Malta Catamaran & Boat Cruises: Which One to Book in 2026

A day on the water to Comino is the best single thing most visitors do in Malta, and the standard formula rarely changes: six to eight hours from Sliema or Bugibba, from around €20–35 per person, covering the Blue Lagoon, the Crystal Lagoon and a run past the sea caves, often with Gozo folded in.

The word "catamaran" is doing a lot of unearned work in those listings. Most of the boats sold that way are motorised day-trip vessels with a bar and a waterslide. The genuinely sail-powered trip exists, costs roughly double, and carries far fewer people. Below: what each format costs in 2026, and which operator to give your money to.

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Are Malta's catamaran cruises actually catamarans?

Mostly not, and it is worth knowing before you pay. The big Bugibba and Sliema day boats marketed as catamaran cruises are motor vessels carrying a few hundred passengers, with sun decks, a bar and usually a slide off the back. They are good value and they do the job.

The sail-powered version is a separate product. Sea Trips runs the one genuine catamaran day trip, five to six hours around the Blue Lagoon, beaches and bays at roughly €55 per person, with one or two extra swim stops the big boats do not make.

So the choice is not really about hull type. It is about how many people you want to share the deck with, and whether that is worth paying double.

What does a Malta boat trip cost in 2026?

Every price below is a starting rate checked in August 2026 and moves with the date and the season.

The pattern is clear enough: the €26–35 band buys you the same three stops from every operator. Everything above it is buying exclusivity, food and drink, or a specific hour of the day, not extra coastline.

Which cruise should you actually book?

The catamaran in the box above is the pick if the boat itself matters: it sails rather than motors, carries far fewer people than the day boats, and the €55 buys a calmer six hours for not much more money.

If coverage per euro matters more, the Sea Trips Gozo and Comino tour is the most-booked trip in Malta by a wide margin – seven hours, both islands and the sea caves from around €30. The Hornblower two-island cruise runs the same circuit, starts a few euros cheaper and rates higher across thousands of reviews, so book that one if your date has space.

For a second day on the water, drop Gozo and do a tighter Comino-only run; our Blue Lagoon guide covers that in detail. If Gozo is what you actually came for, a boat trip is the wrong tool – the Gozo day trip guide handles the ferry properly.

One product to approach carefully: the Hera II boat party carries a weak rating from a very small number of reviews. The party format itself is fine and the going rate is €70–75 for four hours with an open bar, but check recent feedback on the specific boat before booking rather than assuming the category is safe.

Do you need the Comino shore pass on a boat trip?

Almost certainly not. Since 1 May 2025 anyone stepping ashore at the Blue Lagoon needs a free, pre-booked timed slot with a QR code and a wristband, and the scheme is still fully in force for 2026. Three daily windows run, each capped at roughly 4,000 visitors, and turning up on the sand without one risks a fine.

The nuance that matters: the pass governs landing, not swimming. Stay on the boat, jump off the deck, swim in the lagoon and climb back aboard, and you never touch land, so no booking applies to you. That is how nearly every organised cruise operates.

Book the free slot anyway if you might want to walk to Santa Marija Bay or buy something ashore. It costs nothing and takes two minutes; the Comino island guide covers what is actually there on foot.

Sunset, full day or private?

The full day is the right first booking. Morning departures get the calmest water and the best light in the lagoon, and seven hours is enough to swim properly rather than tick a stop.

The sunset run is the better second booking. At roughly €27 for three and a half hours, the Blue Lagoon sunset swim and snorkel cruise puts you in the same water after the day boats have left, and it is one of the strongest-rated products on the island. The adults-only evening catamaran does the same job over five hours for around €64 if you want the smaller boat.

Private charters start under €200 for a couple of hours, which undercuts a group of four paying €55 each on a sailing catamaran. Our private boat trips guide has the comparison if you are travelling as a group.

Departures and what to bring

Bugibba Jetty sits at the northern end of the island and is the closest departure to Comino, so more of the day is spent anchored rather than in transit. Sliema suits anyone based along that coast and saves a cross-island bus at 08:30, at the cost of swimming time.

Bring a towel, sun cream, waterproof footwear and cash for the bar. The larger boats have toilets, freshwater showers and shade; snorkelling gear is usually hire-or-bring-your-own.

Traffic into Bugibba is heavy on summer mornings and operators do not refund missed boarding, so budget 20 minutes more than the map says. Treat the Crystal Lagoon and sea cave stops as weather-dependent rather than guaranteed.