Dawn Diving Training Academy

CIRKEWWA – Marfa Point

Susie's Pool is a shallow diving area in Cirkewwa. This dive site is ideal for beginners as there is a rocky plateau of only 6 meters deep which is often used to practice skills. It's also a good warm up to dive to the start a diving holiday in Malta.The reef has a steep drop off to about 30 metres. Halfway along the reef wall there is a statue of Our Lady, also known as Madonna, in a small cave at a depth of 18 metres. The Madonna statue was placed in this cavern by a local dive club in November 1987. For the 20th anniversary in 2007 the dive club added a commemorative plaque inside the cave. In Christmas 2017 the club also added a small crib next to Madonna statue. https://maltadives.com/sites/susiespool-cirkewwa/en

Cirkewwa Arch (15-20m, shore access – beginner level) is a beautiful natural underwater archway. The Arch is actually a cavern which roof has long since collapsed leaving the arch as a result. The Arch is at 12 meters below the surface and 8 metres above the seabed. On the way to the Arch there are also some nice caves/tunnels.Entry to the sea for the Arch dive is from a large stride entry point (same as for tugboat Rozi wreck). The reef continues well beyond the Arch around the depth of 15-20 and further on the seabed next to the reef/wall reaches depths over 40 meters. The wall offers many small caves and hangouts. This part of the reef is called Reef Beyond Rozi. https://maltadives.com/sites/arch-cirkewwa

Tug Boat Rozi (20-34mtrs) is one of the two wrecks in Cirkewwa on the northwest side of Malta, and one of the most popular dive sites in the Maltese islands. Rozi was a former tugboat that operated in Grand Harbour of Valletta. She was scuttled in 1992 as an underwater tourist attraction for submarine tours, and also became an artificial reef for scuba divers. Tugboat Rozi wreck is easily dived from the shore. Rozi wreck is around 35 m long and lies upright on a sandy bottom, with her mast starting at 20 m and most of the wreck between 30 and 34 m of water. She is about 130 m from the nearest entry point, her stern close to the reef and bows towards the open sea. The wreck is still intact, except for its engine and the propeller which were removed before scuttling. Rozi offers an outstanding wreck dive with various penetration possibilities, and diving Rozi can be combined with a visit to nearby Cirkewwa Arch. https://maltadives.com/sites/rozi-cirkewwa

Patrol Boat P29 (Boltenhagen) (20-34m) is one of the two wrecks in Cirkewwa and one of the most popular dive sites in Malta. P29 was a former patrol boat for the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta. She was intentionally scuttled in 2007 to serve as scuba diving attraction and artificial reef. Before scuttling the wreck was made safe both environmentally and for divers.

P29 wreck is 52 m long, and sits upright at a depth of 34 m with the highest part at only 12 m deep from the surface. Many areas were left open for the experienced divers to explore and penetrate the wreck. For divers choosing not to enter P29, there is plenty of marine life to view during exploration of the exterior. https://maltadives.com/sites/p29-cirkewwa

Paradise Bay (10-30m) is a reef dive site in Cirkewwa. Paradise Bay reef offers a great variety of underwater scenery for divers - lots of interesting rock formations, large boulder fields, sandy bottoms and sea grass along with drop-offs of various heights, swim-throughs and a natural rock arch known as Left Arch or White Arch, whereas the more famous Arch in Cirkewwa is also known as Right Arch or Green Arch mentioned above. https://maltadives.com/sites/paradisebay-cirkewwa

Valletta Harbour & Manoel Island

HMS Maori (12-16m) in Valletta Harbour. HMS Maori is one of the many World War II wrecks around Maltese islands, but unlike most of them that are deep boat dives, Maori is a shallow dive that can be done from the shore. She is a real war wreck suitable for novice divers also. Maori lies on a sandy bottom with a maximum depth of 16 metres. The wreck is about 42 metres in length and quite broken.

X127 Lighter, Carolita, Coralita, X131(8-25m). X127 is one of the many World War II wrecks around Malta. X127 was a British water lighter that was sunk in 1942. The wreck is in Marsamxett Harbour off Manoel Island at the start of Lazzaretto Creek. X127 is laying upright on a slope, her bow at 5 metres and stern at 22 metres, and can be dived from the shore.

