In partnership with Visit Malta
Adventures on land, on sea and on the rocks await on the Maltese Islands, an English-speaking archipelago with over 7,000 years of history. Here’s how to make the most of Malta on an active holiday.
With its central, sun-soaked location smack-dab in the middle of the Mediterranean and its excellent flight connections, Malta is ideal for travellers seeking adventure, ancient culture and mouth-watering gastronomy. Its small landmass of 316kmsq – made up of the three islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino – is blessed with 300 days of sunshine per year, so you’re all but guaranteed perfect weather during your stay.
Diving and snorkelling
Malta has been voted among the top three diving destinations in the world by Diver magazine for the past five years – for good reason. The archipelago’s swashbuckling history of 18th-century piracy and maritime feuds has left an abundance of shipwrecks beneath the crystalline sea, which sets the scene for amazing diving spots.
Most popular is perhaps the Blue Hole, on the island of Gozo, which is a deep azure sinkhole surrounded by limestone rock. An underwater archway leads into the open sea, where you’re greeted by bright orange parrot fish, octopus and triggerfish. Lucky divers might even see turtles, dolphins, sharks and moonfish.
For snorkelling, the remote bay of Baħrija is a little-known gem. In the wildest part of Malta, the pebble beach is at the foot of a steep, slippery track – but once you’re there, the crystal-clear rock pools are perfect for exploring with a snorkel and a pair of flippers.
Hiking
Malta’s diverse terrain of craggy cliffs, lush wildflower-filled valleys and biscuit-crumb coves make it one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful walking destinations. Prehistoric sites, crumbling palaces and cool, dark caves dot the walking trails as you go, flanked by flocks of sheep being herded through the meadows.
Malta’s highest sea cliffs, the Dingli Cliffs, offer views of the island’s windswept west coast from 200m above sea level and a fantastic walking route for anyone without vertigo. Along the trail, you’ll pass the 17th-century chapel of St Mary Magdalene and many craggy rock formations. Stop off at restaurant and nature centre, The Cliffs, to refuel.
Then there’s the Park tal-Majjistral nature reserve near Golden Bay, where you can take guided sunset walks past wild sea cliffs and golden-glowing limestone boulders. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Sicily – 56 miles to the north.
Climbing
Rock climbing in Malta was kickstarted by the British RAF during the 1960s, and was largely developed since the early 2000s by one man – Andrew Warrington, the founder of MC Adventure. The islands of Malta and Gozo have almost 1,500 designated climbing crags in 30 different areas – 70 per cent of which are on Malta. They’re generally quiet, proving to be more popular with visitors than locals, and the sunny, dry climate provides perfect conditions for a climb or boulder.
The routes range from beginner to expert, so whatever your level you can test your mettle on steep cliffs looming over the crashing sea, or clinging to the roof of coastal caves. Warm up on the via ferrata across the Valley of Honey – an all-ages route of ladders, cables and rock faces.
Then, head to the southern coast of Gozo, where you’ll find many of the best climbing crags around the Munxar-Xlendi Valley and Mġarr ix-Xini bay.
Horse riding
Set your sights on the northeastern coast of Malta for the best horse riding trails, which are clustered around the laid-back village of Mellieha, the Buskett woodlands and the rural hamlet of Bidnija.
One of the most popular riding spots is at Golden Bay, where sunset views provide a romantic backdrop to sandy hacks along the beach and on rocky trails past golden cliffs. There are options suitable for complete beginners, as well as experienced riders keen to get back in the saddle.
Cycling
Both Malta and Gozo are relatively small, so one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to explore them is by bike. In recent years, more than 620 miles of new cycle routes have been introduced by the authorities across the Maltese islands, and anyone keen to cycle there will be rewarded with country trails, picturesque rural village streets, vast ocean views and myriad stop-off points for local lunches.
Kickstart your cycling holiday on a ride along the so-called Great Wall of Malta, a high-altitude series of fortifications that spans the width of the island. Then, go off-roading in Tarxien, southeast Malta – where UNESCO-protected, ancient temples are dotted among lush, green valleys.
More experienced cyclists will be tempted to test their thigh muscles in Mellieha, a hilltop village that overlooks Malta’s largest sandy beach. Push through the tough, uphill climb to be rewarded with sweeping coastal views.
Kayaking
Malta’s rocky shoreline, adorned with pebbly coves, soaring cliffs and hidden caves, is perhaps best explored by sea kayak. Set off from the beautifully sandy Hondoq Bay and paddle between beaches and craggy rockfaces along the coastline of Gozo, which is a kayaker’s paradise of wind-eroded rock formations and secret sea caves.
If sea kayaking feels a bit too intrepid, you can head to Gozo’s sheltered Inland Sea – a lagoon that’s protected from the open sea by cliffs and a 100m tunnel that runs through the headland of Dwejra Point. You’ll be sharing space with fishermen’s vessels and tourist boats, which pass the remains of the Azure Window – a collapsed natural arch that was traditionally one of Malta’s most famous natural attractions.
If you make it to the archipelago’s smallest inhabited island, Comino, you can kayak (or swim, or snorkel) in the Blue Lagoon – a small lagoon of shallow, warm, turquoise sea. You can even kayak there from Gozo or Malta, gliding above sparkling shoals of fish and seeing the islands’ coastlines anew.
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