What are the beaches in Malta?

All local beaches can be divided into several categories:

• According to the type of coating, they are divided into sandy, rocky and pebble .Despite the fact that not all people like to lie on the sand, sandy beaches were and remain the most popular and popular for lovers of lazy recreation by the sea..Sand, by the way, happens in Malta several colors - white (as, for example, Mellieha Bay), red (like Ramla Bay, about .Gozo) or pinkish (bulk Perched Beach) .Where coastal rocks are bare before the layer of globigerin limestone - a smooth stone of honey or amber color - rocky beaches appeared .You can enter the water on them either by stairs or simply diving from rocks .As for pebble, they are in most cases in the mouth of semi-submerged valleys (for example, Mjarrr ish-Shini on Gozo) .
• According to the degree of equipment of various kinds of amenities beaches are divided into "civilized" and "wild" (I must say, the second in Malta more). At the first you can take sun beds, umbrellas and equipment for water sports for rent, as well as a snack at the beach kiosk or cafe. On the second - you have to carry everything with you.

In addition, there are so-called beach clubs, which are owned by hotels and some schools of English, where their guests or students can spend their time.

One of the rhetorical Maltese questions is what type of beach is preferred for recreation, sandy or stony (how many people, so many opinions). However, if you do not think your holiday on a Mediterranean island without bathing and sunbathing, try to lie on a day in the sand, and a day - on a flat stone. Very soon you will understand, a supporter of which party of beach lovers you are :-)

Advantages and disadvantages of rest on sandy, stony and pebbly beaches

Sandy beaches: dignity

• most of them are in picturesque bays, admire them - in itself pleasure
• most of them are "civilized" beaches
• entrance to the water, as a rule, is flat
• many of them are located near the hotels

Sandy beaches: shortcomings

• not everyone can easily get on their own way
• in summer they are overflowing
• they are often satisfied with noisy barbecues and beach parties

Rocky beaches: dignities

• most of them are easy to get by on their own.
• relatively clean
• less vacationers than on sandy beaches
• many of them are located near the hotels

Rocky beaches: shortcomings

• harshly lying on stones
• most of them are "wild" beaches

Pebble beaches: dignity

• are in picturesque bays, admire them - in itself pleasure
• few vacationers

Pebble beaches: lacks

• they are not so easy to get their own way
• inconvenient to lie and walk on the shingle
• most of them are "wild" beaches

Announce the entire list of beaches, please!

List of sandy beaches (Malta):

• Armier Bay, Ghajn Tuffieha Bay, Gnejna Bay, Golden Bay, Little Armier Bay, Mellieħa Bay, Paradise Bay, Perched Beach, Pretty Bay, St. George's Bay, St. Thomas' Bay

List of stony beaches (Malta):

• Bugibba Rocky Beaches, Ghar Lapsi, Marsaskala Bay, Mgiebah, St. Peter's Pool, Sliema Rocky Beaches, Wied iz-Zurrieq

List of pebble beaches (Malta):

• Fomm ir-Rih, Mistra Bay

Overview of the main beaches of Malta

The popularity of a particular beach in Malta does not always depend on its proximity to the main resort towns - for example, several well-known, perhaps, most picturesque beaches of the island lie aside from Sliema - St. Julian's, and from Bugibba - Aura. Get to them either by bus (there are several routes that go past the beaches), either by car or even on foot (for example, in the velvet season, when the sun does not bake, but you can still swim).

Beaches of the resort towns of Sliema and St. Julian's

This resort area is considered the most fashionable in Malta. Everything you need to relax by the sea - hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, pharmacies, banks, promenade, as well as beaches - here at hand. It seems that you can swim and sunbathe almost on the entire stretch of the stony coast of Sliema and St. Julian's.

The most popular beaches of this resort zone are:

• Qui-Si-Sana (Sliema) - on the opposite side of the "shopping street" Bizazza
• Għar id-Dud (Sliema) - in front of the Preluna hotel and next to Sliema Fort (il-Fortizza)
• Fond Għadir (Sliema) - a fairly long stretch of coast between the Sliema fort and the De Redin Tower
• The Exiles (Sliema) - next to the urban coastal park Ġnien Independenza ("Garden of Independence")
• Beach near the Westin Dragonara Hotel (St. Julian's)
• St. George's Bay (St. Julian's) is an artificial sandy beach in Paceville, Malta's "green" district, where everything is relatively calm with the sunlight, but with the onset of darkness the real "night life" begins in the light of discos and bars. This beach is equipped with all the amenities - sun beds and umbrellas, as well as water sports equipment can be rented, there is a kiosk with soft drinks and ice cream and toilets.

All of them can be reached by buses No. 12, 13. From one to the other you can stroll along the cozy promenade.

The beaches of the resort towns of Bugibba (Bugibba) and Aura (Qawra)

This is the second most important resort area of ​​Malta. In many respects similar to Slim, but the infrastructure here is somewhat simpler - which does not prevent, however, its popularity among tourists (especially the elderly Englishmen). In Bugibba and Aure there are also hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, pharmacies, banks, promenade, and rocky beaches, beach clubs and lido. Bathe and sunbathe here on flat rocky shores, where you can go down from the prom.

