Comino is the small middle island of the Maltese archipelago, 3.5 km² of low limestone scrub between Malta and Gozo. It has no permanent town, no school, no shops, a single hotel that has been closed and pending redevelopment for years, and a population of two residents according to the most recent census. What it has is the Blue Lagoon: a turquoise shallow swimming spot between Comino and the smaller islet of Cominotto, with water clarity that genuinely matches the photographs. The Blue Lagoon is one of the most photographed places in the central Mediterranean and one of the most over-touristed. Between roughly 10:00 and 16:00 in high season it is, in plain language, ruined by overcrowding, hawkers, inflatable rentals, and the noise of fifty boats at anchor. Outside those hours it can still be the place the photographs promise. The whole of this guide is about how to time your visit so that you see one and not the other.
There is no overnight accommodation on Comino. The single hotel and a few self-catering bungalows have been closed for years pending a redevelopment that has been announced repeatedly without happening. For practical purposes, plan to come, swim, walk, eat what you brought with you, and leave the same day. The recommended base for visiting Comino is Mellieha (north Malta) for proximity, or Gozo for the better operator options.
What you actually want to know about Comino is two things: how to avoid the midday boat-tour wave, and what else is worth doing once you have the water to yourself.
Why timing is everything
The boat operators selling tickets at Sliema, Bugibba, Mellieha and Mġarr advertise the Comino day as 10:30 arrival, 16:30 departure. This is the wrong six hours. Between 10:30 and 16:00 the Blue Lagoon holds 30 to 60 anchored boats in summer, several hundred people in the water, music from the larger party boats, hawkers selling inflatable unicorns and frozen mojitos, and a 30-minute queue for the public toilets behind the kiosks. The water is still beautiful when you look straight down. The atmosphere is not.
The strategy is to arrive before 09:00 or after 17:00. Both work; both require planning.
Before 09:00: take the first small boat from Cirkewwa (north Malta) at 08:00 or 08:30 from one of the licensed operators on the dock. This drops you at the Blue Lagoon between 08:20 and 09:00, when there are typically 2 to 6 boats in the cove rather than 30 to 60. You get the photograph everyone wants. The water is colder by 1 to 2 degrees than midday, but the morning sun on the limestone is the better light anyway. Leave by 11:00 on the same operator’s pickup window.
After 17:00: a few operators run later-afternoon shuttles in July and August, dropping you between 17:30 and 19:30. The Blue Lagoon empties dramatically after 17:00. You get the photograph in sideways evening light, the water is warmest of the day, and you have effectively the cove to yourself. The catch is that the operators running this slot are fewer and the pickup is less reliable; book directly with a known operator the day before, not at the Sliema waterfront kiosks.
Via Gozo: the small ferry from Mġarr (Gozo) to Comino costs €10 return, takes 10 minutes each way, and runs from roughly 09:00 to 18:00. Going via Gozo lets you arrive on a smaller boat at a slightly less-crowded edge of the lagoon (the Gozo-side approach often drops at the eastern side of the bay rather than the central anchorage). It also avoids the Sliema-Bugibba mass-market boats entirely.
Skip the cheap day tickets sold at the Sliema, Bugibba and Buġibba waterfront kiosks, often badged as “5 islands tour with lunch onboard”. These boats arrive at the Blue Lagoon between 10:30 and 11:30, contain 80 to 200 people each, run music from speakers, and represent the version of Comino most travellers regret visiting. Pay the slightly higher price for a small-operator boat; the experience is a different one.
Beyond the Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is what you came for, but the rest of Comino is worth the 45 minutes it takes to see.
Crystal Lagoon is the second cove, on the western side of the island, a 10-minute walk over the limestone scrub from the Blue Lagoon. It is smaller, has no sand beach, and is reached by a path that drops down to the water. The water clarity is identical. The crowd is one-tenth. In high summer, walk over to Crystal Lagoon at 11:00 after your early Blue Lagoon swim, and you have an empty cove for the next two hours.
