Malta cruise port, and what to do with your hours ashore

Arriving in Malta by cruise ship has an advantage few Mediterranean ports can match. You step off the ship and the capital is right there, on top of the walls, a stroll away. The hard part is choosing what to do with the hours the cruise line gives you without cutting it fine at all-aboard.

Where the ship berths

Cruise ships tie up at Valletta Cruise Port on the Valletta Waterfront, which belongs to Floriana and sits below Valletta’s walls. The port describes a natural deep-water harbour open to ships of every size all year, with 2,117 metres of berths and the main terminal in the Magazino Hall, a historic building brought up to date. According to its operator, the capital is about fifteen minutes on foot.

In front of you is the Waterfront itself, a row of restored 18th-century warehouses with restaurants and shops. I cover it properly in Valletta Waterfront, but on a short call I wouldn’t spend my first hours there.

Getting up into Valletta

Valletta sits high and you’ll feel the slope from the quay. The port recommends the Upper Barrakka Lift as the quickest and most scenic route, a short walk from the terminal. It brings you out in the Upper Barrakka Gardens, with the Grand Harbour below, and from there the whole centre is walkable.

If you prefer a bus, route 130 links the ‘Waterfront’ stop with Valletta bus terminus for the ordinary day fare, which depends on the season, and you can tap a contactless card just as at home. For one or two people I’d take the lift. What to see once you’re up is laid out in Valletta.

What can you do in Malta on a cruise stop?

With four hours, I’d stay in Valletta. With six to eight, I’d add the Three Cities, which look their best arriving by sea. The port says the local ferry and the dgħajsa, Malta’s traditional boats, cross in about five minutes, and the Valletta to Cospicua ferry costs €3 a single by day. Times and fares are in Valletta ferries.

What I wouldn’t do on a short call is go far. Mdina, the southern temples and Gozo are all lovely, but Gozo means 45 minutes on the fast ferry each way, and the rest means roads and traffic. If you’d still like to see more without planning, buy a sightseeing bus ticket from the booths on the same promenade. I compare them with the ordinary buses in Malta hop on hop off. For Valletta on foot, a free walking tour in Valletta suits a port day well, and you decide what to pay the guide at the end.

Services at the port

The terminal has what a passenger needs on a port day. There’s a pharmacy during cruise hours, ATMs in the terminal and along the promenade, a duty-free shop and free Wi-Fi across the terminal and the Waterfront on the ‘Valletta Cruise Port’ network. Just outside, the Malta Tourism Authority runs an information office while ships are in.

For getting about there are taxis and tours from a booking office on the promenade at established rates, rental electric cars, scooters and e-bikes, and horse-drawn cabs on the road next door. Malta’s tourism authority says taxis from the seaport run on fixed tariffs and advises agreeing the fare before getting in. Before booking a tour there, I’d check it holds an MTA licence, which I explain in Malta tours and day trips.

Shopping and the VAT refund

Here’s something most British passengers don’t realise. Now that the UK is outside the EU, you may be able to reclaim VAT on shopping in Malta. The port explains the rules for non-EU residents heading to a final destination outside the EU. Purchases must be at least €55 in a single shop and €315 in total per departure, the form must be stamped at your last EU exit point, and the refund carries a fee of €23 or 4%, whichever is higher. On a cruise that calls at other EU ports afterwards, the stamp comes at the last one.

If your cruise starts or ends in Malta

The port also handles turnarounds. The airport is 6 km away, according to the port, and there are hotels in Valletta within fifteen minutes’ walk of the terminal. If I were flying in the day before, I’d sleep in the capital and walk down to the ship. And if your call lasts the whole day, follow my Malta in one day plan, hour by hour.