4 Amazing coastal hikes in Malta

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I love a good coastal hike and Malta doesn’t disappoint. I’m going to tell you about 4 hikes in Malta that I did, as well as explain, step by step, the walking routes….to be fair, not much explanation is needed as you simply follow the coastline lol. Ok, what I will be doing is telling you how to get to the start of each one, the points of interest along the walk, distance, time and your finish point.

Why go hiking in Malta?

Malta is 155km round and you can pretty much walk along almost all of the coastline.  Not just any coastline, but a coastline of rugged goodness. Limestone cliffs, rock arches, caves, coves, and secluded bays. 

There are bus stops all along the coast making it easy to divide the hiking into sections, making each hike as long or as short as you want. I kept my hikes to under 3 hours, so they are perfect to fit into your day and leave enough time to do other things.

Some of these hikes also take you to ‘points of interest’ so essentially you will be sightseeing.

I did them during autumn/winter which was perfect weather. Nice and warm. Spring would probably be nice as well. I think summer would be uncomfortably hot. However, these hikes are short enough, you could probably get away with it. Just make sure you take plenty of water.

Anyway, lets get into it……

Malta hiking trails

Marfa Ridge walk

This route takes you through wooded areas, farmed land and olive trees, fortified structures, secluded bays and my personal favourite, breathtaking cliff views.

The trail loops around the northern most part of Malta and has the advantage of starting and finishing at the same location. It’s very very easy to navigate. You basically start at Mellieha (Ghadira) Bay and head north till you hit the red tower. 

Just fyi: Mellieha Bay is the largest sand beach in Malta. To be honest, I had no desire to spend any time there. It’s quite busy and is more family friendly with shallow water till about 50m out. I don’t do family friendly lol. 

St Agatha’s tower (the red tower) was built in the 1647 to strengthen the northern coastal defences. From here you get views across all of Malta. 

Next turn left or right (I went left) and loop around following the coastline till you get back here. There are a lot of dirt tracks on this one (if you go off-piste) and areas with sharp rocks…..I was highly regretting wearing trainers. You will also walk along Slug’s bay on this hike, a nice secluded beach area. 

Logistics:

Start and finish – Mellieha/Ghadira bus terminal (at Mellieha/Ghadira Bay). 

From: Valletta Bus 44, 45, 50, 452. Silima Bus 645. Bugibba Bus 48

Distance – 15km

Time – Aprox 3 hours. Everywhere I read about this online says 4-5 hours. I think that’s a bit generous. I took 3 hours including stopping lots to take photos.

Difficulty – Easy. The most strenuous part is the uphill at the beginning as you walk towards the watch tower.

Tips – Wear hiking boots. Take detours off the track (this is where the hiking boots come in handy). Trainers will be suitable if you stick to the path. Take swimwear so you can jump in the water at Slug’s bay. 

Comino island (Blue lagoon)

Comino is a very small island (3.5sq miles) and this hike (although id probably call this one more of a walk) takes you around it. Well, almost all around it. About half way in you walk away from the coast and cut though the middle, I will explain below.

So, once you arrive at the blue lagoon you will probably want to stay there. 

Don’t.

If you go and do this hike, when you arrive back, the Blue Lagoon will be your reward. Don’t worry, it’s a very short hike so you will be back here soon. 

When you get off the boat, walk up to the path and turn right. Walk along with the blue lagoon on your right……and take lots of pictures.

As you continue on leaving the blue lagoon behind you, you will then reach an abandoned hospital. This was where cholera victims were kept in isolation. 

Once you are suitably creeped out, continue till you reach St Mary’s battery. Fun fact, this is one of the 3 surviving coastal defence battery’s. Here the path will turn left. This is where you cut through to the other side of the island passing by an abandoned pig farm. 

Stick to the hiking trail that cuts through the middle

There will be opportunity to take paths to the right taking you back to the ocean. These are dead ends. I wasn’t going to waste time on dead ends on this hike. I didn’t want to delay my time getting back to the blue lagoon.

You will soon reach the coast at Santa Marie bay. This is a sandy beach and way less busy than the blue lagoon. 

Actually, I lied earlier. Here I turned right which does lead to a dead end, but it was a nice little detour on rocky ground with aqua blue water just like at the blue lagoon. 

This is where you should come if the blue lagoon is too busy for you.

Anyway, once you are done here follow the path left. You will then walk past the one and only resort of the island before arriving back at the blue lagoon.

Now that you have finished the Comino island hike and are nice and sweaty, getting in the blue lagoon will be that much sweeter. You can find more info about this area in my blog post visiting Comino and the blue lagoon.

Logistics:

Start and finish – At the blue lagoon (get here by boat from the main land)

Distance – 6.5km, a bit more if you take detours.

Time – 1.5 hours

Difficulty – Easy

Tips – Take swimwear to get in the water. Trainers will be fine for this hike. 

