I have been excited about the Blue Lagoon long before my journey to Malta.  It is totally a MUST VISIT spot during your stay in Malta. On the way back to our accommodation, we had few stops on the mainland: Popeye village for a short time and sunset at Golden bay.

Comino

The small island is situated between Malta and Gozo. Comino (Kemmuna) is named after the cumin herb that once flourished on the island.

Perfect place for a peaceful holiday. The biggest attraction is the Blue Lagoon, the narrow bay stretches between the island of Comino and the smaller island Cominotto (Kemmunett). It’s incredibly amazing with the white sanded beach and the crystal clear azure water.

The boat stops next to the Lagoon, don’t need to walk a lot till paradise 😉 The boats aren’t allowed to the inner side, they can park on the northern and southern parts of the lagoon.

The most popular visiting time is between noon and 4 pm. Recommended arriving early.  We arrived just in time to rent sun beds and an umbrella. We paid 20 euros for 2 sunbeds and an umbrella at the main area (you can find half priced sun beds and umbrellas closer to the boat station).

Swim to the other island, called Cominotto. On that side, the beach isn’t totally sandy, be careful with the rocks and pebbles. Swim through the Blue Hole cave, but mind the waves. I couldn’t swim till the sea, it was wavy inside because of the wind. You can walk up to the top of the cliffs, I don’t have water shoes, I wasn’t brave enough to walk up there barefoot. The view must be magical from there. Next time, I will bring water shoes, cause there will be a next time 😉

How to get there?

It’s reachable only by boat, so no cars are allowed on the island. We took a boat from Comino Ferries Co-op at 11 am. Yes, it’s hard to get up early on your holidays.

First, we went to the Cirkewwa ferry station, but couldn’t find a parking place (one disadvantage of travelling by car). We drove back few minutes, stopped at Marfa and parked next to the big white Riviera Hotel. During the summer the boat leaves every 30 minutes. The boat trip takes 30 minutes to Blue Lagoon.

The return ticket costs 10 euros. The boat headed east, the first stop was Santa Marija bay on the northern side of the island.

Then finally Blue Lagoooon 🙂

The last boat from the Blue Lagoon leaves at 6 pm. On the way back the boat turned to the nearby caves, where the St. Mary’s Tower stands, which originally was set up to facilitate defence and communication between the islands.

There are possibilities to spend the night on the island if you fell in love with it. Comino has one resort hotel at San Niklaw bay. There are also holiday bungalows by Santa Marija bay.

Where to eat?

There are kiosks selling food, drinks and ice creams. You can find a great selection of food, don’t expect gourmet, just hamburger, hot dog, wraps and french fries. We tried the tasty salmon wrap and I drank a cosmopolitan cocktail from a pineapple. Must try!!! My boyfriend was laughing at me because I was so excited about it.

This is wonderland: I could sit at the beach all day long staring at the magical blue sea and drink cocktails from a pineapple. What else do you need? Are you also obsessed with the colour of the sea?

 

Popeye village

I know I’m naive, but I didn’t know this much. I thought Popeye village is a normal village where people live. Hahaha!!! Nooooo, it’s not, you can laugh at me, I forgive you, I was also laughing at myself.

The truth is, Popeye Village was built for the Film Set of “Popeye” movie in 1979. They imported wooden planks to construct the 19 wooden buildings because Malta doesn’t have any forests. 

Today the village is a popular tourist attraction, working as an adventure and theme park. There are playhouses, shows, cinema, rides, museums and a fun park on the water. You can meet the cartoon/ movie characters. Look, we have a photo with Popeye and Olive Oyl.

Everything looks very realistic and natural. They’ve even built a guillotine for punishments. My boyfriend didn’t buy me ice cream, so I punished him. Hahaha (evil laugh). Later I rescued him and he bought us ice creams 🙂

Ticket price depends on the visiting date

June, September & October:

Adults : € 14.50 / Children (3-12 years): €11.50  / Pensioners : €11.50

July & August:

Adults : € 16.00 / Children (3-12 years): €13.00 / Pensioners : €13.00

Ticket includes free bonuses: postcard, boat trip and punch for the adults, which you can access at different places, shown on the map you get at the ticket office.

Opening Time

Winter Season (November – March) :  9:30 am – 4:30 pm

Spring & Autumn Season (April – June / September & October) :  9:30 am – 5:30 pm

Summer (July – August) 9:30 am – 7:00 pm

How to get there?

Just follow the Popeye Village sign from the main road. The car park close to the entrance offers plenty of parking places.

Popeye village has its own bus stop, called Popeye. You can reach it by these bus lines: 41, 42, 101, 221, 222.

 

Golden bay

At that western coastline, there are 3 sandy beaches, the bays (Golden bay, Ghajn Tuffieha bay, Gnejna bay) are separated by rocky peninsulas. They have a very nice atmosphere with the surrounding rocky heights.

Golden bay beach (Ir-Ramla tal Mixquqa) is a wide and long sandy beach. The water is available for swimming and snorkelling. The sea wasn’t that clear as I expected, maybe after the Blue Lagoon, every water looks a bit dirty. For me, the Golden bay wasn’t that golden.

It is very popular, was a bit crowded, though there’s a place for everyone thanks to its size. Chair and umbrella rental are available.

How to get there?

Follow the Golden bay signs. There is a big car park close to the bay. I can hardly call it a car park with the sandy and hilly surface, but it’s free. Along the way to the beach we saw more places, but for that, you have to arrive early.

There is a bus stop a few minutes from the beach called Ghajn Tuffieha Bus Terminus, you can reach it by 44, 101, 223, 225 bus lines.

Where to eat?

There are kiosks at the beach. On the top of the hill, located the Apple’s Eye restaurant. We stopped by to have dinner and enjoy the sunset. Was a bit crowdy, so the service was a bit slow. The food was good, not the best we had in Malta.

From the terrace, we saw something on the sky. It was a flying bar not far from the bus stop, so you can enjoy the sunset also from the air.