Ascent Valletta Malta 8-6pm port questions?

[llarsen]

Hi,

We will be on new Celebrity Ascent next September and visiting Valletta.

I couldn't find the info I need in the Malta forum, so I'm hoping someone here has visited Malta in the past or is visiting on upcoming cruise and can offer suggestions.

 

We've never been to Malta.

We normally do private/semi private tours instead of cruise ship excursions, but are having a hard time finding anything.

We enjoy photography and picturesque villages.

 

There are 2 Celebrity shore excursions we are considering:

Blue Grotto Boat Trip and Marsaxlokk 4hrs $108pp

Seaside Towns of Vittoriosa and Marsaxlokk 3.5hrs $93pp

 

I understand there are taxis you can hire for a private tour...but I really don't know what is best to see? Mdina & Marsaxlokk for sure?

I was hoping to do a catamaran to Blue Lagoon but they leave from a different area and are 6-7hrs long.

 

Questions:

1.Has anyone taken a Blue Lagoon boat trip that departed from Valletta instead of other bays?

2.Is Blue Grotto worth the time?

3.Have you hired a taxi for diy tour and what places did you find most beautiful?

4.Have you taken either of the Celebrity tours and what did you think of them?

 

Thank you for any input or suggestions!

 

 

 

 

 

[wanderlust58]

46 minutes ago, llarsen said:

Hi,

We will be on new Celebrity Ascent next September and visiting Valletta.

I couldn't find the info I need in the Malta forum, so I'm hoping someone here has visited Malta in the past or is visiting on upcoming cruise and can offer suggestions.

 

We've never been to Malta.

We normally do private/semi private tours instead of cruise ship excursions, but are having a hard time finding anything.

We enjoy photography and picturesque villages.

 

There are 2 Celebrity shore excursions we are considering:

Blue Grotto Boat Trip and Marsaxlokk 4hrs $108pp

Seaside Towns of Vittoriosa and Marsaxlokk 3.5hrs $93pp

 

I understand there are taxis you can hire for a private tour...but I really don't know what is best to see? Mdina & Marsaxlokk for sure?

I was hoping to do a catamaran to Blue Lagoon but they leave from a different area and are 6-7hrs long.

 

Questions:

1.Has anyone taken a Blue Lagoon boat trip that departed from Valletta instead of other bays?

2.Is Blue Grotto worth the time?

3.Have you hired a taxi for diy tour and what places did you find most beautiful?

4.Have you taken either of the Celebrity tours and what did you think of them?

 

Thank you for any input or suggestion

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

I have only been to Malta on a land tour and travelled everywhere by local bus so can not answer your questions about taxi tours or shore excursions but I might be able to help with what is worth seeing. 

 

We really enjoyed the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk and they are in the southern area of the island so you may be able to take a taxi tour to these together. At the Blue Grotto the view from above is lovely but also definitely do the boat tour where you enter the caves. We were there on a really hot day and the boat cruise was a wonderful relief from the heat.

 

 

Marsaxlokk is cute to walk around looking at the boats but we only spend about an hour there.

 

 

Mdina is lovely but is in a different direction to the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk from Valletta. You could do all three with a taxi tour but you could be a bit rushed particularly with the time spent if you do the boat cruise of the Blue Grotto and also want to have some time to see the old city of Valetta. We enjoyed walking around Mdina and spent about an hour there.

 

 

It is very easy to get a ferry from Valletta across the harbour to Vittoriosa which is easy to walk around and enjoy the narrow streets and views across the harbour. 

 

Valletta is also lovely to walk around. The St John's Co-cathedral is magnificent and it is great to walk through the streets and enjoy the views of the harbour.

 

If you have never been to Malta before I would consider the shore excursion or a taxi tour to the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk and then spend the rest of the day exploring Valletta. Or if you want to DIY you could get a taxi or bus to Mdina and then on your return to Valletta get a ferry to Vittoriosa and explore then return to Valetta to explore.

 

Hope this helps a little and have a great cruise. 🛳️

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[llarsen]

17 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

I have only been to Malta on a land tour and travelled everywhere by local bus so can not answer your questions about taxi tours or shore excursions but I might be able to help with what is worth seeing. 

