Going to Malta

Posted on March 10, 2024  •  8 minutes  • 1625 words

DIVE SITES

The numbers in the map are presented in the text below.

Intro

We are going to Malta again over the Easter holidays and spend 9 days on the lovely island. This is our suggestion for a diving plan during this trip. We will have Dawn Diving to be our dive guides. They are very nice and helpful people, and I strongly recommend them. They also charge fair prices for the dives, whether with nitrox or not.

The text is based on a great book titled “Scuba diving Malta Gozo Comino” by Peter G. Lemon. Also from the diving site MaltaDives.com

1 GHAR LAPSI

Finger Reef and Cave

Ghar Lapsi is a popular spot for scuba divers because of the long, shallow and bright cave system. The cave has many openings and cracks that let in a lot of light, making it a stunning dive during the day when the sunlight shines on the corals. Ghar Lapsi cave is full of colour and ideal for underwater photography. The entrance to Ghar Lapsi cave system is in front of the entry/exit point within the cove at a depth of about x meters. The underwater cave system has several exits to the open sea. The maximum depth in the cave is about 8 meters on the sea side. The cave system is fairly long but easy to navigate in daylight. The cave is rather flat and wide, and is best suited for divers with good buoyancy control and full suit to avoid scratches. Inside the cave there is also a tunnel leading to a small air pocket.

2 CIRKEWWA

Tug Boat Rozi

Tug Boat Rozi (20-34mtrs) is one of the two wrecks in Cirkewwa on the northwest side of Malta, and one of the most popular dive sites in the Maltese islands. Rozi used to be a tugboat that worked in Grand Harbour of Valletta. In 1992, she was sunk as a tourist attraction for submarine tours, and also became a man-made reef for scuba divers. You can dive to Tugboat Rozi wreck from the shore. The wreck is about 35 m long and sits upright on a sandy bottom, with her mast starting at 20 m and most of the wreck between 30 and 34 m of water. She is around 130 m from the closest entry point, her back end near the reef and front end facing the open sea. The wreck is still whole, except for its engine and the propeller which were taken out before sinking. Rozi offers an outstanding wreck dive with various penetration possibilities.

Patrol Boat P29

One of the two wrecks in Cirkewwa and one of the most popular dive sites in Malta is Patrol Boat P29 (Boltenhagen) (20-34m). P29 used to be a patrol boat for the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta. She was deliberately sunk in 2007 to create a scuba diving attraction and artificial reef. Before sinking the wreck, it was made safe for the environment and for divers. P29 wreck is 52 m long, and lies upright at a depth of 34 m, with the shallowest part at only 12 m from the surface. Many areas are accessible for the experienced divers to explore and enter the wreck. For divers who do not want to go inside P29, there is a lot of marine life to see while exploring the outside.

Paradise Bay

Paradise Bay (10-30m) is a reef dive site in Cirkewwa. Paradise Bay reef has a lot of different underwater landscapes for divers - many curious rock shapes, big boulder areas, sandy floors and sea grass as well as slopes of various depths, swim-throughs and a natural rock arch called Left Arch or White Arch, while the more well-known Arch in Cirkewwa is also called Right Arch or Green Arch mentioned above.

Anchor Bay

Anchor Bay (6-12M) is a well-liked shore dive site near Mellieha on the northwest coast of Malta. Anchor Bay is a small cove between two cliffs, famous for the film set village built for Popeye movie; the whole bay is sometimes called Popeye Village after the theme park. Shore dive sites in Anchor Bay include a big anchor, a lovely cave, a diverse reef, and a shallow training area. The depth in the bay does not exceed 12 metres; this easy dive site is suitable for all levels of divers. Anchor Bay is good for try dives and training dives, for the second dive of the day, and for night diving. The bay is also a popular place for swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing. The cave in Anchor Bay, also known as Scorpion Cave, is a large cavern with a wide entrance and an airpocket. The cave is accessible to even the less experienced divers.

