Top 10 Private Yacht Charter Packages in Malta for Families and Groups

Malta is a small country with a long coastline, and most of the best parts of it sit out at anchor. Comino's Blue Lagoon, the cliffs along Gozo's south coast, the inlets between St Paul's Bay and Mellieħa, and the bastion walls of the Grand Harbour all read differently from a deck than they do from a road. For families and groups planning a holiday on the island, a private yacht charter is rarely the most expensive line item once you split the day across cabins or guests, and it is almost always the line item people remember.

We run charters across the season for couples, multi family bookings, corporate groups, wedding parties and birthdays. The packages below are the ten configurations we are asked to put together most often. Each one is a real shape of day or trip, with notes on guest counts, route logic and the small details that decide whether a group day actually works. None of the prices are listed because the right number depends on the yacht, the date and the catering, but the structure of each package is consistent.

If you want a quick way in, treat this guide as a menu. Pick the package that sounds closest to your group, then talk to us about the yacht. The route, the toys and the catering all flex around that decision. You can also browse the full fleet on the private yacht rental Malta page while you read.

1. The full day Comino and Blue Lagoon family run

This is the package we book more than any other across June, July and August. The day starts from Sliema or Portomaso, runs north along the Mellieħa coast, anchors off Comino in the Blue Lagoon for the long swim window, then drops south along Gozo's Xlendi side before returning. Total time on board is around eight hours, with two main swim stops and a third optional swim near Mġarr ix-Xini if the group still has energy.

The Blue Lagoon is busy in peak season, so the captain plans the timing carefully. Most yachts in our fleet anchor in the deeper turquoise water just outside the main lagoon, where the colour is identical and the boat traffic is thinner. Tenders run guests in and out for short visits if the group wants to set foot on the smaller beaches. Lunch is on board, served on the aft deck, with a cold buffet that suits children and adults equally.

For mixed ages we recommend a Sunseeker Manhattan or Predator in the 60 to 75 foot range. The wide aft platform is the centre of the day, especially with younger swimmers. Inflatable platforms, a slide off the bathing platform and snorkelling kits cover most of the in water hours. This package is a good first charter for families that have not chartered before, and it sets the rhythm for the rest of the holiday.

2. The Gozo loop for two families together

Two families on one yacht is the sweet spot for a day charter, and the Gozo loop is the route that suits it best. From Sliema or Portomaso the captain heads north, crosses the Comino channel, then circles Gozo with stops at Dwejra near the old Azure Window site, the Inland Sea entrance, Wied il Għasri and Ramla l Ħamra on the north coast. The full circle takes the day, with three or four anchorages depending on wind.

Two families share a yacht well because the day naturally splits in two. Children pool into one swim group, parents share the foredeck shade, and meals come together around the saloon table or out on the aft deck. The captain runs a single safety briefing covering both families on departure, and the hostess tracks any food allergies and preferences from a short form sent the day before.

The Gozo loop is also the right route for guests who have done Comino once already and want to see something different. The west coast cliffs are the largest geological feature in the islands, and from a yacht they read at full scale. Many groups finish the day with a tender ride into the Inland Sea cave, which is one of the few things in Malta that cannot be matched from land.

When two families share a yacht, the trick is in the timing. Younger kids set the morning rhythm, teenagers set the afternoon, and the parents get the late swim before sunset.

3. The 12 guest sport boat split for friends

For friend groups in their twenties and thirties, the standard package is a 60 to 70 foot sport yacht, fully crewed, with the day built around music, swimming and a beach club lunch ashore. We work with venues across the north of Malta and Comino that hold tables for charter guests arriving by tender, and the group splits the cost evenly across 10 to 12 people for a day that compares well with a single dinner in a city restaurant once you divide it out.

The route on this package is flexible. Most groups want one long swim stop, one beach club lunch and one second swim before the run home. The music side matters more than on a family day. Captains keep the volume sensible during the cruise sections and let the group bring its own playlist for the anchor windows. The toy garage gets used hard on this package, especially the seabobs and the tow toys.

If a single yacht cannot fit the group comfortably, we run two yachts on the same route, anchored within sight of each other, with a single coordinated lunch booking ashore. This is also the format we recommend when half the group wants a calm day and the other half wants speed. The two boats anchor together, swap guests at lunch, and run back as a pair.

