The Blue Lagoon is the channel between Comino and the small island of Cominotto. The water really is the colour the photographs show. Since 1 May 2025 you need a free pass to set foot on the shore, and most people get that pass wrong.
Anyone stepping on land at the Blue Lagoon needs one. It applies to visitors and residents alike, and to private boats as well as tour boats. It costs nothing and takes a minute at blcomino.com, which is the official system. You get a QR code by email, and it is scanned before you are allowed off the boat. Turning up without one does not work: officers patrol the site, you will be asked to leave, and you can be fined.
The landing pass
What you need to know
- Cost
- Nothing. The pass is free. It always has been.
- Who needs one
- Everyone who steps on land, including Maltese residents and anyone arriving on their own boat.
- Children
- Children under five do not need a pass as long as a parent or guardian is with them.
- How many on one booking
- You can book for up to four people at once.
- How far ahead
- You can book up to two months in advance. Same-day booking works if slots are left, but in July and August you should not count on it.
- Changing your booking
- You cannot. Bookings cannot be modified once made, so book the slot you want.
- Passing it on
- You can give your QR code to someone else, as long as it has not already been scanned.
- What happens on arrival
- Your code is scanned before you get off the boat and you are given a wristband. Hand the wristband back before you leave, because they are collected rather than thrown away.
- Leaving and coming back
- You can come and go as often as you like inside your own time slot.
- Arriving early or late
- Arrive early and you may be asked to wait. Arrive late and you get whatever is left of your slot rather than a full one.
The three time slots
Pick one when you book
- Morning
- 08:00 to 13:00. This is the slot the big day boats use, so it is the busiest of the three.
- Afternoon
- 13:30 to 17:30. Still busy in summer, though the morning boats have started to leave by the end of it.
- Sunset
- 18:00 to 22:00. The quietest slot by a distance. The light is far better for photographs.
- The extra half hour
- The booking form shows slightly wider times than these. The difference is an allowance for boats manoeuvring in and out, and the marine coordinator decides how it is used on the day.
- How many people are allowed
- Four thousand at any one time. In the summer of 2024, before the system existed, the site was recording up to twelve thousand at peak hours.
When you do not need a pass
The exemptions
- Buying a drink or a snack
- You can step off to buy something and go straight back to the boat. If you stay on shore afterwards without a pass you are treated as unauthorised.
- Walking through to somewhere else
- If you are using the hardstanding paths to reach the rest of Comino and not stopping in the lagoon itself, you do not need one.
- Research and volunteering
- Regular visitors can ask for a Frequent Visitor Pass by emailing the Blue Lagoon office.
- Language schools
- Schools licensed by the ELT Council can arrange block bookings through the Council, with at least a week’s notice.
Book the sunset slot if you can
The morning boats bring most of the day’s visitors. They are still there through the early afternoon. The evening slot runs to ten at night and it is a different place entirely.
If you can only go in the middle of the day, take the earliest boat you can get on rather than a late-morning one.
When to come
You can only get there by boat
Boats run from Buġibba, Sliema and Ċirkewwa, and there is a short crossing from Mġarr in Gozo. There is no public ferry, so every operator is a private one.
Your boat ticket is separate from the landing pass and you pay for it yourself. Check that the operator is registered with Transport Malta to run to the Blue Lagoon. Ask whether they book the pass for you or expect you to do it.
Charter a boat
The island empties once the boats go
Comino held thousands an hour earlier and now holds almost nobody. Walking across to Santa Marija Bay and the towers takes about an hour.
You do not need a landing pass if you go straight out to the rest of the island on the hardstanding paths. This only applies if you do not stop at the lagoon.
About CominoFind a boat to the Blue Lagoon
Getting there
The options
- Direct ferry from Ċirkewwa
- This is the shortest crossing and the most flexible, because you choose your own return time instead of being tied to a tour.
- Day boats from Buġibba or Sliema
- These take longer and usually include a coastal cruise and swimming stops. They are a day out rather than transport.
- From Mġarr in Gozo
- The crossing is short, and people staying in Gozo often overlook it.
- Private charter
- This is the best answer for a group, because you set the departure time yourself.
A strong Grigal (the north-east wind) shuts the Comino boats down completely. It can do that on a hot day without a cloud in the sky. Check the refund terms before you book, and expect to be moved to another date rather than given your money back. The booking system takes no responsibility for weather, missed boats or delays, and neither does it refund your landing pass, because the pass was free.
Comino is bare rock. Bring water, something to cover up with and something to sit on, or pay resort prices for all three at the vans on the beach.