Malta Diving: 10 Best Dive Sites in Malta, Gozo & Comino

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Few destinations combine history, dramatic underwater landscapes, and easy access quite like Malta diving. Set in the heart of the Mediterranean, Malta, Gozo, and Comino draw you into crystal-clear water where limestone arches, caves, and wrecks gradually appear beneath the surface. Many sites can be reached straight from shore, taking you from a sheltered entry into an impressive underwater landscape within minutes.

Return to the islands, and another wreck, cave, or rocky formation is waiting to be explored. In summer, water temperatures reach around 28°C (82°F), visibility often stretches beyond 30 meters (100 feet), and SSI Training Centers across the islands make planning your dives straightforward.

Why Malta Diving Packs So Much Into One Trip

The real strength of Malta diving is how much variety fits into such a small area. A short drive or boat ride can take you from a reef edge to a limestone arch, dark cave entrance, artificial reef, or historic wreck.

Many Malta dive sites begin right from shore, saving transfer time and costs. Good roads, reliable infrastructure, and SSI Training Centers make planning easy, with centuries of island history waiting above the water once the gear comes off.

From late spring through fall, conditions are often calm. Water temperatures range from around 15°C (59°F) in winter to 28°C (82°F) in late summer. Visibility can reach 20–40 meters (66–131 feet), with wrecks sometimes appearing in the blue long before you reach them.

1. Blue Hole Gozo

No Malta diving list feels complete without Blue Hole Gozo near Dwejra. You enter a limestone pool, then the rock opens into a broad underwater arch with the Mediterranean glowing blue beyond it.

Depths range from around 5 meters to over 35 meters (16–115 feet). A cave, chimney, and swim-throughs cut through the rocky landscape, with groupers near the reef, octopuses tucked into crevices, and barracuda or nudibranchs appearing along the way. The site is rated for advanced divers, and when swell picks up, the limestone entry and exit can become much harder to manage.

Love rock and blue light? Read 10 Unforgettable Cave Dives You Should Know About to see how cave environments change a dive.

2. Um El Faroud Wreck

The Um El Faroud is a highlight of scuba diving in Malta for wreck enthusiasts. This 110-meter (361-foot) oil tanker was intentionally sunk in 1998 after being damaged beyond repair.

Resting between 18 and 36 meters (59–118 feet), the wreck has become an artificial reef, with marine growth spreading across the steel and schools of amberjacks, bream, and barracuda sweeping around the structure. Experienced divers can explore many of its open sections, with good buoyancy keeping fins clear of sediment. SSI Wreck Diving prepares divers for non-penetration wreck dives to 30 meters (100 feet).

3. Inland Sea, Gozo

At the Inland Sea on Gozo, Malta diving starts in a quiet, sheltered lagoon. You slip into an approximately 80-meter (262-foot) tunnel, with dark limestone around you and a bright blue opening drawing you toward the Mediterranean.

The tunnel is filled with beautiful light effects as daylight flickers across the rock. Outside, sponges and sea fans cling to the stone beside drop-offs that fade into deeper blue. Depths typically range from 5 to 30 meters (16–98 feet), making this a memorable dive for many certification levels when conditions are favorable.

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4. HMS Maori

Just outside Valletta's harbor, wartime history waits beneath the surface at HMS Maori, a British destroyer resting in shallow water.

At about 12–16 meters (39–52 feet), the wreck is shallow enough for newer certified divers, but there is plenty worth slowing down for. Damselfish flicker around the structure, octopuses hide between the remains, and scorpionfish and colorful nudibranchs appear when you look closer. Easy shore access makes HMS Maori a popular first wreck dive in Malta.

5. Cathedral Cave, Gozo

Cathedral Cave shows another side of Malta diving, pairing dramatic scenery with the kind of underwater light photographers wait for.

You pass through a submerged opening and rise into a huge air-filled chamber, where sunlight spills across the rock in blue reflections. The entrance begins around 5 meters (16 feet), and outside the cave the walls drop beyond recreational depths as open water glows blue beyond.

6. MV Karwela

Few Gozo wreck dives are as recognizable as the MV Karwela. Scuttled near Xatt l-Ahmar, the ferry rests upright at around 40 meters (131 feet), with the upper decks starting near 30 meters (98 feet).

As the wreck takes shape in the blue, its famous grand staircase becomes the image divers remember. Dropping through the heart of the ferry, it has become a favorite underwater photo subject across Europe. At this depth, the Karwela is best suited to experienced divers with the appropriate training.

7. Cirkewwa Marine Park

Cirkewwa gives you several Malta diving routes from a single shore entry. You can follow a reef, head toward a small cave or underwater statue, or set a course for the P29 patrol boat.