4. The corporate retreat day with branded set up

Corporate days work differently from leisure charters. There is usually a session built into the morning, a meal anchored in front of a working agenda, and an afternoon that switches into a softer rhythm. We have run these for company offsites, client hosting days and sales celebrations, and the pattern that works is consistent. A clear brief from the host the week before, a single point of contact on the day, and a yacht that has space to seat the full group around one table.

Branded set ups are common. Custom napkins, printed menus, branded cushions, table runners with the company logo, signage on the pulpit and even a short banner across the aft cushions. None of this is fitted to the boat permanently. The crew sets it up before guests board and breaks it down after, leaving the yacht in standard condition. Photographs from these days perform well on the company channels and we share the photographer brief with the host in advance.

Routes for corporate days are usually shorter. A morning anchor off Comino or a quiet bay on the Sliema coast, lunch under way, and an afternoon return through Marsamxett with a slow pass of Valletta's bastions for the group photo. The day finishes back in the marina with enough time for guests to head to dinner ashore. Browse the full set on the experiences page if you want to see how the format adapts.

5. The multi family superyacht week to Sicily

Some bookings are not a day. They are a week. The configuration we are asked about most often for multi day charters is two or three families on one superyacht, four to six cabins, with a route that uses Malta as the start and end and Sicily as the centre. The standard run leaves Grand Harbour, crosses overnight to Marzamemi or Syracuse, then loops the south east Sicilian coast before returning via Gozo or directly to Sliema.

A week on board with multiple families needs a different planning frame than a day charter. Cabin allocation, meal patterns, screen time for younger kids and quiet hours for adults all sit in a written brief that the chief stewardess uses on the boat. We handle that brief before departure so the crew arrives with the answers already known. Catering is fully on board, with a chef and a provisioning list built around dietary needs from each family.

The Mediterranean side of this package is the part guests rarely forget. Sicily from a yacht is a different country than Sicily from a hotel, and the run back into Grand Harbour at the end of the week is one of the best harbour entries anywhere in the region. The bastions of Valletta from the water at the end of a week on board is a closing image that works on every group we have run this for.

On a family week, the safety briefing is the most important five minutes of the trip. We do it twice if we need to, once for the parents and once with the children at the rail.

Group days at sea

6. The birthday on the bow with cake and water toys

Birthday charters are one of our most consistent formats. A six to eight hour day, decorations set up by the crew before guests board, a cake delivered to the yacht in the morning by our caterer, and a long swim window in the middle of the day with the toy garage open. The bow becomes the photo platform once the cake comes out, and the timing of that moment is the only piece of the day that needs choreography.

Decoration packages range from understated to full set up. A neutral floral arrangement on the aft table, a custom napkin set, balloon arches at the swim platform, and a printed name banner across the radar arch are the elements that come up most. Crews set everything up before boarding and tidy it away as the guest of honour heads down for the swim, so the second half of the day reverts to a normal charter rhythm.

Water toys do a lot of work on a birthday day. Inflatable platforms keep younger guests in the water for hours, while seabobs and paddleboards cover the older group. The full list of water toys we carry across the fleet is matched to the yacht and the guest age range. Music, lighting and a sunset run back to harbour close the day, often with a second smaller cake on the saloon table for the table photo.

7. The wedding charter from Grand Harbour

Weddings on the water are a small but growing part of our work. The most popular configuration is a private charter from the Grand Harbour for the wedding party itself, with the larger reception held ashore the night before or after. The yacht hosts 8 to 12 guests for a long lunch, a short ceremony on the bow if the couple wants one, and a sunset cruise along the Sliema and St Julian's waterfront before returning at dark.

Couples often pair the yacht charter with a separate photographer charter on a tender, which moves alongside the main yacht to capture the bow ceremony from the water. We handle the booking of both boats together. The aft deck table is set for the lunch, the bow is dressed for the ceremony, and the saloon is reset between courses by the crew without the wedding party noticing the transition.

Grand Harbour itself adds a lot. The exit through the bastions, the slow turn at the harbour mouth and the long view back to Valletta are the photographs that wedding parties tell us they keep on the wall. We can also run the same format from the Marsamxett side if the couple is staying in Sliema or St Julian's, with a different route past Manoel Island and into the open water north of the city.

8. The grandparents and grandkids gentle day in St Paul's Bay

Not every charter is built for high energy. A meaningful share of our weekly bookings are gentle days, three generations on board, with a short cruise, a long swim and a quiet lunch. St Paul's Bay is the area we recommend most for this configuration. The water is shallow and protected, the route from Sliema is short, and the captain can pick anchorages that sit out of the wind for the full middle of the day.