3 WIED IZ ZURRIEQ

(Zurrieq Valley) Beginner Diver (5-30++m) is a small village located on the south coast of Malta, near the town of Zurrieq. It attracts many tourists who visit the Blue Grotto caves, and many scuba divers who explore Um El Faroud wreck, a 110-metres long Libyan oil tanker that was sunk in September 1998 for diving purposes and rests on sand with a maximum depth of 36 m. Other diving sites in Wied iz-Zurrieq are East Reef, a wall that goes beyond 30 m, and West Reef & Caves, which features drop-offs, ledges, gullies, boulders and two caves, along with sea grass and sandy areas, and a diving helmet statue that is on the way to Um El Faroud wreck. Wied iz-Zurrieq is also a great spot for night diving.

More about Um El Faroud

Wied iz-Zurrieq - Um El Faroud (20-36m) is the best wreck dive in Malta for recreational divers. Um El Faroud was an oil tanker that belonged to Libya and was deliberately sunk off the shore of Wied iz-Zurrieq in 1998 as an artificial reef and a diving attraction. The wreck of the tanker sits upright on a sandy bottom at the depths of 15 m (funnel) to 36 m (propeller). Um El Faroud measures 110 m in length and about 16 m in width. The wreck split in two parts during a severe storm in winter 2005-2006. Um El Faroud wreck is parallel to the West Reef, with her stern nearer to the valley and starboard side facing the reef. The tanker was made ready for diving before sinking by removing all doors and windows and cutting holes for divers to enter and exit. Um El Faroud offers many opportunities for penetration for skilled wreck divers.

4 EXILES ST JULIANS POINT

Sliema, Tugboat 2

Tugboat 2 Belongs to Sliema Malta and has shifted from the sand to the reef. The rough seas have pushed Tugboat 2 about 40 metres away from the sand onto the edge of the reef, where she remains upright and whole. She is now resting about 30 metres East along the reef from Heart Rock at 20m, see photo. The Mini Car Rock, see photo, is roughly in the middle, just follow the edge of the reef where it touches the sand, a bearing of 60 to 90 degrees.

5 GOZO

Dwerja, Blue Hole

Blue Hole in Dwerja is perhaps the most well-known scuba dive site in Malta, and one of the most stunning dives of the Maltese Islands. This is also a good place for swimming, snorkeling, and freediving. Blue Hole is a circular rock formation, a hole in the limestone, about ten metres wide and five metres across. The hole is a sheltered pool since it is enclosed by a ring of rock, and divers can easily enter and exit the sea. Blue Hole is often dived in the afternoon when winds increase and other dive sites become less and less accessible. The depth in Blue Hole is about 15 m. A archway or underwater window connects the hole to the open sea at around 9 m deep. The walls of the hole are full of colourful coral tubeworms, sponges and other small marine life. Outside there are many large boulders. On the opposite side to the window there is a big cave.

Mgarr, MV Karwela

MV Karwela is one of the three wrecks that divers can visit at Xatt l-Ahmar on the south-east coast of Gozo. Karwela used to be a passenger ferry for Captain Morgan Cruises around the Grand Harbour. She was sunk in August 2006 along with MV Cominoland to create an artificial reef for divers. The third wreck, MV Xlendi, was sunk earlier in 1999. Karwela wreck is about 50 m long and stands upright on a sandy bottom with a maximum depth of around 40 m. Her bow is at 39 m deep, while her stern is at 41 m. The top deck with the captains cabin begins at 30 m deep. The wreck is safe to enter because there are several openings made before sinking, and there is a lot to see on its three decks. Large holes were cut on the sides of the first two decks, and there is a picturesque staircase in the middle of the wreck that leads to the lower deck, which is illuminated by portholes. There is a little bit of silt and sand inside. Karwela’s bow is about 80 m south from the shore entry point and about 40 m from the drop-off. She is the middle one of the three wrecks at Xatt l-Ahmar, between Cominoland which is about 60 m east, and Xlendi which is about 60 m west of Karwela. All the wrecks are usually reached from the shore, but they can also be done by boat. Karwela is probably the most popular wreck in Gozo, as she is more interesting than upside-down Xlendi, and closer to shore and bigger than Cominoland.