There are no special "beach" zones with names like in Sliema (at least, they are not indicated on the map), however one beach certainly deserves a separate mention .This is the so-called Perched Beach - artificial sandy beach, which is located near the central square of Aura and the hotel Dolmen .It was created taking into account all the requirements applied to the conservation of natural areas, as the official tourist website of Malta declares .It is necessary to think that this is the only "ennobled" beach in this resort area - on the same principle as St .George's Bay in St. Julian's .

Before this resort area get on the buses № 12, 31, 45

Beaches of the town of Mellieha (Mellieha)

This is, perhaps, the most pleasant holiday resort in Malta .The only drawback of it (or the dignity is how to regard it) is that it is on the edge of the island, and to the main resorts, Sliema and Bugibba, from here it is not too far .Nevertheless, in Mellieha there is everything you need for a good rest ... except, perhaps, large grocery stores - hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, pharmacies, banks .In the vicinity of this town (perhaps the most magnificent in all of Malta) there are several good beaches for every taste - sandy, stony and pebble .Some are easily accessible by bus, others need to walk or ride a car .

• Mellieha Bay is the largest sandy beach in Malta. You can take sunbeds, umbrellas, water sports equipment for rent, there are kiosks with soft drinks and ice cream, a beach cafe and toilets (in a cafe). In this place it is good to swim with children, since the descent into the water is shallow and the zone of shallow water is quite large. It is easily accessible by buses No. 41.
• Mgiebah - located in a secluded place stony beach on the coast between the Gulf of Mellieha Bay and the islands of St. Paul. It is not equipped with any amenities, however it is very nice to sunbathe and swim. You can take bus number 37, 41 to the "circle" at the entrance to Mellieha and go towards the coast through the Selmun palace, the road behind which leads to Imjibah.
• Mistra Bay - a small pebbly and wild beach lying in the mouth of the Mistra Valley - also quite a secluded place. You can take the number 41 bus to Xemxija, turn under the signpost to the Mistra Valley and, following the asphalt road from the kilometer, get to the mouth of the valley where the beach is. Well, or do all the way by car.
• Paradise Bay - a small and very cozy sandy and wild beach near Cirkewwa, where ferries depart for the island of Gozo. This beach has very picturesque surroundings. You can take the bus number 41.

Beaches of the town of Marsaskala

Another resort area, a very popular holiday destination, especially among the Maltese, who live mainly in the south of the island. Marsaskala is a town that is built around the eponymous bay on the east coast of Malta (Marsaskala Bay). In it, again, there are hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, pharmacies, banks, promenade ... You can swim and sunbathe both in the bay itself and on a nearby sandy beach.

• Marsaskala Bay - if you walk along the Marsaskala promenade, from time to time it will be "torn" with stairs / concrete slopes to the water (they are marked with standard plates as "places for bathing"). Sunbathing and admiring the surf, as well as the salt pits that stretched along the Gulf of Marsaskala a few hundred meters away, it's very nice, but it's better to swim at ...
• St. Thomas Bay - a nearby sandy beach (however, if you prefer to sunbathe on the rocks, there are also terraces). This is a "civilized" place for swimming - near a rental of umbrellas and sun beds, cafes, toilets. Rest in St. Thomas Bay is very popular among locals (there are a lot of "summer houses", as well as vans), however there are lots in this bay, thickly overgrown with algae - not everyone can enjoy it.

The beaches of the town of Birzebbugia (Birzebbugia)

Probably, this is the most modest resort area of ​​Malta - it is popular mainly among local residents. Aparthotels, cafes and bars, shops are simpler here than in other seaside towns, however in Birzebugje itself there is a surprisingly large sandy beach and a cozy promenade, and in its vicinity there are several stony coasts where you can also sunbathe and swim. >

• Pretty Bay - in translation "Beautiful beach", which justifies its name. By the way, fine white sand was not always there. It was raised from the bottom of the sea in the construction of the offshore zone of Malta Freeport and - well, do not throw out the same! - was poured on a rocky shore. Pretty Bay offers sun beds and umbrellas for hire. You can get to it by bus number 82.
• Peter's Pool is a pretty interesting bay on the outside of Marsaxlokk Bay, where there is a very cozy and rocky beach.
• Delimara Bay - another rocky beach near Peter's Pool.

To reach these two beaches, unfortunately, you can only either by car or on foot, which takes about an hour from Birzebbuji (stock up on a map and focus on the lighthouse and power station). However, if the sun does not bother too much (for example, in May), the walk will be pleasant, and the unusual landscape of this corner of Malta is the shore, dug by funnels and resembling the surface of the moon in miniature, weathered boulders of a bizarre honey color, white porous rocks - you are not disappoint!