On these days the boat stays mostly stationary. Grandparents settle on the shaded aft cushions, parents handle the swim windows with the children, and the captain runs only short repositioning trips if the wind shifts. Lunch is light, served at one long table, with food cut and plated for younger guests by the hostess. The day ends earlier than a standard charter, often by mid afternoon, and the group goes ashore for an early dinner.

We match smaller yachts to this package. A 50 to 60 foot motor yacht with one large saloon and an easy bathing platform works better than a sport boat with a fast hull. The shallow water near Mistra Bay and Xemxija also lets the captain anchor closer to shore than is possible further out, which keeps grandparents within sight of the children for the full swim window.

A good group day is built on the small things. Where the shade falls at lunch, where the youngest kid stands during the briefing, and how the music is set when the sunset run starts.

9. The 16 plus guest catamaran option

Standard motor yacht licenses cap at 12 guests for a day charter, which is the right limit for most groups. Above that number we move to a catamaran, which is licensed for larger groups and offers a different shape of day. The wide bridgedeck, the trampolines on the bow and the shaded aft saloon all suit groups of 16, 20 or more, especially when the group is mixed ages or split across multiple families.

Catamaran days move slower than motor yacht days. Top speed is lower, and the route is usually built around two anchor stops rather than three. Comino is the standard middle of the day stop, with a smaller protected bay on the way out or back. Lunch on a catamaran sits 16 to 20 around one large table, which is harder to do on most motor yachts. For multi family birthdays and large friend groups, this is often the right call even when a motor yacht would technically fit.

The trade off is straightforward. A catamaran feels more like a floating house and less like a fast boat. Groups that want speed, a sport hull and the loud aft platform should stay on a motor yacht. Groups that want space, table seating for 16 and a quiet day usually rebook the catamaran the next year. The choice often becomes obvious once we walk a host through both options.

10. The bachelor and bachelorette package with sunset run

The last package on the list is the format we run most for bachelor and bachelorette weekends. It is built around a sunset cruise rather than a full day. Boarding at four or five in the afternoon, an anchor stop for swimming and music, a sunset window with food served on the aft deck, and a slow run back into harbour after dark. The total time on board is four to five hours, and the group can either head to dinner ashore afterwards or finish the night on board if the booking is for a full evening.

Music and lighting matter most on this package. The sound system is set up before boarding, the deck lights are dimmed for the sunset window, and a smaller LED set up around the bathing platform covers the evening swim if the group wants one. Crews are used to the format. Drinks service is steady, food is built around platters that work with movement, and the route gives the group a clear sunset moment that becomes the centre of the photographs.

If you want to see the sunset format in detail, our sunset party yacht charter Malta journal piece walks through the timing and the playlist logic. The package itself is one of the easiest entry points for a first time charter, especially for groups that are not sure they want to commit to a full day. Many groups book the sunset run on the first trip and rebook a full day on the second visit.

How to plan a Malta charter for a mixed group

• Pick the date first, then the yacht. Availability in July and August is tight, especially for larger groups, so the date drives the boat list more than any other factor.
• Send a single guest list with ages, dietary notes and swim confidence. The crew uses this to pre brief the day and match the toy garage to the youngest and oldest guests on board.
• Decide whether the day is on board catering or beach club lunch ashore. The two formats run differently, and the captain plans timing around your choice.
• Confirm one point of contact for the group. Two people sending instructions on the morning of the charter slows the day down. One host with the brief works best.
• Talk to us about wind early. Malta's coast is sheltered well in three different directions, and the captain will recommend a route that sits out of the wind for the full middle of the day.

Picking the right package for your group

Most groups settle on the right package within one phone call. The questions that decide it are simple. How many guests, what is the youngest age, is the day a celebration or a relaxed cruise, and is the group staying in Sliema, St Julian's, Valletta or further north. Once those answers are clear, the yacht list narrows quickly and the route follows from the yacht.

Group days run well when the planning is done up front and the day itself is left to the crew. Captains, hostesses and chefs in our network have run hundreds of these formats and know where to anchor when the wind shifts, where to land the tender for lunch and how to run a safety briefing that suits a mixed group. The host's job on the day is to enjoy it.

Whether you are planning a single family day, a corporate retreat, a wedding or a week to Sicily, the structure is the same. Pick the shape of day from this list, talk to us about the yacht, and let the crew run the rest. To book a yacht in Malta for any of the packages above, the next step is a short message and a date.