Reef/Wall · 5–50m+ / 16-164ft+
Blue Hole
One of the dive sites we run here in Malta — here's the story behind it, the depth and access, and what it takes to dive it properly.
One of the dive sites we run here in Malta — here's the story behind it, the depth and access, and what it takes to dive it properly.
The Blue Hole is one of the most famous dives in the Mediterranean, and for good reason. A natural rock pool around ten metres across sits at the foot of the Dwejra cliffs, linked to the open sea by an archway at about 8m. You drop into the pool, slip out through the arch, and the seabed falls away down a sheer wall well past 60m.
Just outside lie the giant tumbled blocks of the collapsed Azure Window, now a dramatic boulder field, with the Coral Gardens and the Chimney crack to explore nearby. Shallow enough to enjoy on a single cylinder, deep enough to keep technical divers very happy — it earns its reputation.
The entry is the pool itself — you kit up on the rocks above, lower your kit, and roll in. Immediately there's the arch at 8m, a low natural tunnel about 3m wide that opens directly onto the wall. The drop is dramatic: 10m to 20m to 30m with no bottom in sight, the wall smothered in gorgonians, sponges, and colour that you don't usually associate with the Mediterranean.
The Azure Window collapsed in March 2017 during a storm, and what's left — a cathedral-scale boulder field — is genuinely extraordinary. Large angular blocks the size of cars and buses lie scattered across the seabed, already colonised by grouper and moray eels. The Chimney is a crack in the wall that lets you ascend inside the rock and emerge back into the pool — a short enclosed section, so guideline-capable divers only. The Coral Gardens extend to the west along the base of the cliff in shallow water, often good for nudibranch.
Conditions vary considerably. In settled summer weather the Blue Hole is calm and clear, with 30m+ visibility. In anything from the west or north-west it gets rough fast — this is an exposed shore dive on a cliff face. We check the forecast every time. As a technical site the wall beyond 40m sees negligible current, but the entry can be surgy in any swell.
The diving here suits divers at Trimix Diver level. If you’re not there yet, these are the courses that get you there:
Already certified and just want to dive it? Come and explore it with me on open circuit or CCR — one relaxed dive a day, no rushing, as long in the water as you like.
Want to dive Blue Hole? Tell me your certification level and your dates, and I'll plan it with you. No pressure, no hard sell — just a good dive.