Malta – the little pearl in the Mediterranean 08/2025

13/08/2025

Foreword:

Malta – a fascinating archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, which is also a small independent state.

In a very small area, there are medieval towns, spectacular cliffs, picturesque fishing villages, and one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe, Valletta. To me, that sounds like a photographer's paradise.

But Malta is not just a place for culture and history lovers. The archipelago is also known for its role as a filming location for numerous international film productions. Scenes for films such as "Gladiator," "Troy," "Popeye," and the series "Game of Thrones" were shot here. The village of "Sweethaven," which can be seen in the film "Popeye," is said to be particularly exciting. It was built in Anchor Bay as a film set and is now known as Popeye Village. Maybe I'll stop by there sometime.

In addition to cultural diversity, diving is of course also on my agenda again. The waters around Malta are said to offer a fascinating underwater world with natural reefs, mysterious caves, sunken wrecks, and archaeological sites. Let's see what I'll get in front of my lens and discover here.

I'm already very excited to see what awaits me in Malta and what adventures I'll have. Stay tuned to learn more about my experiences on this unique island world!

Arrival

I took the S-Bahn to the airport in the morning. There, I checked in my suitcase, passed through security and then went to the gate.

Boarding began on time and the plane taxied onto the runway as scheduled. We flew over the Alps, Italy and Sicily and landed in Malta just under two and a quarter hours later.

As Malta is part of Europe, I didn't have to fill out any extra forms or go through passport control.

After collecting my suitcase, I left the arrivals hall and looked for the bus stop. There were different numbers there, so it was easy to find the right bus. As the hostel had already told me the TD3 number in advance, I didn't have to search for long. The bus took about half an hour to get to Balluta Bay in St. Julian's, which is located on the northeast coast of Malta. The ticket only cost €3.

From the bus stop, it was only a five-minute walk to the "Follow the Sun hostel" https://www.followthesunmalta.com. But since I arrived at 2:45 p.m., I had to wait another quarter of an hour before they started checking people in.

Then they gave me a towel, which is unusual in a hostel, my card, which is a wristband, and showed me my room. It is a nice four-bed room for women.After a short break, I inquired about the best place to rent a scooter and made my way to the harbour in the neighbouring town of 'Sliema'. I wouldn't have noticed that they were two different places, as they merge into one another.

I strolled along the small streets and alleys until I arrived at St. Rentals. I spent some time there until everything was sorted out. On Friday, I will pick up the scooter and explore the main island a little. In the late afternoon and early evening, I strolled along the waterfront promenade, had dinner at an Italian restaurant and then took the bus back to St. Juliens for €2.50.

Place in St. Juiliens

Valetta

Back at the hostel, I sorted out my diving gear, checked the camera and fell into bed, exhausted but happy.

Birthday Diving

Unfortunately, breakfast wasn't served until 7:30 a.m., so I left the hostel without breakfast and walked to the bus stop. When I tried to pay for my ticket, my credit card didn't work, but the bus driver waved me through. So there are still some nice drivers out there.

When I arrived in Silma, I looked for a café that was open, but couldn't find one. So I bought a croissant and a cappuccino on the promenade, sat down on a bench, enjoyed the sunrise and my little 'to-go breakfast'.

Then I went to the diving centre 'Malta Blue Diving' https://maltablue.com. I was greeted warmly there; they recognised me immediately when I came up to them with my camera in my hand. We had already communicated with each other by email beforehand. David, Kimberly and the rest of the crew were very friendly. They had already prepared the diving boxes for all the divers. I checked my gear, got my BCD and everything else ready.

Then Kimberly went with me to the shore and explained the first break to me. I did the first dive with her alone and the spot was called 'Cora Garden'. With a lot of luck, you can see octopuses, scorpion fish, rays or colourful nudibranchs. We went into the sea via a staircase. After putting on our fins in the water, we dived down. Visibility was only 10 metres today, but I saw some rock formations and seaweed, though not many creatures. At one point, Kimberly pointed to a small hole and, looking closer, I saw a sleeping octopus. I didn't want to disturb it, so we continued diving. I kept seeing fireworms and a few other fish, but nothing special among them. So we both started taking photos of each other. In between, we dived through crevices and caves. After about 55 minutes and a maximum depth of 12 metres, we resurfaced.

I spent the break at the dive centre, read some birthday messages and prepared the batteries for the second dive. This time, an English couple – Rachel and Alex – joined us. Kimberly explained the second dive to us and then we were back in the water.

Again, there were no major changes from the previous dive; apart from a scorpion fish and more fireworms, we didn't see anything else. What a shame. I had really hoped to see the colourful nudibranchs that are found here in Malta.

The photo yield was poor, but I was able to take a few videos.

