St Pauls Bay - Diving Holiday Destination

St Pauls Bay (Malta)

Malta is very much a southern Mediterranean island with palms, prickly pears and flat roofs and domed churches and most important, the sun and the deep blue sea. Malta is famous for the friendliness and helpfulness of its people; the freedom to walk out at night or let your kids play by day and feel safe; it's lazy "Why worry?" atmosphere; the medieval city of Mdina; the Grand Harbour of Valletta, and its diving.

Megaliths, medieval dungeons and Calypso's Cave - Malta is positively mythic. The narrow cobblestone streets of its towns are crowded with Renaissance cathedrals and Baroque palaces, while its countryside is dotted with the oldest-known human structures in the world.

The Island is large enough to offer a sheltered side when the wind blows but small enough to allow a drive to any dive site within 30 minutes. With a huge variety of dive sites just a stones throw away from each other, you will be able to explore a variety of underwater worlds.

Climate

Malta has a typical Mediterranean climate. ie the summers are hot, dry, and very sunny whilst the winters are mild and a little rainy. During May to October temperatures average around 32°C (90F) with around 10-11 hours of sunshine average per day. Between November and April temperatures average around 14°C (57F) but still with an average of 6.5 hours of sunshine each day. Annual rainfall in malta is low, averaging 578mm a year, and during the summer months there can be very long dry spells without a drop of rain. Swimming is possible all year round with the sea temperature rarely dropping below 15°C (59F) and reaching as high as 26°C (79F).

Dive Facts

Underwater visibility of 30 metres is not uncommon in the Spring months. Sea temperatures average around 24ºC in the summer and around 15ºC in the coldest period of January to March, so divers can enjoy the delights of Malta and Gozo the whole year round.

Dive Attractions

Diving in Malta is easy. At most sites you can drive virtually to the waters’ edge, kit up and jump into the clear, warm, azure sea. The bottom shelves down in steps to reach 25 to 30 metres within a 5 minute swim, offering a choice of diving depths to suit each level of ability. The rock has been eroded to produce caves, caverns, overhangs, swim-throughs and the most spectacular scenery. There are no tides and few currents so you can throw away your tide tables and dive when you feel like it.

The combination of sheer cliffs, cave, wrecks, shelves and sandy and rocky sea beds, means there is a large variety of fauna and flora to see in the Maltese waters. It would be too difficult to list them all. Wrecks, as artificial reef habitats, have provided a home for a greater number of species in recent years and make excellent dive sites.

There are many dive sites in Malta and the best dive sites are the Rozi wreck dive and the Marfa Reef Dive. The largest wreck is the recently sunk, 105 metres "El Faroud", lying in 35 metres at Weid-iz Zurrieq (Blue Grotto).

See more detail about Malta Scuba Diving Sites in our Dive Site Directory, and search our Dive Club Directory for Malta Scuba Diving Clubs and Tour Operators.. both in the Dive Guide.

Other

Currency: Euro.

The official languages are Maltese and English. Maltese is a language of Semitic origin written in the Latin script. Over the centuries, it has incorporated many words derived from English, Italian and French. Italian is also widely spoken.

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