My visit to weird + wonderful M A L T A (+ diving in Europe!)
Malta has been a country that’s been on my radar for awhile and when a spontaneous trip took me to London (which i literally just blogged about in December so you can go ahead and read that one) to stay with my bestie Carmen, I knew I wanted to go visit somewhere else while I was there (every trip to Europe turns into a full-on Euro-trip doesn’t it)
Some signs fell into place and they all pointed to Malta — my friend Hannah was going, I got assigned an article on Malta, I could go diving !!! — so off I went for a 4-day trip!
Straight out the gate, my first evening, my expectations were exceeded.
First of all, I’ve never been somewhere like that. Malta is made up of various cultures with a heavy influence of Italy (Sicily is a 90-min boat ride away!) and Arab, where all the buildings are… beige. It felt different, but there is so much that felt like the comforts and charm of the Europe I’m familiar with — the quaint old town, narrow streets, rocky swimming areas with ladders leading into the sea, the twinkling Mediterranean blues, the outdoor dining and beautiful, grand architecture.
I first went into Sliema to check out my diving options — this part of town was underwhelming to me, but it was also SSOOO hot and I insisted on walking the 40 minutes to get there so was sweating through my clothes (the busses ran right by my Airbnb at Kullegg stop and ran like every minute but I quite often rebel against public transit).
But when I really became enamoured with Malta was my evening walk, in the other direction, into Valletta.
Valletta. Is. So. Cool.
Past the marina, up through the walls into the fortress, past the gardens where the cicadas are roaring, it just had kind of an eerie feel but an exciting feel of a place I’d never been before. I mean i’ve never watched Game of Thrones but it was filmed there so maybe those vibes??
I walked around, asked a friendly stranger to realize that I was on the lower waterfront but the town centre, with all the action and restaurants is actually UP a level — there is a lift you can take for 1 euro, but I opted for the stairs, and found myself in the Upper Barranka Gardens.
Just a dream. Framed by arches, looking out into the Grand Harbour and the old walled city that weaves around the water, the fountains, trees, cannons, views, everything was very romantic and dreamy. It was a little overwhelming! That place is definitely a vibe, and I would recommend for anyone’s first evening in Malta — it makes quite a first impression :)
Now into the highlight of my trip — the diving!!
Keep in mind I am going to be in Galapagos with my Adventurelust crew VERY SOON and diving (actually even snorkelling) in Galapagos will literally ruin you for anywhere else.
No hammies in malta, but Malta offers a different type of dive appeal.
Ok first of all, just diving in general is the best. It’s always an epic day. Your dive crew is fun, dive people are cool, you get to meet new people with a shared interest and chat about where else you’ve dived, it makes for an epic day out, no matter what. I’ve had maybe 2 dive days that I haven’t been like oh this is the best day of my life. It’s just something fun to do, especially as a solo traveller. You always see SOMETHING cool, you get to explore the underwater world which is such a trip because like 70% of the oceans are still a mystery?? And they’re all connected, like ANYTHING could come up! We get to explore a part of the world that so many people don’t get to see.
Best of all, diving is so meditative, you get to go off the grid for a day, go underwater and not have to speak to anyone for like 50 minutes, it brings a lot of perspective and is so peaceful. I am truly SO grateful to have diving in my life.
Malta is known for its shipwrecks and rock formations.
My first dive day was with Watercolours, we did the P31 shipwreck dive, which was pretty cool — shipwrecks aren’t my fave (I’m in it for the marine life!) but I was still pleasantly surprised, it was fun to explore in and around the ship, I love playing with my buoyancy and squeezing through narrow areas, claustrophobia is not an issue over here. Second dive was in a random cave in the Blue Lagoon (which was cool to see especially with not having to actually go there, cause those kind of crowded tourist attractions are kinda my nightmare lol) — this dive was super cool, with some tunnels, steep drops, and a cave we actually ascended to the surface in.
But the real dive attraction of Malta is the Blue Hole, located in Gozo, which is a separate island about a 45 minute ferry from Valletta. I was staying on the main island of Malta so didn’t think I was going to be able to check the Blue Hole off my bucket list, but the stars aligned for me and I was able to confirm a last-minute collaboration with St Andrew’s Divers Cove, which turned out to be hands-down the highlight of my trip!!
