boat tour komodo national park

Set Sail on Your Dream Adventure: How to Choose the Best Komodo Islands Boat Tour

• 1 DISCOVER YOUR INDONESIA
• 2 What to Consider when Choosing a Komodo Islands Boat Tour
• 3 Open versus Private Trip
• 4.1 Standard Boat (with and without A/C)
• 4.2 Traditional Pinisi/Phinisi Boat
• 4.3 Luxury Boats/Yachts
• 5.1 Private Cabins
• 5.2 Shared Cabins
• 5.3 No Cabin
• 6.1.1 Private or Shared Bathroom
• 6.1.2 Toilet Type
• 6.1.3 Hot Water
• 6.2 Air Conditioning
• 6.3 Electricity and Plug Points
• 6.4.2 Activities
• 6.5 Lounging Deck
• 6.6 Allowances: Bringing onboard Alcohol and Snacks
• 7.1 Komodo Spotting at Rinca Island
• 7.2 Instagram-worthy Pink Beach
• 7.3 Jurassic Park Views at Padar Island
• 7.4 Snorkelling with Manta Rays at Manta Point
• 7.5 Snorkelling and Lounging at Kanawa Island
• 7.6 Breathtaking Colours and Views at Kelor Island
• 7.7 Snorkelling and Turtle spotting at Siaba
• 7.8 Flight of the Flying Foxes at Sunset from Kalong Island
• 8 Price of the Komodo Islands Boat tour
• 9.1 Komodo Liveaboard Tours
• 9.2 Luxury Komodo Tours
• 9.3 Komodo Day Tour Recommendations
• 10 Where Is Komodo Island
• 11.0.1 Flights from Bali
• 11.0.2 Flights from Jakarta
• 11.1 Bali to Komodo or Jakarta to Komodo
• 12 Best Time to Visit Komodo Island
• 13 Komodo Island Weather
• 14 Komodo Islands Boat Tour FAQ

Looking to embrace your inner Jurassic Park fantasy? Queue the music! The islands of Komodo in East Nusa Tenggara are home to the dinosaur-like Komodo Dragons. However if you’re thinking a Komodo Island tour is just for reptile lovers like myself, you’re completely mistaken!

The island of Komodo is a haven for travellers who are looking to escape the Bali bustle and hike a stunning landscape, swim with mantas and turtles, laze on a pink beach and sail on the calmest of oceans.

No time to read it all? I’ve got you!

Here are my ✨TOP KOMODO ISLAND BOAT TOUR PICKS✨

⛵ MOST RECENTLY REVIEWED PRIVATE MULTIDAY TOUR : Private 3D2N Komodo Islands Boat Tour (Private Boat) ➡️ BOOK IT

⛵ MOST BOOKED MULTIDAY TOUR : 3 Day 2 Night Phinisi Sailing Komodo Tour (Private Cabins) ➡️ BOOK IT

⛵ MOST REVIEWED DAY TOUR : 1 Day Shared Trip with Bintang Komodo Tours (Top pick if short on time) ➡️ BOOK IT

⛵ MOST BOOKED DAY TOUR : Full-Day Shared Komodo Speedboat Tour ➡️BOOK IT

⛵ BEST OF TOUR OF CONVENIENCE): 4-Day Private Tour with overnight boat stay and incl hotel stays (Best for a fully packed itinerary with all logistics covered) ➡️BOOK IT

Perfect for all travellers, the flora and fauna are Indonesia’s finest and as popularity increases for this coveted destination, there is a need for more information about planning a Komodo Island boat trip to this island! Komodo tours have become a bucket-list-worthy experience so I’m here to share all the information about which is the best boat tour to Komodo Island for you !

What I love even more about this incredible destination is that to tour Komodo, you have to travel by boat! Komodo island boat trips make for a lovely isolating adventure of seclusion, distance, and an ocean dip whenever you please.

⭐ This article covers how to choose a Komodo Island Boat tour which involves sleeping on the boat, there are however options that include one-day trips by boat from Labuan Bajo if you prefer to stay on land.

As there are a LARGE NUMBER of Komodo Island boat tours, this article outlines what factors you should consider when choosing a liveaboard/boat trip. Komodo Islands Indonesia is a powerhouse of a trip , BUT there’s a bit more to consider than just the price tag!

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What to Consider when Choosing a Komodo Islands Boat Tour

Open (Shared) or Private trip

Type of Boat: Standard/ Pinisi/ Yacht

Cabins: Private/shared/no cabin

Bathroom: Private/shared

Type of Toilet

Electricity

Air-conditioning

Maximum Capacity of the Boat

Lounging deck.

Allowing to Bringing aboard food/beverages

Destinations visited

Price of the Tour

⭐ TRAVELIST INSIGHT: I totally wish I had found an article like this before I toured Komodo Island because I spent more than a month figuring out all this information myself since it was my first live-aboard boat trip in Indonesia. I hope this helps you out too!

DISCLAIMER: Due to my budget (or lack thereof) I have unfortunately not been able to test every single tour offered to the Komodo Islands, however, I’ve sourced information from guests’ first-hand experiences, TripAdvisor reviews, and MY OWN personal experiences. Images of the boat and interiors depicted are a combination of my own as well as images sent from the various tour companies (they have been enhanced for aesthetic purposes of the blog. I hope this helps to make your decision on your Komodo tour package.

Open versus Private Trip

OPEN : (SHARING) You’re on a trip with other people in a group you don’t know i.e.: sharing the same boat

PRIVATE : Exclusive boat for yourself and/or your group

Types of Boat

In research of tours to Indonesia’s Komodo islands, you’ll find several offerings but they do not always specify which type of boat is being used.

It is important to know the type of boat being used as this will give you an indication of the amenities and number of people, type of cabins, and size of the boat you’ll travel and sleep within. The types are listed below:

Standard Boat (with and without A/C)

STANDARD BOAT WITHOUT AC: The standard boat is a smaller boat option with no air-conditioning and basic amenities (no hot water) , no private cabins (usually 8 to 12 people excluding crew). This can be used for an open or private trip.

STANDARD BOAT WITH AC: A smaller boat option with basic amenities (no hot water) and only sharing cabins (usually 8 to 12 people excluding crew). This can be used for an open or private trip.

Traditional Pinisi/Phinisi Boat

TRADITIONAL PINISI BOAT: Has private and shared cabin options. All cabins have air conditioning. It usually hosts between a minimum of 12 people and a maximum of 22 people. This can also be used for open or private trips.

Luxury Boats/Yachts

LUXURY BOAT/ YACHTS: These are often used for private tours of small groups and will have every amenity you could ask for along with stunning décor. I will not delve too much into this option as there are websites that have plenty of information about what is on offer on their own websites with this Komodo tour package.

Cabins: Private/ Shared/ No cabin

This is super important when travelling to Komodo Dragon Islands, especially because, unlike a hotel, there’s a finite number of rooms and it’s not like you can just move to another if you’re unhappy . There is no front desk or concierge to ring if you need something urgently.

You need to know what you’re getting in your Komodo trip BEFORE you get on the boat.

