Dive Curated
Scuba diving in Malta & Gozo
Michael_Pointner · Pixabay Content License · source

Guides · Price overview

Getting PADI Certified in Malta: What It Actually Costs

Malta isn't the cheapest place in the world to get certified -- our tracked Southeast Asia and Caribbean destinations beat it on price, and Malta's own budget tier in this guide is mid-range, not budget. What it offers instead is a genuinely EU-based option: no visa paperwork for EU/Schengen travelers, English widely spoken and used as a teaching language, short flights from most of Europe, and a diveable season that runs May-October in warm, current-light Mediterranean water. Real PADI Open Water prices across our three tracked operators run €470-550 (roughly $500-590): Gozo Dive St. Andrews at €470, Malta Blue Diving at €500, and Scuba Malta Diving Center at €550-595 depending on the course variant. Malta's real draw for a certification trip is what's on the other side of the course -- one of the highest wreck densities in the Mediterranean, dramatic limestone caves and arches, and 20-40m visibility -- not the course price itself.

Real PADI Open Water prices from Malta & Gozo's tracked dive schools: €470-550 for the full course, plus what that buys you as an EU-based, English-speaking option for European divers.

Prices shown in

  1. Scuba diving
    Franziska_Stier · Pixabay Content License · source

    Malta

    Malta & Gozo

    IntermediateMid-range

    Open Water course from EUR 310 · Day trip from EUR 65

    Three operators tracked, all with published Open Water prices: Gozo Dive St. Andrews (€470, the cheapest of the three), Malta Blue Diving (€500), and Scuba Malta Diving Center (€550-595, the most expensive but the widest course catalogue -- wreck, deep, rescue, and technical specialties all listed with real prices). Diveable May-October; winter diving is drysuit territory at 15-16°C. Best for a diver who wants an EU-based, English-language certification trip built around wreck and cavern diving rather than the lowest possible price.

Before you book

Coral reef
joakant · Pixabay Content License · source

Malta & Gozo

Season

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Also good: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.

Getting there

  • Malta International Airport (MLA) has frequent flights from across Europe.
  • Gozo is reached from Malta by a short public ferry from Ċirkewwa (about 25 minutes, roughly €4.65 foot passenger, more with a car); a heliport service also connects the islands.

Minimum stay

4 nights

Good for your first trip if

Open Water minimum for standard sites. Deeper wrecks, cavern/cave sites and the Blue Hole area's more exposed dives are best done Advanced or with a local guide.

Know before you go

  • Malta has its own recompression chamber (Mater Dei Hospital), a real advantage for wreck and technical divers pushing depth limits.
  • Most recreational sites are calm, current-light diving; the deeper wrecks and cavern sites are where shops brief more conservatively.

Top dive sites

Top sites in Malta & Gozo

Coral reef
MonicaVolpin · Pixabay Content License · source

Um El Faroud

Advanced only

Depth18–36 m

A 110m former oil tanker deliberately scuttled in 1998 off Wied iż-Żurrieq, now lying on its side and large enough to warrant multiple dives.

  • wreck
  • penetration routes
  • resident fish life
grouper underwater
1790462 · Pixabay Content License · source

Cirkewwa Reef & Wrecks

Beginner-friendly

Depth6–35 m

A shore-accessible north-coast site combining reef, swim-throughs and multiple wrecks (P29, the Rozi) in a compact area -- Malta's most-dived training and repeat site.

  • swim-throughs
  • multiple wrecks
  • shore access
  • reef fish

Common questions

Is Malta the cheapest place in the EU to get PADI certified?

We only track one EU dive destination in this dataset, so we can't make a fair EU-wide comparison -- and against our full destination list, Malta isn't the cheapest option anywhere: Koh Tao and Gili Islands both run $300-400 for the same certification, well below Malta's €470-550. Malta's case is convenience and location for a European diver, not the lowest price.

How much does a PADI Open Water course cost in Malta?

€470-550 across the three operators we track: Gozo Dive St. Andrews at €470, Malta Blue Diving at €500, and Scuba Malta Diving Center at €550 (their "dive to 18 metres" course variant runs slightly higher). All three are real, published prices, not estimates.

What does a Malta certification trip get you that a cheaper destination doesn't?

No visa hassle for EU/Schengen travelers, English as a teaching language, short flights from most of Europe, and diving built around wrecks and limestone caves rather than reef and marine life -- Malta has one of the highest wreck densities in the Mediterranean, including WWII wrecks and several deliberately-sunk artificial reefs.

How this guide was built

Every fact above is pulled live from the same destination and operator records used on Dive Curated's destination pages. It can never drift out of sync with what those pages say.

Beginner-friendly
Rated on the destination's own current strength, depth range, and visibility.
Budget tier
Verified accommodation, food, and diving costs; not marketing claims.
Price
Lowest tracked operator listing at time of publish. Check the destination page for current pricing.