Comino
Comino is one of Malta’s seven nearby islands which make up the Maltese archipelago. Though, out of the seven islands, only three (Malta, Gozo, and Comino) are popular destinations amongst visitors (and locals, for that matter).
Comino is a small island which only has one permanent inhabitant. You can hike around the entire island within the matter of an hour or so. Its quiet charm and beautiful waters and cliffs are well worth a visit.
Known mostly for one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful locations, The Blue Lagoon, it gets tons of visitors each year. Diving in Comino likely means you are doing the Blue Lagoon dive which is fantastic.
It ranges in depth anywhere from two to fifteen meters and is protected from rough weather conditions by a few large boulders jutting from the sea in front of it. This makes it an ideal location (a lagoon) for nursing a variety of sea life.
Among the life living in the Blue Lagoon are flying gurnards which are particularly hard to spot elsewhere in Malta. And, in the rocky crevices, you can normally always spot octopus hiding away.
Reqqa Point
Gozo diving is also popular – especially since the collapse of the once great Azure Window on the west of the island which has sprung curiosity of divers all across Europe. However, it isn’t even the best shore dive on the island. Matter of fact, if we are talking about Gozo-diving, the best you can experience is the Reqqa Point dive.
Upon descending, you will almost instantly be parallel with a giant sea wall that runs vertical as far down as you will go. You will see excellent macro life along the ledge if that is your thing.
If you dive in the winter months – or late, late in the summer months, you might even see some good hunting and survival action among the sea life.
HMS Maori
Remember when we mentioned a shipwreck as your first dive as a beginner? The HMS Maori is the one. An impressive ship in itself, the HMS Maori was sunk in the Valletta Harbour at the start of World War II in 1942. The base of the ship sits only 16 meters deep, however, it sits at an angle so even beginners can explore along the upper half of the ship.
The Wreck of the Um el Faroud
This is a picture perfect shipwreck to explore from the shores of Malta. Many experienced divers consider it one of best (if not the single best) shipwrecks in the whole Mediterranean Sea.
The ship is about 100 meters long and the prop lies at a perfect 33 meters for those just reaching their advance level diving certification.
Double Arch Reef
Another one of the best Gozo diving sites, the Double Arch Reef is just a short boat ride from one of Gozo’s most precious fishing villages, Marsalform. It’s a rare boat dive in Malta and offers two archways (as its name suggests) jutting about 22 meters high. The tops of the arches sit at about 18 meters deep which means you will need certification to explore to forty meters of depth in order to descend to the bottom of the archways.
