Malta · Strait of Sicily
Yacht Charter Malta
Crewed charter around Malta, Gozo and Comino — honey-coloured limestone, the Blue Lagoon, and a season that runs April to November.
Malta is built entirely out of one stone, from the bastions of Valletta to the field walls of Gozo, and it sits far enough south that the sea stays warm after it has given up everywhere else. That is the practical argument for it: the season here runs April to November, which is longer than anywhere else this fleet reaches except Cyprus.
Three islands, and they divide the week
Malta itself has Valletta, which is UNESCO-listed and looks out over one of the largest natural harbours in Europe — a harbour built for a fleet, and still the best place in the archipelago to arrive by sea. The south-east has Marsaxlokk, where the painted luzzu boats are, and a fish market on Sunday that is not staged for anyone.
Gozo is slower, greener and emptier: terraced fields, the salt pans on the north coast cut into the rock in the sixteenth century, and San Blas and Ramla with red sand. The diving here is the best in the archipelago.
Comino has almost nobody on it and one very famous piece of water. The Blue Lagoon between Comino and Cominotto is exactly as photographed and completely overrun between ten and four — which is an argument for being there on a boat at seven, not an argument against going.
Why the season is the point
Most of this fleet's cruising grounds are June-to-September propositions. Malta is not: April is comfortable, November still swims, and the shoulder months have the archipelago more or less to themselves.
It makes Malta the answer for dates that fall outside everyone else's summer — a half-term, a late-October week, an early spring charter that would be cold in the Tyrrhenian and unthinkable in the Adriatic.
How the yacht gets there
No yacht in this fleet is based in Malta. What sails here is positioned — most often from Sicily, which is sixty miles north, and occasionally from further west.
Sicily being that close matters: it makes Malta one of the easier positionings we do, and it opens a two-centre week that most charterers never consider — the Aeolians or the south-eastern Sicilian coast, then the crossing down to Gozo.
As everywhere outside Italy, it means booking earlier than for a Campanian week and a narrower choice of boat. We would rather write that than let a form imply a fleet waiting in Valletta.
Practical notes
- No yacht is based in Malta: what sails here is positioned, most often from Sicily, sixty miles north
- The season runs April to November — longer than anywhere else this fleet reaches except Cyprus
- The Blue Lagoon is overrun between ten and four, and empty at seven in the morning
- Valletta's Grand Harbour is one of the largest natural harbours in Europe and the best arrival in the archipelago
- Malta International is twenty minutes from the harbour, which makes this an easy week to arrive for
Reached from: Sicily
Where to dine
A table by the water
The Marsaxlokk waterfront
MarsaxlokkA fishing village with painted luzzu at anchor: fish of the day, and a market on Sundays.
Valletta kitchens
VallettaContemporary Maltese cooking inside the walls: rabbit, fenkata, Gozitan cheeses.
San Blas Bay
GozoA few tables above a red-sand bay that is only comfortably reached from the water.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
The Blue Lagoon, Comino
Turquoise water over white sand. Anchor early: the trip boats arrive from ten.
Valletta
The fortified city of the Knights, UNESCO-listed, looking over the Grand Harbour.
The Blue Grotto, Wied iz-Zurrieq
Sea arches and caverns under the southern cliffs, best in the morning.
Gozo and the Cittadella
The sister island, greener and slower, with a citadel on high ground at its centre.
The fleet
Yachts available for Malta
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Itineraries
Yacht charter itineraries in Malta
What a week here actually looks like, day by day.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Malta
- When is the best time to charter in Malta?
- Wider than most places: April to November all work. The shoulder months are the real argument — May and October have the archipelago quiet and the sea still warm, which is not true further north.
- Is the Blue Lagoon worth it?
- Yes, at seven in the morning. Between ten and four it holds day boats gunwale to gunwale, and being on a chartered yacht is precisely what lets you see it before that happens.
- Do you have yachts based in Malta?
- No. Yachts are positioned here, most often from Sicily, sixty miles north. That proximity makes it one of the easier positionings we do, and it opens a two-centre week combining Sicily and the Maltese islands.
- Can we combine Malta with Sicily?
- Yes, and it is the combination worth asking about: sixty miles separates them, which is an overnight or a long day. The Aeolians or the south-east Sicilian coast, then down to Gozo, makes a fortnight that very few charterers think to ask for.
- What does a yacht charter in Malta cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season, the crew and the positioning, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a number that would be wrong for most weeks. Tell us your dates and how many are coming.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
Charter here
Enquire about a charter in Malta
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.