A little hidden gem

Paradise Bay

My first weekend in Malta had to be broken in with some serious tanning. And what better place to do that, than the little hidden gem that is Paradise bay?

I had already been told about this hidden-away secret, that apparently is not-so secret. Even still, I was excited to see some lush blue waters, unlike the murky Scarborough-seas that are local to me back at home.

Me and my house mate decided that in order to get a good spot at this place, we would have to wake up pretty early and catch a bus to the Paradise bus stop. Little did we know that we would have a little bit of a trek to get there as well!

Above: View of the water from the Paradise Bay Lido Cafe

And apparently, we were not the only ones who had thought of arriving there early, as the place was absolutely packed.

Granted, it is a small beach area, but we literally had to nestle in between two couples either side of us, in order to get a tanning space.

We dropped off our items and then went to grab something to eat, as it had already become lunch time by the time we finally arrived there. The café that they have at Paradise bay over looks the water and features a covered, outdoor seating area with stunning views that are simply breath taking.

The Paradise Bay Lido offers something for everyone and is actually pretty reasonably priced, to say that it is the only eatery that is near to the waterfront / beach area.

Above: Traditional Maltese Tuna Ftira

I opted to go for a sandwich that I had never tried before, but had heard rave reviews about, which was a traditional Maltese Tuna Ftira. This was probably one of the best sandwiches I had ever tasted.

The sandwich has tuna marinated in tomato puree, capers, olives, lettuce and flavour galore. It is a truly unique sandwich and the bread was toasted to perfection.

But, we’re not here to talk about bread and food.

After finishing our lunch, we walked down to our tanning spot and basked in the sun for about 20 minutes until we released that it was 36 degrees and we were absolutely baking hot!

It was a good job that we were so close to the sea-front as you had to hop over the burning sand and dive into the cool waters.

Above: The walk down to Paradise by brought some of the best views imaginable

The water was incredible. Unlike anything I had ever swam in before.

It was completely crystal clear with some of the whitest sand imaginable.

We were even joined by a fish that look very reminiscent to a powdery-grey tang, which circled us and swam with us for quite some time. It was remarkable to see such a small fish be so interested in humans. It did not seem bothered by our presence what so ever and more so intrigued about us.

Above: Powder-grey tang

We spent pretty much the entire day in paradise (pun intended) and it definitely made for one of the most gorgeous beaches I have ever seen.

If you have never visited paradise bay and you are visiting Malta in the future, it is definitely worth a visit.

I would say the only downside of this bay is that there is very little shaded area for its visitors, meaning that the only refuge you have from the sun, is to sit at the café. It is a very good marketing ploy because it forces visitors to go and purchase a drink or food to be able to cool off.

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