The cabin options will depend on the type of boat that’s used, but generally, there are two (but sometimes three) options: private or shared cabins.

Private Cabins

I’m unfortunately no longer in the backpacking stage of my life (or fortunately? Lol I’m not sure) , so my preference was a private cabin and private bathroom. On certain boats you will also find private cabins without a private bathroom, so you’ll need to make sure your Komodo package tour boat includes this.

Shared Cabins

Shared cabins are great if you’re travelling as a group or are keen to make friends and don’t mind sharing your space, but let me just say – space is a commodity on a boat!

If you’re a small backpack type-of-person it’ll be super easy to handle a shared cabin, but considering cabins are usually for a maximum of 4 or 6 people, that’s a lot of people !

Even if you’re an easy-going hostel frequenting traveller a shared cabin still is a lot smaller than most dormitories so it’s great if you’re with people you know already cause not everybody is considerate of other’s space.

I’ve seen on a couple of Komodo tour packages (mainly the larger boats) , that there is the option to sleep on deck! This is obviously an option for the very low-maintenance traveller that’s truly willing to embrace the ocean boat vibe! #decklife

It’s really a lovely option for the carefree traveller that doesn’t need the bells and whistles of an actual room and is simply happy embracing true boat life and sleeping below the stars.

The unfortunate downfall of this is that they obviously have nowhere to leave their belongings which obliviously has its security issues, nor have the option for any privacy.

Inside Cabin Amenities

On a boat, most bathroom amenities are basic unless you’re on a luxury yacht.

Private or Shared Bathroom

Many people do have a preference for a private bathroom so this can be a major decision-maker in the Komodo boat tour choosing process.

The Pinisi boat will have a basic shower system, a sink with or without running water, and a toilet.

The bathroom is usually of the Asian style which we usually call a wet room.

A wet room is basically where the shower, toilet, and sink are all in the same space, and whilst showering your toilet will also get wet.

If you’re looking for a great bathroom then you’re definitely going to need to go the luxury or yacht option!

Toilet Type

An important question would be to ask if they have an Asian (squat) toilet or a western-style toilet .

The water on the boat also usually won’t be drinkable, so make sure you have drinking water to brush your teeth but this is often provided in your Komodo island tour package s.

So this is definitely a luxury to find on a boat . There is often no hot water on the standard boats, On the Pinisi there sometimes will be hot water, on the luxury boats there will be hot water.

Given the tropical nature and humidity of Indonesia, you definitely think that needing hot water wouldn’t be a necessity and it isn’t .

Although being out on the ocean, the cooler sea breeze is prevalent and after a long day of swimming, beach lounging, and hiking, it’s nice to come back to a warm shower but it really isn’t necessary.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: The Phinisi boat we had, actually said that there wouldn’t be hot water and when we opened the shower and had warm water which was a welcome surprise – so the moral of the story is: Keep your expectations low!

Air Conditioning

A nice plus for the tour to Komodo National Park is for the cabin to have air conditioning! The space is pretty small so it’s great to have some air circulation even if the windows are open , the breeze doesn’t always get in.

Even if it’s just a wall-mounted fan it’s a great bonus to have in a room and especially so if you’re in a shared cabin.

Electricity and Plug Points

In this digital age, most people can’t go without electricity for a day. As we need electricity to keep the lights on, charge our phones, cameras, power banks, etc.

The boat runs on a generator system and because of this, most boats will turn the electricity off during the day. The electricity will usually be on in the evenings to allow you to charge your devices and use the A/C or fans to sleep and use the light in the cabin etc.

We really did not need to use electricity at all during the day because we were out and when travelling between islands we were on the deck relaxing anyway.

Charging your items during the night works perfectly or you could take the time to completely unplug from the world.

📱MOBILE NETWORK INSIGHT📶

When travelling through Komodo National Park, you will have phone signal access as there are many cellular towers. Certain mobile network providers work better in Komodo National Park. I recommend Telkomsel , as the Indosat network did not work in Labuan Bajo during my trip.

➡️ DELIVERY TO BALI HOTELS: 3G/4G Prepaid SIM Card by Javamifi (2K Reviews & 20K Booked) >> ORDER

➡️ PICK UP AT JAKARTA AIRPORT : 3G/4G SIM Card for Indonesia by JavaMifi (257 Reviews & 3K Booked) >> ORDER

Now you’re probably wondering why the heck would this have anything to do with why you should choose a Komodo boat trip?

Well, it matters for several reasons on your sailing Komodo trip.

The more people you have on the boat trip to Komodo Island, the more mouths there are to feed.

Unfortunately, when sharing your accommodations with others (especially people you don’t know) not everyone is courteous to other people when it comes to food and portion sizes.

TRAVELIST INSIGHTS: I’ve heard of experiences on the larger boats where some guests actually did not have lunch or dinner on certain occasions due to guests earlier in the queue literally taking everything and not leaving enough for the others. It got so bad that people would have to queue up for dinner earlier than necessary to ensure they got a decent meal!

We all know that when a boat sets sail for the trip, there’s a limited amount of rations but they cater for ‘X’ number of guests.

⭐ PERSONAL OPINION: For me, that’s really sad to hear. I think when you’re on a shared trip, you need to be accountable for yourself and the amount you eat and not treat the dinner table as your free for all buffet unless everyone has had a chance to eat.

The other reason why the number of guests on board is something to consider is when you’re out on activities. When it’s not a private tour, you need to be accommodating of the others on your trips when you’re going out for activities.

You often have to wait for the group before you can go head etc. or wait for everyone to be ready before you can depart.

Not everyone also enjoys the same activities.

The trip is pretty diverse in the sense that there’s a bit of hiking, beach lounging, snorkelling, swimming, etc and not everyone enjoys this.

So you might actually luck out when some people opt to stay on board for some activities whilst the other of the group gets a bit more attention.

It may be one of the reasons why you choose a private trip over an open trip.

In the same breath , it’s great to meet other people and share the magical experience with others, what’s also lovely is that it’s not only foreigners you’ll find on this trip. Komodo islands are something that many locals still want to experience.

This was an absolute must for me!

An area with bean bags to relax and watch the sunset or lounge whilst travelling between islands is literally the epitome of boat living!

Not all Komodo tours have this area to chill whilst travelling.

I think it’s quintessential to the Komodo islands cruise experience. Sunset, some good music from a wireless Bluetooth speaker, and cold drink = perfect tropical vacay!

Allowances: Bringing onboard Alcohol and Snacks

Although one may think you simply have the right to do so , it’s highly recommended to ask first that you can bring on board your own alcohol or snacks.

Being that Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, alcohol is not consumed by the majority of the population.

As a level of respect, it’s only courteous to ask if you can bring alcohol on board.

In saying that DON’T GO OVERBOARD – LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY!

Drink in moderation and don’t be an annoyance or inconvenience to others if you are on a shared/open trip.

