Good morning and welcome back from the Labor Day weekend! I’m home in DC after a fantastic vacation and easing back into routine. If you missed the earlier posts, here are the first two recaps from our trip — this is the third of four.
- Istanbul in an Overnight Layover (or two)
- Malta Adventures Part 1: Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands
For part two of our Malta stay, Matt and I moved on to Mellieħa, a charming town on the northern tip of the island.
We rented a car in Malta, which was both useful and entertaining: they drive on the left and our rental was a manual. Matt is experienced with stick shifts, but using the left hand to change gears while driving on the left was an amusing challenge. Add in navigating with paper maps instead of relying solely on GPS, narrow streets, many roundabouts, and assertive drivers, and it made for quite the adventure. It was part of the fun, though, and having a car was essential since public transit on the island is limited. Car rentals were reasonably priced, and a big thank-you to Instagram follower Allison for her helpful Malta tips!
In Mellieħa we joined my college friend Kris and a large, international group of her friends. Kris organized the trip — huge thanks to her! We squeezed 14 people into an Airbnb (my first time using Airbnb — I’m a fan now). The house had a large roof deck where we gathered each evening to cook, share meals, drink wine, and relax. A few mornings some of us did yoga on the roof using a free app, while on other days we improvised when the Wi‑Fi up there was spotty.
Our main activity in Mellieħa was a scuba diving course. Matt, my friend Kris, her friend Kuo, and I signed up through Bezz Diving, a well-reviewed local dive center. Their team was friendly, professional, and made the experience seamless — I can highly recommend them.
I was already certified from a study abroad program in Australia back in 2003, so I joined the group for company while they completed the course. The instructors reviewed the basic skills with me as a refresher and then let me explore nearby underwater while the others finished their training. Matt and some others completed online modules before arriving in Malta, so once we met with Bezz it was straight to hands‑on diving.
We were up early for three mornings to dive. Each day included two dives, and we were typically done by early afternoon, leaving plenty of time to explore and hang out with the rest of our group.
All the dives were shore dives, so we entered from the rocky coast rather than taking boats — convenient and direct. I brought my underwater camera, which handled both action shots and deeper dives well. The camera rated to about 15 meters but performed nicely at 18 meters, and a floating strap (designed for GoPros) prevented any accidental losses.
The diving left me eager to explore more underwater sites in the future — especially shipwrecks. On our final dive there was a sunken tugboat I really wanted to inspect up close. Someday soon, hopefully.
After morning dives we always stopped for a late breakfast or lunch. We kept breakfasts simple at the house — bread with peanut butter and banana on the go — and cooked dinners together most nights. For lunches we enjoyed a beachside spot in Mellieħa called Munchie’s, where we had excellent green smoothies and fresh salads. It was a welcome way to get some greens after active mornings.
We usually spent afternoons at the beach with the group. Aside from the sandy beaches at Golden Sands and Mellieħa, most of Malta’s coastline is rocky. At Mellieħa Bay there was a fun inflatable playground on the water — trampolines, climbable obstacles, and a challenging iceberg-shaped feature. It cost about 5 euros per person for an hour; it was wildly fun and physically demanding, with lots of slipping and splashing. My arms and abs definitely felt it the next day.
After finishing the dive course, a small group (me, Matt, Kris, Kuo, and his friend Wan) spent a day visiting Gozo, a nearby island in the Maltese archipelago. We took the ferry with our car, which was handy for getting around once we arrived. Our first stop was the stunning Azure Window — the water around it was crystal clear and beautiful for swimming and snorkeling.
Tip for visiting Malta: bring water shoes. Most entry points are rocky, so shoes make getting in and out of the water much easier. Also bring snorkeling goggles to enjoy the underwater scenery.
We had lunch in the picturesque town of Xlendi, where we dined at The Stone Crab with lovely seaside views. Xlendi is also where we picked up matching hats — a silly but fun souvenir for the group.
In the afternoon we rented a two-level paddleboat to explore the coastline and swim away from the busiest spots. It was a relaxed way to see more of the island from the water. Later we headed back to the west coast to watch the sunset at the Azure Window area — the colors were lovely — and finished the day with gelato.
We had to wait a long time to board the ferry home with our car — Sunday night crowds meant long lines — but the day was well worth the delay. It was a wonderful end to our time in Mellieħa.
I’ll share the final post from this trip next: our adventures farther south in Sliema.