Malta · North Malta, off Armier
Coral Lagoon
Il-Mixquqa
A collapsed sea cave off the north coast — a circular pool of turquoise inside the rock, open to the sky, entered through an arch.
Coral Lagoon is a cave whose roof has fallen in. What is left is a near-circular pool enclosed by rock walls with daylight coming straight down into it, connected to the open sea by an arch at water level.
It is genuinely boat-only, and more than that — it is small-boat-only. The arch is low. Tenders, dinghies, kayaks and small ribs get in; a chartered yacht anchors outside and you go in from there. Operators who include it will say how they do it, and it is worth asking, because "we visit Coral Lagoon" and "we go inside Coral Lagoon" are different trips.
There is nothing to do here but be in the water and look up, and it takes about ten minutes. It is a stop on a north-coast run, not an afternoon.
Getting it right
- Getting there
- There is no land access. The cliff above it is closed rock.
- When
- Flat water. The arch is unpleasant in any swell.
- How busy
- Small enough that two boats is busy.
- Shape of the day
- A north-coast stop, usually on the way to or from Comino.
Where it is
- Departure marina
- Destination
Sailing here
Boats we list that are berthed within reach of Coral Lagoon:
Also on Malta
- St Paul's BayOne of the largest anchorages in the country, with good holding in sand and two uninhabited islands across the mouth of it.
- Slugs BayA tiny pocket of sand between two rock arms below Selmun — too small to be busy and too awkward to reach on foot.
- Fomm ir-RiħThe wildest bay on the island — blue clay cliffs, a pebble shore, no development at all, and a land route that has been closed off.
- Għar LapsiA sheltered rock pool under the Siġġiewi cliffs, with Filfla offshore and cave systems that divers come a long way for.