Anchor Bay
 
Anchor Bay (6-12M) is a popular shore dive site located near Mellieha on the northwest coast of Malta. Anchor Bay is a small inlet hidden between two cliffs, best known for the film set village built for Popeye movie, and the whole bay is sometimes referred as Popeye Village after the theme park. Shore dive sites in Anchor Bay are of course a large anchor, a beautiful cave, a varied reef, and a shallow training area. . The maximum depth in the bay is around 12 metres; this easy dive site is suitable for all levels of divers. Anchor Bay is good for try dives and training dives, for the second dive of the day, and for night diving. The bay is popular place for swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing too. Anchor Bay’s cave, also known as Scorpion Cave, is a large cavern with a wide entrance and an airpocket. Even the less experienced divers can visit the cave. https://maltadives.com/sites/anchorbay

MV Scots Craig (18-22m) (also known as Scot Craig) is a wreck dive in northwest of Malta. MV Scotscraig was a small British river ferry. Later she was used in filming Popeye movie shot in Malta and is therefore also known as Popeye’s Barge. After her appearance in the movie, Scotscraig sunk and became an underwater object for filming and photographing for scuba divers. The wreck is an interesting dive with many areas to explore both above and below the main deck. This is a boat dive BUT can be dived from shore with DPV’s ; the wreck is too far away to be dived from the shore. Scotscraig lies at a depth of about 21 m in an upright position on a seabed of sea grass, shingle and sand. The ferry wreck is 25 m in length and relatively wide. Her steel hull is breaking down, but otherwise she is quite intact. Divers can also penetrate into the lower deck of the wreck. Scotscraig is a nice wreck dive for all levels, also for the less experienced divers due to the shallow depth, and an ideal site for a second boat dive. However this wreck is not very often dived, and being relatively undisturbed she tends to have a wide variety of marine life including moray eels, conger eels, groupers, octopuses, and the occasional stingray. The visibility is not as good as elsewhere around Maltese islands, and can get very low in bad weather

Exiles, Sliema

Tugboat 2, (15-25m) Tug Boat 2, Tuo Lun Er Hao located off shore Exiles in Sliema, northeastern Malta. Tug 2 was a former tugboat working in Grand Harbour of Valletta. She was scuttled in June 2013 to form an artificial reef and an attraction for both scuba and free diving. Tug 2 lies upright approximately 250 m north from the dive's entry point at a depth of 22 m. She was originally sunk on the sand parallel to the reef some 20 m distance, but a storm moved her in October 2016, and the wreck is now crashed into the reef bow first. Tug 2 wreck is 30 m in length and 9.5 m height without the mast. It is safe to penetrate this open wreck, swim through the wheelhouse and the engine room still has lots to interest a diver despite that anything which could damage the marine environment was removed. https://maltadives.com/sites/tug2-exiles

Exiles reef (14-25m) is located in Sliema, northeastern Malta. This is a shallow reef with narrow gullies and overhangs. The main attraction of Exiles Reef is the posidonia fields and the diversity of fish life. With maximum depth of 20 metres, this is a great place for beginners, training dives and night diving. Exiles Reef has been an established dive site for years. https://maltadives.com/sites/exilesreef-exiles

ZURRIEQ

Wied iz-Zurrieq (Zurrieq Valley) Beginner Diver (5-30++m) is a small village situated on the southern coast of Malta, just off the town of Zurrieq. It is very popular with tourists for Blue Grotto caves, and with scuba divers for Um El Faroud wreck, a 110-metres long Libyan oil tanker that was scuttled in September 1998 for scuba diving and sits upright on sand with maximum depth of 36 m. Other dive sites in Wied iz-Zurrieq are East Reef, a wall with depths over 30 m, and West Reef & Caves, which has drop-offs, ledges, gullies, boulders and two caves, surrounded by sea grass and sandy areas, and a diving helmet statue which lies on the way to Um El Faroud wreck. Wied iz-Zurrieq is excellent place for night diving too. https://maltadives.com/sites/wiedizzurrieq

Wied iz-Zurrieq - Um El Faroud (20-36m) is the best wreck dive in Malta, at least for recreational divers. Um El Faroud was a Libyan oil tanker that was scuttled off the coast of Wied iz-Zurrieq in 1998 as an artificial reef and a scuba diving attraction. The tanker wreck sits upright on a sandy bottom at the depths of 15 m (funnel) to 36 m (propeller). The overall length of Um El Faroud is 110 m with a beam of about 16 m. The wreck broke in two parts during a heavy storm in winter 2005-2006.

Um El Faroud wreck lies parallel to the West Reef, her stern closest to the valley and starboard side towards the reef.. The tanker was prepared for diving before scuttling by removing all doors and windows and cutting entry and exit holes for divers. Um El Faroud offers lots of penetration possibilities for experienced wreck divers. https://maltadives.com/sites/umelfaroud-wiedizzurrieq.

Gozo - Dwerja

Inland Sea dive site features a cavern with collapsed roof leaving a beautiful large circular opening in the rock faces that rises 10 metres above the surface of the sea. Inland Sea is located in L'Ahrax Point on the northernmost tip of the island of Malta. https://maltadives.com/sites/inlandsea-lahraxpoint
Blue Hole in Dwerja is probably the most famous scuba dive site in Malta, and one of the most beautiful dives of the Maltese Islands. This is nice place for swimming, snorkeling, and freediving too.
Blue Hole is a circular rock formation, a sinkhole in the limestone, about ten metres wide and five metres across. The hole is a sheltered pool as it is protected by a fringe of rock, and divers can safely enter and exit the sea. Blue Hole is often dived in the afternoon when winds start to pick up and other dive sites become more and more inaccessible.

