Valletta and The Three Cities Scenic Harbours Cruise from Sliema

The best part of this cruise is the way it brings Malta’s two great harbours together in one short outing. From Sliema, you pass Manoel Island and Lazzaretto Creek, circle the Grand Harbour, and get broad water-level views of Valletta and the Three Cities.

I like the comfortable shaded seating and the gentle pace, which leave you free to look up at the bastions instead of wrestling with a map. I also like the route through smaller inlets such as Kalkara Creek and the Dockyard Creeks, places you can miss when you only visit Malta by land.

The main caution is that this is a sightseeing cruise, not a guided shore visit. The English and German audio commentary explains what you see, but you do not get off to explore, and the boat may feel lively when the water moves.

Key points to know before you book

• A full harbour circuit in about 90 minutes: You see Sliema Creek, Marsamxett Harbour, the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities in one compact trip.
• Excellent water-level views: Valletta’s walls, Fort St. Angelo, Senglea, Cospicua and Vittoriosa look especially impressive from the boat.
• Comfortable seating with shade: The boat offers a relaxed place to watch the scenery, with free Wi-Fi on board.
• Audio commentary, not a live guide: Explanations are given over the public-address system in English and German.
• Easy Sliema location: The departure point is on the Sliema Promenade, close to shops, cafés, restaurants and the waterfront walk.
• A few practical limits: Food, drinks, hotel transfers and a shore stop are not included, and anyone prone to seasickness should think twice.

Why this cruise works well from Sliema

Sliema is a practical place to begin a Malta harbour cruise. The meeting point is on the Sliema Promenade, at Sliema Ferries, in the middle of one of the island’s busiest urban areas. You can reach the boat from nearby public transport, then add a coffee, meal or walk along the waterfront before or after the ride.

That location gives this experience an advantage over a trip that leaves from an out-of-the-way marina. You do not need a hotel transfer, and you can fit the cruise around a day in Sliema or a visit to Valletta. The meeting point is also useful if you want to spend time looking across Marsamxett Harbour before boarding.

Sliema Creek itself is busy with sightseeing boats coming and going. That can make the first minutes feel less quiet, but it also puts you straight into Malta’s working and visitor-filled harbour scene. Once the boat moves away from the jetty, the views open toward the island’s fortified shoreline.

The boat returns to the same meeting point. That makes planning simple, especially if you do not want to arrange transport at the far end of a one-way trip.

Manoel Island and Lazzaretto Creek

The first section takes you through Sliema Creek and past Manoel Island. The island is a low, fairly flat piece of land in Marsamxett Harbour, linked to Malta by a bridge. Its position gives you a useful view of how the harbour is divided, with Sliema Creek to the north and Lazzaretto Creek to the south.

Manoel Island takes its name from António Manoel de Vilhena, the Portuguese Grand Master who built a fort there in the 1720s. From the boat, you see the island as part of the wider harbour setting rather than as a separate sightseeing stop. That is an important distinction: you pass by it, but you do not go ashore.

The cruise then reaches Lazzaretto Creek. The Lazzaretto was once a quarantine facility and hospital, with buildings from the 17th and 19th centuries. Many of those structures remain, though they have suffered from wartime damage and decades without proper use.

This is one of the more interesting passages for anyone who wants Malta beyond its postcard views. The buildings are not polished attractions. Their worn condition gives you a glimpse of the practical systems that protected an island port from disease and managed people arriving by sea.

Yacht marina views with Valletta behind

The Manoel Island Yacht Marina adds a very different mood. The marina has protected pontoons and sits on the island’s south coast, facing the capital. Boats in the foreground frame Valletta’s bastions and buildings across the water.

This is a good place to have your camera ready. Malta’s architecture is most impressive when seen from a distance, where the walls, towers and pale stone buildings form one strong view. From street level, Valletta can feel dense and vertical. From the boat, you can take in the full line of its defenses.

The marina also shows how the harbour is used today. Historic forts share the water with yachts, service boats and working marine facilities. The cruise is not limited to old monuments, and that makes the scene feel more like a real port than a floating museum.

