Malta – Beaches in Malta and Popeya Village

Malta has long been a popular vacation destination, attracting many tourists. In previous posts we have recommended to you many interesting attractions and places to see locally, so maybe now it’s time to relax And relaxing on the beach? After all, everyone deserves it!

There are several reasons for flying to Malta: some treat the island as Ibiza’s party sister, others come here to learn English (there are many language schools organizing courses and trainings here), others want to see the local historic cities or natural rock formations, and still others just want to laze on the beach, because after all, Malta is a holiday island, full of sunshine.

Our plan was to go to the beach as well, so we brought swimsuits, towels, swimming gear and hoped to splash around in the water for at least half of the trip. How did it work out?

Well, it didn’t work out for us to beach ;) Mainly for two reasons: firstly, it turned out that there were many interesting places to see and we wasted a day on the beach, and secondly, decent beaches were far away from Sliema (where we stayed overnight), so going to the beach involved almost a day trip. It is also true that when planning the trip it was more important for us to have a well-connected location in the city than to spend time in a seaside resort.

Being in Valletta or Sliema, we doubted whether we would even be able to use the beaches – in this area they are rather symbolic: either rocky or rocky, or very modest and narrow just off the street. But there are also nice, wide and sandy beaches in Malta, you just have to get away from these places, and the best place to look for them is in the northern part of the island or in Gozo.

It must also be admitted that the beaches in Malta did not knock us off our feet…. because the wider and sandy ones are few, and in high season they are heavily besieged by tourists. Leaving aside the issue of peace and quiet, it is also worth adding that if you plan to travel around the island on public transport buses, you may have a problem returning from these beaches – many people choose this mode of transport, making the buses crowded and not even stopping at bus stops.

Beaches in Malta

The first beach worth noting is by the village of Mellieha, on the east coast. Mellieha Bay is probably the most popular beach – quite a large (for Malta), sandy beach, full of umbrellas and sun loungers, which can be rented for a fee (of course, it is also possible to lay out your own equipment).

You have to admit that it is really crowded, and at the shore you will also find companies offering water equipment rental and all kinds of water sports activities. So it’s not quiet either ;)

Importantly, if you stay here longer, you may have trouble returning. And even if by some miracle you manage to fit into a city bus, there is a good chance that you will stand in a huge traffic jam. Such are the charms of high season travel :)

On the other side, on the west coast, there are two more beaches in the bays: Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay. Both are sandy, stone-free and less crowded than Mellieha Bay, although there are quite a few people here too, especially in high season.

The first, Golden Bay, is wider and dominated by a huge hotel complex.

The second, Ghajn Tuffieha Bay, is narrower and smaller, but definitely nicer located and more difficult to access – you have to go down stairs to get to it.

For those willing to do so, we recommend climbing a nearby cliff that offers a view of the rocky coastline (you can even see Gozo).

Popeya Village

There is another attraction in the northern part of the island that attracts tourists and is closely related to the theme of beaches – this is Popeye Village (Popeye Village). Although there is no typical sandy beach here, there is an opportunity to go down to the water and enjoy the prepared activities.

Popeya Village is close to Mellieha Bay, from where you can walk in less than 30 minutes or wait for the buses that run here (unfortunately, they don’t run very often). The route to the village takes you along a tight road among the fields, and it’s quite pleasant as long as you don’t walk in 34-degree heat (we preferred to walk anyway, rather than stand still and wait for the bus).

The titular village was prepared for the film about Popeya’s adventures, and remained as a tourist attraction after the shooting was completed. When we arrived at the village, it turned out that they are closing it soon, and entry is quite expensive (current prices are from 14 to 22 EUR per adult, depending on the season). Instead of entering the area, we went for a walk to the nearby cliffs from where we got a view of the entire village.

From afar you can see colorful houses, pubs, everything as if taken straight out of a movie, and the only incongruous elements were tourists and loud music from the speakers. The bay also has a miniature beach with several deck chairs and umbrellas, as well as numerous water attractions (inflatable trampolines, slides).

We took a few photos and walked further along the cliffs from where there were beautiful views of Malta’s steep coastline.

The aforementioned beaches are located in the northern part of the island and are not the only beaches in Malta. In another post we described the famous beach Pretty Bay located in the southeastern part of the island. It is wider, sandy however, it has one big disadvantage: it is right next to a large port, where huge container ships call every now and then….

Map – beaches in Malta

The beaches listed above are, of course, not all beaches in Malta. Below we have prepared for you a map with definitely more places where you can take a sea bath! We chose those where you can actually both get in the water and lie on a sandy or rocky beach.

Summary

The most important thing to remember: there are reasonably nice beaches in Malta, but unfortunately they are crowded, especially in high season. We encourage you not to set your mind solely on lying on the beach, but go to other places or at least see Gozo, because Malta is not only beaches :)

Zobacz galerię zdjęć z plaż Malty i Wioski Popeya >>>

See also our summary: Malta practical tips and all posts about Malta.