We would like to welcome you to our PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Center. Buddies is the premier centre for scuba diving in Malta, Gozo and Comino.

Buddies is a family run dive school & shop on the northern coast of Malta, with the islands of Gozo and Comino just minutes away by boat. Together with our team of highly qualified Padi Instructors we pride ourselves in giving you our personal attention to ensure that your scuba diving Malta experience is a total success.

Whether you are interested in a Discover Scuba Diving session, joining one of our Padi Open Water Diver courses or becoming a Padi Open Water Scuba Instructor, you are assured that we will meet your expectations while maintaining the highest possible standards of diver safety and education.

If you just want to dive the jewel of the Mediterranean on your vacation in Malta, we run daily boat and shore dives around the three islands. While we are taking care of all the logistics, you can go ahead and enjoy wrecks, caverns, reefs and the spectacular underwater landscape that the Maltese islands are famous for. For the more Technical-Diving minded, we offer internationally recognised tek diver training and Nitrox / Trimix facilities.

Check out our scuba diving in Malta special offers page for escorted diving & course prices for Summer 2007 and contact us


Until we meet underwater,

Buddies Dive Cove - the premier centre for scuba diving in Malta.
24/2, Pioneer Road, Bugibba SPB03 - Malta
Tel: (+356) 2157 6266 Fax: (+356) 2157 1042 Mobile: (+356) 9947 8975
Email: dive@buddiesmalta.com

Powered by Endeavour IBS

Malta's best diving club, situated at Bugibba, Malta's premier dive site. Easy access to Gozo, Comino. Whether you are a complete beginner or an expert diver, we can supply the diving program you need. Offering diving courses from beginner level to professional and guided dives for every level of scuba diving experience. As a PADI Resort we can provide a wide range of PADI courses and specialties.  We offer accompanied diving and gear hire facilities, providing everything you need from an air fill to the sale of a drysuit, - 7 days a week, all year round. (During the winter season just give one day’s notice of your requirements.)   Our aim is to make your scuba diving holiday in Malta memorable for all the right reasons! Scuba diving in Malta is easy.  The lack of tides and currents combined  with exceptional underwater visibility and warm water make for ideal conditions.  Whatever your level of experience you will find top quality dive sites in Malta.Scuba diving equipment is cheaper in Malta.  Masks, snorkels and fins are typically one third less than the identical items in UK dive shops.  So if you are about to buy diving equipment, wait until you get here.  Our instructors are happy to advise you on your purchases.  If we don't have what you are looking for just ask, and we will endeavour to get it within 24 hours for you.

We are the best diving club with a lot of returning Clients.Our Instructors will talk to you in YOUR language.We will meet all your needs with traditional Maltese warmth and hospitality.Dive with Buddies,and get your pleasant memories of safety,smoothness and lots of fun!!

Reviews:

"From the moment I first dived the Blue Hole, Azure Window and Inland Sea in 1980, I had also marvelled at the diving sites of Malta's neighbouring island, Gozo. Many thousands of dives later, I still find them as good.

In Malta a dive is of exceptional quality - at 20, 30, 40m, every ripple could be spotted on the surface, and underwater life went on. Octopuses scurried over the reef. Morays with their ever-opening and closing jaws eyed us with suspicion, and grouper floated motionless, always about 4m away, and considered us with shy inquisitiveness.

As shoals of damselfish moved to and fro in an hypnotic dance around us, I was moved to a state close to drunken euphoria. Then, in seconds, all life was gone. Too soon, the dive was over. It seemed as if only a few minutes had elapsed since we had left the confines of the Blue Hole, but my computer indicated that we had spent 50 minutes down below.

For many years the Maltese islands have enjoyed a vast influx of divers from all over Europe. With shore-diving giving immediate access into 30m-plus depths with drop-offs, caves, natural arches, reefs and of course wrecks at a number of locations, it's easy to see why.

A number of World War Two wrecks lie in deep water (the S-class British submarine HMS Stubborn in 60m, a Blenheim bomber in 42m, a Spitfire in 50m and the "Freighter" wreck in 65m) and they are dived only infrequently, but there is still much wreckage from this period to dive at less demanding depths.

