Fond Għadir

What makes it special

Fond Għadir is a stretch of rocky coast on the Sliema seafront, with no sand. Its limestone breaks into flat natural platforms for lying out in the sun, with clear water off the edge.

The same rock shapes natural pools along the shore. Beside them are the pools known as the Sliema Roman Baths, cut for bathing in the Victorian era.

That gives you two kinds of swim in one place: the enclosed pools, or the open sea beyond the shelf.

Fond Għadir is one of a run of Sliema bathing spots along this coast, with Tigné, Qui-Si-Sana, Għar id-Dud and the Exiles. Sunrise over the sea is the view to photograph from these rocks.

Visiting

Start by claiming a flat spot on the platforms for your towel. This is where you sunbathe between swims, so pick it before you go in.

Then choose your water. The rock pools sit along the shelf, and visitor guides describe steps off the rocks into the open sea.

One guide notes deep water along this waterfront, so keep weaker swimmers in the pools.

For lunch, restaurants sit within about 70 m of the rocks, so you can eat and come back for an afternoon swim without leaving the seafront.

Tips

The limestone gets very hot under the sun and there is little natural shade on the shore. Bring water and sunscreen, plus a hat and sunglasses for the hours you spend out of the sea.

For photographs, frame the pools from the shore with the open sea behind.