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Comino or Kemmuna (in Maltese), is a very small (and very peaceful) island midway between the islands of Malta and Gozo.
The island is inhabited by only a handful of people and is mostly visited for a day trip, both by the Maltese themselves as well as tourists.
For the more adventurous Maltese, Comino is also often a popular destination for camping or to spend a day hiking across the island.
Named after the plentiful cumin (flowering plant) that grows on the island, Comino is thick with wild herbs and flowers, with the entire island classified as a wildlife sanctuary nowadays.
The island is mostly a rocky wilderness largely undeveloped, with jagged cliffs, two small sandy beaches, coves, creeks and a coastline dotted with deep caves. And of course, Comino island is known for the famous Blue Lagoon bay with its crystal clear and azure-coloured water.
Home to just a handful of farmers, Comino has no tarmacked roads (and only a handful of cars) and is only 2 km long by 1.7km wide. The island offers a complete change of pace from the neighbouring islands of Malta and Gozo and is a great place to go for a day trip, or even to spend part of your holiday if peace and tranquillity are what you’re after.
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For most travellers, the answer is a definite ‘Yes.’ However, it really depends on what sparks your interest and most importantly, at what time of the year you plan to go.
Why?
So, if you’re travelling to Malta in July or August, the only reasons it’d be worth going are:
If neither of those reasons applies to you, visit Gozo instead – more to see and do, much less busy and definitely not as crowded.
From March through to November – it’s definitely worth going although be aware that the sea will be pretty chilly from March to May and in November. At this time of year, undercurrents may also not make it very safe to swim in the deeper parts and no lifeguards will be stationed there.
If your mind is made up and you want to go to the Blue Lagoon in summer, here’s my best tip: Either go very early (think 6-7 am) or go late in the afternoon when it’s a lot quieter and get a sunset view as a bonus. A few of the leading boat tour providers offer that option.
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You can get to Comino in a few ways:
You can choose to book a day trip or tour to Comino and its Blue Lagoon with one of the boat tour operators that depart from Sliema or Buġibba/St. Paul’s Bay (neighbouring towns) or Gozo. Operators normally stop for a good 5-6 hours at the Blue Lagoon and also sail around part of the island.
These tours may not be as cheap as taking one of the ferries (more on those below), but bus rides to Ċirkewwa are usually pretty lengthy and not nearly as much fun. Moreover, considering how busy the Blue Lagoon gets in the high season, having a spot on a boat to chill from really is a plus.
Tip: If you don’t intend to stay in any of the towns from which tour operators depart, they usually provide an optional pickup and transfer service (at an additional fee).
Tour operators that depart from Buġibba/St. Paul’s Bay:
Tour operators that depart from Sliema:
Using the iSeeMalta hop-on-hop-off ferry you can get to the Blue Lagoon easily from Sliema, Buġibba and Gozo. Apart from the lower cost (€15 pp. for adults, €11.50 for children), it gives you more flexibility in terms of how long you stay in Comino. You can choose to combine a few hours there with another stop in Gozo, for example.
The downside for the Blue Lagoon is that you’ll have to find a spot on the shoreline yourself to hang out while you’re there, which is not as comfortable as being on a boat.
If you’re more interested in hiking around Comino, that won’t matter though, of course.
Finally, there are also regular ferry services that run from Ċirkewwa and Marfa Bay (the Northernmost tip of Malta) and from Mġarr Harbour (on Gozo). The crossing to Comino takes around 25 minutes and costs around €10 for a round trip. The stop on Comino is usually at San Niklaw Bay, on the Northside of the island.
The Comino Hotel also runs its own ferry service to and from Malta and Gozo. Although priority is given to the hotel guests, non-residents can also use it.
These are two ferry operators with which you can get Comino all year round, provided the weather conditions are favourable.
Both depart Malta from near Ċirkewwa, all the way up North. Several bus routes can take you there if you don’t intend to drive in Malta.
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There’s only one hotel on the island and is situated at San Niklaw Bay, the pick-up and drop-off point for visitors from Malta and Gozo. The Comino Hotel (yes, that’s its very original name) offers decent rooms at a modest price, although, as one TripAdvisor reviewer says “It’s not the Ritz”.
It offers bright rooms and bungalows with simple furniture but good facilities and will do just fine if you’re not looking for a 5-star resort.
In any case, you wouldn’t choose to stay in Comino for a length of time if you’re looking for a “lazy hotel holiday” with all the comfort and more of your daily life. It’s also unlikely you’d be looking to stay there for weeks. If you’d like to just visit Comino and explore (or simply escape the inhabited world for a couple of days) you could always book a few nights in combination with a stay in Malta and/or Gozo.
There are two small sandy beaches, exclusively accessible to hotel guests, as well as two large swimming pools, one for adults and another for children. The hotel also offers water sports facilities that include diving and windsurfing and there are also ten tennis courts to choose from as well as a fully equipped gym, restaurant and bar.