The Maltese government has initiated an artificial reef programme which to date has scuttled six ships, including two car ferries, an ocean-going tug and the 5390 tonne, 109m-long merchant tanker Um el Faroud, a shore dive from Wied iz-Zurrieq.

Malta and Gozo offer good diving suitable for all grades of qualification and experience, while the non-diver should never feel neglected, as there is much to see and do around the islands.

What Malta can offer is some of the best diving available in the Mediterranean, in a safe location, within three hours' flight-time of the UK. It's comparatively cheap, and divers are warmly welcomed everywhere. Wish you were there? info@buddiesmalta.com (Buddies Divecove is the best diving club in Malta!! The owner is Rupert and his charming wife Audrey, they have English, French and German-Speaking instructors)"

"After we had settled ourselves in we made our way to the dive shop to sort out the diving. I can honestly say that during my travels I have never been in such an efficiently run and friendly dive centre. The staff were excellent. Once they had checked our medicals (something that is very important in Malta) and our diving qualifications, we were able to book whatever diving we wanted to do. The party was split into different groups depending on ability, and the each had instructors / guides appointed to them. I had decided to get some PADI qualifications to run alongside my SAA qualifications during my stay, and I had a PADI Course Director looking after me all week. All the staff were brilliant, extremely friendly, very professional (but fun), and excellent at their jobs.
As you probably know, Malta is mainly shore based diving, and Buddies Divecove have a fleet of very well maintained open back vehicles which take divers to the dive sites. There was plenty of room in these for all the equipment, divers and non-divers if they wanted to come along for the ride. It is also worth mentioning that these vehicles are kept spotlessly clean.The diving itself was brilliant, the waters were clear and warm (compared to what we are use to in England). As well as some interesting reefs, Malta has some excellent wrecks. I visited the Rozi which is a tug boat in approx 30m and El Faroud which is 110m tanker in about the same depth. Both can only be described as awesome. The dive centre also arranged trips to Gozo and Comino which I did not go on myself due to my heavy course schedule, but I understand from other club members that the diving was excellent with lots of marine life. Also arranged were 3 night dives a week all of which I went on, these were also very well run and fun diving. The week went too quickly for everyone. But throughout our stay, Rupert and his superb team catered for our every need. They could not do enough for us and everyone had a brilliant time. I would unreservedly recommend Buddies Divecove to anyone. The whole holiday was a 100% enjoyable experience thanks to Buddies Malta"

"Malta and Gozo are real treasure troves for scuba divers, with plenty of wrecks to explore and, as the Mediterranean goes, rich marine life. It has good water clarity and, in summer, sea temperature means you can dive wearing only a shortie wetsuit in the caves, grottos, holes and crevices. Some of the most accessible wrecks are concentrated in Malta. We saw the sunken oil tanker El Faroud tanker off Zurrieq and the British destroyer HMS Maori in Marsamxett Harbour. Part of the fleet which sank The Bismarck, The Maori was hit by a torpedo during World World II and broke in two while it was being towed out to sea.

Impressive as it was, the wreck was outdone by the intriguing underwater landscape of Gozo, where we dived its famous Blue Hole - a natural chimney in the limestone which connects with the open sea through an underwater arch. We saw some spectacular, brightly-coloured sea anemones and sponges, hiding in crevices and caves, alongside octopus, lobsters and moray eels.

Other fish life includes grouper, wrasse, dogfish and stingrays.

Maltese waters are also known for their seahorses which feed on plankton and tiny shrimps, but they seemed to be hiding the day we were out. Rather surprisingly, the area is also one of the most popular with sharks in the Med. Sightings are rare so swimmers shouldn't be alarmed. Having said that, in 1987, a Maltese fisherman caught a Great White measuring a scary 5.3 metres in length.

