Dive Masters Malta

Dive Masters Malta opened in 2024 at Ghar Lapsi, on Malta's quieter southwest coast in Siggiewi, a stretch of the island with far fewer dive operators than the Cirkewwa or St Julian's clusters. It is a small, owner-operated SSI school built around two people: owner Franky Azzopardi and Diving Director Joe Painter, who runs most of the diving and teaching day to day. The shop sits directly on Ghar Lapsi bay, so shore diving starts a few steps from the door, and boat trips run out to the Um El Faroud wreck for certified divers wanting a deeper outing.

Courses follow the SSI ladder from Try Dive and Basic Diver through Open Water Diver, with further specialties available on request. Alongside diving, the centre runs daily snorkelling trips and kayaking and paddle boarding at Ghar Lapsi. Being new, it does not have years of history behind it, but reviewers repeatedly mention brand-new, high-end rental equipment as a standout for a shop this size.

The large majority of reviews found for Dive Masters Malta, on both Google and TripAdvisor, name Joe Painter specifically and praise his knowledge, patience and humour, along with owner Franky's friendliness. A second recurring theme is the quality of the rental kit, mentioned unprompted by several reviewers as newer and higher-end than they expected. Between the two platforms it carries a clean 5.0 out of 5: 29 Google reviews and 5 on TripAdvisor, a record spanning essentially its entire operating life since opening in 2024. No negative reviews turned up in this record, which reads as a small business building a clean early reputation rather than a long-established operator with years of track record to draw on.