What Exiles is
Exiles is the rocky and sandy swimming area on the Sliema seafront, between Tigne Point and Balluta Bay. It’s a strip of beach platforms, sand patches and concrete rocks that locals have used for generations as the urban swimming spot. By boat it’s not really an anchorage, more a curiosity from the water.
Anchoring
Not recommended as an anchor stop. The water is shallow with rocky bottom close in, deeper offshore but exposed to all weather from the north and east. There’s no shelter and the wash from passing harbour traffic and Sliema-Valletta ferries is constant.
Practical notes
For swimmers approaching from a boat moored in Marsamxett, a tender ride round to Exiles is a way to access the urban beach without the crowds at the Sliema seafront. Otherwise this bay is a land-side spot, not a destination from the water. Mention it for completeness in the Sliema beach guide rather than as a bay to plan a day around.