Comino
The Canyon
A little-visited stretch of Comino's north coast broken into small drop-offs and narrow tunnels, with the remains of an old Maltese fishing boat scattered among the rocks. Better after dark than in daylight.
Sea conditions
Excellent right now
Flat, sheltered and calm
Forecast for the site, updated 02:29 AM
- Waves
- n/a
- Wind
- 4 km/h
- S, gusts 8
- Swell
- n/a
- Sea temp
- n/a
- air 25 °C
Next 7 days
Sunrise 06:47, sunset 19:05
Exposed to wind and swell from: NW (315°), N (0°), NE (45°). Generally sheltered and diveable when the south coast sites are shut, but the north-facing aspect means a northerly puts surge into the tunnels and the shore entry becomes unpleasant. Visibility is usually good. Current is rarely an issue here. Best season: June to October, with night dives at their best in the warm settled water of late summer..
The dive
The Canyon is the kind of site that gets left off itineraries because it does not photograph well in a brochure. There are no big walls and no grand caves, just a sequence of modest step-downs in the rock and a set of narrow passages that you have to want to squeeze into. The wooden bones of a Maltese fishing boat lie broken up among the stone, slowly turning into reef, which is more atmospheric than impressive.
Fish life in daylight is thin. That is the honest assessment, and it is why the dive has a reputation among the few people who bother with it as a night dive rather than a day dive. After dark the maths changes completely: starfish come out onto the rock, nudibranchs appear on the algae, crabs get busy in the cracks, and the tunnels stop being tight and start being interesting. Macro shooters do well here.
Depths run shallow, seven metres for most of it and twenty at the deepest, so it is cheap on gas and easy on decompression. Treat it as the quiet dive at the end of a Comino day rather than the reason you came.
- One of Comino's better night dives, with starfish and nudibranchs out in numbers
- Narrow tunnels and small drop-offs that reward slow, careful diving
- Remains of an old Maltese fishing boat scattered in the rocks
- Shallow, unhurried and almost always empty
Typical plan
Work outwards down the steps to around 18 to 20 m early, take a look at the fishing boat remains, then turn and spend most of the dive between 6 and 12 m easing through the tunnels and gullies. As a night dive, keep it simple: one out-and-back line along the rock at 8 to 12 m, torches with backups, and a marker light on the boat or the exit. Fifty minutes on a 12 litre cylinder is comfortable; air is fine throughout.
What the bottom looks like
- 1First small step down in the rock7 m deep · 30 m out
- 2Narrow passage through the reef11 m deep · 60 m out
- 3Broken remains of a Maltese fishing boat14 m deep · 85 m out
- 4Deepest step before the sand20 m deep · 130 m out
- 5Shallow boulders on the return8 m deep · 185 m out
Stepped rock ledges and boulders with sand and rubble collecting in the gullies, and scattered timber from the old fishing boat.
Who you might meet
Spiny starfish
Almost always · Stilla tal-baħar · Best at night
Damselfish
Almost always · Kaħlija
Nudibranchs
Often · Spring and at night
Marbled rock crab
Often · Granċ · At night
Common octopus
Often · Qarnit · At night
Scorpionfish
Sometimes · Ċippullazza
Mediterranean moray
Sometimes · Morina · At night
Cardinalfish
Sometimes · Sultan iċ-ċawl
Ornate wrasse
Sometimes · Tirda tal-passa
Slipper lobster
Lucky day · Ċikala · At night
Getting in and staying safe
Boat or a moderately awkward shore entry from the San Niklaw Bay side, scrambling over rock. The old Comino Hotel sits on the bay and the area has been in various states of closure and redevelopment for years, so do not count on anything ashore being open: bring water, take your rubbish away with you, and check current access with a local operator before planning a shore dive. Most people arrive by boat as part of a Comino day and moor in the bay.
- Narrow tunnels that are genuinely tight in doubles or with a camera rig
- Surge pushing through the passages even on an apparently calm day
- Night diving hazards: separation, disorientation, torch failure
- Old timber and fastenings from the fishing boat wreckage
- Awkward rock scramble if entering from shore
- Little information available and few divers around if something goes wrong
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Further reading: Calypso Sub-Aqua Club: The Canyon · DiveSSI: Comino dive site listing · Malta Uncovered: Comino caves and coastline