Sliema-Valletta ferry

The five-minute crossing

If you’re staying around Sliema, the harbour ferry to Valletta is the quiet hero of the trip. It crosses Marsamxett Creek in roughly five minutes, dropping you below the capital’s bastions, where the bus has to grind the long way round the creek. The ride itself is a small pleasure too — a low-level view of Valletta’s walls and skyline from the water that you don’t get from a bus seat.

Fares are cheap: a single is around €1.50 and a day return about €2.80, with reduced child fares. The one thing worth knowing in advance is that it’s a separate ticket from the Tallinja bus card — your bus pass won’t work on it. Just buy a ticket at the waterfront kiosk or as you board; it’s not a queue worth stressing about.

When it wins, and when it doesn’t

For getting into Valletta from Sliema, the ferry almost always beats the bus on time and pleasantness. It runs frequently through the day, with extended evening sailings in the high season that make it handy for dinner in the capital and an easy hop back afterwards. In winter the timetable thins out, and in rough weather sailings can be suspended entirely — that’s the one situation where the bus, plodding round the creek, becomes the safer bet.

Times shift with the season, so glance at the official timetable if you’re planning around a specific departure rather than just turning up. Allow a little extra at peak times to queue and board.

Realistically you’re talking five minutes each way for a couple of euros — so it’s less a sightseeing attraction in its own right and more the smartest way to use a Sliema base, turning the capital into a quick, repeatable day or evening out.