Getting to Malta: the airport, the ferries and the sea routes

Malta’s transport hubs

Malta International Airport (MLA) at Luqa is the islands’ only airport.

The Valletta Waterfront and Valletta Cruise Port, on Pinto Wharf in Floriana, below the bastions, are where cruise ships berth and where Virtu Ferries sail for Sicily (vallettacruiseport.com).

Ċirkewwa, at the northern tip of Malta, is the Gozo Channel ferry terminal; on Gozo the ferries arrive at Mġarr, which also receives the Gozo Highspeed fast ferries from Valletta, Sliema and Buġibba.

In the harbours, Valletta Ferry Services sails from the Strand in Sliema to Valletta, and from Valletta to the Three Cities. Private yachts berth at the Grand Harbour Marina in Birgu and at Portomaso in St Julian’s.

Flights

The airlines listed by Malta International Airport include KM Malta Airlines, the national airline, together with Aegean (Athens), Air Serbia (Belgrade), British Airways, easyJet and Jet2 (UK), Lufthansa, Eurowings, Swiss and Luxair, Air France and Transavia, ITA Airways and Volotea (Italy), Vueling (Spain), Turkish Airlines (Istanbul), Emirates (Dubai), Qatar Airways, Delta, Tunisair Express (Tunis), Ryanair and Wizz Air (maltairport.com, read 25 October 2026). Routes and seasons change: check each airline for current flights and flying times.

From the airport, the Airport Direct buses run to Valletta and the Gozo fast ferry (TD4), to Sliema and St Julian’s (TD2, TD3), and to Rabat, Buġibba, Mellieħa and Ċirkewwa (TD1, TD5). The airport names Malta Taxi as the official taxi service.

By sea to Sicily

Virtu Ferries sails between the Valletta Waterfront and Pozzallo, on the south-east coast of Sicily. Its timetable for late October 2026 shows crossings of about 1 hour 45 minutes, with four to six sailings a day, and the company runs organised coach transfers to Catania (virtuferries.com/schedule, checked 25 October 2026).

From Catania, trains run north along the coast to Messina and on to mainland Italy: a slow, beautiful way to continue by rail.

Mainland Italy, Tunisia and Libya

We found no scheduled passenger car ferry between Malta and mainland Italy on the operators’ own passenger websites in October 2026: Grimaldi Lines, for example, lists routes from Italy to Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, Greece and Tunisia, but none to Malta. Check again before you travel, as routes change.

We found no passenger ferry between Malta and Tunisia or Libya. Fly instead: Tunisair Express serves Malta International Airport.

To Gozo and Comino

Gozo Channel’s car ferries cross from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr in about 25 minutes, daily (gozochannel.com/ferry/schedule, checked 25 October 2026). Vehicle and child tickets are bought at the booths in Mġarr.

Gozo Highspeed’s catamarans sail to Gozo from Valletta, and from Sliema and Buġibba; tickets are sold online, closing 20 minutes before departure, or at the terminals (gozohighspeed.com).

Comino is reached by the day boats that leave from Ċirkewwa, Mġarr, Sliema and Buġibba in season; choose a licensed operator and check the weather.

The Valletta harbour ferries

Valletta Ferry Services runs catamarans from the Strand in Sliema to Valletta, and from Valletta to the Three Cities at Cospicua, with departures every 15 minutes in the day and later sailings in summer (vallettaferryservices.com/schedule, checked 25 October 2026). The Barrakka Lift links the Valletta landing with the Upper Barrakka Gardens.

Questions and answers