TRAVELIST TIP:  If you’re coming from Jakarta or Bali, don’t pack your alcohol with you. Thankfully the supermarkets in Labuan Bajo are well-stocked with alcoholic options! Stock up on a few beers or wine for the trip at Roxy-mart or the Indomaret, there are plenty of little supermarkets across from the port landing which you can use to buy last-minute items.

Destinations Visited: Komodo Islands Must-See Attractions

These are the must-see attractions on your Komodo Islands Boat Tour, also check them out on the Komodo Island map to make sure it’s included in your Komodo island trip!

Komodo Spotting at Rinca Island

Rinca Island is also known as Komodo Dragon Island where you will find the conservation where the Komodo island dragons roam freely! As much as this is the main attraction of your Komodo trip, not everyone actually does this trip for the day Komodo dragon tour as you’ll see below, there are many other beautiful destinations on the trip.

Instagram-worthy Pink Beach

No, your eyes don’t deceive you , Komodo Island Pink Beach is an actual thing! This is not photo-shopped! The sand of Komodo Island’s Pink Beach gets its hue from thousands of broken coral pieces, shells, and calcium carbonate materials left behind by foraminifera.

📖 RELATED READ: Paint your world Pink at Pink Beach Komodo Island

Jurassic Park Views at Padar Island

This Padar Island view is your reward after a relatively steep walk, but gosh is it worth it . The walk usually starts at sunrise and reaching the top rewards you with stunning panoramic views of the unique rock formations of this Jurassic Park-esque type landscape!

📖 RELATED READ: Padar Island Hike – The most spectacular view on the Komodo Islands

Snorkelling with Manta Rays at Manta Point

Manta Rays , not to be confused with Sting Rays , are the gentle docile, and harmless floating creatures of the sea. Swimming with mantas was a bucket list activity that I never thought I’d ever had the opportunity to do. Depending on your season and time of day visiting will depend on how many you’re able to see.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE : We visited during the month of October. At the time of our trip and time heading to manta point, we saw plenty of manta rays. Our guide said that this had been the most they had seen at one time all year . We visited between 2 and 3 pm in the afternoon. It was honestly one of the greatest experiences of my entire life. I hope that you get that same experience too .

Snorkelling and Lounging at Kanawa Island

Breathtaking Colours and Views at Kelor Island

A short sand dune-ish walk to the top, but Wowza! The shades of blues and that mountain landscape are a wondrous feast for the eyes.

Snorkelling and Turtle spotting at Siaba

The place where you may be able to spot some elusive turtles! Unlike manta’s or Finding Nemo they don’t all swim together so seeing one or two is definitely a treat.

Flight of the Flying Foxes at Sunset from Kalong Island

I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life. At sunset, the flying foxes (which I confused for bats initially) leave the island to hunt for food.

The evening starts with you seeing a few dots leave the island and gradually those few dots become hundreds, then thousands. It was absolutely beautiful. It’s an amazing sight to see along with the dusky pink sunset views.

Price of the Komodo Islands Boat tour

⭐ COVID 19 DISCLAIMER: In light of COVID-19, the Komodo Island boat tour package prices may have changed while the tourism industry and economy try to recover.

This one is something you’re unfortunately not going to get a straight answer on because it will COMPLETELY DEPEND on the boat and tour package you choose.

The price person can range anything from IDR 2 000 000 to IDR 20 000 000+ per person.

What I would suggest is being clear on what you are getting with your tour package, i.e.: the amenities listed above, Komodo National Park entrance fees, any other additional fees, etc.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: At the time of booking our trip which was a 3 day 2-night liveaboard Pinisi boat with a private cabin (for 2 people- double bed), private bathroom, 3 meals a day, drinking water, and drop off at the airport we paid IDR 4 500 000 per person. This excluded flights to Labuan Bajo, accommodation before the boat trip and the Komodo National Park entry fees. This really was a bargain so it’s likely these prices have increased significantly.

⭐ SIDENOTE: We had priced this package from several providers and all pricing was along a similar line for what we were getting at the time.

Komodo Islands Boat Tour Recommendations

There will be many Komodo trips on offer. It will depend on whether you’re looking for a Komodo Island tour package, a trip from Labuan Bajo to Komodo island, a Komodo Flores tour, or Bali to Komodo tours etc. Regardless, the information above will help in choosing your Komodo Boat trips.

Komodo Liveaboard Tours

MOST RECENTLY REVIEWED: Private 3D2N Komodo Islands Boat Tour (Private Boat) ➡️ BOOK IT

MOST BOOKED MULTIDAY TOUR : 3 Day 2 Night Phinisi Sailing Komodo Tour (Private Cabins) ➡️ BOOK IT

Luxury Komodo Tours

This is where you will find your Komodo cruise/ boat tours/ luxury private charters and overall glamourous sailing boat life:

Ayana Komodo Cruise

Samata Luxury Liveaboard

Hello Flores

Barefoot Yachting

Komodo Day Tour Recommendations

If you’re just looking for a Labuan Bajo Komodo tour for the day , then these are just as easy to find without too much decision-making with regards to the type of boat to choose. If you’re not keen to sleep on a boat, here’s a couple of well-rated and reviewed day trips to Komodo Island from Labuan Bajo:

MOST REVIEWED DAY TOUR : 1 Day Shared Trip with Bintang Komodo Tours (Top pick if short on time) ➡️ BOOK IT

MOST BOOKED DAY TOUR : Full-Day Shared Komodo Speedboat Tour ➡️BOOK IT

VIATOR BADGE OF EXCELLENCE: 1 Day Komodo Trip By Luxury Fast Boat Join Group ➡️BOOK IT

NEED A HOTEL BEFORE TO YOUR KOMODO BOAT TRIP?

📖 RELATED READ: 17 Stunning Labuan Bajo Hotels – Where to Stay in Labuan Bajo (all budgets)

Where Is Komodo Island

Komodo Islands are located in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara . So I can reach Komodo from Flores and not travel to Labuan Bajo? Yes, there are several Flores Komodo tours but you will find it’s easier to find a Komodo island tour from Labuan Bajo.

How to get to Komodo Island

So you’re dying to see a Komodo dragon, but not sure how to get there? I recommend a Komodo boat trip from Labuan Bajo. Labuan Bajo is the seaside town from which most Komodo island tours depart. Check out the Komodo Islands map for location reference.

Flights to Komodo island are mainly from bigger cities like Jakarta, Bali, and Lombok . The is also an option to do a Lombok to Komodo boat trip. The Komodo island tour from Lombok however only leaves from a certain cit y so most find it easier to leave from Labuan Bajo if they’re flying in from Jakarta or Bali .

Flights from Bali

BALI TO LABUAN BAJO FLIGHT SCHEDULE

BALI TO LABUAN BAJO : CHECK FLIGHT TIMES/DAY AVAILABILITY AND PRICES WITH 12GO

Flights from Jakarta

When I first visited Labuan Bajo, I travelled from Jakarta. Unfortunately, pre-covid I couldn’t find any direct flights from Jakarta (or I couldn’t find any :/) but now thankfully there are!!!

