Blue Lagoon Sunset Cruise with Swim Snorkel and Slide Malta

Bugibba and St Paul's Bay

Your cruise begins at Bugibba Jetty, on the busy seafront of St Paul's Bay in northern Malta. The bay takes its name from the tradition that St Paul was shipwrecked here in AD 60 on his way to Rome, and the small St Paul's Islands at its mouth carry a statue of him raised in 1845. Today Bugibba and Qawra are lively resort towns with a long promenade, hotels and restaurants facing the water.

If you are wondering how to get to Bugibba, buses connect it with Valletta, Sliema and the airport, and many hotels lie within a short stroll of the jetty. Arrive about 15 minutes before the 17:15 departure to board calmly and pick a deckchair with a view; the boat returns to the same jetty after the sunset.

Malta's north coast

Leaving St Paul's Bay, the boat passes the St Paul's Islands and follows the north coast towards the channel between Malta and Comino. Along the way you see the cliffs of Selmun, the wide sweep of Mellieha Bay with Malta's longest sandy beach, and the ridge of Marfa crowned by the red-walled St Agatha's Tower, built by the Knights in 1649 to guard this strait.

The water on this side of the island is usually calm in the late afternoon in summer, and the warm light on the limestone makes the coast glow gold. Stay on the upper deck for the best views and photos; the journey to the lagoon takes a little under an hour and gives you time to settle in before the swim.

Comino Island

Comino is the smallest inhabited island of the Maltese archipelago, a rocky, car-free nature reserve between Malta and Gozo with only a handful of residents. Its garrigue is scented with wild thyme, which gave the island its name from the cumin once grown here, and it is an important stop for migrating birds. On the south-west cliffs stands St Mary's Tower, built by the Knights in 1618.

In centuries past the island sheltered pirates and served as a place of exile, but today visitors come almost entirely for the sea. Is Comino worth visiting? For swimmers and snorkellers it is one of the highlights of any holiday in Malta, and arriving in the evening gives you the island at its most peaceful.

The Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon lies between Comino and the tiny islet of Cominotto, a sheltered stretch of shallow water over white sand that glows an intense turquoise in the sun. It is the most photographed bay in Malta, and to protect it the authorities introduced a free access pass with time slots; for this evening cruise you reserve the evening slot online in advance, and we remind you how when we confirm your booking.

You have about two hours here to swim, snorkel among small fish over the sandy bottom, use the boat's slides and relax on the deckchairs. The best time to visit the Blue Lagoon is late afternoon, when the day boats have left and the water stays warm. Masks and snorkels can be rented on board, and snacks and refreshments are on sale.

Sunset at sea on the return

As the light softens, the boat leaves the lagoon and heads back along the coast towards St Paul's Bay. In summer the sun drops into the sea behind the Maltese islands, turning the sky orange and pink and lighting up the cliffs of Comino and the north of Malta behind you. It is the calmest part of the evening, with the sea breeze cooling you after the swim.

This is the moment many guests remember most: wrapped in a towel on the upper deck, watching the islands turn into silhouettes against the evening sky. Have your camera ready, because the colours change quickly. The boat arrives back at Bugibba Jetty around dusk, about 3.5 hours after departure, close to the restaurants of the seafront for dinner.