Back at the Divergenter, I finished everything, entered my 135th and 136th dives in my logbook, thanked everyone for their cooperation and drove back to the hostel.

Here I rested a bit before taking the bus to Valletta.

Once again, I paid only €2.50 for the trip and arrived safely. From the bus station, which is located directly in front of the Triton Fountain, I walked to the centre of Valletta. And that wasn't very pleasant, because it was simply overcrowded, so I first got myself an ice cream at 'Tiffany's gelateria'. And the price was perfectly reasonable. Two really large scoops cost €4.50.

With my ice cream in hand, I strolled away from the main shopping streets. It was a bit quieter here, but cars were constantly in the way, preventing me from taking really nice photos. As it was very hot again today, I sat down in a small café and drank an iced coffee. In Malta, this is not made with vanilla ice cream but with milk and ice cubes. Anyway, it cooled me down and quenched my thirst.

Afterwards, I strolled along, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, until I reached the wall on the east side. From here, I could see the large harbour with its cruise ships, as well as the fortress, and catch a glimpse of the Magisterial Palace. I then continued along the fortress wall until I reached the Upper Barrakka Gardens. It was beautiful there, but also much too crowded, so I didn't stay too long. I continued along the wall, passing the Bank of Malta and other small squares, old buildings and fortresses.

Museums and churches charge admission here, and the queues were too long, so I decided to just walk around, because that's how you find the most and can hardly get enough of what you see. But I have to admit, Valletta's old fortress and the old town itself are definitely worth a visit, just maybe not in the middle of summer.

Before I took the bus back to St. Juliens, because a 'White Pool Party' had been announced at the hostel, I had dinner at 'San Paolo Naufrago'.

When I got back to the hostel, there was nothing going on at the pool. Too bad, if I had known that beforehand, I probably would have stayed in Valletta for the evening. But it was okay. I grabbed my camera again and went to the beach and the promenade of St. Juliens and ended my birthday by the sea. And then it happened: there were fireworks after all. You might think it was for me :-)

On that note: good night.

Day 2 – Driving on the left

Today I tried breakfast at the hostel. It's nothing special, but it fills you up and you get a view of the bay. And you also get visits from hungry and curious sparrows.

Then I took my packed rucksack, went to the bus stop and took the bus to the scooter rental place. There I had to wait a while until the boss came and picked me and another youth group up and took us to the cars and scooters. I was given a black scooter. When I wanted to take photos, he said I didn't need to. He would take all the photos and send them to me automatically. To be on the safe side, I took some anyway. Then I was given a brief introduction and off we went.

At first, it was a bit strange, especially the left-hand traffic in Malta, but after a few minutes, I forgot all about it and everything went smoothly.

I drove along the coast to San Pawl il-Baħar, an old fishing village. But when I got there, I didn't see much of it, just an ugly town, so I didn't really stay there. Next, I entered two viewpoints into my satnav. However, I was disappointed again, as they were all bathing spots where crowds were already gathering, so I entered the next spot, 'Fort Campbell,' and set off. Unfortunately, there was a barrier there, so I could only take photos from outside. So I drove a little further until I reached the cliffs and could enjoy the view.

Then I turned around and drove to the nearest petrol station. I filled up the tank for five euros.

Since I was already in Mellieħa, I looked for a parking space and walked through the alleys. Just as the bells were ringing, I passed the exceptionally beautiful old 'Parish Church of the Nativity of Mary Mellieha'. It was built between 1881 and 1898, and the dome and bell towers were completed between 1920 and 1940 (Wikipedia). There was also a small restaurant there, where I had a light lunch.

After refuelling, I got ready to go again and drove to the next point on my map: St Agatha's Tower. A small tower painted pink. St Agatha's Tower, also known as the Red Tower because of its colour, is a fortress built during the reign of the Order of St John from 1647 to 1649. The tower stands on Marfa Ridge in the north of the island near Mellieħa (Wikipedia).

From here, you could see the neighbouring islands of Gozo and Comino. But it was simply too hot to take beautiful landscape photos, and the sun was much too high in the sky. So I decided to drive to a lost place, the Festival Hotel old ruins, which were supposed to be nearby. But I found the way there a bit eerie, so I listened to my gut feeling and left it alone. Instead, I drove to the other end and enjoyed the view of the cliffs of Malta from there.

I then continued on to Popeye Village, which has often been used as a film set. When I saw how busy it was, I decided against paying the €15 entrance fee and instead walked to the other side to take a few photos.

I was also tempted to jump into the turquoise water, but there were simply too many people there, so I made my way inland. When I arrived in Mosta to admire the Rotunda of Mosta, I didn't get very far. There were barriers everywhere. When I asked why and whether there was another way to get there, I was told no. So I decided to take my scooter to the Mdina Fortress. Fortunately, it was less crowded here, and I was able to take my time looking around. Once one of Malta's proud capitals, this historic town now has only 244 inhabitants – but its charm remains unbroken. I stayed here for a long time.

