Mellieha Bay, also called Ghadira Bay, is the longest sandy beach in Malta — about eight hundred metres of pale sand, sloping very gently into clear shallow water. Facing north towards the strait to Comino and Gozo, it gets sun all day and is sheltered from the prevailing northwesterly wind. There is a marked swimming area, kayak and pedalo rental in summer, and a long row of café-bars across the road.
It gets busy from late June to early September, especially at weekends — get there early or come for the late afternoon. Out of season it is wide and quiet. Behind the road is the Ghadira Nature Reserve, a brackish lagoon and birding hide that is one of the few protected wetlands in Malta.