 

We really enjoyed the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk and they are in the southern area of the island so you may be able to take a taxi tour to these together. At the Blue Grotto the view from above is lovely but also definitely do the boat tour where you enter the caves. We were there on a really hot day and the boat cruise was a wonderful relief from the heat.

 

 

Marsaxlokk is cute to walk around looking at the boats but we only spend about an hour there.

 

 

Mdina is lovely but is in a different direction to the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk from Valletta. You could do all three with a taxi tour but you could be a bit rushed particularly with the time spent if you do the boat cruise of the Blue Grotto and also want to have some time to see the old city of Valetta. We enjoyed walking around Mdina and spent about an hour there.

 

 

It is very easy to get a ferry from Valletta across the harbour to Vittoriosa which is easy to walk around and enjoy the narrow streets and views across the harbour. 

 

Valletta is also lovely to walk around. The St John's Co-cathedral is magnificent and it is great to walk through the streets and enjoy the views of the harbour.

 

If you have never been to Malta before I would consider the shore excursion or a taxi tour to the Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk and then spend the rest of the day exploring Valletta. Or if you want to DIY you could get a taxi or bus to Mdina and then on your return to Valletta get a ferry to Vittoriosa and explore then return to Valetta to explore.

 

Hope this helps a little and have a great cruise. 🛳️

 

Yes, this does help! Thank you for including the lovely photos. It's going to be a hard decision because they all sound like places we would enjoy.

I'm thinking we could probably hire a taxi for Blue Grotto and Marsaxlokk for less $$ than the Celebrity tour and wouldn't have to deal with a crowded group. It should also give us more time to get back to Valletta and enjoy the rest of our day. I just hope there are plenty of taxis waiting when we get off the ship, 🙂

Thanks again!

[Easterncommand]

Hi

It been a couple of years since we were in Malta. Assuming you are docking below Battery Gardens,take the lift up €1-2,walk through to the main thoroughfare and turn left. A10 minute walk will get you to the main bus station from there you can take the bus(approx 45 mins) or there is a taxi rank and I believe it approx €20 to Marsaxlokk. 

[llarsen]

9 hours ago, Easterncommand said:

Hi

It been a couple of years since we were in Malta. Assuming you are docking below Battery Gardens,take the lift up €1-2,walk through to the main thoroughfare and turn left. A10 minute walk will get you to the main bus station from there you can take the bus(approx 45 mins) or there is a taxi rank and I believe it approx €20 to Marsaxlokk. 

Thank you so much for the information! 🙂

[theopup]

Thanks for all the details. We will be visiting Valletta for the first time in September, so this is appreciated 

[terrydtx]

We were in Malta last month on the Apex and our private tour got canceled due to the guide getting Covid the day before we arrived. We ended up hiring a private taxi for a 4 hour tour, there were many of them at the pier for hire.  We also used Uber to go to the Hypogeum after our taxi tour. Ubers were very inexpensive too. We used Tours By Locals for the tour that was canceled. Unless we have OBC to burn we do not book sip sponsored shore tours anymore as we are so tired of being ripped off by the,.

 

Here is another private tour group we use all over the world for shore tours, usually 30-50% less than ship sponsored tours. 

The BEST Valletta Tours and Things to Do in 2023 - FREE Cancellation | GetYourGuide

Edited October 17, 2023 by terrydtx

[theopup]

Thanks for the info terrydtx

[llarsen]

6 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We were in Malta last month on the Apex and our private tour got canceled due to the guide getting Covid the day before we arrived. We ended up hiring a private taxi for a 4 hour tour, there were many of them at the pier for hire.  We also used Uber to go to the Hypogeum after our taxi tour. Ubers were very inexpensive too. We used Tours By Locals for the tour that was canceled. Unless we have OBC to burn we do not book sip sponsored shore tours anymore as we are so tired of being ripped off by the,.

 

Here is another private tour group we use all over the world for shore tours, usually 30-50% less than ship sponsored tours. 

The BEST Valletta Tours and Things to Do in 2023 - FREE Cancellation | GetYourGuide

Thanks so much, great info! I'm also checking out the GetYourGuide tours! 🙂

[rdu420]

Hi. My wife are travelers and lived in Malta for 8 months. We lived in Vittoriosa, better known as Birgu to the locals and people like us who lived there.  With an 8a-6p timeline I would get off the ship and right there you will find those cool colored little skiffs that will take you over to Birgu for a couple of euros per person, or also right there you can get on the ferry for about 4 euros.  Either way its no more than a 10 minute ride. You will go by billionaire (think Russian) and millionaire yacht row. Beautiful boats to see up close. We lived in St. Angelo Mansions right beside Ft. Saint Angelo used by the Knights of St. John to fight off the Ottoman Turks in the 1500's. The town of Birgu is not large but does have some wonderful scenery.

