4 Ways to Truly Enjoy Malta While Escaping the Ordinary

With its 300 days of sunny weather, friendly people, and safe community, Malta should easily be considered in any travel junkie’s next vacation destinations. But are you tired of the usual restaurant hopping, food and wine tasting, parties, pilgrimage, and historical visit? Are you looking forward to a one-of-a-kind and unforgettable holiday? If you’re thinking about night dives, knife-edge cliffs, and encounters with barracudas and octopuses, you might like to try one or more of the following adventures:

1. Diving

Being right at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea that’s teeming with marine life, Malta houses one of the world’s protected marine sanctuaries and conservation sites. The most popular diving destination is the Santa Maria caves. But you can also get in touch with Diving Centre Atlantis in Gozo to guide you through the following top-rated dive spots:

• Wreck of HMS Stubborn – This diving site features the British submarine HMS Stubborn, which sank almost upright and still lies intact at the sandy bottom about 4.5 kilometers north of Qawra Point.
• Wreck of Imperial Eagle – Scuttled in July 1999, the Imperial Eagle is an old ferry that settled on a sandy seabed in an almost upright position. 30 meters away from the bow stood a large statue of Jesus Christ with arms wide open as if embracing marine life and protecting their home that is the wrecked ship.
• Ċirkewwa Arch & Reef – There used to be a cavern in this dive site. And when it collapsed, what remains is an arch, the Cirkewwa Arch. The drop off point is at 18 meters, and from there, you’re going to swim through a cave system that’s full of posidonia and algae. Patrolling the reef with you are skipjacks, barracudas, and amberjacks.
• The Blue Hole – One of Malta’s most loved diving spot, the Blue Hole at Dwerja in Gozo. This diving spot is just right below Malta’s most photographed attraction, the Azure Window. You can explore the cavern and see shoals of damselfish, picarel, and amberjacks.

Other notable diving destinations include the Reqqa Reef, P29, and the Inland Sea and Tunnel. Diving is definitely a life-changing experience. Seeing marine life up close can fires up your eagerness to protect their fragile home.

2. Rock Climbing

Aside from its white sand beaches, the Maltese archipelago also has rolling hills, mountains, and cliffs for avid rock climbers. During the summer when the heat is unbearable, there are north-facing cliffs and a few caves to scale, affording you a cooler shade to climb. You can tackle the south-facing crags during the cold season to enjoy the pleasant warmth of the winter sun.

There are about 1000 documented routes to choose from. You can opt for inland valley crags to see the glacier cut formations. Or you may also opt to scale coastal cliffs to enjoy a spectacular bird’s eye view of the sea and the horizon.

3. Trial Flight

If underwater adventure and rock climbing isn’t your thing, perhaps a trial flight can pique your interest. Malta has a School of Flying that also offers a service that allows people to fly with one of their professional instructors. You can choose to fly aboard either in the 4-seater Cessna 192 aircraft or the Tecnam P92JS 2-seater aircraft.

Here’s the good news! You can actually buy a gift voucher. The flight can be scheduled anytime after the voucher is purchased, and it will expire in one year. During the flight, you can tag along up to two people and give each of them a chance to fly the craft.

4. Swimming with the Dolphins

With a permanent grin etched on their faces, dolphins are such loveable creatures. Like humans, they are also mammals and are reputable for their intelligence that far surpasses other animals. If one of your travel goals is to swim along with them, come to Malta and tick that item off your list. At Mediterraneo Marine Park, you can swim with these loveable creatures for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. The park also houses other animals like iguanas, parrots, sea lions, and pelicans.

Have you been dreaming of a kind of holiday that’s one-of-a-kind? If you have, visit Malta and experience one, two, or all of the activities featured above. Contact your travel service providers, such as Diving Centre Atlantis in Gozo and Mediterraneo Marine Park, ahead of time to ask for promos and seasonal discounts, allowing you to save and have more pocket money for your trip.