Two harbour ferries cross to Valletta, one from Sliema and one from the Three Cities. Both take about five minutes and run roughly every half hour in each direction. Both are quicker and more pleasant than the same trip by road.
Summer timetable, 1 June to 31 October
Sliema and Valletta
From Sliema
- 06:45
- 07:15
- 07:45
- 08:15
From Valletta
- 07:00
- 07:30
- 08:00
- 08:30
32 departures each way on the current timetable, about every half hour. The crossing takes about five minutes.
Valletta and the Three Cities
From Cospicua
- 06:30
- 07:00
- 07:30
- 08:00
From Valletta
- 06:45
- 07:15
- 07:45
- 08:15
32 departures each way on the current timetable, about every half hour. The crossing takes about five minutes.
Gozo Channel runs Cirkewwa to Mgarr daily and the crossing takes about twenty-five minutes. Their departure times are not published in a form we can read automatically. Rather than copy them out and let them go out of date, here is the timetable: the Gozo Channel schedule.
Checked 20 October 2026, 09:15. Valletta Ferry Services.
What to know
Before you go
- How often
- About every half hour in each direction, all day. The two directions are offset by fifteen minutes, so there is a boat moving somewhere in the harbour most of the time. You rarely need to plan around the timetable unless you are travelling late.
- Two seasons
- The summer timetable runs from 1 June to 31 October and carries on until midnight. The winter one stops around half past six in the evening, which surprises people in November.
- Sundays and public holidays
- Both routes start later, at a quarter to nine from Sliema and nine from Cospicua.
- Fares
- It costs less than a bus for the same journey and far less than parking in Valletta. Holders of a personalised Tallinja card travel free.
- The Barrakka Lift
- The Sliema ferry lands below the bastions. The lift takes you up to the Upper Barrakka in seconds and saves a steep climb.
- Getting to Gozo
- A different operator and a different crossing. Ċirkewwa to Mġarr takes about twenty-five minutes and runs through the night, and you pay leaving Gozo rather than arriving.
From Sliema the ferry is five minutes and the bus is thirty. The crossing is also the best short boat trip on the islands, and it costs less than a coffee.
Who runs what
Five operators move people around Malta on a published timetable. Each card links to our guide and to their own times.
Buses
Malta Public Transport
The whole island network, Malta and Gozo
They run every public bus on both islands, including the express X routes to the airport and the tallinja Direct services. The tallinja card is theirs. A personalised card makes day and night routes free.
Car and passenger ferry
Gozo Channel
Cirkewwa to Mgarr
This is the Gozo crossing that carries vehicles. The trip takes about twenty-five minutes and sailings continue through the night. You pay when you leave Gozo rather than when you arrive.
Fast passenger ferry
Gozo Highspeed
Valletta to Mgarr
This service carries foot passengers only and leaves straight from the Valletta waterfront, so you skip the drive to Cirkewwa. The company was formed when the two competing fast-ferry operators merged.
Harbour ferry
Valletta Ferry Services
Sliema to Valletta, Three Cities to Valletta
These are two five-minute crossings of the harbours, about every half hour in each direction. They cost less than the bus for the same trip and take far less time.
Malta to Sicily by sea
Valletta to Pozzallo
A catamaran service crosses to Pozzallo in Sicily, which is the only scheduled way off the islands that is not a flight. It carries cars, campers and bicycles. Sailings are cancelled in heavy weather.