Sant’Antnin Family Park in Marsaskala
Family parks in Malta. Sant’Antnin Family Park is definitely one of the biggest (if not the biggest) parks/playgrounds on the Maltese Islands. Just to name the main parks there is Salina National Park up north in St Paul’s Bay. There is Ta’ Qali National Park (& BOV Adventure Park) in Attard (which I believe is currently closed for reconstruction). Also let’s not forget President’s Kitchen Garden including their eco park.
Having a toddler myself I wish there were more smaller parks in every location. There are three playgrounds in my locality, but they are very small and not that well equipped – one has an adult gym, the other two don’t, one has swings for children, the other two don’t etc. The four biggest playgrounds which I started this blog with they are all around 30mins a car drive away.
You’re not going to drive there, unless you live close by, after a day at work. However, if you’re looking to do something different this weekend with your kids before it’s too hot for parks and playgrounds – here is an idea.
Let’s start with few facts. Sant’Antnin Family Park is located on the outskirts of Marsaskala and offers a huge choice of play equipment for children of all ages. The park is very spacious, divided into several play areas spreading over three levels. There is a dedicated car park on site, which is free of charge. The park is wheelchair friendly. There are picnic benches through out. There is also an open-air amphitheater, outdoor gym, football pitch and petting zoo.
When we visited I didn’t even know there was a petting zoo and we totally missed it, so I can’t tell you anything about it I’m afraid.
This was out first time at Sant’Antnin Family Park. The park was inaugurated back in 2013 and covers the area of 85,000 square metres. It seems that it has been recently refurbished. Everything looks nice and fresh to me. I found an article from February 2021 stating that the there are restoration works planned for this area worth €500,000. It was mentioned that the works will be done in phrases, so more upgrades are still coming!
There are many attractions for kids of all ages. Including numerous playground structures with slides, a sand pit, a balancing corner, swings, a zip line or even a quiet area. The paths between the park different areas/levels are all wheelchair friendly and beautifully lined with trees and bushes.
My toddler played in most areas, but the zip line definitely caught his attention. He is still too small to go on his own, so I hold him and he had few amazing rides.
Just few meters away there is this big log swing attraction, which was also very popular with the kids.
Part of Sant’Antnin Family Park is also a football pitch. Not the huge Marsaskala football ground, but a smaller football pitch for the kids.
There are quite a lot of trees and bushes considering the generally problematic situation with greenery on this island. And I really enjoy that. I mean I wish there was more (never enough trees), but it’s a good amount.
Oliver really enjoyed this attraction even though I’m not really sure what to call it. It’s round and it has dozens of stone square coming together like a snail’s shell. You can jump from one to another and count them or ride around on a tricycle/bicycle.
There is also a decent size adult gym which you can see below. Didn’t have a chance to try it, but would imagine that the machines will be similar to those dotted around the island’s playgrounds.
Castle play area was our last stop before we turned around and went back to the car. Olly also played here and went down the slide few times. We had a snack in the sheltered area, which was very pleasant. Nearby was like a water feature attraction, but it wasn’t working when we visited mid April.
Overall we were very happy with this park and spent around 3 hrs just playing and exploring new areas and as I said we didn’t manage to see it all. I hope you enjoyed this blog. Something a bit different to trekking adventures and exploring abandoned buildings. 🙂
As you know by now, my photo blogs wouldn’t be complete without tagging the place at GoogleMaps. Below you can see the exact location of Sant’Antnin Family Park in Marsaskala.
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