Santa Marija Tower is the small Knights-era coastal watchtower (built 1618) on the high point of the island. The walk from the Blue Lagoon takes 15 minutes uphill. The tower itself is small and is open occasionally as a museum (€2, irregular schedule), but the view from the surrounding ridge is the reason to make the climb: north toward Mġarr in Gozo, south across the channel to Cirkewwa in Malta, and the full sweep of the lagoon system below.
Santa Marija Cave is the headline dive site, a large cavern at the north-eastern tip of the island with visibility to 30 m in summer, schools of barracuda and grouper, and easy boat or shore access. Dive operators based in Cirkewwa and on Gozo run boat trips here daily in season.
The island loop walk is 4 km, takes about 45 minutes, and almost no day-tripper does it because the boats discharge at the Blue Lagoon and most people stay within 200 m of where they landed. The path follows the coast, passes Santa Marija Tower, the small church of Santa Marija (which gives the island its patron saint), and the abandoned hotel grounds, then returns to the Blue Lagoon. In April and May the limestone scrub is in bloom with thyme, fennel and wild iris. In summer it is hot, exposed and shadeless; carry water.
What to bring
Comino has no permanent infrastructure. Two seasonal kiosks operate at the Blue Lagoon in summer (sandwich, water, frozen drinks, overpriced). There is no shop, no restaurant, no pharmacy, no shaded café. Bring:
- Water (at least 1.5 litres per person, more in summer)
- A picnic if you plan to stay more than 2 hours (or accept paying €8 for a half-decent sandwich at the kiosk)
- Sun protection that matches your skin (the limestone reflects strongly; you sunburn faster than at sand beaches)
- Reef-safe sunscreen (the Blue Lagoon ecosystem is fragile and crowded; ordinary sunscreen builds up in the water)
- A small dry bag for valuables (changing facilities at the kiosks are basic and not lockable)
- Aqua shoes or sandals (the limestone underwater near the entry points can be slippery and sharp)
Getting in and out
There is no airport, no roads inside the island, and no scheduled bus service. Boat is the only access.
- From Cirkewwa (Malta): small-operator boats from the harbour, around €15 to €25 return, departures from 08:00 to roughly 17:00. Pickup windows for return are usually fixed (e.g. “back at 12:00 or 15:00”); confirm yours before getting off the boat.
- From Mġarr (Gozo): the small ferry every 60 to 90 minutes in summer, €10 return, 10 minutes each way.
- From Sliema or Bugibba: the larger mass-market day cruises, €25 to €40 with onboard food and music. Avoid for the reasons above.
Where to sleep
Not on Comino. The Comino Hotel and the adjacent bungalow village have been closed for years, with redevelopment plans that have been announced and delayed multiple times. Pending that, the practical advice is to stay on the north of Malta (Mellieha is 25 minutes from the Cirkewwa boat dock) or on Gozo (the Mġarr ferry to Comino is 10 minutes).
See where to stay in north Malta or where to stay in Gozo for accommodation in striking distance of Comino without the no-overnight problem.
How long to stay
The honest answer is four hours, not a day, and not multiple days. A half-day visit to Comino, timed correctly, sees the Blue Lagoon at low-crowd hours, the Crystal Lagoon next door, optionally Santa Marija Tower, and gets you off the island before the worst of the midday boat wave or before the sun drops.
The exception is divers, who may justify a full day if they plan two dives at Santa Marija Cave and surrounding sites, with a long surface interval at the lagoons.
The honest paragraph
Comino during peak hours in peak season is the version of Maltese tourism that everyone wishes did not exist: too many boats, too much noise, the wrong music, sunburned crowds in shallow water. Comino at 08:30 on a June Tuesday is one of the most beautiful swimming spots in the Mediterranean. The difference between the two is about 90 minutes of timing and one decision: do not buy your Comino ticket on a busy waterfront. Either go early, go via Gozo, or stay on Malta and skip it. There is no compromise position that works.
