Between Malta and Gozo sit the tiny islets of Comino and Cominotto. Their rugged coastline is delineated by sheer limestone cliffs, and dotted with deep caves which were once popular with pirates and marauders in the Middle Ages.
Between Comino and the adjacent islet of Cominotto lie the transparent, cyan waters of the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a picturesque bay with a white sandy base and rich marine life, offering one of the most spectacular sights around the Maltese islands, attracting hundreds of tourists every day during the busy summer months. It’s without a doubt the biggest attraction that brings people to Comino during that time of year. The areas North and South of the Blue Lagoon are a great place for snorkelling, as well as scuba diving, with many little inlets and caves around.
Taking a boat trip to the Blue Lagoon in Malta is by far the most popular option, with many opting to take an organised boat trip from one of the tourist hotspots (usually Sliema and Buġibba, Qawra and St. Paul’s Bay) and spending a day (or afternoon) there. Food and drinks are usually available on board and cost is somewhere between €25-35 per person. You also get a quick tour of a few other nice places around Comino (and sometimes stopovers in different bays on the way there, depending on the operator/cruise chosen).
Good to know about this option:
- Day trips and cruises usually only run between April and October, depending on the demand.
- Different types of boats are offered by operators. Generally speaking, the cheaper the ticket, the busier the boat.
- Regulations dictate that there can be no more passengers than seats available on a vessel, so overcrowding isn’t really an issue, don’t worry.
- It’s not the cheapest way to get there, nor the most flexible. Although you’re free to roam around in Comino, you pay to be on the island (and at the Blue Lagoon) for the duration of the trip. For some that works out perfectly fine, others prefer combining a visit there with another stopover, or simply don’t want to spend as much time there. The following option may be a better choice if that’s the case. You can also find boat trips through which you can spend some time in Gozo on the same day.
- Most operators offer easy booking online and full refunds if, for example, the weather conditions on the day means that trips have to be cancelled.
- Since capacity on most of these boat trips is limited, it pays to plan ahead and buy tickets online in advance. I offer a few recommendations for options in the next section further below in this article.