BTW, we dived with Buddies Malta!! Hey,Buddies,come and dive for yourselves!!"

diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta, scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta, diving malta, diving in malta,

"Dive sites in Malta, Gozo and Comino"

Index
Diving in Malta
Sea creatures
Climate
About malta
The seacard

Wreck dives
Um El Faroud
HMS Maori
Carolita
Imperial Eagle
Blenheim bomber
The Xlendi(gozo)
Odile
The Rosi

Cave dives
Ghar Lapsi
Ghar Lapsi east
Mousehole cave
Anchorbay/Scorpioncave
Inland Sea (Dwejra gozo)
Blue Hole (Dwejra gozo)
Imgarr ix Xini (Gozo)
Lathern point (Comino)
Maria caves(Comino)

Divesites in Malta
Ghar Lapsi
Ghar Lapsi east
The Crib
Blue Grotto
Um El Faroud
Mousehole cave
HMS Maori
Carolita
Qawra point
Imperial Eagle
Anchorbay/Scorpioncave
Im Thaleb
Ahrax point
Blenheim bomber
Marfa point
The Rosi
Odile


Divesites in Gozo
Inland Sea (Dwejra gozo)
Blue Hole (Dwejra gozo)
The Xlendi (Gozo)
Imgarr ix Xini

Divesites in Comino
Lathern point
Marisa caves

Diving in Malta
Well, it's the best! Great for beginners, course prices are lower than in western Europe, and for such a small island it is amazing how many divespots you can find. The water can be amazingly clear sometimes 50 meters and in the summer time the sea can warm up to 28 degrees. No tides, no sharks, no dangerous animals. How ever I have seen some triggerfish on different locations but they did not seem up to anything nasty. The Mediterranean fish life in general brings less variety than tropical coral reefs. There is coral growing in protective areas (caves and overhangs) but it does not develop into reefs. Still, take a piece of bread to the Um Elfaroud and you will have a few hundred fishes eating out of your hand. Ideal about Malta is that it's small. Wind from the North, Dive South. Wind from the East, dive west. Try and do that in Australia! In the Mediterranean there is no tide so you can leave your tables at home. Still there can be some currents, especially at the the south side, Ghar Lapsi and Blue Groto, there have been divers in problems because of the current. Most diving you can do from shore. Ideal for experienced divers with low budgets, just hire a car for 7 Lm, pick up some air and off you go. In the summer most people dive in shorties, the rest of the year 7 mm is perfectly fine (for most people). 

Temperature and climate


The climate in Malta is warm and healthy. There are no biting winds, fog, snow, or frost. Rain falls for only short periods and averages about 578 mm in a whole year. The temperature averages 14.1° C in winter (Nov-April) and 32° C in summer (May-Oct). The sun shines for an average of 6.46 hrs each day in winter and 10.11 hrs in summer. The hottest period is from mid July to mid September. The following table gives the monthly averages taken over a 30 year period for hours of bright sunshine, temperatures and rainfall:

Month Sunshine
Hours
Rainfall
(mm)
Temp ° C
Min ~ Max
Sea
° C
January 5.46 90.1 15.1 9.5 14.5
February 6.36 60.8 15.3 9.3 14.5
March 7.33 44.7 16.5 10.2 14.5
April 8.46 24 18.8 11.9 16.1
May 9.99 8.9 23.1 15.1 18.4
June 11.23 3.8 27.4 18.6 21.1
July 12.15 0.9 30.2 21.2 24.5
August 11.36 8.8 30.6 21.8 25.6
September 9.00 40.4 27.8 20.4 25.0
October 7.22 123.6 23.8 17.2 22.2
November 6.5 76.8 20.0 13.9 19.5
December 5.2 100.2 16.6 11.1 16.7

Ghar Lapsi
Ghar means cave and Lapsi has something to do with easter. This site is ideal to bring along your whole family while you go for a dive yourself. Ghar Lapsi is one of my favourite dive spots. I like to take my introduction divers here since the water in the bay is shallow enough to stand up in and a barrier of rocks prevents the bay from waves rolling in. the water is almost always calm. Besides that, the bay is filled with life, thousands of hermit crabs crawling there way up to the top of the rocks, I guess they do that in order to get a nice sun tan. Small fish are living in the protection of the rocky bay so they won't get eaten by the hungry fishes that swim in the open.
Experienced divers can dive through the cave. The cave looks like a ferry tail, a light show, which gives you the best effects at 14:00. The light comes through the cracks in the ceiling. On top of the cracks there grows seaweed that moves on the rhythm of the waves, one moment blocking sunlight from going into the cave, next moment letting it through. The whole cave system is about 40 meters with exits on the seaside and in the ceiling every 10 meters. One tunnel leads into the land and brings you to a small airspace. (big enough for 3 divers) Make sure to take a torch if you want to go into the airspace. The air inside you can breathe since the Maltese limestone lets air through. This is also the reason that airspaces in the Maltese waters are always on sea level.

