Sliema
Sliema is the furthest departure point on this page from Comino — close to an hour each way — and it is also the one most visitors can walk to. Whether that trade is worth it depends entirely on where you are staying and how long the trip is.
Quick answer
A boat to Comino from Sliema takes close to an hour each way. On a five-to-seven-hour trip that is fine; on a four-hour trip it is most of your day. Three listings here leave from Sliema, from $23 for the harbour cruise to $64 for the powerboat, and the powerboat is the one that fixes the crossing time.
The trade, honestly
From Sliema, book the long trip. From Ġirkewwa, the short one is enough.
The case against Sliema is arithmetic. Two hours of a four-hour trip spent moving leaves you very little time anchored, and the boats from Ġirkewwa get four times as long in the water for the same money.
The case for Sliema is everything else. If you are staying in Sliema, St Julian’s or Valletta, you can walk to the quay. Getting to Ġirkewwa means a bus across the island or a taxi that costs more than the difference. And the crossing itself is not wasted time: you pass the whole northern coast, the cliffs and Selmun before you reach Comino.
The resolution most people miss: take a longer trip from Sliema rather than a shorter one. On a seven-hour listing the crossing is a third of the day instead of half.
The three Sliema departures
All three leave from the same waterfront.
$23. Valletta, the Three Cities and the creeks. It does not go to Comino and it is the cheapest trip on this page.
$40. The standard Sliema trip with 8,380 reviews, and long enough that the crossing is proportionate.
$64. The fastest way across from Sliema, and the one that actually enters the caves rather than passing them.
Three reasons people still book a Malta boat tour from Sliema
All three are practical rather than sentimental.
A Malta boat tour from Sliema needs no transfer if you are staying in Sliema, St Julian’s or Valletta.
The northern coast, the cliffs and Selmun pass by before you reach Comino. It is not dead time.
On a seven-hour Malta boat tour the crossing is a third of the day rather than half.
If you are staying in Mellieħa or the north, Ġirkewwa is twenty minutes from Comino and changes the whole day. Use the port switch on the homepage to see only those trips.
Leaving from Bugibba→Book direct
The three Sliema departures, and the short crossing from Ġirkewwa.
★ 4.6 · 2,964 reviews
★ 4.5 · 8,380 reviews
★ 4.8 · 331 reviews
★ 4.9 · 1,419 reviews
A Malta boat tour from Sliema is the only one most visitors can walk to, and that is worth more than forty minutes of crossing to a lot of people.
Leaving from Bugibba→Six reasons the port matters on a Malta boat tour
All six come down to the same forty minutes.
Ġirkewwa is twenty minutes; a Sliema Malta boat tour is close to an hour.
What you save on the crossing you spend anchored.
A Malta boat tour you can walk to has no taxi attached.
Shorter crossings are more comfortable when it is windy.
Some ports have five Malta boat tour listings and some have one.
A longer crossing shows you more of the island, which is not nothing.
Common questions
Close to an hour each way. It is the longest crossing of any port on this page.
If you are staying in Sliema, St Julian’s or Valletta, yes — you can walk to the quay. Take a longer trip rather than a short one so the crossing is proportionate.
The powerboat at $64. It also enters the sea caves rather than passing the entrance.
Ġirkewwa at the northern tip is about twenty minutes from Comino. Getting there from Sliema takes a bus or a taxi.
No. It runs around Valletta, the Three Cities and the creeks, with no swimming and no Comino.
From Sliema and St Julian’s, yes. The quays are on the main waterfront.
Go deeper
From $23 for the harbour, and what the full days add.
Blue LagoonNo road reaches it. What the trip is actually like.
The verdictFourteen listings, and the four that are worth your morning.
From BugibbaFive departures, and the shortest route to the lagoon.
Sea cavesSanta Maria Caves and the arch, and why only small boats enter.
PrivateFrom $184 for the boat, and when it is worth it.
Comino: Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon, and Sea Caves Tour
★ 4.9 · 646 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h