Grand Harbour Marina Malta comes at a grand price but if you can stomach the high cost the views are absolutely outstanding. Let’s talk about price first and get that out of the way. For our 56’ yacht, we paid €230/night including tax in 2014 but that’s not including the nominal fee for water and electricity. At least the wifi was free!
But what a view! And I mean, WHAT A VIEW!
With the high fortress styled walls of the capital city, Valletta, on the north side, and the three cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea towards the south there are incredible sites to behold when looking in all directions. I just have to say that my photos don’t do it any justice at all…it’s one of those places that you just have to see for yourself.
During the day the sun lights up the sand-colored buildings and the colorful shrubs, trees, and flowers stand out just as much the deep dark blue waterways. As the sun sets, everything turns a golden hue and one can’t help but feel that they’re surrounded by grandeur and magnificence.
My husband is happy to arrive in Malta – it was our first trip alone…just Simon, me and Sienna!
I couldn’t help but say over and over, ‘Grand Harbour Marina Malta is stunning – absolutely stunning!’
The marina fees might be steep but in return, you’ll enjoy a stay in one of the most impressive harbors in the Mediterranean.
Once you get off the boat and walk around, you’ll see forts, castles, grand walls, buildings still scared from WWII bombs, sparkling new gin palaces, and old classic fishing boats. With a lovely walkway throughout the marina, you’ll eventually end at the No. 1 Dock – the head of Dockyard Creek.
Notice the bomb damage! Malta was the most bombed country during WWII per square mile!
I don’t like to pay for any mooring considering that anchoring is free. And I especially don’t like paying more than a 5 star hotel would cost, however, we had to stay in a marina to finalize the paperwork for our Maltese Leaseback Scheme (a legal way to mitigate VAT).
We attempted to get into other, less expensive marinas, like Manoel Island Marina, but there was no vacancy. I’m happy we were ‘forced’ to stay at Grand Harbour Marina Malta because although the cost was high, I thoroughly enjoyed every part of our stay.
Are the pink flowers in this tree stunning or what? This is the walkway along the marina…
Grand Harbour Marina Malta Review
Customer Service
After radioing on the VHF that we were coming in, a boat met us outside the marina and guided us to our berth. The greeting was kind and the two attendants helped us tie onto the pontoon. One attendant jumped off and pointed to our berth and the other used the dinghy to push us into our location.
I was actually quite impressed with my husband’s maneuvering skills. We were instructed to go port-side (left) to the jetty but we had to enter and area surrounded by superyachts and do a 180 spin to get the boat in position.
Once we secured the boat, the two men greeted us again, immediately helped us to hook up to electricity and water. They then gave us instructions on how to find the offices and the location of the facilities.
View of the marina from Valetta
Scenery
The scenery was absolutely breathtaking views in every direction. By far, it’s the most picturesque location for a marina that I’ve ever seen.
Comfort of mooring
For the two nights we stayed, I didn’t feel the boat rock once. The pontoon was quiet (not creaking) and I slept like a log. The only wash we received was from the young tuna fish chasing minnows!
As the sun sets – the view towards Valetta from our boat
Noise levels at Grand Harbour Marina Malta
In the distance I could hear music playing – perhaps it was coming from one of the gin palaces or Valetta? It wasn’t too loud. We were positioned up amongst the superyachts and it was relatively quiet. I suspect that it might be noisier down towards the other end of the marina due to restaurants and passers-by.
We didn’t experience any noise from other boaters and everyone that walked by gave a nod or stopped by for a little chat. There was a mix of crew and boat owners on our pontoon.
Facilities on the jetty of Grand Harbour Marina Malta
The electricity and water worked perfectly from the moment we turned them on. The wifi signal was excellent however we were only allowed two devices to hook up. That being noted, there are bars and café’s all along the marina all offering good wifi.
The bathroom! It was awesome 🙂
Facilities on land (Toilets, etc)
The washrooms were excellent – when I walked in, I felt as if I was walking into a 5-star hotel bathroom. The showers were great – excellent water pressure, great temperature, loads of space… The cleanliness was excellent. Everything worked, there was soap…it’s what you would expect from such a high priced marina.
There’s a washing machine and dryer as you enter the bathrooms too.
The offices and the location of the bathrooms.
Distance to facilities
It took us 3 minutes to get to the bathrooms.
Other Information about Grand Harbour Marina Malta
We ate either lunch or dinner at most of the restaurants along the marina and they were all good. We enjoyed an evening meal at Don Burtos (I think that’s the name of the restaurant – it’s located upstairs right outside the marina offices and facilities). Anyway, I had a rack of lamb, my husband had a fillet and my daughter had pasta. All of us were very, very, very happy with our meal. Furthermore, the price was reasonable.
An excellent dinner at Don Burtos restaurant!
Also…for provisioning, there’s a grocery store a 5-minute drive from the marina.
If you spend over €100 someone from the store will collect you and bring you back. With three floors of food, you’ll find anything and everything you would normally find at a grocery store. We took advantage of all the British offerings and loaded up on HP Sauce, Cheddar Cheese, curry paste, Chinese sauces, tea, peanut butter, and all the things you can’t get in Italy, Greece, etc.
Taxi service to Valetta – Grand Harbour Marina Malta
To get to Valetta, there’s a taxi service that runs regularly right from the marina and there are loads of independent boat taxi’s willing to run you over to the capital city for a couple of euros.
Find Out How We Got This Far And Where We Went Next
If you’d like a breakdown of all the places we’ve visited while sailing the Mediterranean please read our destination overview: Sailing The Mediterranean.
- Mallorca To Gibraltar – Our First Sail
- Gibraltar To Malta
- Malta
- Malta to Sicily
Check Out The Other Sailing Destinations We’ve Been To
Come Sailing With Us
| THE BRITICAN EXPERIENCE - A WEEK-LONG BLUEWATER CRUISING EXPERIENCE | |
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 | During Merrill's Sailing Lifestyle Experience he learned how to book out and into a different country, what it's like to fly a mainsail, genoa, and staysail, how to anchor, tie onto a mooring ball and dock up at a marina. And unfortunately/fortunately Merrill managed to experience what it was like to ride out a surprise tropical storm. If you'd like to experience what it's truly like to live and cruise on a bluewater sailboat, come join me for a week. Check out our availability here: Click here for more information. |
Great photos –Carmen is Maltese and brings back many memories . We were both in Malta in 2010 and enjoyed the people and the country . I was in Malta with the Aussie Navy in 1962 and noticed a tremendous difference — particularly the lack of tourists then . Our minesweepers were moored in Msida Creek — today quite different with many yachts and cruising craft moored everywhere . If still in Malta , try visiting the Blue Grotto and that end of the Island –beautiful . We continue to monitor your activities and look forward to your adventures , and one day , to visit Australia .
Regards –Carmen & Barry Allison
The Grand Harbour Hotel is one of the best hotels in Malta that you can stay in. It’s also reasonably priced for its location. The food there is very tasty as well. There are tons of other great hotels in Malta that tourists can choose from depending on their budget. Thanks for sharing this awesome blog post.
great to see that you liked my home country so much….makes me want to return to the Islands sooner rather than later….who knows,,,,maybe as a live-aboard cruiser like you!