Diving here is bought from a school rather than as a ticket, and the schools differ more than the sites do. What there is to dive, and where, is under diving and snorkelling. This page is about picking the school and getting the booking right.
Choosing a school
What to ask
- Group size per instructor
- Four to one is a lesson. Eight to one is a queue. Ask for the number rather than the word.
- Shore or boat
- Most Malta diving is from the shore and priced accordingly. Boat dives cost more and Comino needs one.
- What the price includes
- Tanks and weights almost always. Full kit hire, the guide and the marine park fee sometimes. Get it itemised.
- Suit thickness
- Ask for the number. A suit that is right in September is wrong in March, and cold ends a dive faster than anything.
- Languages
- Most schools teach in English and several in German, Italian or French. Confirm for the instructor, not the shop.
Bring the paperwork
Take your certification card and your logbook. Several of the best sites are overhead environments and a school will not take you into them on your word alone.
If you have not dived for a year or more, expect to be asked for a refresher first. That is a school doing its job, not upselling.
A cancelled site is not a cancelled day
Wind closes individual sites rather than the sport. A bright, calm-looking morning with a north-westerly running still shuts half the north coast. A good school moves you to the other side of the island.
If a school calls off Dwejra because of swell, that is judgement rather than fuss. People are hurt there most years getting out of the water.
Paying, and the medical form
Courses are usually part paid on booking and settled on the first day. Single dives are normally paid at the shop. Multi-dive packs are cheaper per dive and are worth it from about the third dive.
You will sign a medical declaration. Tick yes to anything on it and you need a doctor’s sign-off. That is far easier to arrange at home than on a Tuesday morning here.
The sites themselves are described under diving and snorkelling, and today’s conditions under sea conditions.