Almost everyone who goes to Comino goes to the Blue Lagoon and no further.
Santa Marija Tower sits on the south coast, about half an hour on foot from the boats. Most days there is nobody on the path.
The tower
It was built in 1618 under Grand Master Wignacourt, one of a chain watching the channel between Malta and Gozo.
It is square, squat and set on high ground. It is the building in every photograph of Comino taken from the water.
The design is the standard Wignacourt tower: thick walls, four corner turrets and a raised entrance.
Din l-Art Ħelwa look after it and open it with volunteers, so the hours are short and they move. Current times are on the tower’s own page.
The walk out to it
From the Blue Lagoon it is roughly half an hour across open ground.
There is no shade and no water on the way. Take both, and more than you think in summer.
The path is stony rather than steep. Trainers are fine, sandals are not.
Start early. Between noon and four in July there is nothing between you and the sun.
What else is out there
Santa Marija Bay and San Niklaw Bay are both quieter than the lagoon and both are a short walk.
Santa Marija Bay has trees, which makes it the only shade on the island worth the name.
There is also an old isolation hospital and a small chapel, both from the days when Comino was quarantine ground.
The island is three and a half square kilometres, so nothing is far from anything else.
The tower on screen
Comino has stood in for other places on film more than once, and the tower is usually the reason.
It reads as generic Mediterranean fortification with no modern building anywhere in shot.
Go early or late
The day boats arrive mid-morning and leave in the late afternoon.
Outside those hours Comino is close to empty and the tower path is entirely your own.
The first boat over and the last boat back are the two that matter. Check both before you commit to the day.
In the off season the crossings thin out sharply. There is more on that in Comino in winter.