 

Once going out of the cave you get to an underwater desert landscape where I often find flying gernards (knorhaan in Dutch) And if you are lucky even sting rays. More to the west there is a rock reef with a lot of swim-throughs. The clear water and shallow depth gives a lot of colours, ideal for making some portrait pictures!

Ghar Lapsi East side
If you enter the water from the east side bay you can make another dive. There are 3 caves but it is a bit of a swim. About 10 to 15 minutes flippering along the shore brings you to the first cave, sand bottom and airspace. When in the airspace the waves outside can push up the air pressure witch give a funny sensation in the ears, nothing to worry about. Follow the coast 5 minutes more and you get to cave 2 and 3. In the first one you can surface and it gives you the possibility to exit the water, and walk your way up to the top of the cliffs. The third cave is like a dome. This dive often turns out to be a 60 minute one. I have never seen any other divers out there, no one really knows about the 3 caves.

The Crib
A diving club in Malta did place a metal X-mas crib in Ghar Lapsi, , I know how to find it but have no clue what compass to bring to start your dive on, so if you want to see the crib….Come with me!

Oh one thing about Ghar Lapsi, There can be strange currents, every year some divers need to order a helicopter to pick up a washed away buddy. Hmmm tempting, I've never been in a helicopter, would love to!

Zurrieq Blue Groto
This is also one of the top locations. Above water you can easily leave your grandmother to do some souvenir shopping and buy herself an expensive boat ride ticket to the Blue Groto. But I am happy to stop on our way back on the Blue Groto view point so you can make your pictures from the top. After that I will show you Blue Groto valley and promote some rock climbing and ab sailing which I know pretty well how to sail, so probably you will spend your last day in Malta hanging on the rocks ( The last day before you fly you aren't allowed to dive anyway)

Anyway,

The El Faroud, Malta's biggest ship wreck
The 100 meter long oil tanker had an explosion in the Malta dry docks. 9 man got killed. In september 1998 they sunk the ship for divers (the doors are all taken out) and they sunk the ship in front of Blue Groto creek. Hmm well that is what they tried to do. When it was sinking the wreck drifted about 200 meter before it did hit the bottom. So Jumping in from Blue Groto Creek, you have a 200 meter swim to go to the El Faroud. When there is no current this is not a problem.

The El faroud is…..BIG! It is more looks like a space ship. The impressive propeller lays at 37 meter on a white sand bottom. Swimming over the galleries air bubbles collect in the ceiling and create huge mirrors. I like doing the staircase, did you ever swim up a staircase??? Then In the centre of the ship there is an air pocket, big enough for 3 divers to stick there heads in. Before entering I always sacrifice a few bar of my air by pushing my purse button, since the only air refreshment comes from exhaled air from divers. Talking to each other is fun, your voice is slightly higher and if you manage to whistle a tune I will buy you an ice-cream. The air feels to think to whistle tunes with.

 

 

 

Then if you like dark and mysterious environment (X-file environment), have a look in the engine room. The engine is still there. If you follow all the way to the end there is an 8 meter high air shaft (or maybe now I should call it a water shaft) it brings you to the top of the wreck. The top deck lays at 18 meter and I use it as a fish feeding place. The fishes are getting tamer every day. And now even parrot fishes who are supposed to eat coral come and eat from your hand. (I don't blame them, the Maltese bread tastes way better than lumps of coral) Above the Bridge there is a memorial plate for the 9 dock workers. What can I say, The El Faroud is …….Coooool!

Another dive at Blue Groto is the mouse-hole cave. Entrance at 26 Meter, you can always find some orange shrimps, to exit the cave it might be easier to go to a crack at 20 meters since swimming into the cave makes a lot of dust on the bottom. In the creek itself there is loads of life forms. Walking sea stars, Spanish Dancers, Big hermit crabs and several times I have seen a Johndoory swimming on the border between sand and rocks.

CAUTION!
Above water there is also a lot of boats filled with English, Dutch, Germans, Maltese and an outboard engine propelling in the water so if you are already satisfied with your haircut, stay down and exit the water on the side of the creek.

