South Coast & St Peter's Pool

The ride

This is the ride we send most people on, and the one that turns a rental into a holiday memory. You leave Sliema, skirt the Grand Harbour, and pick up the southern coast at Xgħajra where the traffic falls away and the sea opens up on your left. From there it is one bay after another — Marsaskala, St Thomas Bay, the Delimara peninsula — finishing at St Peter's Pool, a natural limestone swimming platform where the water is the colour of a swimming pool. Bring a towel. On an e-bike the climbs out of each bay are a non-event, which is exactly why this route works on pedal assist and punishes you on a normal bike.

Terrain: Coastal roads, a few short climbs out of the bays, one gravel stretch on Delimara. Suggested rental: full day.

Good to know: • Take the swim at St Peter's Pool, then eat in Marsaxlokk — the fish restaurants on the quay are the reward leg. • The final 800m to St Peter's Pool is loose gravel. Ride it slowly or lock up at the top and walk down. • Sunday morning is Marsaxlokk market day: wonderful to see, hard to cycle through. Go early.