JAKARTA TO LABUAN BAJO FLIGHT SCHEDULE

{POST-COVID-19}  Current Available flights from Jakarta (DPS) to Labuan Bajo (LBJ)  Unfortunately flights are not always available daily. Will update as more airlines start flying this route

JAKARTA TO LABUAN BAJO :  CHECK FLIGHT TIMES/DAY AVAILABILITY AND PRICES WITH 12GO

Bali to Komodo or Jakarta to Komodo

⭐ PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: From Bali to Komodo Islands is an easy flight. I suggest flying from Bali to Komodo airport in Labuan Bajo. We flew from Jakarta and then to the Komodo islands from Bali as a transit . The Bali to Komodo island flight time is 1 hour.

Can you do a Komodo tour from Bali? Yes. Try this tour to Komodo Island from Bali by Viator

Best Time to Visit Komodo Island

Komodo National Park tours take place mainly during the dry season in Indonesia which is April to November. We visited the Komodo National Park islands in October.

Komodo Island Weather

The weather of the Komodo Islands is slightly cooler than the humidity you’ll find in Java, Indonesia. Temperatures are still very warm, despite the ocean breeze. Light airy quick-dry clothing is recommended. 

Komodo Islands Boat Tour FAQ

For the above attractions of Komodo, Komodo dragons, snorkelling, island hopping, etc we managed to see everything in a 3-day 2-night tour.

The Komodo Island closure was announced in 2019, however, after consideration, the announcement was amended to reflect that the Komodo National Park will only allow a limited number of guests per year.

Unfortunately no , there are no hotels or accommodation on Komodo island. There are two options. Stay on the boat called known as Komodo liveaboard tour or do a one-day trip from Labuan Bajo meaning you leave in the morning and return to shore at night to stay in your hotel.

Not sure how to get to Komodo Island from Bali? Well, yes you can do a Komodo island tour from Bali , but usually, this will still involve you flying to Labuan Bajo to start the tour there and will just include the airfare for the flights. Check this one out from Viator. Most Komodo island trips leave from Labuan Bajo.

Visiting the Komodo Islands in Indonesia is a truly bucket list worthy experience for any traveller!

I hope that this guide has helped make the decision on which tour is for you, SO BOOK YOUR TOUR and let me know about how much of a great time you had!

Affiliate Disclosure : Some of the links in the article have affiliate links,  what this means is , if you click a link and make a purchase I may earn some money to buy a coffee  (whoohoo!) . Thanks for the support, I’d love to keep making this content freely available to all. As always opinions and thoughts remain my own.

19 thoughts on “Set Sail on Your Dream Adventure: How to Choose the Best Komodo Islands Boat Tour”

Thank you so much for sharing this post. I am planning to travel to Komodo Islands. Because I don’t know much information, your article has helped me a lot. All questions I can find answers in your post.

So glad to hear you found it useful 🙂

Dear Kily, this is one of the best info web from Komodo island, absolutey extraordinary. Living in a volcanic island on the other side of the planet, it has been very pleasant to read and enjoy the pictures and your comments. I,m preparing my winter trip to Indonesia. I will keep you in mind Best regards Patricio

Dear Kaylini, we’re a family of 4 from Portugal, preparing our visit in August. Can’t wait 🙂 We want to thank you for your wonderful blog and for sharing your experience. This is SO useful for anyone preparing their visit! One question though, is if you do recommend the Klook operator. We’re almost going ahead with it, but always good to hear from someone who already tried. Thanks again ! Claudia & Jose

Hi, which company did you use for your 3D2N trip? 🙂

Hi Kaylini, many thanks. Your post is well done, super detailed and very helpful !!!

However I remain confused about the islands referred to as Komodo Islands ? Is it Rinca Island, Komodo Island or both ? And which one is best to get a chance to observe Komodos ?

I am looking a 3D-2N open trip with a private cabin for a family of four. Should I expect the tour to visit both Rinca and Komodo (ie National Park) islands ?

And is there by chance a couple local travel agencies that you would recommend ? Which one did you use ?

Thank you ! Alex

Thanks, this is super helpful, also for how to get there from Bali. Great article!

Thank you so much for this. Super helpful. I feel like I have a different plan in mind. My friend and I don’t want to stay on the boat. We’d like to take a boat out for the day from Labuan Bajo and only see a couple of sites then repeat the next day. Is this a good or viable option? We don’t like the crowd of tours and we don’t dive or snorkel.

Hi Jasmine! Im so happy that you found the article helpful! I totally understand. We had a number of people on our boat tri that didnt snorkel either. The day trip option is defiitely viable. There are a number of day trip options available that still give you the same opportunity to see the Komodo Islands sights. you might find this article helpful: https://www.thecuratedtravelist.com/komodo-island-tours/ my first two options are recommended day tours. These tours might be worth looking at

What tour did you pick?

Hi Heather, We did the 3D2N multiday tour boat trip

Great post thank you for all the helpful info. Do you recommend booking in advance for the overnight (3/4 days) boat tour or can I turn up to Labuan Bajo and book for the day after? Thank you!

Hi Jess! Thanks so much for the comment, We booked in advance to guarantee we got a boat with a private cabin and bathroom. For me, it depends on what type of boat youre going with. If its a open/sharing trip then you might be ok with booking once you arrive in Labuan Bajo, but if youre looking for a private boat or a private cabin on a sharing boat then you’ll definitely need to book a little bit ahead of time.

I forgot to say we are looking at visiting in July/August.

Yay, thats a great time to visit. See me prev comment regarding the booking 🙂

Super helpful. Thank you

Thanks Verity, Glad you found it useful 🙂

Very helpful, thank you!!

Thanks Jan, So glad you found it helpful 🙂

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THE 10 BEST Komodo National Park Boat Tours

Boat tours in komodo national park.

• Speed Boats Tours
• Scuba & Snorkeling
• Nature & Wildlife Tours
• Up to 1 hour
• 1 to 4 hours
• 4 hours to 1 day
• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3.0 of 5 bubbles & up
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• Padar Island
• Taka Makassar Island
• Komodo Island
• Manta Point
• The ranking of tours, activities, and experiences available on Tripadvisor is determined by several factors including the revenue generated by Tripadvisor from these bookings, the frequency of user clicks, and the volume and quality of customer reviews. Occasionally, newly listed offerings may be prioritized and appear higher in the list. The specific placement of these new listings may vary.

