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Ċirkewwa · Malta

Paradise Bay

The quieter half of Ċirkewwa: boulder fields, drop offs, seagrass and a shallow white arch lit up by sunlight, all in beginner friendly depths.

Open Water🪸 Reef10 to 30 mShore access: easyPopularity: mediumAlso called Ben's Arch, Left Arch, Left Reef, Paradise Bay Reef, White Arch
Plan this dive

Sea conditions

100

Excellent right now

Flat, sheltered and calm

Forecast for the site, updated 02:29 AM

Waves
n/a
Wind
4 km/h
S, gusts 8
Swell
n/a
Sea temp
n/a
air 25 °C

Next 7 days

Today☁️100 ? m
14 SW
Sat☁️100 ? m
13 SSW
Sun🌦️92 ? m
5 ENE
Mon☁️100 ? m
13 WNW
Tue☁️95 ? m
20 NW
Wed🌤️97 ? m
22 E
Thu🌤️100 ? m
10 NNE

Sunrise 06:47, sunset 19:05

Exposed to wind and swell from: W (270°), SW (225°), NW (315°). The bay opens to the west and southwest, so westerly and southwesterly wind and swell roll straight in and the sand turns the water milky quickly. In easterly and northeasterly conditions it is calm and clear. Because it faces slightly differently from the main Ċirkewwa entries, it is sometimes the better option on a marginal day and sometimes the worse one, so look before you kit up. Best season: May to October. Midday light is best for the arch, and the shallow depths make it a good choice for a third dive or a relaxed afternoon..

The dive

While everyone else queues for the Rozi, Paradise Bay sits round the corner doing its own thing. This is a reef dive with a bit of everything: piled boulders that make small canyons, ledges and drop offs at various heights, patches of clean sand, seagrass meadow and a handful of swim throughs to thread. Most of it sits between 5 and 20 m, which means long dives and no decompression anxiety.

The centrepiece is the Left Arch, also called the White Arch, and by some the Ben's Arch. It is smaller than the famous Green Arch on the other side of the headland and sits at around 11 m, with the top of the span reaching close enough to the surface that sunlight pours through it. Mid morning or early afternoon on a bright day it lights up the whole opening and turns the water underneath a ridiculous shade of blue.

The seabed keeps going past the reef and reaches about 30 m if you follow it out, so there is depth available for those who want it, but the site is at its best kept shallow. Work the boulder fields, look into the cracks for octopus and moray, watch the seagrass edge for cuttlefish and the occasional flatfish on the sand, and save the last twenty minutes for wandering back through the shallows.

  • Shallow white arch with sunlight pouring through it
  • Boulder fields and mini canyons to weave through
  • Far quieter than the main Ċirkewwa entries
  • Seagrass edge worth searching for cuttlefish and octopus
  • Beach, cafe and toilets right at the entry

Typical plan

Enter from the bay, follow the reef out to the Left Arch at around 11 m, swim through it and continue along the wall and drop offs to about 18 to 20 m. Turn well before you run low, then work back shallow through the boulder fields and the seagrass. An easy seventy minute dive on a single set with no decompression concerns. Time it for the middle of the day if you want the light show through the arch.

What the bottom looks like

0112230m🤿1234567200 m from entry
  1. 1Boulder field close in to the shore5 m deep · 30 m out
  2. 2Posidonia meadow on sand between the rocks8 m deep · 55 m out
  3. 3Left Arch, also called the White Arch11 m deep · 80 m out
  4. 4Short swim throughs along the wall13 m deep · 100 m out
  5. 5Drop off stepping down the reef17 m deep · 130 m out
  6. 6Sand flat outside the reef24 m deep · 170 m out
  7. 7Deeper edge where the seabed keeps falling away30 m deep · 200 m out
Cartoon cross-section along the usual route from Paradise Bay, steps and beach access below the lido. Depths are approximate.

Boulders and reef close in, giving way to sand and Posidonia meadow, with clean sand further out.

Who you might meet

Getting in and staying safe

Shore dive from Paradise Bay, which has its own car park and access down to the beach and rocks below the lido. It is a longer walk down in kit than the main Ċirkewwa entries and a longer climb back, so consider staging your gear. Entry can be made from the beach or from the rocks depending on swell. Cafes, toilets, showers and sunloungers are right there in summer, which makes it an easy site to bring non diving company to.

  • Long walk and a set of steps back up in full kit
  • Slippery rocks at the entry
  • Swimmers, snorkellers and pedalos in the bay during summer
  • Small boats coming into the bay, so surface with a marker
  • Surge through the swim throughs and around the arch in westerly swell
  • Seabed continues past 30 m outside the reef, easy to go deeper than planned
  • Jellyfish in late summer
  • Fireworms on the boulders

A bit of history

Nothing dramatic. The reef is the usual northwest Malta Coralline limestone, weathered into boulders and overhangs by the sea, and the Left Arch is another collapsed cavern roof left standing. Paradise Bay itself is one of the north's sandy beaches with a lido above it, and the diving grew up alongside the sunbathing rather than because of any wreck or monument.

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Further reading: Malta Dive Sites: Paradise Bay · PADI dive site: Cirkewwa Paradise Bay Reef · ABC Diving Malta: Paradise Bay Reef · Ċirkewwa Marine Park wrecks and attractions