7 of the Best Sandy Beaches in Malta & Gozo

Does Malta Have Sandy Beaches?

Yes. Malta and Gozo have several excellent sandy beaches, although much of the Maltese coastline is rocky. The sandy bays range from large, easy beaches with plenty of facilities to smaller beaches surrounded by more natural scenery.

This guide covers seven of the best sandy beaches in Malta and Gozo, but they are not ranked strictly from best to worst. The right choice depends on what you want from your beach day, whether that is shallow water for children, easy access and facilities, impressive scenery, clear water or a quieter setting.

We have also included San Blas Bay in Gozo as a bonus option. It is a beautiful sandy beach, but its very steep access means it will not suit every visitor.

Table Of Contents

• Which Sandy Beach Should You Choose?
• Mellieħa Bay (Għadira Bay)
• Golden Bay
• Għajn Tuffieħa Bay
• Ramla Bay, Gozo
• Paradise Bay
• Gnejna Bay
• Armier Bay & Little Armier
• Bonus: San Blas Bay, Gozo
• More Sandy Beaches Worth Knowing
• Prefer Rocky Beaches?

Which Sandy Beach Should You Choose?

No single beach is best for everyone. These are the main differences at a glance before we look at each beach in more detail.

Bonus – San Blas Bay, Gozo: A beautiful and quieter sandy beach for visitors comfortable with a very steep walk down and, especially, back up.

Travelling without a car? Our Malta beach bus routes guide explains the main public transport options for reaching beaches around the island.

Mellieħa Bay (Għadira Bay)

Busy summer day at Mellieħa Bay

Mellieħa Bay, also known as Għadira Bay, is Malta's largest sandy beach and one of the easiest all-round choices for a beach day. Its size, shallow water and good facilities make it particularly suitable for families and children.

The sea generally stays shallow for quite a distance from shore, while the long stretch of sand gives visitors much more space than Malta's smaller bays. With places to eat and drink, beach facilities, water sports, parking, and nearby bus stops, it is easy to spend several hours or most of the day here.

In our opinion, Mellieħa Bay's biggest strength is practicality, not dramatic scenery. Għajn Tuffieħa feels more natural, and Ramla Bay is our overall favourite, but Mellieħa is hard to beat if you want plenty of sand, shallow swimming, and easy access to facilities.

One useful thing to know when choosing accommodation is that Mellieħa Bay and Mellieħa village are not the same place. The village sits uphill from the coast, so check the exact location of your accommodation if walking easily to the beach is important to you.

Golden Bay

Summer visitors relaxing across Golden Bay

Golden Bay is one of Malta's best-known sandy beaches and a great choice if you want beautiful scenery, easy access, and good facilities. The broad golden-sand bay sits on Malta's north-west coast and is also one of our favourite places to be around sunset.

For a full beach day, Golden Bay is very practical. There are places to eat and drink, sunbed and umbrella rentals, toilets, showers and water sports, with parking and bus stops close to the bay. The Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Malta Golden Sands overlooks the beach, so the setting is more developed than neighbouring Għajn Tuffieħa.

We would generally choose Golden Bay over Għajn Tuffieħa for families with very young children, older visitors or anyone who wants to avoid a long flight of steps. In our opinion, Għajn Tuffieħa has a more natural setting, but Golden Bay is considerably easier to reach.

The main trade-off is popularity. Golden Bay can get very busy well outside peak summer, particularly on sunny weekends and especially Sundays. Even from around April, when the sea may still feel too cold for many people to swim, the beach itself can still fill with visitors. July and August are usually the busiest months overall, but do not assume spring or early autumn will necessarily mean a quiet beach.

Għajn Tuffieħa Bay

Panoramic view across Għajn Tuffieħa Bay

Għajn Tuffieħa is one of the beaches we recommend most strongly if you value scenery and a more natural setting. Surrounded by hills and countryside on Malta's north-west coast, it feels less developed than neighbouring Golden Bay, and the view over the bay before descending is one of our favourite beach views in Malta.

The main thing to know is the access. You need to walk down a long flight of steps to reach the sand and climb them again when leaving. For most visitors this is manageable, but the climb back can be tiring, especially in summer. Families with very young children, older visitors and anyone with mobility difficulties may find Golden Bay easier.

Once at the beach, you get a wide sandy bay backed by much more natural surroundings. Toilets and showers are available, seasonal lifeguards operate here, and bus stops and parking are available above the bay.