Book well in advance (6+ months) if you’re looking to stay here during peak season (July-August) as it’ll be hard to impossible to get a room otherwise.
The staff of the hotel seems to be very helpful in making arrangements for airport transfers as well as through their ferry service to and from Malta, so do get in touch with them if you plan on staying there.
Tips:
If you’re a little more adventurous you could camp out on Comino as well. There’s a small campsite in the North of the island, overlooking the beautiful Santa Marija Bay, which is a great place to go for a swim as well with a small sandy beach offering easy access to the sea. You’ll also find facilities there like public toilets and a stone BBQ if you’d like to give that a go and you don’t need a permit to camp there.
As far as I’m aware there are no regular organised camping trips to Comino but if you’re set on camping out there for a couple of days your best bet is to mingle with the Maltese in relevant Facebook groups to see whether you can tag along with anyone or organise a trip with a few local campers.
Would you like more detailed info on this option? These are a few public Facebook groups on camping around the Maltese islands where you can ask local campers for their advice:
Lunch can be had at the hotel, even if you’re not actually staying there. Boats berthed near the Blue Lagoon or San Niklaw Bay will often be able to sell you cold drinks and food as well, while you’ll find several kiosks at the Blue Lagoon itself.
If you enjoy hiking or mountain biking, there are plenty of paths to follow on Comino, and although the scenery knows few landmarks you’ll definitely enjoy the views on your hike.
If you’re planning a hike on Comino, make sure you have good, comfortable walking shoes (no sandals), a hat, sunglasses sunscreen and plenty of water. There are no dangerous animals, however, Maltese summers are hot and it is not advisable to wander around on your own, despite the relatively limited surface area the island offers for hiking.
Timing is essential. The best time to visit Comino for a hike is definitely springtime when everything is in bloom. Mid-summer hikes are rarely a good idea.
It won’t take you long to hike across the whole island, maybe an hour or two. If you prefer two wheels, the hotel rents out mountain bikes I’ve been told. Don’t worry about getting lost. Apart from the small size of the island, the Santa Marija watchtower is visible from most parts of Comino so you’ll always have a reference point.
Thinking of going for a hike during the off-season months? Have a look at this suggested walking route, courtesy of visitgozo.com
Comino is surrounded by natural caves and dramatic, high cliffs which are awesome. There’s a tour by powerboat that takes you around these caves, but several day trip operators will also stop at some of these sites.
The clear waters of the Mediterranean are perfect for scuba diving or snorkelling and Malta is a very popular diving holiday destination. Diving in Comino is something special because of the warm, turquoise water and secluded coves. The Blue Lagoon is an ideal location for scuba divers to explore the caves that are hidden from above the sea surface and admire the rich marine life in the area. Diving conditions are excellent all around the coastline, and a recommended location not to miss is the coral reef that is located near the small islet of Kemmunett.
The Santa Marija Cave is also a very popular dive site, where you can dive among shoals of bream. The dive site is not accessible by land but the diving centres on Malta and Gozo organise excursions to the site regularly.
From being a defensive outpost to being a hideaway for corsairs (pirates) to being used for agriculture, Comino has served various purposes to those who ruled the Maltese islands over the centuries.
During Roman times, the island was known to have been inhabited by farmers, while during the rule of the Knights of Malta its main purpose was for recreation and used for recreational hunting. Wild boar and rabbits inhabited Comino when the Knights arrived in 1530 (the latter species still do nowadays), the area was protected under strict sanctions. Anyone caught hunting illegally were harshly punished with serving as a galley slave for up to three years.
Comino was never really populated until more recent times, simply because it was considered unsafe with little or no protection against corsairs. The Maltese had been looking to make Comino an inhabited island for centuries when the Knights decided to build a watchtower in 1618 to help as an early warning system and deterrent for any invaders looking to set foot in Malta. Although it helped increase security, it didn’t seem to entice people to settle in Comino until the 18th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Comino served as a secluded prison or place of exile for knights who had fallen out of grace for one reason or another. Knights who had committed small crimes were also sometimes punished with having to man Santa Marija tower – a lonely punishment and not without risk.
The island may have served as a place of isolation during the early 19th century when cholera and the plague were still highly lethal. Santa Marija tower is thought to have served as a hospital during this time.
Although this tiny island bears few marks of civilisation, there’s a small number of historic buildings. These include Santa Marija (St. Mary) Tower, one of Malta’s coastal watchtowers, which is located on the southeast side of the island and can be seen from the ferry when crossing from Malta to Gozo.