1. One day Komodo trip with Bintang Komodo Tours

2. Komodo Tour 3D/2N Live on Board -Join Group Category-Share Cabin

3. Sunset at Komodo Island

4. 1 Day Komodo Trip By Shared Luxury Fast Boat

5. Full-Day Adventure Tour to komodo Island with join Speed Boat tur

6. 3 Days Komodo island Tour

7. 1 Day Komodo Trip by Private Fast Boat

8. One Day Trip to Komodo National Park, using a luxury fast boat

9. Komodo Private tour 3Days 2 Night

10. Komodo Day Tour to explore 5 Islands and 3 Snorkeling Experience

11. 3-Day Komodo island Tour with or without Roundtrip Flight From Bali

12. 3Days Komodo Tour by Private Boat for 10 pax

13. Komodo Day Shared Speedboat Tour

14. 1- day Komodo island Tour hopping around by Speed Boat

15. One Day Tours Komodo - Padar Island

16. 1- day Komodo Island Hopping Tour by Speed Boat departure From Labuan bajo

17. Komodo Sailing cruise

18. Komodo island Trip:Rinca,Kelor,Menjarite,Bidadari and Rangko Cave

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Valerie was born and raised on Flores Island and because of her growing up in a small village near Sano Nggoang Lake, she has a strong connection to the untouched nature and local people of her home island. As a child, she wanted to become an English teacher to teach the local kids the language and also because she knows how difficult it is to get an education, and she wanted to have a positive impact on developing the education system. However, when her parents were hosting some tourists at their house, she was fascinated by the fact that other people come to see her village and she wanted even more people to explore and experience the place she grew up in. That’s when she decided to work in tourism and started to follow that path.

After graduating from Tourism High School in Labuan Bajo, Valerie gained 9 years of experience working as a boat tour guide, in a dive shop, and in hotels and hostels. But despite enjoying those jobs, she felt limited in her ability to make the meaningful impact that she wanted to have starting from a young age and so she decided to start her own company.

Through Best Tour Komodo, she aims to protect the untouched nature of Komodo National Park and Flores Island, help the local community, and make her guests happy by helping them get unforgettable memories in the place she grew up in and loves.

Our Roots and Our Vision

Best Tour Komodo is a locally owned and operated tour company that specializes in providing top-quality boat trips, overland tours, and diving excursions to the Komodo National Park and Flores Island. Our company is owned and managed by Valerie, a woman with over 9 years of experience in the tourism industry, including work in dive shops, as a boat tour guide, and in hotels and hostels. We are committed to offering a wide range of tour options to suit the needs and interests of our clients, and we pride ourselves on our attention to detail and customer service. We also prioritize protecting the environment and supporting the local people, as part of our commitment to sustainable tourism. Our knowledgeable and experienced staff, led by Valerie, will ensure that your boat trip, overland tour, or diving excursion is both enjoyable and informative, and we are confident that you will have a memorable experience with us. Contact us today to start planning your dream tour to the beautiful Komodo National Park and Flores Island.

Top Destinations

Komodo National Park (4 tours)

Cunca Wulang Waterfall (1 tour)

Flores Island (2 tours)

Komodo Island (4 tours)

Padar Island (4 tours)

Sano Nggoang Crater Lake (1 tour)

More top destinations, what our guests say, highly recommended.

Very good experience!!

I recommend it 100%, popular trips.

Experience Komodo National Park and the beauty of Flores Island on one of our popular boat trips and overland tours!

2D1N Boat Trip Komodo – Explore the Beauty and the Wildlife of the region

Day Trip Flores – Cunca Rami Waterfall and Sano Nggoang Crater Lake

4D3N Boat Trip- Labuan Bajo to Lombok

Boat Trip ( 5 Tours )

Overland Trip ( 1 Tour )

Scuba Diving

Special offers.

Get the ultimate Komodo National Park and Flores Island experience for a low price with one of our discounted trips!

Komodo Speed Boat Tour (Shared) – Fast & Famous: Komodo Sail

Day Trip Labuan Bajo, Flores – Cunca Wulang Waterfall, Batu Cermin, Rangko Cave, and sunset

Half-Day Boat Trip Rinca Island – Beach, Komodo Dragons, and Sunset

Need information.

If you need any information regarding a boat trip, overland tour, diving excursion, recommendations for restaurants, bars, nightlife, or locations around Komodo National Park, Flores Island, and Labuan Bajo don’t hesitate to contact us via E-Mail, Phone, Instagram, or WhatsApp. We are always happy to help!

Verified and Trusted Suppliers

All off our suppliers for boat trips, drivers for overland tours and tour guides are handpicked and verified by us to guarantee an unforgettable experience

Supporting Locals

One of our utmost focus is to try and support the local community by working together as much as possible with people living in, or nearby the destination.

Priority on Customer Satisfaction

We want to see our customers happy. That's why we try our best to find the perfect boat trip and overland tour for your needs and to answer all your questions.

Local and well informed tour guides

All our tour guides are from Flores Island and know everything about it. So don't be shy and ask them about anything related to Komodo National Park and Flores Island.

If you can not decide which boat trip, overland tour or diving trip you should book, don't hesitate to contact us via E-Mail, Phone, WhatsApp, or Instagram. We try to always be available and to respond as fast as possible.

Multilingual

Our Team is fluent in English, Italian, German, and Indonesian. So if you have difficulties with english, you can also text us in one of the languages mentioned above.

Entrance Fee Komodo National Park December 2023

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THE 10 BEST Komodo National Park Boat Tours

Boat tours in komodo national park.

• Speed Boats Tours
• Scuba & Snorkeling
• Nature & Wildlife Tours
• Up to 1 hour
• 1 to 4 hours
• 4 hours to 1 day
• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 2.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• Padar Island
• Taka Makassar Island
• Komodo Island
• Manta Point
• The ranking of tours, activities, and experiences available on Tripadvisor is determined by several factors including the revenue generated by Tripadvisor from these bookings, the frequency of user clicks, and the volume and quality of customer reviews. Occasionally, newly listed offerings may be prioritized and appear higher in the list. The specific placement of these new listings may vary.

1. One day Komodo trip with Bintang Komodo Tours

2. Komodo Tour 3D/2N Live on Board -Join Group Category-Share Cabin

3. Sunset at Komodo Island

4. 1 Day Komodo Trip By Shared Luxury Fast Boat

5. Full-Day Adventure Tour to komodo Island with join Speed Boat tur

6. 3 Days Komodo island Tour

7. 1 Day Komodo Trip by Private Fast Boat

8. Komodo Private tour 3Days 2 Night

9. Komodo Day Shared Speedboat Tour

10. Komodo Day Tour to explore 5 Islands and 3 Snorkeling Experience

11. 3-Day Komodo island Tour with or without Roundtrip Flight From Bali

12. 3Days Komodo Tour by Private Boat for 10 pax

13. 1- day Komodo island Tour hopping around by Speed Boat

14. One Day Trip to Komodo National Park, using a luxury fast boat

15. One Day Tours Komodo - Padar Island

16. 1- day Komodo Island Hopping Tour by Speed Boat departure From Labuan bajo

17. Komodo Sailing cruise

18. Komodo island Trip:Rinca,Kelor,Menjarite,Bidadari and Rangko Cave

Keep the fun going with other experiences in the area.

Rangko Cave & Beach Snorkeling Half Day Sharing Trip Labuan Bajo

6 Days Experience the Fantastic of Flores

What travellers are saying.

Tristao Travels

A Literary Travel Blog

Liveaboard Boat Tour in Komodo National Park: 2D/1N Itinerary

What’s the best way to see Komodo National Park? By boat , of course! Komodo National Park is a series of islands off the coast of Flores, one of Indonesia’s biggest islands. The main harbor for Komodo National Park boat tours is in Labuan Bajo. [If you aren’t interested in planning your own trip and just want to read about our experience, feel free to skip to “What happens on the tour?” Also, we are not a tour operator and we were not compensated by any tour agency to write this post. We just wanted to share our experience and answer any questions you might have!]