Prithy Bay Beach

Prithy Bay Beach in Birzebbuzh

Rocky Beach Peters-Pool

Sandy beaches of the west of Malta

It is Golden Bay, Ghine Tuffieha Bay and Gnejna Bay that come to mind when it comes to what kind of beaches can be called the best in Malta .Three small but very cozy and picturesque bays are on the west coast of the island, far from the "civilization" of spa centers .If next to Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay there is a hotel and a couple of restaurants, then Ġnejna Bay can be called a truly wild beach .All of them are very popular both among tourists and local residents, who leave the whole family in summer to the sea .We can say that being in Malta in the summer and not sunbathing on one of these beaches is like being "in Vienna and not eating sausages," as the classic wrote $ ±.

• Golden Bay is undoubtedly the most famous sandy Maltese beach, where there are many foreigners in summer as well as Maltese. On Golden Bay you can rent umbrellas, sun beds, water sports equipment, and a snack in the beach cafe. In this bay, it is not recommended to swim when the north-west wind (mistral) is blowing. To get to Golden Bay you can take buses № 223, 225
• Ghajn Tuffieha Bay - perhaps the most picturesque sandy beach of Malta. It "settles down" fewer vacationers than on Golden Bay, because before stretching on its amber-colored sand, you need to go down the long and, fortunately, steep stairs. It is not recommended to swim when the north-west wind (mistral) is blowing. To get to Għajn Tuffieha Bay you can by bus number 223, 225 ą $
• Gnejna Bay is the third wild sandy beach of the west of Malta, which, unfortunately, can only be reached by car or on foot - from Mgarra (bus number 38), which will take 40 minutes. There are even fewer leisure travelers here than on the beach of Ghajn Tuffieħa. Sunbathing in this bay is possible both on sand and on rocks.

Ain Tuffich's Beach

Golden Bay Beach

Jaina Beach

Jaina Bay Beach

Jaina Bay Beach

Ain Tuffiha Beach

Sunset on the beach of Jaina

Overview of the main beaches of Gozo

On Gozo, despite its small size, a lot of beaches .However, if you do not have a car and you are not staying in a resort town, getting to most of them will be very difficult: public transport in Gozo is not as effective as in Malta (after the reform of 2011, when public transport was given to the purchase of the company Arriva - which left Malta in early 2014 - in Gozo all magically changed, and the transport runs very clearly on schedule, but, alas, infrequently) .) .Moreover, with the exception of Marsalforn and Shlendi, the Gozitan villages are quite far from the coasts with a convenient descent to the water .So, either take the car for the duration of your stay in Gozo (and it's worth it - the island is charming), or settle in a spa place, so that the sea was "at hand" - $ . On Gozo, only two resorts - Marsalforn and Shlendi, the rest of the beaches are next to one or another village.

Where to swim in Marsalforn, Qbajjar

Marsalforn is a sort of Gozitan's Bugibba. A small port with colorful boats, a promenade with cafes and restaurants, hotels, apartments, summer apartments of Gozitan and Maltese. You can swim here either in Marsalforn bay (an empty sandy beach) or in Baybury Bay (Qbajjar bay, a rocky beach where you can also swim with a mask) .- $

Where to swim in Xlendi Bay

This resort village is located in the depths of a picturesque bay, quite wide and extended by several hundred meters. It is nothing but a semi-submerged dry valley (wadi), and in its mouth a small sand is poured on which you can sunbathe. Descent into the water here is gentle. Who does not like sunbathing on the sand, is located on concrete slabs, placed on the left side of the Shlendi Bay, if you stand with your back to the village. There are also benches and stairs for descent into the water.

Other beaches and places to swim at Gozo

• Dachlet Qorrot - in the vicinity of Nadur. A small and crowded pebbly-rocky beach.
• Dwejra (Dwejra) - in the vicinity of San Lawrenz (San Lawrenz). You can swim as in the place of the diving cluster - next to the Azure window, and in one of the small bays of this coast, under the watchtower.
• Hondok-ir-Rumin (Ħondoq ir-Rummien) - in the vicinity of Ala (Qala). Sandy beach with a gentle descent into the water, very popular among the Gozitan and Maltese. It is believed that in this place the lowest temperature of sea water on Gozo - because of its location this site warms up more slowly than others.
• M'harr-ish-Shini (Mġarr ix-Xini) - in the vicinity of Shevkia (Xewkija). A small sandy beach, which is, again, at the mouth of the Wadi Majar ish-Shini.
• Ramla Bay (Ramla Bay) - in the vicinity of the Balls (Xaghra). The most picturesque and popular beach is Gozo, primarily because of the color of the sand - it is brick red. Descent into the water is gentle.
• San Blas (San Blas) - in the vicinity of Nadur (Nadur). A small, secluded beach with red sand. To get there it is difficult even by car: the last few hundred meters of slope are so steep that it is wiser to leave the car upstairs and do the rest of the way to the beach on foot. However, it is worth it, because it is perhaps the most beautiful beach of the island, besides a little crowded.
• Wid-il-Ghasri - in the vicinity of Asri (Għasri). A narrow pebble beach at the mouth of Wadi Asri. Go down to the water on a long concrete staircase. It is worth bringing a mask with you.