Perched on the edge of Comino’s high cliffs, and with the turquoise sea and Blue Lagoon in the background, Santa Marija Tower has one of the most dramatic and beautiful backdrops that photography enthusiasts will love. The tower is a square building, roughly 12 metres tall, with defensive walls that are approximately 6 metres thick, and is perched at the top of a cliff on the edge of the island, around 80 metres above sea level.
Built in 1618 on the orders of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt of the Knights of St John, its original function was to keep watch for Ottoman naval forces who were a constant threat to Malta at this time. The Tower fortified the island and also discouraged the bands of pirates using the island’s many caves and inlets to hide out and board unsuspecting ships passing between Malta and Gozo. The tower also served as a communication link between towers built in Gozo and Malta within the larger scheme of fortifications around the Maltese islands.
As time passed and Malta enjoyed a period of relative peace, the tower’s role changed and it was used as a summer residence for those knights who were keen to hunt the wild hares. In 1798, following the French Invasion of the Maltese Islands, the tower was used by the Maltese resistance and later by the British. It was always used as a defensive position but fell into disuse at the end of the 19th century. The tower became more famous when in 2002 it was used to represent the prison Chateau d’If in the movie “The Count of Monte Cristo” starring Jim Caviezel.
It was most recently restored in an extensive operation between 2002 and 2004 and is open to the public as a small museum during specific hours, usually on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between 10:30 am and 3 pm from April until the end of October. When the tower is open to the public, a flag is flown from the top.
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Is snorkelling at comino either advisable or even possible in the month of April? We don’t mind a bit chilly…
Hi Pam, unless it’s an unusually warm spring I think the sea temperature will be more on the ‘cold’ side. Cold tolerance aside, you can snorkel at that time of year but you’ll want to go on a day with barely any wind or swell to get caught out by undercurrents. There are no lifeguards around, there’s no medical facility on the island either, so best be careful and don’t take unnecessary risks at that time of year.
When traveling from Gozo to Comino, do you leave the car at the Gozo’s ferry terminal or is there parking in Comino?
Hi Alejandra, you can’t actually take your car to Comino (since no ferries are large enough to carry cars and there aren’t any tarmacked roads on the island). Either way, you won’t really need a car to get around, it’s a small place to explore really. 🙂
I am visiting from 18th to 24th May.I was last there 50 years ago,when my trio played at comino Hotel in 1968/69
We spent 2 months each summer,c/o Mr Le Valier the owner of hotel
The clientele was extremely “up market and consisted of people who wanted to get away from everything.
We had Patrick McNee and Connie Stevens who were filming on main Island.Connie used to sing with us on evenings outside facing the bay—just as she did in Hawaiian Eye.We had David Selznick the film producer,various titled folk,and a young Michael Heseltine
We all had such a good time that many guests returned the following year.Someone there recommended us to Cunard and we spent the next 2 summers on the QE2 between UK and New York!
So I am revisiting for nostalgia and trust that Comino is still unspoiled
Hi Geoffrey, we returning this May and staying at Hotel. I don’t believe the hotel has changed much and perfect for us , quiet and peaceful.
Wow! You have had some amazing adventures. Thanks for sharing those. I hope your visit in 2018 was all you wanted it to be. I only just now read your post (July 2021) we will be visiting in October for our very first time. I’ll be thinking of you.
Hi, we are going to Gozo for a family holiday and I remember going to the blue lagoon as a child in the 1980s! I am now very much an adult myself and have 3 small children aged 1, 3 and 5 and really want to have a day trip to Comino. My kids are well travelled but is it somewhere to take such young children and any advice to do it well. We will be in Gozo from the end of May to the beginning of June. Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks
Hi Emily, around that time it won’t be too busy just yet, but I would advise you to head there early in the morning so that you can try and get a spot on the tiny sandy patch to make it easier to get in/out of the water with your kids. Also, but it’s kind of a given, stay close to shore because of undercurrents there at the deeper part. More so because I don’t think there’d be a lifeguard stationed already.
We are travelling to Malta for 5 days at the end of November. Will the weather be nice enough to spend the day on Comino. Many thanks
Hi Karen. Generally speaking, yes, the weather should be good although at this time of year weather conditions can vary widely so it’s hard to predict. I hope we get a few sunny days at that time of the month – that’ll be the perfect weather for a ramble around Comino.
Thanks for such interesting & useful information. You have whetted my appetite & interest and I hope to book into the Comino Hotel next year.
You’re welcome John, glad it’s been useful to you!
Hi I have been to Gozo many times but never to Comino so this year is a definite visit. Does anyone know if you can take a car across to comino by ferry .
Thanks
Hi Luceen, I’m afraid there are no ferries that take cars across to Comino. As such, Comino is small enough to walk across and I believe there are only a few cars (with few paved roads) on the island.
You definitely have a point Comino and Gozo are not one day trip. You have to spend the whole day in the Blue Lagoon and absolutely have to spend more 2-3 hours in Gozo with so much to see 🙂