In Rabat, which is right next door, I strolled through the narrow streets. There was hardly anything going on here; apart from a few locals, there was hardly anyone to be seen. This was how I had imagined Malta to be, and I even fell a little bit in love with this town.

Before heading back to St. Julian's, I had dinner and met two older men who were happy to have their photo taken.

But then I heard more banging, and the men told me that there was another big fireworks display and that if I hurried and ran to the fortress, I might still be able to see it. When I got there, I did see something, but it was still too light to be really spectacular. Of course, I also missed the sunset, so I drove back to the hostel.

In the evening, I walked along the promenade and enjoyed the pleasant temperatures by the water.

Day 2 – Fortresses and floating traffic

Once again, I got on my scooter relatively early and rode to Sengea.

Senglea, one of the historic 'Three Cities' in Malta's Grand Harbour, is located on a narrow peninsula directly opposite Valletta and captivates visitors with its maritime charm and proximity to the traditional shipyards. It was lovely there, with a view of the harbour and the fortress of Valletta, and there was nothing going on. So I was able to take photos without any disturbances and enjoy the peace and quiet. The temperatures were still pleasant.

However, that quickly changed when I returned to the small marina to cross over to Vittoriosa, another of the three historic cities. Although it was a little busier here, it was still less crowded than in Valletta or St. Julians. At the tip of the Vittoriosa peninsula stands the impressive Fort St. Angelo, which once served as an important defensive post for the Knights of St. John. Vittoriosa also has beautiful little alleys and many old towers, churches and walls.

Everywhere on the island, you can see how Malta armed itself against its enemies.

After visiting the old towns, I drove on until I came to various salt pans. But, as on previous days, there wasn't much to see, just a few sunbathers and swimmers.

Around noon, I visited the small harbour village of Marsaxlokk. But not to see it in the midday sun, but to get my bearings and gather information. Every Sunday is fish market day, and I want to be here at sunrise to capture the moments when the fishermen return successfully and sell their catch at the market.

So I used the time to have lunch. After refuelling, I drove to St. Paul's Pool. The car park costs €2 for scooters and €3 for cars. There are no toilets or changing rooms. But there are beautiful cliffs and a turquoise sea, unfortunately also with lots of people. Nevertheless, I jumped in and cooled off. It felt so good.

When I saw thick clouds gathering in the sky, I packed my things and made my way back to the hostel. But the journey home turned out to be quite a challenge: the roads were slippery and covered in water, so I had to drive very slowly, holding up the traffic. But no one honked their horns or got annoyed. Everything went well, and I arrived in St. Juliens safely, almost swimming.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the hostel pool and in the evening I strolled along the promenade.

Day 3 – Fish market, countryside and blue grotto

While it was still dark, I drove to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, about 14 kilometres away. The expressways here are similar to motorways, but you are allowed to ride your scooter on them. Nevertheless, I drove slowly for safety reasons. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic yet, but it had rained again during the night, so the road was slippery. I arrived later than planned. I only had about half an hour left before the sun rose. The fishermen, whom I had actually wanted to photograph on their return, had long since returned and were already setting up their stalls. Nevertheless, I walked along the promenade for a while and tried to capture the colourful fishing boats without their owners. The blue hour was great, but unfortunately the sunrise was not, because there wasn't one.

So I strolled through the fish market, marvelled at everything on offer, including moray eels, small sharks and live crabs, and watched how they sold their catch to men and women.

My stomach started to rumble, so I looked for a small café. Here I ordered a cappuccino and ate a croissant. There isn't much choice here in Malta, unless you like sweets. A German couple sat down next to me and we got talking, as Andreas also had a camera with him and I asked him if he could take some nice pictures.

Around 9 o'clock, the light became beautiful again and I was able to capture a few more impressions after breakfast.

Afterwards, I hopped on my scooter and drove along the other side of the coast. At various places I had found on Google, the mountains were too steep, or you could only reach the beautiful bays by boat, so I decided to skip them and continue driving.

At Għar Ħasan Cave, things looked a little better. Although access to the cave was blocked, I was able to really enjoy the view there, with a beautiful view of the sea and the cliffs of Malta.

I stayed there for quite a while until it got too hot and I drove to the Blue Grotto. It was also quite busy there, but not nearly as much as yesterday at St. Peter's Pool. Here, too, I jumped into the cool, clear water and relaxed a bit. I skipped the boat tour to the Blue Grotto because there were too many tourist boats out and about. Before heading back to the hostel, I had a bite to eat at one of the restaurants above the grotto.

I spent the afternoon resting before returning the scooter in the early evening, having dinner in Slima and taking in the skyline of Valletta in different moods.