The Maori
This English patrole boat laying in the harbour of Valetta got bummed by a German airoplane (Thanks a lot! Brilliant wreck!). All sailors survived. By the way, A Maori is a native from New Zealand. Next to the entry point there is a nice bar where somebody made a painting of the Maori on the wall. Excellent for doing the briefing.
It's an ideal second dive, only 15 meter deep. Since the wreck has been there 60 years and got bummed in the first place, it's broken into pieces and sunk away in the sand. One of the cannons is still sticking out of the sand. It's possible to swim through the wreck, light enough coming from the portholes, but be sure to maintain neutrally buoyant because there are some sharp parts here and there.
Then on the side of the Maori there is the funny thing, there is this bomb sticking out of the sand! A real bomb!! Well, no worries, it appears hollow so I have never really been nervous about it. But the thing is, you can wiggle it, but it seems impossible to pull it out. It reminds me most of when I was 5 and my milk tooth's started coming out. You can wiggle them but you can't pull them out. Last year a colleague spend 4 hours digging on the bomb but did not get it out. The year before that a friend tried to pull it out with his companies boat and pulled the boat apart. So when you are down there and pass the bomb, try your luck, maybe you are the Melchior that succeeds in taking the sword out of the stone, or in this case the bomb out of the sand!
Afterwards have a burger at the gunpost restaurant, good burgers and an
excellent view! 

The Carolita, Manuel island
Not everyone likes the Carolita, visibility is bad, and there is a lot of trash laying on the muddy bottom (bathtubs, old furniture, car batteries). But the advantage of this harbour location is that diving is always possible. In fact I like the dive my self. Often I find big Octopus between the pieces of smashed up concrete. And I  even saw a sea-horse last season, strange since I thought sea-horses only live in clean places. Not this one. The Carolita Barge received a torpedo hit in her stern on the night of 21 April 1942. She sank immediately. The strange thing is that the hole caused by the torpedo is on the harbour side of the boat, not on the seaside. The wreck is laying on a slope starting at 3 meters going and with the propeller at 20 meter.
After the dive, wonder around the old ruins of the pest hospital, it's a nice building with inner gardens from which weed and cactus are slowly taking over the place.

The Odile
Originally thought to be the wreck of HMS Abingdon, sunk on 4 April 1942, the wreck is actually that of the Italian steam freighter MV Odile which was bombed during World War II, then salvaged in the 1970s. Fairly well broken up (the bows and the propeller are missing), facing northwest and lying on her port side. The wreck covers a large area and is difficult to find in poor visibility without local knowledge.

Qwara Point
The inside of Qawra point is good for intro dives, but not very interesting. The outside is a nice location. To get to the outside you have to work yourself over 2 rock walls. Watch how seals do this on discovery channel and follow the same technique. Fully inflated jacket, stay in the water and try not to sit on your knees since your gear only gets more heavy when it gets above the service. Once outside, dive with the shore on your right shoulder and you will come to a cave that leads into Qawra point and ends in a little lake (10 meter wide). Somehow my divers are often asking me here whether there is coffee served…. Guys, we are working on it! The lake is full with little fish and the light is spectacular. Then swimming back with the shore on your left shoulder going to a depth of 20 meters you will pass a memorial stone for 3 divers that drowned about 8 years ago in a cave far out. 30 meter further there is a arch.  

 

The imperial Eagle(wreck)
This old Gozo ferry is laying 300 meter North East from Qwara point at a depth of 42 m. The wreck is very open and safe to dive. Next to it there is a 3 meter high Jesus statue.

 

Anchor bay/ scorpion cave
With a view on Popey village and the cliffs surrounding this location is something special. Maximum depth is 12 meter. Dive with the cliffs on your left shoulder and you get to the entrance of a cave. The cave is half above, half under water, only the first 5 meter of the entrance is completely submersed. In case snorkelers are coming along, there is another entrance above water. Inside you find yourself in a dome. Many divers get spiritual feelings being in the dome. Spontaneously they start meditating including the humming and everything. In the back of the dome there is a small tunnel leading to a second chamber, in here you can stand up. Now it's only last year that I discovered personally that there is a Scorpion living on the ceiling of the airspace, later I found out it's not just one scorpion. My biggest count till now has been 13 scorpions. I did check on Internet about those scorpions. They are not really dangerous, they have enough poison to kill a pray of their own size….they are 2 cm long.
Swimming out of the cave is easy, the big entrance gives a lot of light, it's quite impossible to get forever lost in a Maltese cave.

