Home » Best Places to Visit and Attractions » The Blue Grotto
The Blue Grotto is a complex of sea caves along the Southeastern part of Malta and is a popular (must-visit!) tourist attraction.
Why? Because on sunny days, the reflection of sunlight on the white sandy seafloor lights up the caves in bright blue hues, which is a true spectacle to admire!
This popular site attracts thousands of visitors per year, with tourists flocking here to see the amazing grotto via local boat trips (which rarely get crowded, despite the big numbers). It’s also a very popular diving, snorkelling and swimming spot, with very clear, clean and deep waters.
If you are going to visit the Blue Grotto, a boat trip to the caves is the best way to experience the true beauty of the area. Boat trips are usually available daily (weather permitting) with the duration of each trip being around 20 minutes.
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The tours are performed by boatmen in a traditional Maltese fishing boat, the operators being seasoned fishermen who know the location and the caves inside and out.
Not to be confused with the Blue Lagoon, which is located in the North West of the archipelago, in the island of Comino, the Blue Grotto is a complex of seven caves found along the southern coast of the island, right across from the little islet of Filfla, and less than a kilometre west of Wied iż-Żurrieq.
The place actually got its name in the 1950s, when a British soldier visiting the area and compared it to Capri’s famous Grotta Azzura, which basically means ‘Blue Grotto’, because of its amazing clear, bright blue waters (particularly at a specific time of day – more on that topic later).
This complex comprises a massive (and very impressive) main arch, which is approximately 30m in height, as well as a system of 6 other caves, amongst which you will find the Honeymoon Cave, the Cat’s Cave and the beautiful Reflection Cave.
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The deep, open waters of the area are what in fact created the complex. Throughout the centuries, the persistent crashing of the waves against the hard cliff face resulted in the formation of the huge, arch-like grotto, as well as several adjoining caves and nearby rock formations.
Even though the caves are a wonder within themselves, the true beauty of the place really shines through on clear, sunny days. This is when the magic happens; the blue sky reflects off the white sandy seabed under the caves, resulting in vibrant azure and cobalt coloured waters.
Adding to this, the cave walls mirror the brilliant phosphorescent orange, purple and green colours of the underwater flora, resulting in a mesmerizing scene of light and colour.
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As the grotto is located in the southeast area of the island, the best time to visit is from early morning to around midday during the summer months, especially on clear, sunny days. This allows for the best position of the sun in relation to the caves, providing the ideal light for the colours of the water to shine through.
Earlier visits usually mean fewer crowds and calmer seas, although if you want to take a boat tour of the area (a must), you can do so after 9 am. Even so, getting to the site a bit earlier gives you some time to take in the coastal views from the viewing platform, beside the main road, just east of the turn-off to Wied iż-Żurrieq. You can admire the gigantic natural arch of the grotto easily from the spot, which is just the best place to take some great selfies, and photos of the surrounding landscape.
You can get to the Blue Grotto via a boat tour, which departs from the tiny harbour of Wied iż-Żurrieq, set in a narrow inlet in the cliffs in the seaside village of Żurrieq. If you’re hiring a car, getting there is pretty easy, even if you don’t have GPS. All you need to do is head towards Żurrieq, then follow the road signs towards the Blue Grotto.
If you aren’t driving on the islands and prefer to use public transport instead, catching a bus to the area is always a fairly easy option (albeit time-consuming depending on where you’re staying). Below you’ll find the most popular bus routes to the site:
You can also take the South Route of the Hop-on-hop-off bus routes to get there. Get your tickets in advance here!
Snorkelling and diving within the actual Blue Grotto are not as easy as one would expect and this is because of two main reasons.
Even so, swimming in Wied iz-Żurrieq, where the boat tours leave from, is a very popular alternative with visitors. The deep, clear, blue waters make for fantastic visibility, with some great snorkelling opportunities along the valley rock face.
Also, local diving operators organise group dives to the “Blue Grotto Dive Site” even though, as I already pointed out, the actual Blue Grotto is nearly a kilometre to the west of the inlet and can only be reached by sea.
This dive usually includes one of the Mediterranean’s most famous dive sites, the Um El Faroud wreck; a tanker wreck scuttled in 1998, three years after an explosion that killed nine dockworkers in Grand Harbour. It lies at approximately 35m; a 3,147 gross ton single screw tanker, filled to the brim with beautiful marine life which has now set up residence around and within. The wreck itself has been prepared for diving, with all its doors and windows removed, as well as entrances and exit holes cut out. It truly is a great dive, suitable for more experienced divers.
In addition to this site, there are two other dive locations: 1) The East Reef of Wied iż-Żurrieq, a single line reef going 300-400m east of the entry point, and a great place to see shoals of fish, barracuda, cuttlefish, damselfish, red mullet, cardinalfish, moray eels and scorpionfish, amongst others species. 2) There’s also the West Reef, which you can reach from the western side of the inlet and which displays a variety of different areas to explore with various drop-offs, ledges and boulders, all surrounded by seagrass and sandy areas.
Edward is the Founder and Editor of Malta Uncovered and author of two guidebooks on Malta and Valletta.
As a tourist-turned-expat with Maltese roots, he knows the islands inside out and helps thousands of visitors enjoy a memorable trip every year.
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My friends and would like to do the boat trip in the Grotto. Do we need to pre-book tickets or can we buy them at the site? if we can pre-book, how do we do that? Is there a website. I went onto the Blue Grotto boat website, but it wasn’t working.
Thank you
Mandy
Hi Mandy, you *can* try to buy tickets at the Blue Grotto, but pre-booking guarantees you’ll have a spot at the time of your choice.
Thanks for all the helpful info! Mick & Lisa
Welcome, enjoy your trip! 🙂
If we take a bus from Valletta, to the Blue Grotto, how do we then get to Zurrieq to take the boat trip. And then get bus back to Valletta. Thanks.
Hi Jan, you won’t need to go to Zurrieq to hop onto the boat trip. The bus stop right next to the Blue Grotto is called Panorama, and once you get off it’s a short walk downhill (there are signs) to get down to the sea and you’ll find the boat operators there – it’s a short trip. You can then hop on to a bus back to Valletta on the opposite side of the road from where you got off (a little further up the road). It’s all very small and easy to do.
One quick tip: When you get off the bus there are a few steps on the side of the road where you can go down and view the Blue Grotto entrance and rock formation from up above (as in the photo at the top of this page).
I would like to do the Marsaxlokk & Blue Grotto tour. We are arriving by cruise ship on May 29th, do you offer a pick up from the cruise port?
Thank you!
Hi Jennifer, the provider of the tour (not me) can make arrangements for transfers. It’s best that you get in touch with them and they can help you get set. Have a great trip!
Just checking if it is possible to take the boat from Wied iz Zurrieq to the Blue Grotto and then to Marsaxlokk as a single journey?
Hi Robin – Sorry, I’m not aware of any providers who offer that type of trip I’m afraid. 🙁