You can dive in Malta all year round, even from October to March. On average over many years, the sea is still around 23 °C in October, 20 °C in November and 14 °C in February, the coldest month. The later in the year you come, the thicker the suit needs to be and the more often the wind shuts down a coast. On the plus side, the entry points are quieter. Between November and March, the total is not even a tenth of the dives logged by divers in the SSI app throughout the year.
Water and weather from October to March
Water, air and wind are monthly averages from 1991 to 2020, with the wind shown in its prevailing direction. Visibility and crowds are a rough estimate based on the SSI app logbooks at 61 sites across the islands.
| Month | Water | Air | Wind | Visibility | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | 23 °C | 22 °C | NW, 7 kn | 20 m | high |
| November | 20 °C | 18 °C | NW, 8 kn | 20 m | low |
| December | 17 °C | 15 °C | NW, 9 kn | 15–20 m | low |
| January | 15 °C | 13 °C | NW, 9 kn | 15 m | low |
| February | 14 °C | 13 °C | NW, 9 kn | 15 m | low |
| March | 15 °C | 14 °C | NW, 10 kn | 15 m | low |
In autumn, there is still a thermocline beneath the warm surface water. According to the bases, the water in autumn is 20 to 26 °C at the surface, but only 19 to 21 °C at 30 m. In winter, the wind mixes the sea, so it is almost equally cold at the surface and at 30 m, around 15 °C. Visibility in autumn is around 20 m and drops to around 15 m from January to March.
Moorings and octopuses are in the logbooks all year round. Divers report seeing barracudas more often in October and November than on average throughout the year.
Which suit is right for autumn and winter
The bases recommend a 5-mm suit with a hood in October and November. From December to April, they advise a 7-mm suit, a semi-drysuit or a drysuit. If you go to the wrecks at 30 m in October, you will be diving in colder water below the thermocline.
How quickly you get cold varies greatly. I dive in water over 25 °C in a long 5-mm suit. If it is colder, I put an inflatable vest with an attached hood over the suit. This is a personal experience and not a rule. If you get cold easily, you should take warmer equipment with you in autumn. For the boat ride and on the ferry, a wind jacket should be part of your luggage outside of summer.
Which sites are open when it is windy
The Majjistral from the northwest blows most often in Malta, on around one-fifth of the days. Then the sites in the southeast are calm, and according to the bases, almost any site will be open. With a northwest wind, you can dive, for example, the Um El Faroud off Wied iż-Żurrieq, the HMS Maori off Valletta, the Imperial Eagle from the boat, or on Gozo the MV Karwela at Xatt l-Aħmar and the Mġarr ix-Xini Bay. Then Ċirkewwa with P29 and Rozi, the Blue Hole and Reqqa Point are open. Ċirkewwa is open to the northwest. From November, the swell returns there, and if it is more than 1 m, the site is closed.
Especially in winter, the Grigal comes from the northeast, cool and strong, when a low-pressure system is south of Malta. Then the HMS Maori and Tug 2 off Sliema are closed. Ċirkewwa, the Blue Hole, the Inland Sea and the Um El Faroud are open instead. Most storm days occur on average in December and March.
The Met Office Malta predicts the sea state for the next three days in the Mariners Forecast. Still, call your base before departure and ask which coast is open today. If the swell is breaking over the entry point, stay out, because you will have to get back out again.
To Gozo and Comino by ferry
The Gozo Channel car ferry runs daily, including at night, from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr on Gozo; the crossing takes around 25 minutes. The current timetable is valid until November 8, 2026; the following one had not yet been published by Gozo Channel on October 25. From November to March, a night rate applies from Mġarr after 8 p.m., €4.05 instead of €4.65 per person for a return trip. The Gozo Highspeed fast ferry runs from Valletta until 10:15 p.m. in winter.
During a northeast storm, the car ferry docks at the south quay in Ċirkewwa or goes via Comino and takes longer. On several storm days in 2025 and 2026, Gozo Highspeed cancelled all trips, while the car ferry continued with delays. Gozo Channel reports cancellations in its free app. If you live on Gozo and are flying the next morning, you should already be thinking about it the day before a storm warning.
For boat dives off Comino, such as at P31 or in the Santa Maria Caves, you will go with the base boat. Both are open with a northwest wind; P31 is closed with a southwest or west wind. For a shore entry on Comino, the boats from Comino Ferries depart daily from Marfa and Ċirkewwa according to their own information; the company does not publish a winter timetable. In bad weather, the boats stay in port, in which case you will get your money back or can rebook.
What else is different in winter
The winter flight schedule has fewer connections to Malta. Many routes only run two to five days a week; from Hamburg, there are no non-stop flights from November to March, and from Geneva, none in January. From Frankfurt, Lufthansa flies seven to twelve times a week; from Munich, KM Malta Airlines flies twice daily. Therefore, book your flight before you set your dive dates.
The German Foreign Office points out that there can be occasional severe storms, even Medicanes, especially in autumn and winter. Therefore, plan a day without diving as a buffer in a winter week. You will leave out the day before your return flight anyway, so that there are at least 24 hours between your last dive and your flight.
You can find the travel season for each month, the table on wind and coast, and two dive weeks with a Plan B for windy conditions in the Dive Atlas Malta and its booklets.