Gozo and Comino Day Trip from Malta

The two-island day is the most-booked thing in Malta’s excursion catalogue, and it deserves to be. The Gozo and Comino islands boat trip alone carries more than 21,000 reviews at 4.4 out of 5, and it costs $28. Nothing else here gives you that much day for that much money.

It is also the trip most likely to disappoint someone who booked it expecting to see Gozo. Both of those things are true, and the difference between them is one line in the inclusions.

What you actually get on Gozo

Three to four hours ashore on the bigger boat trips, about two on the cheaper ferry cruises. Whether those hours are worth anything depends on a single question: is land transport on Gozo included?

• On the Blue Lagoon and seacaves trip, a return bus to the old town — and between June and September to the beach — is an optional extra selected at checkout. Without it, you are on foot from the harbour.
• On the Sliema boat and bus tour, a sightseeing bus meets the boat at Mġarr, makes a photo stop, and gives you about 75 minutes in Victoria — enough to walk up into the Citadel and back. That is the version we would book.
• On the Sliema or St Paul’s ferry cruise, land transport is explicitly not included and can be arranged with independent providers at the harbour.

Mġarr Harbour is a genuinely handsome place — fishing boats, Fort Chambray on the ridge, the church of Our Lady of Lourdes above the quay. It is also at the far eastern corner of a 14-kilometre island, and the Citadel, Ġgantija, Dwejra and Ramla Bay are all somewhere else.

The free pass almost nobody mentions

Since 1 May 2025, anyone stepping ashore at the Blue Lagoon needs a Malta Access Management System pass. It is free, booked online at blcomino.com for one of three daily slots — 08:00–13:00, 13:30–17:30 or 18:00–22:00 — and the site is capped at 4,000 people at a time. Passes are checked at the jetty and landing without one can mean a fine.

Almost no tour ticket includes it. Two of the operators here list it explicitly as an exclusion; most say nothing. Book yours before you travel. You can still swim from the boat without one — which, given how busy the beach gets, a lot of people prefer anyway.

Cruise or land tour: the honest split

Book the two-island trip if swimming is the point, you are travelling on a budget, you have already seen Gozo, or you have a week in Malta and can spare a second day for the island.

Book a land tour instead if this is your one shot at Gozo. A jeep or guided coach day reaches five or six of the island’s sights, includes hotel pickup and lunch, and costs about three times as much for about three times as much Gozo.

Book both if you can. They are not really competitors. One is a swimming day around Comino; the other is an island day on Gozo. How long you need in Gozo works through the sequencing.

Practical notes

Hotel pickup is not included on any of these boat trips. You make your own way to Sliema Ferries, the Buġibba jetty or St Paul’s Bay. Our Sliema departures page covers what leaves from there.

Food is not included either. There is an onboard bar taking card payment, and outside food and drink are not allowed on the larger catamarans. Bring a towel, swimwear and sunscreen; none of those are provided.

The order varies. Some days you get the Blue Lagoon first and Gozo second, some days the reverse. The operator emails your Blue Lagoon time slot on the morning of the excursion, so check your inbox that day.

Weather can change or cancel it. The captain may modify or cancel for sea or safety conditions. If the operator cancels, they email and offer another date or a full refund.

From September to May the boat may change. One operator notes that a large sailing catamaran is used outside the summer, without the underwater viewing windows. Worth knowing if that was part of the appeal.

If you want the sea and the lagoons without the crowds, a private charter puts you at the good spots between the ferries. If you want Gozo itself, start with the full comparison. Otherwise, check availability.