Seaside Serenity: A Malta Hiking Experience
Experiencing the simplicity of nature and coastal beauty in St. Paul’s Bay
In early November, my wife and I decided to escape the cold winter weather and spend a few days in Southern Europe.
We chose Malta, where the weather forecast promised favorable temperatures. Furthermore, we were able to buy affordable direct airline tickets.
It takes around 2 hours to fly from Budapest to Malta. When we landed in early December, we were delighted to find a pleasant climate, ensuring that the upcoming 5 days would be enjoyable. And indeed, they were!
Our accommodation was located in St. Paul’s Bay, allowing easy access to all the sights and attractions, thanks to Malta’s excellent bus transportation system.
This travelogue summarizes our second day exploring Malta.
Following our intuition, we decided to go hiking on the first day and spend a few hours in nature with some added physical activity.
Hiking in Malta is quite different as there are no mountains on the island. The highest point is Ta’ Dmejrek, standing at 253 meters (830 feet).
Our planned hike turned out to be an easy stroll, but the time spent outdoors enriched our memories with beautiful coastal views.
Without any prior plans, I browsed a hiking app installed on my phone before breakfast. We selected an over 2-hour, 10 km circular route with a total elevation gain of 150 meters. Although we are used to longer and more challenging hikes, the novelty of the experience excited us.
So, our hike led us to Mistra Valley. We reached the starting point by a direct bus, which took us there in half an hour.
We began our walk bathed in the December sunshine. It was 18 degrees Celsius (65 Fahrenheit). We enjoyed the good weather and the view of the sea.
After walking a few hundred meters on the trail, I noticed that the hiking route marked in the app was not signposted anywhere. We didn’t see any signs indicating the actual path. Of course, there were paths and well-trodden trails, but one needs to be clever at their intersections. So, we relied on the phone and the satellites for the exact GPS coordinates.
The landscape was breathtaking!
Our first stop was Mistra Bay, where on a Sunday, enthusiastic model boat hobbyists were racing their model boats. These small boats made a loud noise due to their powerful engines, which we heard from a distance. When we arrived, each model boat lover was already busy with maintenance work on their boats.
Continuing along the trail, we reached a viewpoint where we saw the island of St. Paul. In the New Testament of the Acts of the Apostles, it is narrated how Apostle Paul suffered a shipwreck while heading to Rome to face charges in AD 60. The island bears his name because of this event. Since September 21, 1845, a statue commemorates the apostle’s visit, visible in the attached photo.
Moving forward, we reached the Blata il-Bajda picnic area, where we were greeted by beautiful coastal scenery. One great stretch of coastline followed another. As it was the weekend, we encountered some local hikers who greeted us with a good morning, even though it was already past noon.
It was strange to see a four-wheeler parked along the rocky coastline despite the challenging terrain. We wondered how it got there. But, when another specially adapted off-road vehicle appeared on the steep hillside, it became clear that the Maltese engaged in many unconventional hobbies.
The weather remained sunny, although it became windy as we walked along the coastline. Since we didn’t bring hats, the strong gusts started to make us uncomfortable. To avoid possible illness, my wife crafted earplugs from a paper tissue, placing them in her ears. At first, I laughed at it, then I followed this unusual solution. It worked! My wife is resourceful, and I always enjoy learning from her!
Continuing our journey, we reached the Għajn Ħadid beach, where a family was having a picnic with their two large dogs. Meanwhile, a trail runner couple overtook us, executing their Sunday rigorous training program. So, the dogs targeted them, but fortunately, their owners noticed in time and restrained the dogs.
Above the coastline stood the ruins of the Għajn Ħadid watchtower. The tower was built in 1658, the first among the De Redin towers. The tower has been in ruins since 1856 when an earthquake caused the collapse of its upper floor.
The last stop on our hiking route was the Imġiebaħ coastal nature reserve. From here, the circular route would have returned to our starting point. Yet, examining the map, I saw that we could easily approach the city of Mellieħa by continuing along the coast. Since it was only around one o’clock in the afternoon, we decided to deviate from the original hiking route and continue on the path leading to the city.
Soon, we arrived on the outskirts of Mellieħa, walking along the coast, where to our greatest surprise, weekend holiday homes were created from old ship storages. It was amusing to see how the locals transformed these storages into weekend retreats, surpassing their original function. In many places, Christmas trees were already set up despite the first week of December, but we noticed that this was the custom here. The boat garage holiday homes were very cozy and impressive with a sea view.
Our goal was to reach the city center and the parish church tower at the top of the city. Since a bus was arriving, we boarded it for two stops to avoid further intensifying the 10-kilometer walk.
Mellieħa is a popular tourist destination in the summer months, well-known for its beaches, including Għadira Bay and Golden Bay. Ċirkewwa is also popular as a diving location, hosting the wrecks of the MV Rozi and the P29 patrol boat.
So, we reached the city center, where unfortunately, the church was closed on a Sunday early afternoon. So, I could only capture this wonderful building from the outside.
As it was already around 2 p.m., we decided to head back to our accommodation to enjoy our well-deserved late lunch.
The walk along the coastline will remain memorable for us.
We hope many will visit Malta for hiking, a pursuit we encourage!
If you enjoyed the travelogue, take a look at my other travel articles, which are sure to captivate you with their similar tone and photos.
Hello, I’m Jozsef. I’m writing about startups, entrepreneurship, and traveling. To see my stories pop up on your feed, I’d love for you to follow me. ( Jozsef Kovacs) And, to have stories sent directly to you, subscribe to my newsletter.👇