Dingli to blue grotto hike

I picked this route because I wanted to see both the Dingli cliffs and the Blue Grotto.

I’m going to be honest here, I was a little disappointed with the Dingli cliffs. I discovered that walking along the cliffs doesn’t actually give you the best views of them. I mean, they are nice but I have seen way better cliffs that aren’t advertised. Personally, I was expecting a little more from something that is recommended as a must see. I think from the ocean they would be more impressive.

Gosh, does this make me a cliff snob? lol.

Saying that, this was my favourite of all the hikes I did in Malta.

This hiking route is a little bit more complex, and me telling you to follow the coast will not do. If you follow every path you see you will end up at dead ends or private land.  A hiking app would be really useful for this one as it tells you where private land is and shows you the trails. I will also explain it all for you, so here we go.

For the first bit of the hike, you will be walking along a main road. Then when the road curves round to the left take a small path to the right and start heading down. 

Follow this till you reach a chapel then you will be on a road again. Continue along the road and bear left when the road forks. You will notice paths leading off this road however they lead onto private land or dead ends, so stick with this road for a bit. Once you reach a T-junction turn right. At the roundabout take the exit on the right and follow the road down. Once you hit the coast at Ghar Lapsi you will find some buildings and restaurants.

This is where the fun begins. 

As you continue walking along you will hit a fence saying DANGER. Well, this is where you enter. It was a bit odd because there was a large opening which is really just asking to be entered, and a few locals were going on runs in there.

Disclaimer: Enter at your own risk, I can not be held responsible for any injury as a result of you entering. I am simply telling you what I did. I am experienced at hiking so know what I’m doing. If you do enter then take someone with you for help if injury occurs.

There, now that I’ve got that out of the way….

This part of the hike feels a lot more remote than the other hikes. For part of it, you will be walking on a narrow path on the side of a rocky hill with sheer drops. This is probably the part the sign was talking about.

You will then reach a flat and be out of the danger zone lol. Now keep walking till you reach an arch in the water then turn left and walk up the hill. 

At the top of the hill, you will be at Hagar Qim temples. I didn’t stop here because I was hungry and wanted to finish the hike so I could go eat. 

Obvs you could stop here and sightsee.

Once you hit the main road turn right and at the end where the road bears left you will be at the Blue Grotto.

Logistics: 

Start – Dingli. Bus line 201. Get off at Dahar. 

Finish – Blue Grotto. From here you can get Buses 201 and 74 from Panorama bus stop.

Distance – 13km

Time – 3 hours

Difficulty – Moderate. It’s quite a hilly route.

Tips – You will walk on a bit of asphalt but also a lot of dirt paths and rocky areas so I would recommend hiking boots. I was wearing trainers but that was a mistake lol. Use a hiking app.

Marsaskala to Marsaxlokk

This walk takes you from a seaside village to another in the south east of Malta.

Marsaskala is a quiet authentic village with a picturesque bay and laid back atmosphere. Marsaxlokk is a traditional fishing village known for the fish market on Sundays and Luzzu (brightly coloured boats).

Starting in Marsaskala, the walk begins hugging the side of the port along a nice easy path. As you leave the village you will soon make your way uphill along dirt tracks and through farmland. I would recommend using a hiking app for this one so you can easily follow the trail because it’s not always obvious. The route is a mix of dirt tracks and asphalt, sometimes having to take small detours away from the coastline to avoid private land…..I did find myself at dead ends a few times. 

You will navigate some narrow paths along cliff edges with EPIC views. 

Then a nice little surprise towards the end….

St Peters pool

I had not heard of this place. Towards the end, I saw a sign pointing here and thought I’d have a look to see what it is. It is a natural (and secluded) swimming pool. The signs will direct you left and then down. It’s quite a fair bit down, so hust remmeber you will have to walk back up again. 😉

Logistics:

Start – Marsaskala (Bus 91, 92, 93 from Valletta)

Finish – Marsaxlokk 

Distance – 10km

Time – 2.5 hours

Difficulty – Moderate. There are a few uphills so a reasonable level of fitness is required. 

Tips – Use a hiking app so you can follow the trail. If you go blind you will hit dead ends. Take swimwear for a dip in St Peter’s pool at the end. You can get away with trainers for this one.

Final thoughts….

Well, there you have it. 4 amazing coastal hikes in Malta. Now I must say, there is so much more of the coastline to see and If you follow one of my guides then I encourage you to go further. See more than I got to. Maybe even check out hiking in Gozo. For some ideas, you can read up on why I think you should visit Gozo. Don’t worry, Malta is so small there is no chance of getting lost in the wilderness lol.

I made a Malta YouTube video which is mostly of the hikes I did if you want to see more. Or you can check out my blog post on why you should visit Malta for more of an overview of the place.

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