A day trip to Comino and its stunning Blue Lagoon is a must when you visit Malta. While the island of Comino is barely the size of a needle head, it offers travellers some stunning scenery and spectacular blue waters to swim in.
The nation of Malta consists of three islands: the eponymous main island, smaller and pristine Gozo and eenie meenie Comino, that lies in between. Comino is only 3,5 square kilometres big and the island is basically a big block of limestone dropped in the Mediterranean Sea.
So why would one go on a day trip to Comino? Well, the isle is a bird sanctuary and nature reserve. You could hike around it to enjoy the rugged landscape and incredible views of the turquoise sea. The main draw card for many visitors – myself included – is, however, the Blue Lagoon. This mesmerizing swimming spot faces tiny islet Cominotto, that lies in front of Comino’s shore. The colour of the water in the Blue Lagoon is breathtaking: even when it’s cloudy, it’s unbelievably blue. The limestone surroundings only add to the appeal.
When to visit Comino?
Just like Malta, Comino is a popular summer destination. But the Blue Lagoon tends to get incredibly crowded in high season. Despite what you might expect, there’s no long stretch of beach here. In high season you might have to spread out your towel on the rocks, as the sun chairs that are for rent fill up easily this time of year.
Therefore, it might be more fun to visit Comino and its Blue Lagoon outside of the busy summer months. June and September still offer great odds for perfect bathing weather and might be calmer already. But even outside of those months you might get lucky. When we visited in November, it wasn’t too busy and still just warm enough to swim. Although I admit our visit would have been nicer with more sunshine and fewer clouds.
The best time to visit Comino might depend on your priorities. If you come for some relaxing time in and by the sea, your best bet might be to pick a month close to summer. However, if your main goal is to enjoy the views and walk around the island, then I would definitely advise going in the low season.
How to go to Comino?
The easiest way to get to Comino is with an organised boat tour. There are numerous operators located all over Malta. We personally visited with Hornblower Cruises. They depart from the quay of Buġibba, in Saint Paul’s Bay. Whatever company you choose, just make sure to book your trip ahead of time when travelling in the high season.
The boat tour
While Hornblower’s boat isn’t the most modern one to navigate the seas, we were definitely happy we picked this company. We could buy food and drinks on board – which is way cheaper than on the island – use the bathrooms and rent a locker.
In addition they have a top deck with sun chairs, which was a nice spot to enjoy the boat ride. If you travel in high season and want a spot on the top deck, make sure to arrive at the boat way before departure, as spots here are popular but not very numerous.
On the way to and from Comino, the boat also passes some of Comino’s many sea grottos for some lovely extra sightseeing. On our way back we even were lucky enough to spot some dolphins!
The trip with Hornblower Cruises costs 25 euros per person. The crossing from Malta to Comino, including the tour around the sea coves, takes about one hour. You then have four hours and a half to spend on Comino itself. For us, this was plenty of time to enjoy Comino and the beautiful Blue Lagoon!
A walk on Comino
With Hornblower Cruises we were the first boat to dock on Comino. As such, the first thing we did was take some pictures of the Blue Lagoon before more people arrived. Although the place never got really crowded, as we visited in the low season.
Before we kicked back by the Lagoon, we went for a short walk on the island. Not too far away from the Blue Lagoon is the Crystal Lagoon, a spot worth seeing. Our boat also passed by it on our way back, so we saw it from two different angles. In the distance we also spotted Saint Mary’s Tower. It was built in 1618 and is one of the few buildings on Comino. If you want to, you can climb it for wider views over the area.
As Comino is only 2,5 kilometres by 1,5 kilometres, you could even hike around the entire island if relaxing by the Blue Lagoon isn’t your top priority. However far you want to walk, don’t just keep to the Blue Lagoon. Go for at least a short hike on Comino, to truly see the island’s rugged coastline and wild scenery.
Relax by the Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is lined with sun chairs you can rent. While pricy (it’s a popular spot after all), it might be worth the money if you want to sit comfortably by the shallow part of the lagoon. There’s a tiny portion of sand, but this is not the best area to pick your chair. It gets completely engulfed by the waves during high tide, so you’ll have a hard time keeping your stuff dry if you sit there. We sat at the front row on the quay, which was great. In this case, choose a chair as close to the beach as possible. To the deeper end of the Lagoon, there’s a boat for water activities that docks right in front of the sun chairs, which isn’t nice to sit behind. You don’t want your view blocked half of the time, right?
As there is no real beach along the Blue Lagoon, you might have a hard time finding a comfortable spot to just lay on your towel. If you don’t want to pay for a chair, you could also stay on the deck of the boat. Hornblower’s boat offers direct access to the Lagoon’s waters – they even have a slide to do so – but the water is obviously deep here. In addition, you should know that the boat leaves for an hour to drop off people on Gozo. It is thus not possible to stay on the boat all afternoon.
Whatever your choice of seating, you will enjoy the unbelievably blue waters of the Blue Lagoon. Don’t be tempted to swim across the Blue Lagoon to reach Cominotto, though. Currents may be tricky here. Instead take a relaxing dip, sip a cocktail served in a pineapple and enjoy the views … or opt for one of the many water activities you can book on shore. One thing’s for sure: you won’t be easily bored on this tiny spec of land!
If you’re planning a trip to this island nation, make sure to also check my complete travel guide for a week in Malta.