Depths range from about 5 meters (16 feet) to more than 35 meters (115 feet). In the clear water, barracuda may pass in the blue, morays watch from rocky crevices, and octopuses, cuttlefish, and schools of bream keep the reef lively.

8. P31 Patrol Boat

Before the P31 was deliberately sunk off Comino in 2009, it served as an East German minesweeper and later as a patrol boat for the Armed Forces of Malta.

Today, the wreck rests upright on sand at around 20 meters (66 feet), with the upper structure rising into shallower water. Large openings reveal glimpses of the interior, but entering the wreck should match your training and local guidance. The relatively shallow depth allows generous bottom time to explore the colorful marine growth spreading across the wreck year after year.

Planning a Malta trip? Read How To Plan Stress-Free International Dive Trips for practical travel tips and review DiveAssure dive and travel insurance through SSI's partner link before you travel.

9. Santa Maria Caves, Comino

Along Comino's coast, Santa Maria Caves show a brighter side of Malta diving, with clear water and sunlight reaching deep into the limestone.

As you move through caverns, arches, tunnels, and narrower passages, the route keeps changing. Depths range from 6 to 20 meters (20–66 feet), making the site suitable for many certified divers when the route matches their training. Sunlight streams through the openings, turning the water vivid blue and creating the kind of scene photographers come here for.

10. Reqqa Point, Gozo

Reqqa Point is a standout advanced shore dive on Gozo, where the wall drops sharply and the depth feels immediate.

You descend beside overhangs, caves, and deep fissures as the wall falls beyond recreational limits. Recreational profiles often stay between 20 and 40 meters (66–131 feet), with technical divers continuing deeper. Watch the open blue for passing eagle rays, then scan the wall for groupers, morays, and barracuda.

Malta Diving: Conditions, Water Temperature and Visibility

On a calm day, Malta diving can feel almost limitless. Summer water reaches 24–28°C (75–82°F), spring and autumn 18–24°C (64–75°F), and winter drops to around 15°C (59°F), when thicker exposure protection makes longer dives more comfortable.

After settled weather, visibility often stretches beyond 30 meters (100 feet), with walls, arches, and wrecks appearing far ahead in the blue. Currents are mild at many sites, although wind and swell can quickly change conditions at exposed entries. SSI Professionals choose dive sites around those conditions.

Malta Diving: Infrastructure and Shore Access

Malta makes dive days refreshingly easy to organize. SSI Training Centers offer rental gear, guided shore dives, boat trips, and training for different levels, leaving more time for diving and less time sorting logistics.

Good road access keeps transfers short, and many major Malta dive sites start right from shore. That means less time waiting for boats, more flexibility when conditions change, and more chances to fit another dive into the day.

Planning scuba diving in Malta? Use the SSI Center Locator to find SSI Professionals, then explore Scubago's Malta page to compare dive centers, sites, courses, and activities before your trip.

Best Time to Dive in Malta

Malta diving is possible year-round, but conditions are usually best from May to October. July through September brings the warmest water at around 28°C (82°F), making long dive days especially comfortable. May, June, October, and early November often combine good visibility with fewer crowds. Winter still offers rewarding diving for those comfortable with cooler water.

Malta Diving by Experience Level

Malta has a dive for every experience level. Beginners can start with sheltered reefs, shallow entries, and HMS Maori, where clear water and easy access keep the first dives relaxed. Advanced divers can move on to the Blue Hole and Inland Sea, where arches, tunnels, and deeper walls make the scenery more dramatic. Experienced divers can head for MV Karwela, Reqqa Point, and Malta's technical sites.

SSI Courses for Malta Diving

If Malta is your first diving vacation, SSI Open Water Diver gives you the skills to explore sheltered reefs and shore dives to 18 meters (60 feet). Perfect Buoyancy helps you maintain good trim beside walls and wrecks, and Diver Stress & Rescueprepares you to respond when a dive becomes more demanding. If Malta's wrecks are calling, SSI Wreck Diving prepares you for non-penetration wreck dives to 30 meters (100 feet).

If deeper walls, wrecks, or new dive experiences have caught your attention, SSI Advanced Open Water Diver introduces you to Deep Diving and Navigation plus three more specialty areas of your choice. Use the SSI Center Locator to find an SSI Professional and match your training to the Malta dive sites you want to explore.

Ready to plan your Malta diving trip? Choose sites that match your certification, check conditions with an SSI Professional, and build your trip around the dives you want to experience.

Dive Deeper

• SSI Wreck Diving – Build the skills and confidence to explore non-penetration wreck dives to 30 meters (100 feet) and get more from Malta's famous wreck sites.
• The Best Dive Sites in Malta's Wreck-filled Waters – Discover more of Malta's wrecks, their history, and the dive sites worth adding to your itinerary.
• SSI Center Locator – Find an SSI Professional in Malta who can help you choose dive sites, training, and local conditions that fit your experience and trip plans.