Swimming back to the exit you cross a sand plate, nice to chill out, lay on the bottom watching at the service, playing with flat fish and organise under water running competitions.

 


Im Thaleb
I think Im Thaleb is one of the most quiet spots in Malta. It's far away from everything (40 minutes of a drive is what we call in Malta far away). Once you switch off your engine it is silent enough to hear the weed grow. The parking place is about 150 meter above sea level. A steep path through the rocks brings you all the way down to the sea. Under the Entry point it's about 10 meter deep. From there you can go as deep as you want really. Following the cliffs to the right. On the bottom there is some car wrecks laying, probably dropped for insurance purposes. All brands are there, Landrover (40m), Nissan(15 m), (Suzuki 25m) I just haven't been able to find spare parts for my Ford Transit yet. Following the cliffs to the left brings you to a few caves filled with some very intelligent shrimps. I remember a friend who went down with 2 big nets to catch them all. After a long dive he came back with 1 shrimp.

Ahrax point
This location is the easiest when you dive it from a boat, but also from the shore you can reach it. In the point of Ahrax there is a 40 meter wide lake within the about 15 meter high cliffs. A tunnel makes it possible to enter the lake from the seaside. The tunnel is half under water and half above so also snorkelers can take the same route as the divers. If you would like to do this dive from the shore than you have 2 possibilities. A: You start from the beach 600 meter away from the tunnel and swim all the way and all the way back. This will easily become a 70 minute dive on which you have to watch your air consumption. Or if your more adventurous, you jump/climb or ab-sail 15 meter directly into the lake itself so you have only got a 600 meter swim to get back to the beach. Just for the record: It is easier to just lower your diving gear with a rope than to jump or rope down with it. The light effect in the little lake is cool, very nice for pictures and oh yeah, half the way towards the beach there is another cave that leads to an enclosed airspace.

 

Blenheim bomber
This second world war airplane wreck lays at 42 meters. It's hard to find. On GPS you can get close but not always on top of it. If you don't want to end up swimming search patterns on 42 meter depth, than let us take you there and we will show you the landmarks on which you can drop a marker right next to the wreck. Once you are on it you can take place in the pilots seat. One of the propellers is still on it. The tail wheel broke of and is laying in front of it. To get this dive done takes a bit of organisation, the sea should not be to rough and a current is not helpful either. But the wreck is well worth the hassel.

Marfa point
Malta's most well known dive site. Ideal for beginners since there is a large 6 meter area to exercise skills. Than a drop of to 18 meters, a Maria statue for religious people. A shipwreck at 36 meters and lots of caves and arches. At the moment this whole area is under construction so I have no clue what it is going to look like in a few years time. But during day time there is always a few diving schools active so if you need to know some directions for the Rosy or one of the caves, just ask any instructor on location.

Ship wreck "The rosy"
Take a jump from the jetty next to the lathern tower and take a course of 270. After a 5 minute swim you will pass the anchor of the Rosy, only a few more meters to go. The Rosy is beautiful! It lays at 37 meters on white sand. On a day with good visibility you can see the whole wreck from bow to stern so make sure to screw your wide angle objective on your camera. The rosy was deliberately sunk for sport diving in +/- 1985. It still looks intact, I'm quiet sure it would still float if you would pump the water out. Be a bit careful with sharp rusting metal parts especially on the ships railing! I did remove some but not all. Moray eels are living in different holes and pipes. Take some bread with you and you will get surrounded by a large group of demsy fish and silverbream. Often also barracuda's are seen in the area.

 

Inland sea (Dwejra)
Another place to take your family while you go for a dive yourself. From the inland sea a long cave (70 meter, half above and half under water) leads to the sea. Now this is something! Swimming into that big black hole and than once you are half the way you see the light on the other side. That's right, the light on the end of that big black tunnel. To me heaven couldn't look much better. It swallows me, intimidates me, impresses me and after 9 years of diving this location, it still gives me shivers every time I'm down there.
It is BLUE!!!! Lobsters are living in the walls of the tunnel. The bottom just keeps on going down under a 45 degree angle until it reaches the sand bottom at 55 meter. Being on the outside you can follow the wall to the left. On 15 meter there is a cave entrance leading up to an airspace.

