Favorite Hikes in Malta
Hiking in Malta means views. Constant views of the water and plenty of cliffs! There isn’t a whole lot of variety though.
Dingli Cliffs and Miġra l-Ferħa
The Dingli Cliffs are the highest point on the Maltese Islands—over 250 meters (820 feet) above sea level. This was our first hike along the cliffs in Malta and it was amazing, but not nearly as amazing as Migra L-Ferha, our second hiking spot that day. We were the only ones exploring the path along Migra L-Ferha, other than a few fishermen. The fishermen would drop their fishing line down the cliffs to the water and it looked like one good pull from the wrong fish was going to send them head over heels off the ledge and down several hundred feet to the water below. Now, these cliffs aren’t “the cliffs of insanity” from The Princess Bride or anything—those are the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, the most impressive cliffs if you ask me. But the cliffs of insanity don’t have the bluest blue water of the 81 degree Mediterranean Sea lapping against them!
The other bonus with this hike were the steps down into a cool green ravine. Exploring the ravine and cliff walls was the perfect way to end our hot day of hiking.
(click on the images to see them full-sized/uncropped)
Marsascala to Marsaxlokk (and St Peter’s Pool)
You can see our trekking adventure on the map above. It also includes some other adventures we had on the island like paddleboarding and boat rides.
We did this hike on a hot Sunday morning. There is no shade on this Malta hike. The six-foot tall prickly pear cacti along the roads acting as a wall bordering each field didn’t provide any shade from that intense sun, but it also meant views as far as the eye could see in every direction.
St Peter’s Pool was a neat but crowded swimming area. Lots of locals hanging out on the flat rocks and diving from up high on one of the last hot Sundays of the summer. The water is the same crystal clear with a million shades of blue water that you find around Malta and is super popular for snorkeling. We didn’t take a dip, although I was tempted!
From St Peter’s Pool, we headed to Marsaxlokk for the Sunday Fish Market. If I thought St Peter’s Pool was busy, the fish market and restaurants lining the waterfront were crazy with people. I think half of Malta decided to visit the market and grab lunch at the same time we were there. But it’s a small island and people have to be somewhere, right? I can’t imagine how shoulder-to-shoulder things must be in peak, non-Covid season!
(click on the images to see them full-sized/uncropped)
Gozo- Sanap Cliffs and Tal-Mixta Cave
The small island of Gozo was definitely my favorite for hiking and exploring. We rented a GoTo Car for the day and took the 45-minute car ferry to Gozo. A super easy trip to make, but I’m not sure I’d want it as part of my daily commute!
We had the trail along the Sanap Cliffs almost to ourselves. I definitely liked Gozo more than Malta. It had more of a small-town feel and it seemed to have a bit less trash along the trails and streets. We were only there for a day, so there is a good chance that if I had the chance to explore the streets like I have Malta I’d see the same stuff.
I’d say the boat tour of the Blue Grotto on Malta is better than the boat tour of the caves and inland sea on Gozo and would skip the boat ride next time. But man, those cliffs were IMPRESSIVE, and the Tal-Mixta Cave was too.
(click on the images to see them full-sized/uncropped)
