The island
Comino, the island behind the lagoon
What Comino is: its size, its two residents, its nature reserve, its tower and its coast, and how the Blue Lagoon fits into a small island between Malta and Gozo.
Book the Comino boat trip ↗Quick answer
Comino, Kemmuna in Maltese, is a small island between Malta and Gozo, about 3.5 square kilometres in area. It has two permanent residents, a bird sanctuary and nature reserve that is also a Natura 2000 marine protected area, and a 17th-century tower. The Blue Lagoon, between Comino and the islet of Cominotto, is the busiest corner of it. Most of the island is rock, scrub and cliff.
A small island with a long name list
Wikipedia gives Comino’s Maltese name as Kemmuna and says it is named after the cumin seed. It measures 3.5 square kilometres, lies between Malta and Gozo and belongs to the municipality of Għajnsielem in south-eastern Gozo. In Roman and later times it was farmed for periods, and Wikipedia records that its population peaked at around 80 people in the late 1940s. Today it has a permanent population of only two. Visit Gozo says it has virtually no cars or towns and calls it a place of rugged limestone landscape.
A nature reserve
Wikipedia calls Comino a bird sanctuary and nature reserve, as well as a Natura 2000 marine protected area. It describes a karst landscape with sclerophyllous shrubland, some limited planting of pines and sand dunes at Santa Maria Bay that keep native vegetation. It adds that BirdLife International has identified the island as an Important Bird Area because it supports breeding pairs of yelkouan shearwaters. For a visitor the lesson is plain: this is a protected place, and the booking system at the lagoon exists because of that.
Cliffs and caves
Wikipedia describes the coastline as sheer limestone cliffs dotted with deep caves that were popular with pirates and marauders in the Middle Ages, and says the caves and coves were used as staging posts for raids on boats crossing between Malta and Gozo. Malta Uncovered says the sea carved Comino’s caves out of Malta’s soft limestone. The Santa Maria Caves lie on the north coast, east of the beaches of Santa Maria Bay and San Niklaw Bay, according to the same guide.
The tower
St Mary’s Tower is Comino’s most visible structure. Wikipedia says the Knights of Malta, under Grandmaster Wignacourt, built it in 1618, as part of a chain of defensive towers that improved communication between Malta and Gozo. It describes a large square building with four corner turrets. Since 1982 it has belonged to the Armed Forces of Malta, and it serves as a lookout against contraband and the illegal hunting of migratory birds. Visit Gozo calls it a 17th-century stone fortification with panoramic views of the sea.
The Blue Lagoon and Cominotto
The Blue Lagoon, in Maltese Bejn il-Kmiemen, lies between Comino and Cominotto. Wikipedia describes clear cyan water over a white sandy base, with rich marine life. Cominotto, it says, covers 0.25 square kilometres, is the largest uninhabited island in Malta and is part of a Special Protection Area. The lagoon is the part of Comino most people see, and it is the only part that needs a booking for a boat landing. The rest of the island has no booking rule, according to the authority.
Beaches beyond the lagoon
Wikipedia lists Santa Maria Bay and St Nicholas Bay, also called San Niklaw Bay, as other beaches on Comino. The authority’s chief executive names Santa Marija Bay as a landing point where no booking is needed. A Malta travel site suggests Santa Marija Bay and San Niklaw Bay as quieter places to swim than the Blue Lagoon. None of these are guaranteed stops on the catamaran day, but they explain why the island has more to offer than its best-known bay.
How people reach it
Wikipedia says ferries and boats reach Comino from Malta or Gozo, with scheduled trips from Ċirkewwa or Mġarr, and that schedules vary by season. Group tours operate mainly between March and December, with larger excursion boats leaving from places such as Sliema and Buġibba, and they typically visit the Blue Lagoon. Visit Gozo says kayaking across the channel is also an option. The catamaran day from Buġibba is one of the group-tour kind.
Who this isn’t for
If you want a day of walking, a boat trip is not enough: Visit Gozo says the island can be hiked in about three hours, but a swim-and-sun cruise does not give you that time ashore. If you want a hotel stay, Wikipedia describes a hotel at San Niklaw Bay and bungalows at Santa Marija Bay, and records a rebuilding plan, so check what is open before you plan around it. This guide is independent of the operator and the authorities.
Read next: Comino boat trip: is it worth it?
Frequently asked questions
How big is Comino?
About 3.5 square kilometres, according to Wikipedia and Visit Gozo. It lies between Malta and Gozo.
Does anyone live on Comino?
Wikipedia says only two people live there permanently. The island belongs to Għajnsielem municipality in Gozo.
Are there cars on Comino?
Visit Gozo says the island has virtually no cars or towns and is best explored on foot.
What is Cominotto?
A small uninhabited islet beside Comino, covering 0.25 square kilometres, according to Wikipedia. The Blue Lagoon lies between the two.
Where does the name come from?
Wikipedia says Comino is named after the cumin seed. In Maltese the island is Kemmuna.
Sources