Malta: Harbours, bridges and formalities for sailors
7 harbours
Malta: 7 harbours, clearing in, papers and fees. Plan your trip with weather, tides and route.
Formalities
EU memberSchengen AreaEU customs unionCurrency: Euro
Clearing in: EU, Schengen and euro: no clearance from Italy or Greece, only registration at the marina. From Tunisia, Libya or another non-Schengen country, go to customs and immigration police immediately after mooring (Grand Harbour and Gozo around the clock, Msida Marina during office hours): crew list in duplicate, passports and boat papers; passports are stamped. About 10 nautical miles off the coast, call Valletta VTS on VHF channel 12 or 16.
Documents: Licence according to your home country's rules, SRC for the radio, boat papers and third-party insurance, crew list.
Fees: Harbour dues per night in the marinas (Msida, Grand Harbour, Mġarr on Gozo). At the Blue Lagoon on Comino, access rules and mandatory buoys apply in season.
Fairway: Hardly any tide. The Gregale from the north-east runs into the bays and harbours open to the east (Marsaxlokk, St. Paul's Bay). Grand Harbour and Marsamxett with ferry and cruise traffic under the supervision of Valletta VTS; dense ferry traffic in the North Channel between Malta, Comino and Gozo.
Nature: Seagrass meadows (Posidonia oceanica) are protected in all Maltese waters; anchor only on sand. In the Blue Lagoon, anchoring in the swimming area is prohibited and there are buoys; Cominotto is a nature reserve with no landing.
Emergency: 112; RCC Malta (Armed Forces), VHF channel 16 and DSC.
Sources: Auswärtiges Amt: Malta, travel and safety advice, Transport Malta: Vessel Traffic Services, The Shift News: Blue Lagoon rules back in force (May 2025) (as of 2026-10-20)
Local winds
- Gregale: north-easterly from the Ionian Sea that builds high seas; feared in harbours and bays open to the north-east, for example on Malta and the east coast of Sicily
- Scirocco: warm south-easterly from the Sahara, humid and hazy over the sea, often with dust and poor visibility; high seas on south- and east-facing coasts
Harbours by cruising area
Malta, Gozo and Comino (Valletta, Msida, Mġarr)
Frequently asked questions
Malta: Do I need to clear in?
EU, Schengen and euro: no clearance from Italy or Greece, only registration at the marina. From Tunisia, Libya or another non-Schengen country, go to customs and immigration police immediately after mooring (Grand Harbour and Gozo around the clock, Msida Marina during office hours): crew list in duplicate, passports and boat papers; passports are stamped. About 10 nautical miles off the coast, call Valletta VTS on VHF channel 12 or 16.
Malta: Which documents do I need on board?
Licence according to your home country's rules, SRC for the radio, boat papers and third-party insurance, crew list.
Malta: What fees apply?
Harbour dues per night in the marinas (Msida, Grand Harbour, Mġarr on Gozo). At the Blue Lagoon on Comino, access rules and mandatory buoys apply in season.
Malta: What is the emergency number at sea?
112; RCC Malta (Armed Forces), VHF channel 16 and DSC.
Malta: Which local winds blow there?
Gregale, Scirocco.
Malta: How many harbours does Sailseer cover?
Sailseer covers 7 harbours with harbour info, weather and route planning.