CAUTION!
In the tunnel there is a lot of boat traffic. Mainly outboard engines. Especially on the beginning of the tunnel, stay low. The Depth is only 2 meter so you are not far away from rotating propellers. If you feel need to service in the tunnel, stay on the left side since the overhang forces boats to stay more off to the right.

 
Blue Hole (Dwejra in Gozo)
A 300 meter walk from the Inlandsea brings you to the blue hole. To get to the blue hole with equipment is quite a workout. 200 meter over sharp rocks. The blue hole is a crater in the cliffs, it goes down 9 meter and then exits towards the sea. Swimming along with the reef on your left shoulder you will find the entrance of the chimney at 20 meter. This tunnel goes from 20 meter up to about 9 and exits in "The Garden" The garden leads to a drop off, by going down the drop-off and following it to the left you will find "The Coral cave" This cave has a very wide entrance (about 30 meter wide) and goes 50 meter into the land. The bottom is covered with flower shaped coral which I have never seen anywhere else, only at Coral cave. Once you are back underneath the blue hole and find you still have plenty of air left, then have a look in the cave directly underneath the blue hole. It has nice light and the air you blow out creates mirrors against the ceiling.

 

 

 

Ferry wreck "The Xlendi" (Gozo)
The Xlendi used to be one of the ferry boats between Malta and Gozo. In 2000 they sunk it west from Mgarr Harbour. The first week the wreck was laying up right as it was supposed to be. But since it was laying on a slope it started rolling. Now it's laying upside-down with its top deck in the mud at 45 meter. Going into the wreck is hazardous since the floor is where the ceiling is supposed to be, it's hard to orientate. No matter how far you go into the wreck, the only way out is swimming down to 45 meter and exiting from the top deck. To not lose your way I did lead a rope through 3 decks of the ship. On your ascent enjoy the view of the Xledies belly with the 2 propellers still intact. Oh and there is a car wreck laying next to the ship but well the on the Xlendi itself you have your hands full.

Imgarr ix Xini (Gozo)
This place is just as cool above as under water. A nice beach between the cliffs with a valley going into the land and a 1 km creek going towards the sea. Since this dive spot is so far land inwards, there is no waves coming in. This makes Mgarr ix Xini a popular place when the sea is wild.
Follow the creeks west wall for 10 minutes and you will find the entrance of a cave at about 14 meter. The cave has several airspaces starting with a big one just after entering and smaller once further on. The first airspace you can surface with a big group. The following ones are good for you and your buddy, but they are small. If you want to swim back a different route than you came then cross the bay after exiting the cave and swim back along the east wall. The bottom is all sand with flat fish, flying gernards and every now and then some huge snails.

Lathern point (Comino)
Diving at Comino is always by boat. The boat gets anchored at about 10 meters. Then there is a L shaped cave with the top of the L at 6 meters and the exit at 15 meter and then it drops. There is a big rock that formed a tunnel at 26 meters. The sand bottom is at about 50 meter so watch your computer. Often big grupers are seen in the blue. Swim along with the reef on your right side and enjoy the amazing vertical wall. Coming back under the boat for your safety stop, you will find bubbles coming out of the bottom. These are probably the bubbles you did blow yourself when you were swimming through the cave. The ceiling of the cave is porish and lets the air slowly escape.

Maria caves(Comino)
Ideal second dive. The boat anchors at 15 meter in front of a cave. Directly under the boat, thousands of silverbeams will be waiting for you and they would appreciate you for taking your old bread along. The cave is half above, half under water. It's an amazing place used for underwater shootings for various films (The Count of Monte Cristo). The cave leads from one side of the island to the other (about 70 meters) then on the other side of the point there are some more caverns and arches.

 


 

 scuba diving malta, diving holidays malta  

Subscribe to scubadivinguk
Powered by groups.yahoo.com

Top Scuba Sites - Diving and Info
scuba diving
Scuba diving resource