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Boat Dives
With dive sites just a stone’s throw away from each other, you will be able to explore a variety of underwater worlds. We’ve listed some of the best known dive sites ranging from labyrinthine caves to reefs and wartime wrecks. For more excitement, try a night dive or dive deeper to 30 or 40 metres. Colours appear almost fluorescent by torchlight. For the more experienced, these dives offer a unique adventure.
Images featured in this section are derived from: SCUBA DIVING MALTA GOZO COMINO – A Complete Diving Guide to the Maltese Islands by Peter G. Lemon. All rights reserved. Copyright material used by permission from the author.
Billinghurst Cave
near Għasri, Gozo
Billingshurst Cave is found to the west of Reqqa Point in the Northern part of Gozo. The top of the cave entrance is just above the surface and the bottom is at 27 meters.
Cominotto Reef
near Cominotto, Comino
Cominotto is a smaller island off the north-west corner of Comino. Northwest of Cominotto is an underwater reef.
Dwejra Point
Dwejra, limits of San Lawrenz, Gozo
Dwejra is one of the most spectacular dive sites in Malta, with deep water (60 metres) and many caves and arches. The most dramatic is the 35 metre long tunnel…
Fairey Swordfish
near St. Julian’s, Malta
The Fairey Swordfish was a biplane that punched well above its weight. Originally designed in the 1930s, the “Stringbag” was operated by both the RAF and Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. By the outbreak of the Second World War, the Fairey Swordfish was considered rather obsolete, yet it still pl …
Fessej Rock
Mġarr ix-Xini, limits of Xewkija, Gozo
Fessej Rock is a tall, circular and vertical column of rock which rises about 15 metres above the water and plunges vertically…
Fungus Rock
Dwejra, limits of San Lawrenz, Gozo
Fungus Rock is a huge rock in Dwejra Bay, on the western coast of Gozo. Access is only by boat. The average depth is of…
HMS Olympus
near Valletta, Malta
The World War II Royal Navy Submarine, HMS Olympus, lies seven miles off the port of Valletta. She was first detected in 2011 using high-frequency sonar, and lies 115m below sea level. An ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) was deployed to photograph the site, and revealed that the ship was in extraor …
HMS Russell
near Valletta, Malta
To maintain the supremacy in 1889 Britain embraced the doctrine that the Royal Navy’s establishment should be equal to the combined naval strength of any two other countries. In ‘reply’ to Russian Peresviet class of battleships capable of challenging the British, Sir William White was asked by t …
Imperial Eagle
Qawra Point, near St. Paul’s Bay, Malta
The Imperial Eagle was one of the ferryboats connecting Malta and Gozo.
Irqieqa Point
near Cominotto, Comino
A thin of land on the southwestern tip of Comino with a sheer drop-off to 40 metres. The water is clear and the cold currents support large shoals of sardines and…
JU88
near Salina, St. Paul’s Bay, Malta
As a former British colony, the island of Malta had a pivotal role to play in the Second World War. Throughout the conflict, it was the only Allied base between Gibraltar and Alexandria in Egypt, and it became a military and naval fortress. In 1940 the North African campaign increased its strate …
Lantern Point
near Cominotto, Comino
This dive is a boat dive and starts from a shallow rocky shelf at 6 metres, where the boat usually anchors. Above the entrance to a ‘chimney’, an almost vertical tunnel, drops down to…
Nasturtium
near Marsaskala, Malta
When WWI broke out, the British Admiralty was faced with the problem of not having an adequate number of ships which were considered suitable for anti-submarine operations. Under the Emergency War Programme they embarked on a rapid construction of smaller anti-submarine vessels. The Arabis class …
ORP Kujawiak (L72)
near Valletta, Malta
Like HMS Olympus, ORP Kujawiak was struck by a mine off the coast of Valletta in 1942. The crew, who were part of the Polish Navy, were conducting a rescue mission while escorting allied convoys carrying supplies to Malta.
San Dimitri Point
near Għarb, Gozo
San Dimitri Point is at the most westerly point in Gozo. It is an imposing rock jutting out from the shore, and is only accessible by boat.
Schnellboot
near Valletta, Malta
Schnellboot S-31 was part of a sub-group of eight boats (S-30 to S-37) which had been under construction for the Chinese Nationalist Government, but at the outbreak of World War II they were impounded and completed for the German Navy, the Kriegsmarine. She was built by the shipyard of Lurssen a …
Southwold
near Marsaskala, Malta
HMS Southwold was a Type II British Hunt-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was ordered on 20 December 1939 and was built by J. Samuel White and Company of East Cowes as part of the 1939 emergency program. The vessel was completed on 9 October 1941.
SS Luciston
near Marsaxlokk, Malta
SS Luciston (also known as Luciston Collier) is the only World War I wreckage in this list. The British steamer was built by J.L Thompson & Sons in Sunderland in 1890, measuring 100m in length and weighing 2,877 tonnes. Her primary role was to transport coal between ports and refuel coal-burning …
SS Polynesian
near Marsaskala, Malta
SS Polynesian was built in 1890 by Messageries Maritimes in La Ciotat in France. She was a Risbec class ocean liner, one of four sister ships, measuring 152.5 m in length with a beam of 15 m. Polynesian was a 3-masted barque made of steel, with a steam engine, double funnel, and a four-bladed pr …
St. Marija Caves
near Cominotto, Comino
This is an ideal second dive location for those who have made the boat trip to Comino and want an interesting shallow location.
Trusty Star
near Valletta, Malta
HMD Trusty Star was a naval drifter built in 1919 by Ouse Shipbuilding for British Royal Navy. The steel vessel was about 26 m in length with a beam of 5.5 m and had a triple expansion steam engine. Her original name was HMT Groundswell; she was later renamed FV Elie Ness when used in fishing in …
Xatt l-Aħmar
near Mġarr, Malta
This site is a small bay southwest of Mġarr. Access is generally from the shore. The dive starts across a wide horizontal ledge, about 9 metres deep, which is covered with…