The plan was last-minute and a bit of a stretch but I was so in — 6:00 AM starts are kinda my forté. They arranged for me to get picked up at the ferry, we drove across Gozo to St Andrew’s dive shop which is on Xlendi Bay. The shop is ideally located, organized yet easygoing, and I had such an awesome experience, I would definitely recommend them to anyone going to Malta!!
I have to give a major shout out to my dive guide, Antonio, who on his off-season is an alpaca farmer in Ireland LOL, as one does. We just had such a flouncy day.
The first dive in Xlendi Bay was chill and relaxing, we saw some cool creatures like an octopus and some sorta grass fish (it looked exactly like the sea grass but it was, well, alive). The coolest part for me here was walking in (usually I roll or jump of the boat) from this bay which is in the little cliffside village, descending below all the boats and overwater world action, and then when we resurfaced, we saw all the locals going about their day in the scorching Mediterranean sun — jumping off cliffs into the water (I swear the Maltese are daredevils), floating on noodles chatting to friends, taking their boats out, just out for a refreshing dip. It felt so Euro but I… was diving!! (This was my first place in Europe where I’ve gone diving). Just felt cool to re-surface amidst of those Euro summer vibes.
Our second dive was the Blue Hole and that… WAS EPIC. Ahhhh!! The rock formations there are so cool, there is a little tunnel, a pitch black cave, bright blue water with light beams shining through, it was just super diverse and I loved it. :):) Wish i had my GoPro!!!
Before our dive we went up to take a look at the Blue Hole from above, then had burgers for lunch, kitted up, and you have to walk like 400 metres across quite a treacherous rocky area WITH ALL YOUR GEAR (so heavy I almost collapsed) — but then you get to blissfully submerse into the water and all is well.
After our dive day we went to this glorious restaurant with an epic terrace, views for days, lounge chairs on the cliff and swimming area in the lagoon: Ta' Cenc Il-Kantra Lido. It was just so cool. A bit tricky to get there by bus and I think like a 40 euro taxi from the Mgarr ferry terminal but if you have a ride or access to car, DEFS go!! Finished off with sundowners overlooking the harbour at Gleneagles and I took a late ferry back, it was just a perfect day on Gozo :):) so grateful!
Some other spots to visit in Malta:
Visit Marsaxlokk, a very quaint little fishing village, enjoy some seafood and aperol spritz along the promenade. Got super magical at golden hour!!
From there, take a ferry (5 euro per person per way, 30 minute boat ride) to St Peter’s Pool.. this place is wild. Locals HURLING themselves off the cliff into the water, they are so outrageous, it’s quite a buzzing spot and worth a visit, but I kinda preferred the rocks and cliffs closer to where the ferry drops you off: crowds aren’t my thing!
DEFINITELY visit Mdina, the old capital off Malta built up on a hill, oh my god this place is gorgeous. The old town through the Mdina gates is the most Instagrammable place on the island, I was losing it at the beautiful little corners and flowers and alleys and doorways, so many photo opps (check out this reel I made!). it was so charming, felt like a step back in time, and it was ssosoooo magical at golden hour!
tell me this isn’t the most calming picture you’ve seen.
More tips:
like I said, the bus system is quite good in Malta, busses come very frequently (or at least where we were staying, running into Valletta)
With the busses, your tickets are valid for like 2 hours so don’t make the mistake we did at the beginning and buy a new ticket every fricken time. Busses are 2 euros and you can tap your card/Apple Pay
I struggled with the food here ngl, but not sure I really tried that hard. I got the same takeout pizza from the Valletta bus terminal 3 times and was disgusted every time, but I didn’t have an appetite for anything else. We did have one good pasta meal at XX in town. I was feeling so unhealthy, finally found eetwell by my airbnb which has a few locations and that is a good healthy go-to!
Overall I was a wee bit.. confused with the culture/vibe in Malta. Like are people friendly? Angry? Creepy? (SORRY TO GENERALIZE!!) But again, I didn’t really immerse myself that much, I was mostly underwater and just wanted to have a very chill, antisocial trip lol. I was confused at what the cultural identity was of the country, like there are influences of Italy, Arab, French, but things felt a bit mismatched to me. There are also a bunch of random things where you’re like wait this doesn’t quiiitte add up? okay i’m making no sense but if you’ve been maybe you get me lol.
Overall, so grateful for this little trip and am soso glad I got the chance to visit Malta!! Would recommend it to pretty much everyone, especially to experience European diving, somewhere a bit off the radar but with the European charm we love. Hope I’ll go back someday :)