Everyone leaves Comino with the same photo: that unreal, electric-turquoise water, no filter required. Here's what the blogs skip – it's the busiest spot in Malta, and since May 2025 you need a free, pre-booked slot just to stand on the sand. The fix: get on a boat tour, swim straight off the deck, and skip the slot – read on for which trip is worth it and when to go. It's the classic water day on a wider Malta trip, and often combined with a day trip to Gozo.
- 01Shore access is free but now needs a QR-code time slot (since 1 May 2025) – only book it if you actually plan to land on the beach.
- 02On most boat tours you swim straight off the deck, so you don't need a shore ticket at all.
- 03The one to book is the full-day Bugibba boat tour – Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon and sea caves – from around €35.
- 04Crystal Lagoon is seasonal on some routes, usually May to October only.
- 05Take the first morning boat. By midday in summer several boats land at once and the lagoon is mobbed.
How shore access actually works
Want to set foot on the sand? Since 1 May 2025 you need a free QR-code slot – three a day (08:00–13:00, 13:30–17:30, 18:00–22:00), booked before you turn up.
Here's the part nobody mentions: if you're on a boat and happy to swim from the deck, you can skip the slot completely. The rule is about landing on the shore, not floating in the bay.
The trip to book: full-day from Bugibba
For a first visit, stop comparing tabs and book the full-day boat from Bugibba. It runs 6–7 hours and strings together the Blue Lagoon, the quieter Crystal Lagoon and a cruise past the sea caves – the swim, the scenery and the coastline in one go, with no buses or ferries to wrangle.
The boat itself is the point: sunbeds, shade, toilets, freshwater showers and a bar, which matters when the shore is mobbed and you need somewhere to base yourself. From around €35, and you never touch the shore-slot system.
Staying in Sliema? Leave from there instead
Based in Valletta, Sliema or St Julian's? A cruise from Sliema Ferries saves you the trek north and feels more like a proper day at sea, often rolling Gozo and the Blue Lagoon into one. One catch worth knowing: some Sliema routes only stop at Crystal Lagoon from May to October and drop to a Blue-Lagoon-only run in winter – so check the Sliema cruise for your travel dates before you commit.
When to go – and how to beat the crowd
High summer is rammed, and the lagoon clogs up around midday when several boats land within the same hour. The fix is simple: take the first morning departure. Calmer water, clearer light, half the people.
Late spring and early autumn are the sweet spot – warm enough to swim, quiet enough to enjoy it. The cave and Crystal Lagoon stops also hinge on the weather, so a still morning pays off twice.
What you actually do there
Swim. That's the whole thing, and that's the appeal. The Blue Lagoon is a shallow, sheltered channel you drop straight into from the boat, and most trips add a slow run past the caves and cliffs – the most photogenic stretch of the day.
Comino is tiny and barely built on, so don't come expecting sights; you're here for sea, rock and light. Bring water, sun cream and shoes you can clamber over rocks in.
If you're staying for the full day and want to explore beyond the lagoon, our Comino island guide covers Crystal Lagoon, Santa Marija Bay and the coastal walk.
Can you skip the tour and do it yourself?
You can – public ferries run to Comino from the north of Malta. But add the bus to the terminal, the crossing and the shore slot, and it rarely works out cheaper or simpler than just booking the boat, and you lose the sunbeds and the bar. Save the DIY route for a repeat visit, when you already know the lagoon and want to set your own pace.
Featured image: Frank Vincentz / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
