Looking for the best beach in Malta

Summer’s here and tourists are lining up on the busses to get down to the beach. Some simply want to lie on the beach and toast up nicely, some long for the cool refreshing waters and some want to hang around and try and meet people. Did I forget to mention barbecues? Everybody loves a good fire baked burger.

Let’s say you’re only here for a week and you’re looking for the best beach in Malta. It would be easy to give the location of the most picturesque one in my opinion, though that’s not actually in Malta, it’s in Gozo; Malta’s sister island. So if you had to ask where to go in a hurry I’d tell you to get on a ferry and go to Gozo to visit Xlendi. There’s hikes to be had that will take you past many swimming spots and everywhere you walk is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Go on… If you’re in Malta already go do that!

The truth is that everyone has different tastes. If you like so many others wanted a typical sandy beach, you wanted to make sure you were safe from all possible marine life and you definitely wanted to be able to nip off to grab some food or drinks, well you’d like golden bay. If like me you found that too crowded and wanted a little peace you’d walk back up the stairs and go to the neighbouring beach with no kiosks and less people, that’d be Għajn Tuffieħa or as most people call it “Riviera”. I don’t know if they call it that because there was a hotel of the same name there or because they are too lazy to pronounce Maltese, we’ll never know. If you still want sand and drinks and crowds there’s always Mellieħa Bay a few km westwards, and that doesn’t have any name ambiguity.I don’t like sand at all, it gets everywhere and I don’t really find it that comfortable to lie on. I mean with a beach towel underneath you it’s all the same, to me at least. Personally I like to find ones with huge smooth rocky expanses which are perfect to lie on without all that sand nonsense. My personal pick for the best beach in Malta is one I can’t actually tell you about because I’ve been sworn to secrecy.

Why am I bothering to write an article about the best beach in Malta if I won’t even give it’s name or location away? Well I did tell you about those other ones right? Ok, but seriously if you really want to find a sweet spot to pitch your personal beach party then you have to make some friends. Residents here have gone to hundreds of different spots in their lifetime. I mean if you lived on an island holiday destination then you’d be a beach veteran. The thing is they are continually trying to beat the tourists… Many residents just want to get away from the crowds when they go for a quiet swim and they’ll come back to the hotspots just to hang out and maybe socialise a bit. Damn beach connoisseurs.

So if you really are on the hunt for the best beach in Malta then get here and do exactly that: Hunt. Ask locals, rent a car so they will have an incentive to actually show you. Yes that’s right, bribery works wonders. Oh on a side note, if you do rent a car be very careful driving here; the only tip I can give you is to assume everyone has the right of way so eyes open. Well I’ve pretty much told you to find the best beach yourself, go to Gozo and head off west to Golden bay if you like the standard beach thing… Did I mention getting a day trip to Comino? That’s actually a really great day out and the beach there is actually rather exquisite with its rustic limestone hills, turquoise waters and caves and coves to explore.

Ok here’s a bit of a note on the really busy beaches. There are 3 main hot-spots right next to the nightlife so unless you’re going to brave the busses you’ll likely end up at these. I’m sorry I’m being a realist. In my order of preference first there’s Sliema which is usually less crowded, has great flat rocky beaches and is about as picturesque as you can get. If you’re not going to go out into wider Malta here’s where you want to be.

Secondly St Julian's. There are two beaches here if you don’t want to walk very far. Honestly you’d want to get on a bus or walk to Sliema but you may just want a bit of a tan a drink and a dip before heading off to a nightclub and the sandy beach is fine for that. It’s crowded but you’ll get your spot in the sun and there are about 100 different places willing to sell you food and drinks if you don’t like the lido that’s actually on the beach. Personally I prefer the rocky beach on the other side of st julians, there’s not much sun bathing to be had but the view is wonderful and it’s a small reminder of what the actual ecology looks like. I love it.

Last there’s Bugibba: Avoid the west side of the strip of beach. It’s crowded and partially covered in concrete, ugh! But as you move further to the east, or towards st julians, the beaches become steadily more natural and honestly that’s always going to be my preference.