Personally, we prefer Għajn Tuffieħa to Golden Bay for the scenery and overall setting. It can still become busy in July and August, but if you want countryside, walking, and a beach that feels less developed, this is one of Malta's best sandy-beach choices.

Ramla Bay, Gozo

Busy summer beach scene at Ramla

Ramla Bay, or Ramla l-Ħamra, is our personal favourite sandy beach in Malta and Gozo. Its wide stretch of reddish-golden sand, natural surroundings and spacious feel make it one of the most distinctive beaches in the Maltese Islands.

The beach sits at the end of a green valley with very little major development immediately behind it, and the protected sand dunes add to the natural setting. It is also a good choice for families and visitors who want to spend several hours at the beach, with generally comfortable entry into the sea, although some parts of the shoreline can be pebbly.

Toilets, showers, food and drink, parking, and seasonal lifeguard coverage are available. A timber walkway also helps with access across part of the beach area.

If you have time for more than the beach, Mixta Cave gives one of the best-known views over Ramla. For a first visit to Gozo, Ramla is one of the beaches we would prioritise most strongly.

Paradise Bay

Clear water beside busy Paradise Bay

Paradise Bay is a small but attractive sandy beach at Malta's northern end, near Ċirkewwa. Its clear water, compact setting and views towards Gozo and Comino make it one of Malta's more picturesque sandy bays.

The main drawback is its size. Paradise Bay is much smaller than Mellieħa Bay, Golden Bay, or Ramla Bay, so it can feel crowded quickly in summer. If you want plenty of space, one of the larger beaches will usually suit you better.

Access involves a fairly long flight of steps. They are manageable for most visitors, but you need to climb them again when leaving, so anyone with mobility difficulties or who struggles with stairs should take this into account.

There are places for food and drink, toilets, showers, water sports and sunbed or umbrella rentals, with parking and a bus stop close to the access point. We would particularly choose Paradise Bay for clear water, swimming and a smaller scenic beach, rather than for lots of space or completely effortless access.

Gnejna Bay

Sunbeds and umbrellas at Gnejna Bay

Gnejna Bay is one of the beaches we would choose if you want a more rural and local-feeling sandy beach rather than one surrounded by hotels or a major tourist resort. Set below the countryside near Mġarr, it combines a proper sandy beach with rocky swimming areas and traditional boathouses around parts of the shoreline.

The sandy beach is fairly substantial, although smaller than Mellieħa Bay, Golden Bay and Għajn Tuffieħa. Swimming is pleasant when the sea is calm, with generally straightforward entry from the sandy section and some rocky areas that can also be good for snorkelling.

Facilities are more limited than at Malta's larger tourist beaches, but there are places for food and drinks, public toilets and seasonal beach equipment. The road down from Mġarr is steep and winding, with parking close to the bay, although spaces can become difficult to find on busy summer days and weekends.

We recommend Gnejna to visitors who value the countryside, a more local atmosphere, and a less developed setting. If you want the widest choice of facilities or the easiest possible family beach day, Mellieħa Bay is generally the more straightforward option.

Armier Bay & Little Armier

Beach lidos and swimmers at Armier

Armier Bay and Little Armier sit side by side at the northern end of Malta, and we treat them as one beach area rather than telling visitors one is clearly better than the other. Both have sandy areas, open views towards Comino and Gozo, and a noticeably more local summer atmosphere than Malta's better-known tourist beaches.

The area works well for swimming and families, with lidos, restaurants and places for food and drinks nearby. The shoreline is sandy in parts, although the entry into the sea can be rocky in places, so water shoes can sometimes be useful.

If you have a car, Armier is relatively straightforward to reach, and parking is generally easier than at some of Malta's most famous sandy beaches, although busy summer days can still fill the area quickly. Route 49 also currently serves Armier directly by public transport.

We particularly like Armier and Little Armier for their local atmosphere, practical facilities and views towards the islands. This is also why we would choose the area ahead of Pretty Bay for a Top 7 list, where the Freeport and ships in front of the bay take considerably away from the setting.

Bonus: San Blas Bay, Gozo

San Blas Bay is our bonus sandy beach for visitors who do not mind a more demanding approach. This small reddish-sand beach near Nadur is surrounded by countryside and feels much quieter and less developed than Malta's larger sandy bays.

The main consideration is the access. The final road is very steep, and the climb back up is what visitors really need to consider. We would be cautious recommending it to older visitors, anyone with mobility difficulties, or families carrying very young children and lots of beach equipment.

