May & Jun
The best window of the year
Water already warm enough to swim in, air in the mid-twenties, and the Blue Lagoon still quiet enough to anchor properly. Everything runs and almost nothing is full.
Timing
The best time for a boat tour in Malta: May, June, September and October
The season runs roughly April to October and the shoulders beat the middle by a wide margin. What the month decides is the water temperature, the wind, and how many other boats are anchored in the same two-hundred-metre channel as yours.
Quick answer
The best time for a boat tour in Malta is May, June, September and October. The sea is warm enough to swim in, everything runs, and the Blue Lagoon is nothing like as busy as it is in July and August. September has the warmest water of the whole year, because the sea has had a summer to heat up.
Month by month
The sailing year
Swim-stop trips run roughly April to October. The harbour cruises run all year.
Sep & Oct
Warmest sea, emptiest lagoon
The sea is at its warmest of the whole year after a summer of heating, the crowds have gone and the light is better. The only trade is slightly more wind than in early summer.
Jul & Aug
Peak, and the lagoon is full
Everything runs and the water is perfect, but the Blue Lagoon holds dozens of boats and thousands of people. Book the earliest departure or a small-group trip.
Nov – Mar
Limited, and wind decides
Most swim-stop trips stop running and the sea is cold. The harbour cruises around Valletta continue, and the Gozo ferry runs all year.
Timing, at a glance
- Best months
- May, June, September, Octoberwarm sea, no crowd
- Warmest sea
- Septemberafter a summer of heating
- Busiest
- July and Augustdozens of boats in the lagoon
- Swim-trip season
- April to Octoberroughly
- Harbour cruises
- All yearno swimming involved
- Best departure, any month
- The first of the daybefore the fleet arrives
- What cancels a trip
- Windnot rain
- Book ahead, peak
- About a weekJuly and August weekends
- Book ahead, shoulder
- A few daysusually enough
- Cheapest months to travel
- November to Marchbut most trips do not run
Why the first departure matters more than the month
Three reasons, and they compound
An empty lagoon, the calmest sea, and nothing late ahead of you.
You get the lagoon first. The fleet arrives through the morning. The earliest boats have the Blue Lagoon close to empty for a while, which is the difference between the photographs and the reality.
The wind is lowest. Wind builds through the day around the Maltese islands almost every day of the year, and wind is what cancels trips and makes crossings uncomfortable.
Nothing is running late ahead of you. Boats run consecutive trips and delays accumulate. The first departure cannot inherit anybody else’s.
What the month does to a Malta boat tour
Three things, and only one is the temperature
Traffic, sea temperature and wind — and they peak in three different months.
The traffic. A Malta boat tour in June and the same one in August visit the same lagoon with a completely different number of boats in it. This is the single biggest seasonal variable and it is never in the listing.
The sea temperature. September is warmer than June, which surprises people. The sea lags the air by about two months.
The wind. More of it in the shoulders than at the height of summer, which is why a Malta boat tour in October is occasionally cancelled and one in July almost never is.
If you can only come in August, book the earliest departure and a small boat. Both decisions cost almost nothing and they change the day completely.
Which trip is best→Book direct
Malta boat tours through the season
Three Comino trips and the harbour cruise, which runs all year.
Our top pick8,493 reviews
6 hComino: Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon, and Sea Caves Tour
★ 4.7 · 8,493 reviews
- Our top pick, and the best-evidenced full day
- Six hours by catamaran to the Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon and Santa Maria Caves
- 8,493 reviews at 4.7
- Leaves from Bugibba
$35$0.10 / hour
Check availability→ 
Rated 4.94 hours
4 hMalta: Comino, Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon and Cave Tour
★ 4.9 · 1,419 reviews
- The best-rated full day here
- Four hours from Cirkewwa to the lagoons and caves
- 1,419 reviews at 4.9
- Shortest crossing to Comino
$26$0.11 / hour
Check availability→ 
Small groupRated 4.8
2.5-4 hGozo & Comino: Blue Lagoon, Sea Caves -Small Group Day Trip
★ 4.8 · 2,631 reviews
- A small-group day, not a party boat
- Two and a half to four hours to the Blue Lagoon and the caves
- 2,631 reviews at 4.8
- Small group
$28$0.14 / hour
Check availability→ 
Cheapest1.5 hours
1.5 hFrom Sliema: Cruise Around Malta's Harbours & Creeks
★ 4.6 · 2,964 reviews
- The cheapest trip on this page
- Ninety minutes around Valletta, the Three Cities and the creeks
- 2,964 reviews at 4.6
- No swimming — a harbour cruise
$23$0.26 / hour
Check availability→ September is the best month for a Malta boat tour and almost nobody books it, because people assume the sea follows the calendar rather than lagging it.
The Blue Lagoon→Six months, six different Malta boat tour days
Same boats, same lagoon
The month changes more than the listing does.
- May
The water is warm enough and the Malta boat tour fleet is not yet full.
- June
The best all-round month: warm, calm and still quiet.
- July
Everything runs and the lagoon is busy from mid-morning.
- August
The busiest Malta boat tour month of the year by a distance.
- September
The warmest sea of the whole year, and the crowds have gone.
- October
Still swimmable, very quiet, and the only month with real wind risk.
Common questions
Malta boat tour timing, answered
When is the best time for a Malta boat tour?
May, June, September and October. Warm sea, everything running, and a fraction of the traffic in the Blue Lagoon.
When is the sea warmest?
September, after a whole summer of heating. It is warmer then than in June.
Do Malta boat tours run in winter?
The swim-stop trips mostly stop between November and March. The harbour cruises around Valletta run all year.
How busy is the Blue Lagoon in August?
Very. It is a channel about two hundred metres wide that can hold dozens of boats and thousands of people.
What time of day is best for a Malta boat tour?
The first departure, in every month. You reach the lagoon before the fleet and the wind is at its lowest.
Does rain cancel a Malta boat tour?
Rarely. Wind is what cancels them, and the call is made on the morning.
Go deeper
More on boat tours in Malta
Cost
What it costs
From $23 for the harbour, and what the full days add.
Blue LagoonThe Blue Lagoon
No road reaches it. What the trip is actually like.
The verdictWhich trip is best
Fourteen listings, and the four that are worth your morning.
From SliemaLeaving from Sliema
Three departures, and how long the crossing really takes.
From BugibbaLeaving from Bugibba
Five departures, and the shortest route to the lagoon.
Sea cavesThe sea caves
Santa Maria Caves and the arch, and why only small boats enter.