 

From there I would get back on the ferry or skiff and head to the elevator that will not be crowded by the time you get back after seeing Birgu (it can be a 20-30 minute wait with the rush of passengers). The elevator will take you from the water up to Valletta.  From there you will find the main bus depot if you go more left where you can catch a 30 minute ride Mdina (a must see and former capital of Malta centuries ago.) It is a walled town and is an excellent place to visit. From there I would go back to Valletta. This two place experience will take about 4 hours but well worth it. After that you can do some of the suggested water activities but honestly we're more into the history of the island so we didn't get much out of that.  Valletta itself is a worthy 2 to 2.5 hours. Walk down the main street, 'Triq Republic'.  Its a tourist walk but halfway down you pass the courthouse with a large outdoor Cafe. there are also several museums of medium size that house a great deal of Malta's history up to and including WW2.  Have fun!

[llarsen]

18 hours ago, rdu420 said:

Hi. My wife are travelers and lived in Malta for 8 months. We lived in Vittoriosa, better known as Birgu to the locals and people like us who lived there.  With an 8a-6p timeline I would get off the ship and right there you will find those cool colored little skiffs that will take you over to Birgu for a couple of euros per person, or also right there you can get on the ferry for about 4 euros.  Either way its no more than a 10 minute ride. You will go by billionaire (think Russian) and millionaire yacht row. Beautiful boats to see up close. We lived in St. Angelo Mansions right beside Ft. Saint Angelo used by the Knights of St. John to fight off the Ottoman Turks in the 1500's. The town of Birgu is not large but does have some wonderful scenery.

 

From there I would get back on the ferry or skiff and head to the elevator that will not be crowded by the time you get back after seeing Birgu (it can be a 20-30 minute wait with the rush of passengers). The elevator will take you from the water up to Valletta.  From there you will find the main bus depot if you go more left where you can catch a 30 minute ride Mdina (a must see and former capital of Malta centuries ago.) It is a walled town and is an excellent place to visit. From there I would go back to Valletta. This two place experience will take about 4 hours but well worth it. After that you can do some of the suggested water activities but honestly we're more into the history of the island so we didn't get much out of that.  Valletta itself is a worthy 2 to 2.5 hours. Walk down the main street, 'Triq Republic'.  Its a tourist walk but halfway down you pass the courthouse with a large outdoor Cafe. there are also several museums of medium size that house a great deal of Malta's history up to and including WW2.  Have fun!

Thanks so much for the itinerary and directions! It sounds perfect. One question....how do we get back to Valletta from Mdina? Are there taxis available or is the return bus easy to find? Thanks again!

[terrydtx]

24 minutes ago, llarsen said:

Thanks so much for the itinerary and directions! It sounds perfect. One question....how do we get back to Valletta from Mdina? Are there taxis available or is the return bus easy to find? Thanks again!

Last month in Malta, we used Uber to travel and it was half the price of taxis. We even found 8 passengers vans on Uber.

[dani negreanu]

We very much wanted to visit Mdina & Mosta before Valletta.

 

After doing my "homework", I've found out that right where you disembark, there is a regulated company, where you can hourly "hire" a car starting at 2 hours minimum.

 

We paid (last June) 55 Euro for 2 hours at the kiosk, and were issued a voucher and given the car's number.

 

The driver took us to Mdina, we spent almost an hour taking pictures, then had a short stop at Mosta, and back to Valletta. The driver waited for us.

 

We very much enjoyed this "set up" and the visit to those 2 amazing places. It was very hot and we felt that we got our value for money.

 

[rdu420]

59 minutes ago, llarsen said:

Thanks so much for the itinerary and directions! It sounds perfect. One question....how do we get back to Valletta from Mdina? Are there taxis available or is the return bus easy to find? Thanks again!

To save time which is short with a one day stay, using Uber both ways will shave about an hour off the entire there/back trip.