Article Contents

Getting to Komodo National Park When and Where to Book Your Tour What to Know Before Booking Komodo National Park Packing List Tour Itinerary: Day 1 Tour Itinerary: Day 2

What’s the best way to get to Komodo National Park?

You can fly from Denpasar (Bali) to Labuan Bajo (Flores) on multiple airlines; prices generally range from $60 to $75 USD for a one-way ticket. You can also take a boat tour from Lombok (the island between Bali and Flores) to Labuan Bajo, which generally takes four days and three nights. (If you choose this option, you might not also want to do a liveaboard boat in Komodo NP as described in this post, depending on where your 4D/3N boat stops. But you might still find this post useful for general information and our experiences at certain places along the way.)

Note: We visited Komodo National Park in January 2020. Currently, there are plans to increase the fee to visit Komodo Island to around ~$250 USD in 2023. Please be sure to research the current tourism situation at Komodo Island before booking any tours. Even if Komodo Island costs an exorbitant amount of money, see if other islands in the national park are charging lower fees. We didn’t even visit Komodo Island on our tour, and we still saw the Komodo dragons [pictured above] and had a great time.

How far ahead should you book your tour?

Although you can find many Komodo National Park boat tours online , we recommend waiting until you arrive in Labuan Bajo to book your trip, mostly for the price. Whereas day trips online cost upwards of $120 USD per person, we were able to book a 2D/1N boat tour in person for only $65 USD per person, so the in-person savings are pretty huge.

The caveat to this would be if you want an air-conditioned cabin. If you don’t want to sleep on the deck, you might need to book before your arrival, or there may only be deck space left. If budget is not a huge issue for you, you can opt for a private boat tour, which will cost you upwards of $400 USD pp, and you can usually book those a day or two before in person.

What questions should I ask before I choose a tour?

When booking a boat tour for Komodo National Park, be sure to get the following information:

• What meals are included? How about snacks or drinks? Is filtered water unlimited? (On our tour, all meals were included, plus an afternoon snack and unlimited coffee, tea and water. We still recommend bringing some snacks as you don’t control meal times, and there were times we got hungry.) • Are tickets to Komodo National Park included? (Most boat tours don’t include the ticket prices, and they cost almost as much as the tour itself! In addition to the entry fees, there are individual fees for rangers, hiking, snorkeling, etc., on the different islands, so the fees can add up. When we visited, it was about $45 USD per person for two days’ admission and activities, and we needed enough cash on hand to pay for the tickets from the boat.) • Is snorkeling gear included? (It should be!) • What is the maximum capacity of the boat and how many passengers are already booked? (And of course–where will you be sleeping?)

What should I pack?

We recommend leaving your bags at your accommodations in Labuan Bajo and only taking what you need on the boat. This includes:

• Basic toiletries (pretty much just toothpaste and deodorant, as there was no shower on our boat) • Something to sleep in (modest, as we were sleeping on a deck with others) • Swimsuit • Towel • Sunglasses & hat • Sunscreen (reef-friendly if possible!) & bug spray • Book/cards/games for offline entertainment • Portable battery pack • Sarong or another easy swimsuit cover-up • Comfortable shoes and clothes for a few gentle hikes (our Teva sandals were sufficient) • Snacks and soft drinks/beer if you want more than what is available on the boat

We were limited to what we already had in our backpacks for the entire year ( see Megan’s packing list here , see Jonathan’s here ) , but if we were on a shorter trip, the following items would have also been useful:

• Rash guard • Water shoes • Dry bag

What happens on the tour?

Of course, this will vary slightly depending on which tour you pick, but most liveaboard trips visit the same popular places. Below is a detailed itinerary of where we went and what we did during our 2D/1N tour. If you are interested in booking a longer and/or private option, check out Organized Adventurer for a review of a 3D/2N private liveaboard boat tour in Komodo National Park .

8:30 a.m. | We met at our tour operator’s office ( Alexandra Komodo Tour ) to get our snorkeling gear and be led to the boat, which was docked at Labuan Bajo Harbor.

9:30 a.m. | After a short delay (one group thought they had booked a private boat, so be sure to double-check with your tour operator if you want a private tour!), we departed from the dock to start our tour.

10:45 a.m. | The ride to our first stop was a little bouncy over the open water, but nothing unbearable. We spent about an hour at our first stop, Kelor Island . There was a small boat that took passengers to the island for a short hike , but we opted to snorkel right off the big boat for the entire stop. (Others who went on the hike said there was not much to see, so sounds like we didn’t miss out!)

12 p.m. | We had lunch (steamed rice, noodles and one fish and one veggie entree) on the boat on the way to our next stop, Menjerite Island [pictured above].

12:45 p.m. | We arrived at Menjerite Beach for an hour of snorkeling before leaving for the highlight of the day: Rinca Island!

3:15 p.m. | We arrived on Rinca Island , part of Komodo National Park, around 3:15 p.m. The national park entry fees were not included in our tour, so our guide collected our cash (600,000 IDR pp) during the boat ride to Rinca and bought our tickets on arrival.

Our time on Rinca Island included a guided walk around the island to see the famous Komodo dragons . You are pretty much guaranteed to see dragons near the rangers’ office on this island, but we were also fortunate to see some on our hike. There are few lengths of ranger walks available on Rinca; our tour included the hour-long walk , which takes you to the top of the island [pictured above]. You can see your boat in the harbor from this viewpoint.

The hike ends at the rangers’ office, where you can take some touristy photos with the dragons and also buy cold drinks or snacks. We bought some postcards at the rangers’ office, but I saw the same postcards at the Labuan Bajo airport for about 25 percent of the price so … I advise you wait to buy postcards. 😉

5 p.m. | Our tour of Rinca Island ended around 4:45, and we were back on the boat by 5 p.m. to head to our sunset spot: Kalong Island. The boat staff greeted us with a snack of fresh fruit when we boarded the boat—yum!

6 p.m. | We arrived at Kalong Island , also known as the “flying foxes island,” to watch thousands (millions?!) of flying foxes leave the island at dusk to find food on another island. (Spoiler alert: The flying foxes are bats. Huge, terrifying bats. But it is pretty amazing to see their nightly migration!) We watched the bats from about 6:15 to 6:40 p.m., then it was time to move on to our sleeping spot. Dinner was similar to lunch (rice, noodles and two “main” options).

FYI, all meals were served on the front deck of the boat [indicated by the yellow arrow in the below photo], which is also where many passengers chose to sit and hang out during our trips between stops.

8:45 p.m. | We got into bed around 8:45 p.m., while we were still headed to our final destination for the day, so I’m not sure when we actually arrived at our docking point. There were 21 passengers on our boat, but only six of us slept “open air” on the dock, so I guess there was enough room for 15 passengers in the AC cabins (plus crew quarters) belowdeck, which was surprising!