The audio commentary helps identify what you are seeing, but you should not expect a personal conversation with a guide. The information comes through the public-address system in English and German. If you prefer to set your own pace, that arrangement works well. If you want detailed questions answered as you go, it may feel limited.

Valletta’s walls and the Grand Harbour

As the boat passes Floriana and Valletta, the scale of the fortifications becomes clear. You see the battlements and imposing defensive walls from the water, where the stone rises directly above the harbour.

This is the cruise’s strongest visual section. Valletta was designed as a fortified city, and its defenses make more sense when viewed from the sea. You can see why the Grand Harbour mattered so much to Malta’s rulers, naval forces and merchants.

The Grand Harbour separates Valletta from the Three Cities: Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. It has served as Malta’s principal maritime gateway for more than two thousand years and remains an active port. Large vessels may be present, and the broad water gives the boat room to show the relationship between the capital and the older towns across the harbour.

You are not simply looking at one city wall. You are seeing a chain of fortifications, creeks and historic settlements arranged around a strategic inlet. That wider view is the real value of taking a boat. From land, you can visit separate sites, but it is harder to understand how they face one another across the water.

The cruise also passes Marsamxett Harbour, the larger leisure-oriented harbour north of the Grand Harbour. Seeing both harbours helps you read Malta’s geography. Marsamxett is generally more associated with marinas and recreation, while the Grand Harbour carries the heavier historical and port activity.

Fort St. Angelo and the Three Cities

Fort St. Angelo sits at the centre of the Grand Harbour in Birgu, also called Vittoriosa. The fort began as a medieval castle known as Castrum Maris and was rebuilt by the Order of Saint John between the 1530s and 1560s.

Its position is the key. From the boat, you see why this site controlled movement through the harbour. Fort St. Angelo also served as the headquarters of the Order during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, giving the structure a direct connection to one of the island’s defining historical events.

The cruise then passes Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa, the three fortified towns grouped together as the Three Cities. They are older than Valletta and were home to many of the island’s rulers and residents before the capital was built.

Cospicua is one of the main fortified towns on the inner harbour. Senglea occupies a narrow peninsula, while Vittoriosa sits beside Fort St. Angelo. From the water, their bastions and waterfront buildings appear as parts of one defensive system, though each town has its own character.

The creeks around the Three Cities were used as harbours as far back as Phoenician times. The docks gave local communities work, but they also made the area a target whenever Malta was involved in war. That mix of trade, defense and daily life is what gives this part of the cruise its weight.

I especially like this section for first-time visitors to Malta. You get a useful introduction to the Three Cities before deciding if you want to return on foot. The boat does not replace a walking visit, but it shows you the towns’ position and shape before you tackle their lanes and churches.

Kalkara Creek and the working harbour

Kalkara Creek is a sheltered inlet known for fishermen’s and oarsmen’s boats. The shore has been enlarged several times, including development in the 1950s, and the area offers strong views back toward the fortified harbour.

This section can feel quieter than the main Grand Harbour. It also reminds you that Malta’s waterways are not only about grand monuments. Small boats, working docks and sheltered inlets are part of the island’s everyday maritime life.

The route continues through French Creek and Dockyard Creek. These waters are linked with Malta’s shipbuilding and repair industry. Large ships may wait there before entering dry docks, and Malta Shipyards includes a super-yacht section with a covered dry dock.

For some people, the dockyard views will be less picturesque than Valletta’s bastions. I see that as part of the appeal, provided you know what you are booking. This is a harbour cruise, not a nonstop sequence of historic buildings. The route includes modern port activity, repair yards and working waterfronts alongside forts and old towns.

One review found the scenery too focused on yachts and felt disappointed when a planned stop did not happen, even in good weather. That is a useful warning. You should book this for the moving panorama and the range of harbour views, not for a guaranteed landing or a close visit to every site.

What the boat experience is like

The cruise lasts about one hour and 30 minutes. That is long enough to cover the two harbours without taking up an entire day. You get free Wi-Fi on board, and the seating is described as comfortable with useful shade.