Depth in Blue Hole is about 15 m. A beautiful archway or underwater window leads from the hole into the open sea at 9 m deep. The walls of the hole are covered with colourful coral tubeworms, sponges and other small marine life. Outside there is a great number of large boulders. On the opposite side to the window there is a large cave. https://maltadives.com/sites/bluehole-dwejra

MV Karwela is one of the three diving wrecks off shore Xatt l-Ahmar in south-eastern coast of Gozo. Karwela was a former Captain Morgan Cruises passenger ferry around the Grand Harbour. She was scuttled in August 2006 together with MV Cominoland as an artificial reef for scuba divers. The third wreck MV Xlendi was scuttled already in 1999.

Karwela wreck is about 50 m long and is sitting perfectly upright on a sandy bottom with a maximum depth around 40 m. Her bow lies at 39 m deep, whereas her stern rests at 41 m. The top deck with the captains cabin starts at depth of 30 m. The wreck is safe to penetrate because of the various openings made before scuttling, and there is plenty to explore on its three decks. Large holes were cut all along the sides on the first two decks, and there is a photogenic staircase in the middle of the wreck leading to lower deck, which is lit by portholes. There is a small amount of silt and sand inside.

Karwela's bow is approximately 80 m south from the dive’s entry point and about 40 m from the drop-off. She is the middle one of the three wrecks in Xatt l-Ahmar, between Cominoland which lies about 60 m east, and Xlendi about 60 m west of Karwela. All the wrecks are usually dived from the shore, but can be done by boat as well. Karwela is probably the most dived wreck around Gozo, as she is more interesting than upturned Xlendi, and closer to shore and larger than Cominoland. https://maltadives.com/sites/mvkarwela-xattlahmar

BOAT ENTRY DIVES

Patrol Boat P31 (Pasewalk) is the only wreck around Comino island and a popular boat dive site. P31 was a former patrol boat for the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta. She was deliberately scuttled in 2009 as diving attraction and artificial reef. Before scuttling the wreck was made safe both for environment and for divers.

P31 patrol boat lies on the west coast of Comino, in the middle of the bay halfway between Lantern Point and Cominotto, in front of the islet where Alex’s Cave dive site is situated. P31 wreck is 52 m in length and sits almost upright on white sand, with a slight list to the portside. The depth is 20 m under the bow and 18 m at the stern, which is buried in the sand after the wreck moved during storms over the winter 2010-2011 – P31 now lies about 25 m from the buoy towards Alex’s Cave. The top part at only 7 m deep from the surface. https://maltadives.com/sites/p31

Santa Marija Caves - located on the North West coast of Comino, with a series of interconnecting grottos and tunnels and abundant sea life. Lots of people feed the fish here – we don’t encourage this. That means there is lots of fish to see and photograph. The Santa Marija Caves lie adjacent to each other within an inlet (8-12 metres). Out with the caves the surrounding dive area is approx. 20mtrs to explore.
MV Imperial Eagle is a deep wreck dive off Qawra in north-eastern Malta. Imperial Eagle was a former ferry boat between Malta and Gozo. She was scuttled in 1999 as an artificial reef and an attraction for scuba divers in a marine conservation area.

Imperial Eagle wreck is located about half a kilometre north east off Qawra Point. This is a boat dive for experienced divers. The wreck is about 45 m long and sits perfectly upright on sandy seabed. The maximum depth is 42 m, the deck is 32 m deep, and the wreck is open for penetration; there are some rooms and corridors to swim through. The wooden parts of the wreck have mostly rotted away, leaving just the metal structures. Only the wheel is remaining of the bridge. https://maltadives.com/sites/mvimperialeagle

Hephaestus wreck Hephaestus is an oil tanker that was scuttled to Xatt l-Ahmar on 29.8.2022 as an underwater attraction. This is a boat entry dive for experienced divers with Deep Certification. Togo-registered Hephaestus is about 60 m in length with a beam of 8 m. Ave depth 32+ mtre max 42mtr. Hephaestus was wrecked at Qawra Point on 10th February 2018. The ship was anchored near the area known as Is-Sikka l-Bajda approximately 3 km from the coast when she started dragging anchor in a heavy storm and drifted directly towards the shore. An hour later at around 6:15 in the morning Hephaestus run into the rocks. The oil tanker was carrying no cargo, and the crew of seven was unharmed https://maltadives.com/sites/hephaestus-xattlahmar

TEC DIVE SITES plus Heritage Malta Dive Sites