I neglected to take a photo of the sleeping deck [circled area in above photo], which is a bummer because it was actually quite comfortable. There were four double mattresses laid out (one of ours was empty, but another couple said they came up during the night to use it because the AC in the cabins turned off, so maybe the open-air deck is actually a better option), and the crew made the beds up with sheets and pillows before evening. I actually slept much better than I expected—more soundly than I have on some camping trips and overnight bus/train trips, so nothing to complain about here.

5:30 a.m. | The crew woke us up before sunrise for a hike on Padar Island (also part of Komodo National Park, so part of our 600,000 IDR entrance fees were for this island). The hike is fairly steep at parts but not too long; we reached the top [view pictured above] in less than 30 minutes. From the viewpoint, you can see three beaches with different-colored sands: pink, white and black [clockwise from top left].

7:15 a.m. | The sun rose while we were at the top, so it was much lighter on our hike back down [pictured above]. We headed back to the boat and departed for our next stop around 7:15 a.m. Breakfast was served on the way. (Instant coffee, tea and filtered water were always available for self-service on the lower deck.)

9 a.m. | After a pleasant boat ride (during which we saw several pink beaches from the boat), we stopped at one for an hour of snorkeling and sand-gawking. I had seen many edited photos of pink beaches on social media, but I also knew those photos were super-saturated, so I honestly was pleased at how pink the sand was in real life [unedited Go Pro footage pictured above].

11:30 a.m. | We arrived at Manta Point for the most epic snorkeling of the trip: manta rays AND a sea turtle!! [The above photos are stills from our GoPro footage, so apologies for the low quality.] When Jonathan and I first jumped off the boat, the crew started calling to us and pointing straight down—there was a HUGE manta ray swimming right below us. It was awesome. We also saw three more manta rays and a sea turtle at this spot.

1 p.m. | We had lunch a little after 1 p.m. on our way to our final stop. We could not visit the location originally listed on our tour description because the current was too strong, so we visited Angel Island instead. (Note all tour operators for liveaboard boats in Komodo National Park reserve the right to exchange or skip spots based on water conditions; luckily we were still able to visit Manta Point, which is apparently a common trouble point that boats skip.)

3:45 p.m. | We arrived at Angel Island for one last bout of snorkeling and left around 4:30 to return to the dock.

5 p.m. | We arrived back at the Labuan Bajo Harbor around 5 p.m. and returned our snorkeling gear to our tour operator by 5:30 p.m. It was then time for a shower and fish tacos with our new Dutch friends we met on the boat!

Overall, our overnight boat tour in Komodo National Park was definitely one of the highlights from our two weeks in Indonesia, and we highly recommend the experience. If you have a boat with a shower and air-conditioning, you might want to consider a 3D/2N trip, but we thought the 2D/1N was plenty sufficient for us. It seems like the longer boat trips just stop at more snorkeling/hiking spots, and we were happy with the amount we did.

Any questions? Please feel free to comment below or contact us directly if you have a more personal question.

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Megan is a librarian by training, currently on a journey around the world with her husband, Jonathan. She enjoys visiting bookstores, libraries and coffeeshops while traveling.

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Guide to Taking a 3-Day Komodo Islands Boat Tour from Flores

Taking a Komodo Island-Hopping Boat Tour is the best activity you can do on any trip to Indonesia. Typically visited on multi-day tours through the Komodo Islands Archipelago, Komodo Cruises do not set sail directly from Bali, but from the islands of Flores and Lombok. You need at least 3-days to visit the Komodos, and many travelers (including myself) consider it the highlight of their trip to Bali & Indonesia – Trust me, the Komodos are well worth visiting!

✔️ Essential Information

• 💵 Price: Around $550 per person private room / $250 pp dorm.
• 📍 Location: Boats sail to/from Lombok and Labuan Bajo, Flores
• ⏳ Duration: Most tours are 3 days / 2 nights.
• 👉 Note! Tours don’t run from January-March (Rainy Season)
• 🍺 All-inclusive , except for alcohol
• ✈️ Getting to Flores from Bali: 1-hour flight
• 🏆 Best tour company: I recommend Wanua Adventure
• 🚢 Different types of Komodo Boat Tours for any style of traveler or budget. → Read my guide to the different types of boat tours.

Some links on my site are affiliate links that help support my site at no additional cost to you. Read more on my privacy policy page.

The Best Komodo Boat Tour

If you’re looking for a tour recommendation, this open tour has both luxury & budget options.

All About Komodo National Park

Komodo National Park is a famous UNESCO world heritage site in Indonesia that became popular around 10 years ago with travelers looking to go beyond Bali to find pristine beaches and adventure. Komodo National Park is composed of almost  thirty separate islands,  some huge and some  super tiny. 

Each island in Komodo is incredibly distinct and worth a visit, and while you could just pick one island and stay as there are a few Resorts in Komodo National Park, most people choose to go “island hopping” and stay overnight on a boat instead. 

✔️ Quick Guide – Different Cruise Types

Is komodo national park closing.

🚨 UPDATE! 🚨 The Indonesian government has decided to scrap the idea to raise prices to Komodo Island! The entrance fee remains 550K ($35) for foreigners and 250K ($16) for Indonesians! 

There have been some issues in the past few years about the future of tourism in Komodo National Park. In 2019 Nine men were arrested for  stealing and trafficking Komodo Dragons  to sell overseas, which is both highly illegal and  terrible  for the natural Komodo Dragon population. The Indonesian government first planned to completely shut down Komodo Island as a response, and the locals who live off of the tourism generated by the park protested. The new plan is to raise the cost of entrance to Komodo National Park from what it is now, around 550K ($35) for foreigners, and 250K ($16) for Indonesians, to around 3.75 million Rupiah ($244). 

Locals from Labuan Bajo and the Komodo Islands who depend on tourism have been actively protesting the price hike, as they see it as a direct attack on their economy – as of right now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens! What does seem certain at this time is that even if they increase the admission price to Komodo National Park, the Indonesian government seems to have lost interest in closing the islands for tourism completely. 

Where Is Komodo Island Located?

Komodo Island is located in Komodo National Park, which is a cluster of islands off the coast of Flores. Flores is an island in the Indonesian Archipelago that belongs to the East Nusa Tenggara Province. You can see on the map that Komodo & Flores are far east of the island of Bali, where most travelers fly. The islands of Lombok and Sumbawa lie between Bali and Komodo National Park, making overland transport between the two islands difficult.

How To Get To Komodo From Bali

You cannot fly directly from Bali to Komodo, and all travelers need to arrange transportation to Labuan Bajo, Flores, first. Labuan Bajo is also called the “Gateway to the Komodos” because it’s the port city all the cruises embark from. The only way to get from Bali to Labuan Bajo is by taking a short flight from Bali’s Denpasar Airport. These flights run multiple times a day, take around 1-hour, and usually cost $30-50 each way. 👉 Read my more detailed guide on how to get to/from Bali to the Komodos

Best Time To Visit Komodo National Park

Indonesia doesn’t have winter, spring, summer, and fall – instead, they only have two seasons: the dry and the wet. You’ll want to visit Komodo National Park during the dry season which stretches from April – to October. I sailed in Komodo at the beginning of the wet season in November and didn’t have any problems with the weather personally, but the people who sailed the weekend before me in mid-November had it rain the whole weekend!  So it’s better to go in the dry season if you can. 

