COMINO AND GOZO ISLANDS
Malta is a very small country, but it is divided into 3 islands: Malta, Comino and Gozo.
Most people stay longer in Malta, the main island, but spending at least a day in Comino and Gozo is an experience not to be missed. Gozo deserves at least 3 nights, which we regret not doing and further on we will explain why.
The Blue Lagoon on the island of Comino is the closest to paradise that you'll find in Malta. Here the water is very clear, there is no ripple and as it is in a more remote area the water is unbelievably transparent! Amazing!
The island of Comino is very small, measuring just 2 km2 and lying between the islands of Malta and Gozo. There isn't much to see on land, but you can take short walks to enjoy the wonderful view over the Blue Lagoon or explore the rocks that surround the beach. Another option is the boat trips to see the island's caves, which are beautiful too!
The worst thing about the island of Comino is the crowds that start to arrive around 11am, coming from the many tours that fill the island every day.
The trick to avoid all this and arrive at the island with almost no one and have the island almost all to yourself, is to go very early, really early and when the tours arrive, you are almost leaving the island for Gozo. The space to put a towel is very small, you have 3 chances: or you stay on the tiny sandy beach at first with space, but then it gets super crowded, you have the rocks that surround the Blue Lagoon or you pay about €10 for a sunbed. As we went early, we got space on the small beach.
Getting there is easy. First, buy the ticket to Comino online ( Comino Ferries ), save 1 euro and go on the day you want and the boat makes a short passage through the caves. If you prefer, you can also buy on site. This ticket costs 12 euros online and gives you access to the boat from Malta - Comino - Gozo. To return to Malta after in Gozo you have to buy the return ticket at the ticket office which costs 4.65 euros. If you prefer, you can do the round trip Malta - Comino - Malta and the price is the same.
The first boat leaves at 8:40am and yes, you really should take this boat, because then we are the first to arrive in Comino and Blue Lagoon. ;)
For those in the Sliema area, take bus 222 that goes straight to the port of Cirkewwa, where the boats leave for Comino and Gozo. The boat trip lasts about 1 hour, that is, you have to catch the bus around 7am to ensure you arrive on time. It's tiring, but well worth it.
Then in Comino the trick is to leave when the tours arrive around 11am/12pm. At the same place where you got off the boat to Comino, take the boat at 11am (the first one) or at 12pm to Gozo.
Next to the small pier in Comino you'll find a little bit of everything you might need on the small island.
You have a tent with some gifts, inflatables and beach material, a few street food, a van with lockers to store your most valuable objects (since you don't have space to leave your things with so many people together) and even a van from Maltese Red Cross.
Comino is very safe as most are tourists on the island.
Although it all looks like a big mess, it's not. You should really visit Comino and try to go early, we guarantee you won't regret it.
We chose to leave Comino on the 12pm boat, because we took the opportunity and had lunch in Comino.
The boat trip between Comino and Gozo is super fast and when we arrived in Gozo we had already booked a buggy ( Gozo Quad Hire ) to go around the entire island, with a round trip included in the price from the port of Gozo to the company's facilities.
We loved going around Gozo with the buggy, but we had almost no time to see the island that deserves at least 3 nights. We had a small "glimpse" of the island which piqued our curiosity. Next time we will stay 3 nights in Gozo, before Malta.
The island of Gozo is a little more rural than Malta, and is full of natural wonders and a lot of history in Victoria (Capital of Gozo). Being much smaller than the Island of Malta, Gozo is only 67 km2, so we opted for a buggy on our own, but you have several buses to go around the island, bicycles to rent, etc...
As it is a small island, the vast majority of travelers limit themselves to booking just one day of their trip to Malta to visit Gozo, not even staying overnight on the island. And usually they regret it bitterly... and that's what happened to us.
As we indicated, the time was very short, so we only visited:
- Hondoq ir-Rummien Bay - Calm, clear bay popular for snorkeling off a rocky coastline with a small pebble & sand beach
- Ramla Bay - Ramla Bay is a bay with a beach of reddish-coloured sand in Gozo
- Marsalforn Bay - Marsalforn Bay is a bay located in Marsalforn village
- Dwejra Bay - An attractive coastal bay popular with snorkellors, hikers and sightseers, good views of Fungus Rock from the Dwerja Tower
After this short trip and our mistake in not staying longer, we returned to Malta on the giant ferry that operates 24 hours a day and then took the same bus 222 back to Sliema.
