Open
Water +

The Bell Cave is located in the side of the reef going out towards the wreck, entered through a ‘mouse hole’ you will need a torch to see the interior which is covered in sponges and false coral, and also home to the occasional conger eel.

 

Zonqor Point – Location: Marsascala | Max. depth 20m + | Grade: Open Water +

A dive site often visited when there are adverse conditions on the other side of the island, offering plenty of variety including 2 wrecks, pretty reefs and good photo opportunities.