The limestone of the Malta, the globigerina, the golden, the soft, the stone that built the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum of the 4,000 BC (the oldest underground temple in the world) and the Valletta of the 1566, is the rock of the island, and the Malta is the best destination in Europe for the activity holiday that is the combination of the climbing (the limestone, the sea cliffs, the 1,300 rock-climbing routes, the highest density of the bolted routes in Europe), the diving (the 7,000 years of the wrecks, the clear water, the visibility of the 30 metres, and the best diving in the Mediterranean outside the Red Sea), the walking (the coastal paths of the Gozo, the 50 km of the trails, and the best walking in the Malta), and the history (the 7,000 years of the human occupation, the oldest free-standing stone structures in the world). Here is your guide.

Malta Activity Holiday

• The climbing and the diving, the essential Malta: The climbing: the Malta is the sport-climbing paradise, the limestone, the bolted, the sea-cliff, the 1,300 routes from the 4a to the 9a, and the essential crags: the Wied Babu (the Blue Grotto, the steep, the 6a–8a, and the best climbing in the Malta. The view of the sea from the belay is the best climbing view in Europe, the water, the Blue Grotto, the boats, and the sense of climbing above the Mediterranean), the Ghar Lapsi (the southern coast, the beginner-friendly, the 4a–7a, and the best crag for the introduction to the Malta climbing), the Mgarr ix-Xini (the Gozo, the secluded, the beautiful, and the best climbing on the Gozo. The essential climbing holiday: the accommodation in the Sliema (the base for the both Malta and the Gozo), the car rental (the €25/day, the essential for the access to the crags), and the Malta Rock Climbing Club guidebook (the essential, the €25, and the available from the Coral Cave, the outdoor shop in the San Gwann). The diving: the Malta is the best diving in Europe for the wreck enthusiast: the HMS Maori (the destroyer, the 1942, the Luftwaffe attack, the Grand Harbour, the 16 metres, the shallowest of the Malta wrecks, and the essential first dive on the Malta), the Um el Faroud (the tanker, the 1998, the boiler explosion, the scuttled as the dive site, the 36 metres, the swim-through, and the best wreck dive in the Malta), the Blenheim bomber (the 1941, the 40 metres, the intact, the most beautiful wreck in the Malta), and the Blue Hole and the inland sea in the Gozo (the limestone arch, the Azure Window collapsed in the 2017, the Blue Hole remains, the chimney, the 15-metre tunnel to the open sea, and the best dive in the Gozo). The essential diving: the Maltaqua Dive Centre in the St Paul’s Bay (the PADI, the MTA, and the best dive centre in the Malta. ~€45 for the guided dive). More Malta →
• The walking and the history, the alternative activity Malta: The Gozo coastal walk is the best walk in the Malta: the 50 km of the coastal path, the 3–4 days, the cliffs, the salt pans (the Xwejni, the 350-year-old, the largest salt pans in the Malta), the Ta’ Ċenċ cliffs (the highest on the Gozo, the 120 metres), the Ramla Bay (the red sand, the best beach in the Malta, and the essential rest day), and the Ggantija Temples in the Xagħra (the 3,600 BC, the older than the Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid, and the second-oldest temple in the world after the Göbekli Tepe in the Turkey. ~€9). The essential Malta-Gozo connection: the ferry from the Ċirkewwa to the Mgarr (the 25 minutes, the every 45 minutes, the €4.65 return for the foot passenger, and the best-value ferry in Europe). The essential Valletta: the capital, the 1566, the St John’s Co-Cathedral (the knight, the Malta, the Caravaggio, the “Beheading of the St John the Baptist,” the only painting the Caravaggio signed, the oratory, the marble floor, the 400 knight tombs, and the most beautiful church in the Malta. ~€15). The essential Valletta walk: the Republic Street to the Fort St Elmo (the National War Museum, the George Cross, the King George VI awarded the George Cross to the entire island of the Malta for the bravery in the Second World War, and the most important medal in the Maltese history. ~€10)