Relax At A Lido

Take a short moment to watch someone, anyone, other than an Olympic standard swimmer, sploshing and splashing their way through the water and it soon becomes abundantly clear that we are a species designed primarily for land use. And yet, in spite of being a mammal with an innate inability to cope in water – when compared to a dolphin, for example - there’s something about the sea that entices us and draws us to it.

I like nothing more than watching waves crash on to the shore on a stormy day and I know I’m not alone in being fascinated to see what anglers pull ashore on the end of their lines. It’s the bait they threw in, mainly! I also love to watch the boats drifting by and to get on in there and have a swim around.

But aside from the issue of never being able to slice through the waves like a tuna, there are other things that put me, and other humans, off about beaches – the main one being … sand! And that’s where lidos come in.

Sand is a nightmare for some people and I hate it! I thought once I’d grown up the days of scraping sand from between my toes using a sock as an ineffective makeshift tool were behind me. I thought it was going to be hotels or villas with pools all the way.

Then you have a child who loves nothing more than making sandcastles with his bucket and spade and it all starts again. It’s the fact that sand gets into places where it really shouldn’t be getting and the chafing it produces in those crevices – makes your eyes water just thinking about it!

Thankfully, lidos help you avoid the sand in your sandwich and the pains in your pants by allowing you to spend the perfect day by the sea. In a pool but so close to the waves you could be on the beach.

Thankfully, lidos in Malta are a common sight. Private and public beach lidos abound on the island; places where you can spend a whole day by the deep blue Med', feel protected from the raging sun by plentiful umbrellas and enjoy easy access to showering and changing facilities.

Many also provide catering and entertainment services, which make it a complete and satisfying experience. And even though the majority of the beaches here are rocky and not of the sandy variety, after a day of salty water, sweat and sunblock you usually feel about as clean as a tramp’s vest at the end of a day by the sea.

Lidos dismiss with all that and the first ones appeared here to serve British sailors from the Royal Navy in the 1920s. At this time officers and their wives created their own little seaside niches of comfort and fun. The idea was soon taken up by Maltese entrepreneurs who fully exploited the island's splendid coastline.


Today’s Malta provides a good mixture of beach lidos, from the quiet, secluded ones offering basic requirements only, to the livelier complexes where fun parks and theme parks have also sprung up. The choice is yours and there are several beach in the Sliema/St Julian's area alone. Similar facilities can be found up north alongside some of the most beautiful bays to be found in the Maltese Islands, in Qawra, Mellieha and Bahar ic-Caghaq.

You can find a list of popular lidos and beach clubs by clicking on the link below.