Malta, Gozo & Comino
Where to sail
Malta is small enough that the whole coast is a day's sailing, and awkward enough that a good part of it has no road to it. These are the bays, creeks and anchorages charter boats actually go to — what each one is like, when it works, and which of them you genuinely cannot reach any other way.
These are the places Malta and Gozo charter boats actually go, written for people deciding what to book. Conditions, depths and access change — your skipper's chart and the day's forecast decide the trip, not this page.
- Departure marina
- Destination
- Approximate position
Places you need a boat for
Most of Malta's coast has a road to it somewhere. These are the exceptions — two with no land route at all, the rest with a descent steep enough that almost nobody makes it.
Crystal LagoonBoat onlySouth-west CominoA deep, cliff-walled pool round the corner from the Blue Lagoon, reached through a cave arch and closed to anything with a keel.SwimmingSnorkellingPhotographs
Santa Marija BayBoat or a hard walkNorth CominoComino's other beach — sand, tamarisk trees and room to anchor, on the side of the island the ferries do not serve.SwimmingAnchoringLunch stop
Shows neighbouring Ramla BaySan Blas BayBoat or a hard walkNorth-east GozoRamla's smaller neighbour — the same red sand, a punishing walk down, and almost nobody on it.SwimmingSnorkellingQuiet
Coral LagoonBoat onlyNorth Malta, off ArmierA collapsed sea cave off the north coast — a circular pool of turquoise inside the rock, open to the sky, entered through an arch.SwimmingPhotographsSnorkelling
Slugs BayBoat or a hard walkNorth Malta, SelmunA tiny pocket of sand between two rock arms below Selmun — too small to be busy and too awkward to reach on foot.SwimmingSnorkellingQuiet
Fomm ir-RiħBoat or a hard walkWest MaltaThe wildest bay on the island — blue clay cliffs, a pebble shore, no development at all, and a land route that has been closed off.SwimmingQuietPhotographs
Comino
Blue LagoonAlso reachable by landBetween Comino and CominottoThe channel between Comino and Cominotto — white sand under shallow water, and the single most crowded piece of sea in Malta.SwimmingSnorkellingShort stopsSee the Blue Lagoon trips →- Crystal LagoonBoat onlySouth-west CominoA deep, cliff-walled pool round the corner from the Blue Lagoon, reached through a cave arch and closed to anything with a keel.SwimmingSnorkellingPhotographs
- Santa Marija BayBoat or a hard walkNorth CominoComino's other beach — sand, tamarisk trees and room to anchor, on the side of the island the ferries do not serve.SwimmingAnchoringLunch stop
Gozo
Mġarr ix-XiniAlso reachable by landSouth GozoA narrow creek at the foot of a steep valley on Gozo's south coast — sheltered, deep, and the best swimming water in the islands.SwimmingSnorkellingDiving- Ramla BayAlso reachable by landNorth GozoThe red-sand bay on Gozo's north coast — the largest beach in the islands and, from seaward, the most recognisable.SwimmingSnorkellingLunch stop
- Shows neighbouring Ramla BaySan Blas BayBoat or a hard walkNorth-east GozoRamla's smaller neighbour — the same red sand, a punishing walk down, and almost nobody on it.SwimmingSnorkellingQuiet
DwejraAlso reachable by landWest GozoThe Inland Sea, the Blue Hole and Fungus Rock, on Gozo's west coast — spectacular, and only approachable when it is genuinely calm.DivingSnorkellingPhotographs
Xlendi BayAlso reachable by landSouth-west GozoA narrow inlet on Gozo's south-west coast with a village at the head of it — restaurants on the water and a wall of cliff on either side.DivingSnorkellingDinner ashore
Malta
St Paul's BayAlso reachable by landNorth-east MaltaOne of the largest anchorages in the country, with good holding in sand and two uninhabited islands across the mouth of it.AnchoringOvernightSwimming- Coral LagoonBoat onlyNorth Malta, off ArmierA collapsed sea cave off the north coast — a circular pool of turquoise inside the rock, open to the sky, entered through an arch.SwimmingPhotographsSnorkelling
- Slugs BayBoat or a hard walkNorth Malta, SelmunA tiny pocket of sand between two rock arms below Selmun — too small to be busy and too awkward to reach on foot.SwimmingSnorkellingQuiet
- Fomm ir-RiħBoat or a hard walkWest MaltaThe wildest bay on the island — blue clay cliffs, a pebble shore, no development at all, and a land route that has been closed off.SwimmingQuietPhotographs
Għar LapsiAlso reachable by landSouth-west MaltaA sheltered rock pool under the Siġġiewi cliffs, with Filfla offshore and cave systems that divers come a long way for.DivingSnorkellingSwimming
St Peter's PoolAlso reachable by landDelimara, south-east MaltaA natural pool in flat white rock at the end of the Delimara peninsula — the cliff-jumping one.SwimmingCliff jumpingSnorkelling
MarsaxlokkAlso reachable by landSouth-east MaltaA working fishing harbour full of painted luzzus, with strong holding and the best fish lunch in the country at the end of it.AnchoringLunch ashoreShelter
Mellieħa BayAlso reachable by landNorth MaltaThe biggest sandy beach on Malta, in shallow forgiving water — the easy one, and the right answer with children aboard.SwimmingFamiliesLunch stop
Common questions
Which places in Malta can only be reached by boat?
Coral Lagoon and Crystal Lagoon have no land route at all. Slugs Bay, San Blas and Fomm ir-Riħ can be walked to, but the descents are steep and informal — and Fomm ir-Riħ's footpath has been restricted. Everywhere else on this page has a road, and arriving by sea is a better version of the same place rather than the only version.
Can you anchor in the Blue Lagoon?
Not freely. Anchoring on the Posidonia seagrass inside the swimming zone is prohibited and mooring buoys are mandatory there, so a skipper takes a buoy or lies outside the zone. Santa Marija Bay on the north side of Comino is the usual answer when you want to anchor without a buoy.
Can you get to Comino and back in a day from Malta?
Yes — a Comino day out of Sliema or Msida is the standard charter, and operators generally run it as a five-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half hour trip. From Mġarr on Gozo it is a short hop instead of a day.
Where should you go when the wind is in the north?
The south coasts. Mġarr ix-Xini on Gozo is sheltered from northerlies, and on Malta the south-east — Marsaxlokk, St Peter's Pool — and the south-west at Għar Lapsi work when the north coast does not. Comino, Mellieħa and Ramla are all exposed to the north.
Is the Azure Window still there?
No. It collapsed into the sea during a storm in March 2017 and nothing remains above water. The site at Dwejra is still worth visiting, and what is left of the arch underwater has become a dive site.
Departure marinas are a different question — where the boats actually leave from — and worth reading before you book, because two of them are minutes apart on the same harbour and one is on the other island.