Għadira Nature Reserve
Għadira Nature Reserve
4
Monday
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Friday
2:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Għadira Nature Reserve is open from September to May on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 2pm-dusk (ca 7pm in spring & summer, ca 5pm in autumn & winter) and on Saturdays & Sundays 10am-4pm. Entrance is free and there is no need to book.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
151 reviews
Excellent
66
Very good
53
Average
21
Poor
5
Terrible
6
F C
11 contributions
Jan 2023
A nice little location with a nice walk around the marshes down to a hide to view the birds, along the way you want to look very carefully in the bushes for Chameleons, we got lucky enough to see a young one in fabulous colours too, after a dash back to the car for the tripod (yeh take your tripod!) I set the camera up and used the app on my phone to take pictures remotely as the chameleon emerged from his hiding spot after we had walked away a bit. We went twice first time it was a bit late so getting dark it was the second visit a bit earlier we saw the chameleon. Lovely staff and especially the young lady we were served by after seeing the chameleon she was so excited to see our pictures and did a great job helping us with a few items from the shop.
Written 16 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Itsmeagain2
Tonbridge, UK1,439 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
The reserve has no parking so we parked in the main Ghadira car park and walked along the road to get to the reserve. This is something of a challenge with the current roadworks, but we made it! It’s location does mean it’s easy to nip out of the reserve for refreshments from one of the seafront kiosks.
Entry to the reserve is up a staircase into the first hide/ reception area. The volunteers on duty were very welcoming and very helpful. We spent some time viewing from there with our binoculars and then walked the short path to the hide at the other end of the reserve.
Do this walk slowly and look up for the Chameleons and down and around for everything else. We watched a Chameleon slowly working its way to the end of a twig and zap bugs with its incredibly long tongue. We also saw a White-banded grasshopper with its amazing stripy eyes and a massive Churchyard Beetle on this path.
From the other hide we spent quite a lot of time hunting out the few waders that were around (Dunlin, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt plus Greater Flamingo and Little Egret). There seemed to be one of each of the waders. Plenty of tree sparrows and starlings about. We also saw Chiffchaff, Cetti’s Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Collared Dove, White Wagtail, Robin, Spanish Sparrow and Swallows.
By the time we came out the road layout had been changed on the seafront, so getting back to our car and then getting out of the car park was a whole new challenge :D
Entry to the reserve is up a staircase into the first hide/ reception area. The volunteers on duty were very welcoming and very helpful. We spent some time viewing from there with our binoculars and then walked the short path to the hide at the other end of the reserve.
Do this walk slowly and look up for the Chameleons and down and around for everything else. We watched a Chameleon slowly working its way to the end of a twig and zap bugs with its incredibly long tongue. We also saw a White-banded grasshopper with its amazing stripy eyes and a massive Churchyard Beetle on this path.
From the other hide we spent quite a lot of time hunting out the few waders that were around (Dunlin, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt plus Greater Flamingo and Little Egret). There seemed to be one of each of the waders. Plenty of tree sparrows and starlings about. We also saw Chiffchaff, Cetti’s Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Collared Dove, White Wagtail, Robin, Spanish Sparrow and Swallows.
By the time we came out the road layout had been changed on the seafront, so getting back to our car and then getting out of the car park was a whole new challenge :D
Written 22 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Len W
23 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
Nice little gem, discovered by chance. Quiet walks. Bird watching huts along the way. Managed to see a chameleon in the trees. See photo for opening times.
Written 23 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Finchduck1981
Wokingham, UK65 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
This small nature reserve was the highlight of our trip. We received a warm welcome from the wardens. We saw a kingfisher, waders and other water birds but the real wow came from seeing three mediterranean chameleons close to the path. Were able to watch them for quite some time. It was late afternoon and they were moving, very slowly, up the scrubby trees to catch the last rays of the sun. Magic!
Written 15 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Uglyd0g
Dorset, UK57 contributions
Dec 2022
December isn't the right time to tour a reserve. However, it's free. The staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable, and the hides are kept spick & span. Shell ducks and Flamingos were still in residence but can be busy in the migration season.
Written 26 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ana L
Navan, Ireland2,682 contributions
Nov 2020
Though we did not see so many birds, only a few spanish sparrows, we thought the visit to this reserve is quite interesting, and a fun activity to take the kids for.
The staff is very kind and eager to explain what birds can you see on the reserve on that particular day!
The staff is very kind and eager to explain what birds can you see on the reserve on that particular day!
Written 9 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kevin S
Swansea, UK76 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
The bud, birds, flowers, wild or native, were all showing themselves, tete a tete daffodils by the 1000's wild red and yellow ones as well, pine cones, fennel wafting through the air, nice an peaceful, even if it was only yards from the main road.
Written 3 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TonyTambo
Royston, UK103 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
we went on a horse ride across the nature reserve, it was awesome, my pony was called Perno and my husbands was called Troy, the tour guides were great and kept a close eye on people new to riding, this is the only way to take in the beauty of the evening in Malta we loved it & will do it again next time
Written 24 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
paulaNorfolk
norfolk35 contributions
May 2015 • Couples
We spent 4 whole days here over our 2 weeks holiday. The reserve is only open November to end of May 10 - 4 Saturdays and Sundays. There were lots of different birds to be seen plus many Chameleon to be seen on the walk down to the hide
Written 26 May 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jenny T
18 contributions
Dec 2018 • Couples
We always visit the nature reserves on Malta and love to see Maltese children bringing their families. This reserve is opposite Melliha Bay sandy beach and next to the main road. However once inside you are in a world of tranquility. The flora is labelled and there are information boards along the paths. Keep an eye out for chameleons in the bushes. In the hides there may not appear much to see at first but as you watch birds and insects appear. The staff here are always very helpful and informative. Give it a try, you can easily spend an hour here and then walk up to the Foresta reserve along the ridge where despite vandalism, the reforestation is making a huge difference. Check the FB page for opening times - but Foresta is open 24/7
Written 8 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, how do you arrange horse riding through Ghadira Nature Reserve?
I am visitng Malta in June from Scotland and would love to experience this (I am a horse owner and am experienced.)
Many thanks
Lucy
Written 4 April 2019
Nature Reserves on Malta are too small for this. Suggest you contact stables, there is one near Popeye Village and another near Golden Bay who go up on to Il Magistral national park which will be a much better experience.
Written 7 May 2019
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