For someone reasonably fit, however, San Blas can be very rewarding. The smaller size, natural surroundings and clear water give it a more adventurous feel than the easier beaches in our main seven.

Basic facilities are available rather than a wide resort-style choice. San Blas is not in our main seven because access will not suit everyone, but for a quieter Gozo beach with beautiful surroundings, it is still worth considering.

More Sandy Beaches Worth Knowing

Beyond our main seven, several smaller or more local sandy beaches are worth knowing about, especially if you are staying nearby or want an alternative to Malta's busiest bays.

St George’s Bay – Sandy Beach in St Julian’s

St George’s Bay is the most convenient proper sandy beach if you are staying in St Julian’s, particularly around Paceville and the surrounding hotel area. It's also a practical option from Sliema if you don't want to travel to Malta’s larger northern beaches.

This is a very different setting from Għajn Tuffieħa, Gnejna or Ramla. The beach is small, urban, and surrounded by hotels, restaurants, shops, and entertainment, so it works well for a swim, a few hours by the sea, or combining the beach with lunch or an evening out.

It has toilets, showers, nearby food, water sports, and excellent bus connections, making it one of the easier sandy beaches to use without a car. The main drawback is that it can become very busy in summer, and the setting is far less natural than the beaches in our main seven.

We would choose St George’s Bay mainly for convenience and location. If you are travelling specifically for the beach experience itself, we would normally prioritise one of the main seven instead.

Hondoq ir-Rummien, Gozo

Hondoq ir-Rummien, below Qala in Gozo, is better described as a mixed beach than a fully sandy one. It has a small sandy and pebbly section together with rocky areas used for swimming and sunbathing.

Its biggest strengths are the clear water, snorkelling and views across the channel towards Comino. From the bay you can also see the area around the Blue Lagoon in the distance, which adds to the setting even though it is some way across the water.

The bay has a local atmosphere and is especially popular with Maltese and Gozitan families during summer. There are toilets, food nearby, parking, water sports and seasonal lifeguard coverage. Public transport does not stop directly on the beach, but the nearest bus stop in Qala is within walking distance.

We would choose Hondoq mainly for swimming, clear water, Comino views and its Gozo atmosphere, rather than specifically for a large sandy beach. For a full sandy-beach day in Gozo, Ramla Bay is the stronger choice.

Other Sandy Beaches Around Malta

• Imġiebaħ Bay, Mellieħa: A small, remote sandy bay surrounded by countryside. It is one of the more natural options, but access is via a rough track, and there are no real beach facilities, so bring food, water, and anything else you need.
• St Thomas Bay, Marsaskala: A local south-east bay with sandy sections and generally shallow entry into the sea. It's a good option for families staying around Marsaskala who don't want to travel north for a beach day.
• Balluta Bay, St Julian’s: A very small sandy beach between Sliema and St Julian’s. Its main advantage is location rather than size or scenery, making it useful for a quick swim if you are already staying nearby.
• Buġibba Perched Beach: A man-made sandy beach along the Buġibba waterfront. It lacks the natural setting of Malta’s main sandy bays, but it is extremely convenient if you are staying in Buġibba, Qawra, or St Paul’s Bay.
• St George’s Bay, Birżebbuġa: Not to be confused with St George’s Bay in St Julian’s, this is a small, sheltered sandy beach in southern Malta with a quieter, more local atmosphere.
• Pretty Bay, Birżebbuġa: A broad sandy beach that is convenient for residents and visitors staying in the south. We would not travel across Malta specifically for it, however, because the Freeport, cranes and ships directly opposite take considerably away from the coastal setting.

In Gozo, Xlendi and Marsalforn also have small sandy areas that are useful if you are already staying in either area. For a trip specifically centred around a sandy beach, however, we would choose Ramla Bay.

To compare these sandy beaches with Malta and Gozo's wider range of swimming spots, see our guide to the best beaches in Malta and Gozo.

You can also browse our photos of Malta beaches if you want to see more coastal settings before deciding where to go.

Prefer Rocky Beaches?

Sandy beaches are only part of Malta and Gozo's coastline. If you prefer rocky swimming areas, natural pools, and clear-water coastal spots, see our guide to the best rocky beaches in Malta, which covers the main places separately.

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We are Albert and Benjamin Magro, two Malta locals who enjoy exploring the island and sharing practical advice with visitors. Our guides combine local knowledge with first-hand visits to Malta's towns, beaches, attractions and accommodation areas. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for more Malta tips, photos and videos.

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