Malta – Sliema & Valletta (East Coast)

About Malta – Sliema & Valletta (East Coast)

The east coast around Sliema, St. Julian’s and the Grand Harbour of Valletta is the most accessible diving zone on Malta, packed with historic WWII wrecks and artificial reefs close to shore. The sheltered inlets and clear water make it ideal for training, night dives and classic wreck diving without long boat rides. Highlights include the intact Rozi and P29 patrol boats, the scattered HMS Maori destroyer and a wealth of macro life on the rocky reefs. The area rewards careful planning and respects Maltese marine-protection rules, offering rewarding diving for a range of Mediterranean experience levels. The area rewards careful planning and respects Maltese marine-protection rules, offering rewarding diving for a range of Mediterranean experience levels.

Highlights

• ✓Tugboat Rozi: a 30 m tug scuttled as an artificial reef, intact and upright with huge schools of barracuda.
• ✓P29 patrol boat: an East German vessel scuttled in 2007, swim-through bridge and resident jacks.
• ✓HMS Maori: a WWII Tribal-class destroyer wreck scattered at 12-18 m, superb for night dives.
• ✓St. Julian’s Reef: a shallow rocky reef perfect for training and night dives with octopus and cuttlefish.
• ✓Valletta Harbour wrecks: numerous WWII wrecks including the Bristol Beaufighter plane at 32 m.

Getting There

Arrive via Malta International Airport (MLA) then a short bus, taxi or ferry ride to Sliema and the Grand Harbour. Most east-coast dives are shore entries or very short boat hops from the Sliema and Marsamxett harbours.