Diving in Comino
Boat-only day diving off tiny Comino: shallow lit caverns, a beginner wreck and a wall past 50 m, with the wind choosing the coast.
Last updated October 2026
Overview
Comino is dived as a day out on someone else's boat, and the wind picks the dive. Crews cross from Malta's north tip or from Gozo and choose a coast by sea state. Santa Marija Bay is sheltered from the prevailing north-west wind and stays calm, while the south-west tip and the reef off Cominotto face the Comino Channel and wait for settled weather.
Three kinds of diving share the island. Santa Marija Caves is a maze of shallow, naturally lit chambers; its listed maximum depth is 10 m in one place and 18 m in another, and either way it is a shallow dive. Lantern Point is the Advanced counterpart: a limestone wall dropping past 50 m from the south-west tip, little dived, with gorgonian fans, boulder caverns and amberjack and barracuda in summer. Across the channel from the Blue Lagoon, Cominotto Reef runs from boulders to its own wall and a sponge-covered World War II anchor at 35 m. On sand between them lies the P31, a former minesweeper scuttled in 2009. Published depths put it at 18 to 20 m in one listing and 30 m in another, and its shallow top lets snorkellers see the hull.
Groupers, morays and scorpionfish hold in the Lantern Point boulder caverns, octopus turn up there and in the Santa Marija caves, and saddled and two-banded bream and chromis swarm the bay's inlet. Eagle rays have been recorded in the channel below Lantern Point. This is temperate Mediterranean water over limestone, with no hard coral.
Comino and its islets form a Natura 2000 site, a Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation, which keeps the coast undeveloped. It is a protected area and is not described as a no-take reserve.
Planning your visit
Book through a licensed dive centre in Malta or Gozo; every Comino dive is a boat trip. Operators often pair sites in a day: the caves with the P31, or Lantern Point with Cominotto Reef or the P31. Name the site you want when you enquire, because the wind may rearrange the day.
May to October is warmest and calmest. Operators recommend a 5 mm suit year-round for the deep walls and 7 mm from November to April.
Boat traffic toward the Blue Lagoon is heavy in summer, so a delayed surface marker belongs on every dive here; Lantern Point makes one mandatory and Cominotto operators advise one. The Blue Lagoon landing pass concerns stepping ashore, not diving: a dive from an anchored boat, or any time elsewhere on the island, needs no booking.
Geology & underwater terrain
Limestone cliffs eroded into sea caves, swim-throughs and boulder fields, with sand and seagrass between; no hard coral reef.
Videos
Dive sites in Comino
The diving here splits into 3 zones:
- Santa Marija Bay
- — A sheltered bay with a shallow, naturally lit cavern maze that stays calm when the rest of the island is blown out.
- The south-west tip
- — A limestone wall dropping past 50 m, open to the Comino Channel and dived only in calm weather.
- Cominotto and the Blue Lagoon channel
- — Boulder reef, a deep wall and a shallow wreck on sand, all under heavy summer boat traffic heading for the Blue Lagoon.
Santa Marija Bay
The south-west tip
Cominotto and the Blue Lagoon channel
Marine life
When to dive
- Best season
- May to October
- Water temperature
- About 14 C at the surface in winter to the high 20s in summer
Warm water and settled seas favour May to October, though the island dives year-round with the right suit. Wind decides the coast: the exposed west side waits for calm days in any month. Operators quote 20 to 30 m visibility on a good day.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
- Surface and boat traffic: Summer ferry and tour-boat traffic heads for the Blue Lagoon across the Comino Channel, and the Cominotto side of the channel sees most of it.Send up a delayed surface marker on every ascent; it is mandatory at Lantern Point.
- Surface and boat traffic: Lantern Point and the Cominotto reef face the Comino Channel and can only be dived in calm conditions; the wall can also carry a moderate current.Let the operator choose the site by sea state, and keep the sheltered bay as the fallback.
- Overhead: The Santa Marija chambers are naturally lit, but the inner passages beyond ambient light are a cavern or cave environment.Stay in the lit chambers unless you hold the endorsement, and keep buoyancy steady.
Rules and permits
National rules also apply: Rules and permits in Malta
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a boat to dive Comino, and where do trips leave from?▾
Santa Marija Caves, Lantern Point or P31: which one suits which diver?▾
They sit at three different levels. Santa Marija Caves is the shallow, sheltered choice for Open Water divers and photographers chasing light. Lantern Point is the Advanced dive, a wall that runs past 50 m. P31 is the easy wreck in between, and operators often pair it with either of the other two for a two-dive day.
How deep is the P31, and can an Open Water diver dive it?▾
Published depths disagree: 20 m at the bow and 18 m at the stern in one listing, 30 m in another. The 18 to 20 m figures sit near the Open Water limit and 30 m is well beyond it, so ask the operator which part of the wreck the dive covers. The top of the hull is far shallower, which is why snorkellers can see the whole wreck from the surface.
Are the Santa Marija Caves suitable for Open Water divers?▾
The entrances and first chambers are, and light reaches them from several openings. The caves' maximum depth is listed as 10 m in one place and 18 m in another, so confirm the planned profile. One operator asks for a cavern or cave endorsement before the inner passages beyond ambient light.
Do you need the Blue Lagoon pass if you are coming to dive?▾
Only if you plan to step ashore at the Blue Lagoon. The free timed pass covers that landing zone, and neither a dive from an anchored boat nor a visit to Santa Marija Bay needs one. The ferry fare to the lagoon is tourist transport, separate from any dive.
When is the best time to dive Comino, and does winter work?▾
May to October brings the warmest water and the calmest seas, and wind matters more than month for which sites run. Winter dives happen with a thicker suit: operators suggest 7 mm from November to April, and 5 mm year-round for the deep west-side walls. The sheltered bay keeps the caves available when the west side is closed.
Can you dive Comino from Gozo as well as from Malta?▾
Yes. Operators run Comino trips from both islands, and a Gozo centre may carry you out to the sites by boat from its own base. Pick the side that suits your accommodation; the sites are the same.
What certification do you need for Lantern Point?▾
Operators grade it Advanced, and the wall runs from about 20 m to past 50 m, which is well beyond Open Water depths. A delayed surface marker is mandatory, and the site is only dived in calm conditions.
Also known as: Kemmuna
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