Blue Grotto:

These caves are located south of the former fishermen’s village of Zurrieq. There is a steep road leading down between the cliffs to a small natural harbour where fisher boats take small groups of visitors out to the caves. The trip takes about 20-30 minutes, and whoever has already seen some of the more “famous” Mediterranean grottos (e.g. the ones of Capri / Italy) should not have too high expectations: This “Blue Grotto” is rather a group of smaller caves, and what is so special about them is the  intensively blue water, depending on the angle the sunlight is coming through. But to see this phenomenon one should be there before midday, because it requires a low sun. Afterwards, one can have a swim in the little bay (there are various ladders leading into the water) or have a coffee in one of the little street cafes above the harbour, before returning – or visiting the temple of Hagar Qim and Mnaijdra which are only a few minutes away (there is also a direct bus connection). Note, the bus does not go all the way down and it’s a 500m down and up hill walk, although well worth it. Or, for anyone not interested in visiting the grottos, one can do the trip the other way around: first visiting the more “exhausting” archaeological site, and then having a swim and/or a coffee break (note for swimmers and snorkelers: it is possible to swim outside the bay, but be aware that there can be medium to strong currents). We recommend avoiding doing this trip on Sundays, not only because of the numerous Maltese weekenders (and the consequently limited number of parking spaces), but also because there are no boats running on Sundays to the grottos.