Blue Grotto Malta

Dingli Cliffs, British Army Personnel, Artificial Reef,
Um El Faroud Wreck, Isola di Malta blue grotto

The Blue Grotto Malta caves are one of the natural wonders which you should not miss whilst in Malta. It is located on the outskirts south of the village of Zurrieq near Wied iz-Zurrieq, on the southern part of Malta.

The Blue Grotto Malta started to get its name in the early 1950’s, when the British army personnel located in Malta at the time, used to ask the local fisherman to take them for a boat trip to the Blue Grotto sea caves.

By time it became so popular that the fishermen started to offer this service to tourists and locals alike.

Before starting your descent to the sea, you should stop to admire the cliffs and caves that adorn this area. There is a path located beside the road which offers the visitor a panoramic view of the huge shaped limestone arch. One of the many memory Maltese photos you will be taking during your holiday with us.

The rocky coastline along this area is very high and the sea is very deep with a dark blue all the way. The view from this area is fantastic with open seas, very high cliff sand picturesque rock formations. From this point you can see Filfla, the little island located 5 kilometres out at sea which is now a protected bird sanctuary.

When one proceeds down to the inlet bay you find the boats waiting for visitors. There you find fishing boats beautifully painted called a dghajsa. This is the location from where you buy the tickets for the boat trip to the caves. These trips operate weather permitting. Do not forget your camera as you will be surely disappointed if you do not take a picture.

The best time to visit is in the morning when the water normally shows numerous shades of blue. Inside the caves you can observe various mirrored colours from the underwater flora. Other areas show various dark shades of blue.

British soldiers stationed here during the 1950's, knew that the Malta Blue Grotto is very much like the Grotta Azzurra in Italian, meaning the blue grotto of Capri, that it deserved to be named the same but in English. It was literally translated in English from Grotta Azzurra. The island of Capri is located off the Gulf of Naples in Italy.

There are cafes and restaurants where you can enjoy a good meal of fresh fish whilst enjoying the nice view. It is the place where you can reset and forget the rest of the world for a few hours.

During 2004 the grotto was used for a scene in the film Troy starring Brad Pitt which makes it an even more significant place to visit.

In this area of Malta there are no Zurrieq hotels. All of the accommodation is concentrated on the other side of the island. At the same time, being such a small island, it is easy to arrive on the other side of Malta.

If you are keen on diving here you find the wreck of Um El Faroud. It is a well visited under water wreck. This location also offers a dive to the west reef and caves. Another one to the east. Further up from this site a few kilometres away there is another bay called Ghar Lapsi where it is also visited for an enjoyable dive. Read further about these three dives.