The boat generally moves at a calm sightseeing pace. That matters because the best views are not over in a few seconds. You have time to look from one side to the other, listen to the commentary and take photographs.

Conditions on the water can change the feel of the trip. One passenger had mobility difficulties getting on and, especially, getting off while the boat moved up and down. The crew offered helping hands, but you should still take care at the boarding point and ask for assistance if needed.

The same movement can affect anyone prone to seasickness. The experience specifically advises against booking if you are susceptible. Even in pleasant weather, a harbour boat can rise and fall, particularly near open stretches or when other vessels pass.

The maximum group size is 100 people. That is not an intimate private cruise, but it is also not necessarily the scale of a large sightseeing ship. The exact atmosphere will depend on the departure, though you should expect a shared public boat with other passengers.

There is no food or drink included. Plan to eat before or after in Sliema, where you have many cafés, bars and restaurants close to the promenade. The free Wi-Fi is a useful extra, but it should not be the reason you book. The scenery and route are the main value.

Is $24.20 a fair price?

At $24.20 per person, this is a reasonably priced way to see Malta’s harbour system from the water. You are paying for about 90 minutes of sightseeing, a broad route through Marsamxett Harbour and the Grand Harbour, shaded seating, Wi-Fi and audio commentary.

The value is strongest if you have limited time or want an overview before visiting the shore attractions. A land-based day around Valletta and the Three Cities can take much longer, involve more walking and require separate transport planning. This cruise gives you the large-scale picture in a single sitting.

The value is weaker if you expect a live guide, a stop for exploring, meals or transport from your hotel. None of those are included. It is also less useful if you have already seen the same harbours from several viewpoints and want a more focused historical tour.

The overall rating of 3.7 from six reviews points to a mixed experience rather than a sure thing. Several strong points are clear: comfortable seats, shade, good views, punctual departure on at least one outing, a pleasant speed and clear audio information. There was also a cancellation caused by engine trouble, with a refund issue that required customer-service contact according to that passenger’s account. Mechanical problems are possible on any boat trip, but you should keep your plans flexible if this cruise is tied to an important connection.

Who should book this cruise?

I would choose it for a first visit to Malta, a short stay in Sliema or a day when you want to rest your feet while still seeing major sights. It is particularly useful for building a mental map of Valletta, the Three Cities and the two harbours.

You will also get good value if you enjoy forts, shipyards and working waterfronts rather than only beaches. The route mixes historic stone defenses with marinas, creeks and modern docks.

This is less suitable for anyone seeking a small private boat, a live historian or time ashore. It is also a poor match if you get seasick or have difficulty boarding a moving vessel. People with mobility concerns should plan to ask the crew for help and take extra care when getting on and off.

The best seats will depend on the boat and departure, so arrive ready to look around rather than treating one side as guaranteed. Keep your camera available for the stretches facing Valletta, Fort St. Angelo and the Three Cities, then listen for the quieter details around Lazzaretto Creek and the dockyards.

Should you book it?

Book this cruise if you want a simple, affordable introduction to Malta’s harbours and prefer broad views to a long walking tour. The route is varied, the Sliema location is convenient, and the water-level view makes Valletta’s defenses and the Three Cities easier to understand.

Skip it if you need a live guide, a shore stop or a tightly scheduled activity with no chance of delay. For most visitors who accept those limits, this is a useful 90-minute outing, especially early in a Malta stay when you want to get your bearings before exploring on foot.

FAQ

Where does the cruise depart?

It departs from Sliema Promenade, at Sliema Ferries on Tower Road, Sliema, Malta.

Where does the cruise finish?

The cruise returns to the Sliema meeting point.

How long does the cruise last?

The experience lasts approximately one hour and 30 minutes.

Is a live guide included?

No. The cruise includes audio commentary over a public-address system in English and German. A live guide is not included.

Are food and drinks included?

No. Food and drinks are not included in the price.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes. You can cancel at least 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Cancellations or changes made less than 24 hours before departure are not refundable, and poor weather may lead to a different date or a full refund.