Outdoorsy in Malta – camping and hiking in Comino

Looking for an outdoorsy experience and a nature getaway in Malta, I decided to go camping in Comino. The smallest of the three main Maltese islands (only 3m²) is full of contradictions. It is both a desolated nature sanctuary and an overcrowded touristy destination. Those two worlds are just a few hundred metres away.

Most people come here for the famous Blue Lagoon, and they don’t even step beyond the popular area. Their visit to Comino is limited to a drink in a hollowed-out pineapple and a perfect Instagram photo with the azure waters. Often they don’t even know what else the island has to offer.

This is both a blessing and a curse. Each square meter of the Blue Lagoon is packed with people in the summer, which makes it impossible to enjoy this stunning place. On the upside, if you walk just a few hundred metres further, you will feel like the only person on the island.

What’s so special about Comino?

Comino has only two residents – Salvu Vella, sometimes called the custodian of the island, and his cousin. Every week, a priest from a neighbouring island of Gozo comes to hold a holy mass for the Vella family and bring them medicines and supplies.

Salvu has lived on the island for almost 70 years. Living in a place with no shops and nearly no services made him an innovator: he turned his car into an electric one and built a pond equipped with a water pump to provide birds on the island and his family with water.

Comino is also a nature reserve with a spectacular landscape, steep cliffs, clear water and stunning views of the neighbouring islands of Gozo and Malta.

How to enjoy Comino and the Blue Lagoon without the crowds?

All that cute and romantic stuff you just read above gets spoiled by over 4000 tourists visiting the Blue Lagoon every day. Luckily, they all leave with the last boat at 18:00. After that, you will have the island almost for yourself (I mean, there will be some other people camping unless you come in winter).

I went to Comino the first weekend of May. We took the last ferry from Cirkewwa, with only two other people on deck, and arrived around 18. In the evening, the Blue Lagoon seemed peaceful, and I enjoyed how quiet it was compared to the busy island of Malta.

Comino has no paved roads and only a handful of cars. Once the motorboats left the bay shores, it was tranquil. 

We headed to the only campsite in Comino – Tal Ful. Even though it was only the first weekend of May, big family tents covered almost the whole ground. I have read earlier that some people pitch a tent already in spring and leave it there until October, so it didn’t come as a surprise.

Update 14.06.2022: The Environment and Resources Authority has removed the big, semi-permanent tents and constructions that were occupying the campsite for more than a month (source). So now there should be more space for normal campers.

After a lazy morning and slow breakfast, we went to the Blue Lagoon to discover something completely different from what we saw the evening before. Loud dance music was playing from every booth with food and drink, the bay was full of motorboats, and the small beach was already getting busy.

The magic from the evening before was gone. Luckily, the other corners of the island still felt untouched and empty. It’s bizarre that most people don’t even make an effort to walk 300 metres beyond the Blue Lagoon and enjoy the rest of this extraordinary island.

If you don’t want to be like them and properly experience Comino rather than just take a Blue Lagoon selfie, you will find some tips below.

Hiking in Comino

The coastal walk around the whole island of Comino is about 8 kilometres long and will take you no more than 3 hours. Some parts of the path along the cliffs are rugged, so take good shoes.

Most of the island is covered with garigue – small bushes, flowers and herbs like Mediterranean Thyme and Maltese Spurge growing between the rocks. There is little shadow. 

If you like walking and admiring nature better than swimming or snorkelling, visit Comino in winter or spring. The island will be much greener. Garigue is protected – don’t walk on it! 

Unfortunately, part of the coastline near the closed Comino Hotel is not accessible. From Blue Lagoon, walk to Santa Maria Bay, and enjoy some shadow under the Aleppo Pines.

A small chapel in Santa Maria Bay has a rich history. The first church on Comino, built in the 13th century, was plundered by pirates and corsairs as the island was defenceless. It also caused the people living there to move to the nearby island of Gozo. The new church was built in the 17th century after the Knights of Malta built the defence tower. 

St Mary’s Tower is the most remarkable building on the island, and the Maltese Armed Forces were using it until 2002. In the 17th century, the corsairs would hide on the cliffs of Comino and attack the ships between Malta and Gozo. The tower was supposed to stop them.

Nearby, you will find another notable building: an abandoned isolation hospital built by the British Military. It served as a quarantine station for soldiers returning from the plague-stricken Eastern Mediterranean. In 1922, the whole island was an isolation ward for patients with cholera.

In 1948, the hospital rooms were transformed into classrooms, but 13 years later, there were no more school-aged children on the island, and the building has been abandoned since.

Bird watching

Comino is a nature reserve and bird sanctuary. While many birds stopping during their yearly migration on the other Maltese islands are killed by hunters during the hunting season in April, hunting on Comino is strictly forbidden. 

You will find hoopoes with zebra-striped wings and a unique “crown”, scops owls and the rare turtle dove on this tiny island.  

Stargazing

With low light pollution, Comino is a great spot for stargazing. The weather is mostly clear, and the nights are warm, so nothing stands in the way of enjoying the night sky, ideally with a glass of wine in your hand. 

Snorkelling and diving

Comino is a popular snorkelling and diving destination. The caves and the P31 wreck are perfect sites if you are a newbie. You can find a map with the best locations here and contact information for diving centres on this website.

Camping in Comino – practical tips

1. Wild camping is not allowed. Comino is a protected nature area, and camping is only permitted on the established Tal Ful campsite. It is free of charge, no booking is necessary. You can find the rules for camping at Tal Ful campsite in Comino on this website.
2. Bring enough food and water – the food trucks and kiosks in the Golden Bay are terribly overpriced.
3. Store the food in closed containers. The food attracts rats, and I bet you don’t want one in your tent! 
4. If you come for a weekend, try to arrive as early as possible on Friday afternoon – it might be a challenge to find a spot.
5. If you are sensitive to noise and cannot sleep with a bit of background music, bring earplugs! The crowd camping on Comino likes to have some fun in the evening.
6. There is a public toilet near Blue Lagoon, about 400 metres from the campsite. Bring toilet paper with you! 
7. If you don’t have your own camping gear, you can rent a tent, sleeping bag, stove and other stuff via this website.
8. Camping is currently the only way to stay on Comino overnight. The only hotel on the island is closed for renovation. 

Where to swim in Comino?

1. Are you dreaming about swimming in the clear waters of the Blue Lagoon? Forget that you will enjoy it during the day. It is simply too crowded, too busy and too loud. Unless you are the Ibiza-party kind of person, it’s no fun. But come early in the morning or for a sunset swim, and you will have the place for yourself. 

2. Santa Maria Bay is the best beach on Comino, with more space to lay down than the Blue Lagoon. Surprisingly quiet (at least in May). 
3. Blue Lagoon 2. Close to the Blue Lagoon but much less crowded and no less beautiful. 

Jellyfishes can spoil your fun on Maltese beaches. In Crystal Lagoon, I saw a whole hoard of them. How to avoid getting stung by a jellyfish when swimming on Comino? Choose a beach opposite the direction of the wind. The jellyfishes usually swim with the current, so if the wind blows from the sea towards the beach, you will most likely meet plenty of them. 

To check the wind direction and the current conditions on the Maltese beaches, go to whichbeach.com.mt.

For more information about Comino, visit cometocomino.com