Do You Need A Tour To Visit Komodo?

YES – You 100% need a tour to enter Komodo National Park. It’s actually  illegal  to visit the Komodo Islands without a guide, plus they can only be accessed via boat. So, it’s not a DIY kind of tourist location and you need a tour. 

Is Komodo worth visiting from Bali?

Komodo National Park is not an  easy  place to visit from Bali, since you need multiple days to explore the Komodo Islands + you have to take a short flight to Flores. But, in my personal opinion, it’s one of the most worthwhile things you can do in Indonesia.

💰Prices & How To Book A Komodo Open Tour

You can book your Komodo boat tour online through  Klook , which is a popular tour provider in Indonesia that accepts foreign credit cards. These tours can be “Open Tours” which means you’re just booking a spot. Usually, the open tours have up to 12 passengers on a boat. Or, you can book a Private Boat  tour where you charter the entire boat and crew for larger groups or families. As a solo traveler, I just booked a spot on an Open Tour. You have the option to get a room with bunk beds, usually a room of four, or a private room for a higher fee.

💰 Price of a Komodo Cruise: Komodo boat tours aren’t fixed rates and vary in price by the type of boat and room you book. My Komodo Cruise was only around $250 per person, but it was for a bed in a bunk-bed room. For a private cabin expect prices to be around $400-500 per person. This is the cheapest tour I’ve found , it’s less than $200 for three days.

💡 Tip: You need to bring cash to pay the entrance fee to Komodo National Park – It’s currently 550K Indonesian Rupiah ($35) per person.

🚨 Note: Most of the tour companies related to Komodo Cruises are just travel agents that work with independent boat owners – So make sure you see photos of the actual boat you’ll be staying on before you book!

Explore The Different Komodo Boat Tours You Can Book Online ⤵ 👉 -> Click Here to Explore Komodo Sailing Trips! <- 👈

12 Things You Can Do on a Komodo Boat Tour

1. get up close with the komodo dragons.

I’m going to be completely honest, seeing the Komodo Dragons on the eponymous Komodo Island was the least impressive part of visiting Komodo National Park . The Komodo Dragons are amazing animals that are deadly hunters with venomous saliva lethal to humans. That being said, the reason the island is open for tourism despite these deadly animals is because the locals feed the Komodos. Since the dragons are reptiles, most of their energy is spent on digesting – If you’re lucky, you’ll see one walking on the beach. But more likely than not, the Komodos will be sleeping off their big meals while tourists get their photos taken by their guides in front of them.

2. Visit the Famous Pink-Sand Beach

Komodo’s Pink Beach gets its candy-hued sand from the ground-up coral. The pink color is made bolder when it’s wet, so you’ll find the most beautiful pink sand at the ocean’s edge. In addition to being pink, I found Pink Beach was all-around one of the nicest beaches I’ve visited in Indonesia. There’s great snorkeling off the coast of the beach, and the white/pink sand coupled with  impossibly blue  water made for the perfect setting. 

3. Go Kayaking At Pink Beach

Kayaking at Pink Beach was just perfect. There was no tide on the crystal-clear blue water, making it super easy for us to explore the whole bay. We kayaked around all the boats docked at Pink Beach and the photographer on our tour took some  gorgeous  drone shots of us while we were out having fun that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life <3. 

4. Swim With The Giant Manta Rays (!!!!) At Manta Point

When we set off to do this excursion on the second day, the guides were trying to prepare us from disappointment in case there weren’t any mantas around. They are wild animals after all, and while the tour operators know their migration patterns it’s not a 100% guarantee you will see them. I’m happy to report that this experience completely surpassed my expectations. I was swimming along with at least 10 giant manta rays in an ocean corridor where they flock. 

Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? That movie was one of my favorites as a kid – there’s one scene where the main character Nemo and his little friends are off to school, and the “school bus” is a giant Manta Ray where all the little fish hop on. One of the coolest things to see was that this scene from the movie was based on real life! There were a ton of tiny little fish swimming under the Giant Manta Rays in Komodo National Park – just like in the movie! (Although it was too far for me to see if any of them were Clown Fish, like Nemo). 

🚩 Ethical Issues  – The Manta Rays at Manta Point in Komodo National Park aren’t fed, and you’re observing them from a good 10-20 foot distance, so   swimming with the Manta Rays was an ethical animal encounter.

5. Climb to the Viewpoint at Padar Island for Sunrise/Sunset 

The viewpoint at Padar Island is quickly becoming one of the most iconic photo spots in Indonesia. You’ll need to complete a 20- to 30-minute staircase hike to reach the viewpoint. Most Komodo boat tour operators schedule a stop at Padar Island either for sunrise or sunset, ensuring you get the best views of the island.

6. Visit Taka Makassar Island 

Taka Makassar is technically a sandbar in the middle of the Komodo Sea, and it would be paradise – IF it weren’t for the 100 other people there when we went 😅. Our boat pulled up at the same time all the other tours did, so it was a bit too crowded to be enjoyable. But I’ve seen some photos from private tours to Taka Makassar that make it look like a deserted island.  

7. Watch The Bats Make Their Sunset Migration At Kalong Island 

Every day at sunset the bats fly out from Kalong Island, where they all nest as a herd, to go hunt for the night. It’s truly an  amazing  experience to watch the hoards of bats fly out into the sunset! 

Around 6 PM you see the cruise ships, tiny fishing boats, and luxury Phinisis all dock to watch the migration. At first, the migration just looks like a flock of birds, then when you look closely you see the distinct outlines of the bat wings. While that sounds kind of intense, our guide told us that there are two types of bats on Kalong Island. There are large bats and teeny tiny ones. The large bats look scarier, but these are just harmless fruit bats.  It’s the tiny breed of bats on Kalong Island that actually drink blood (creepy!), but they never attack people, just animals. 

💡  Note:  If you’re afraid of Bats, don’t worry! The boats are parked at a distance.

8. Spot Sea Turtles While Snorkeling <3 

This isn’t so much an activity as just something you’ll run into if you spend time swimming around the Komodo Islands. The wildlife in Komodo National Park is so vibrant. However, even though on our last day on the Backpackers’ Boat we stopped off at “Turtle Point”, I had way better luck spotting sea turtles at the snorkel spots the second boat tour took us to. Our guide was great about pointing out wild sea turtles to us, I think we saw  three  (!!!) while snorkeling from Manta Ray Point to Taka Makassar Island. 

9. Experience The Glowing Bioluminescence While Night Swimming

Again, this isn’t even a part of a Komodo Tour – it’s just another AMAZING thing you will experience in Komodo National Park! Some people on the tour asked if we could go night swimming since the boat was docked. The guide replied,  “Sure, but just so you know the water might glow”.  

THE WATER MIGHT GLOW?!?!? 

Our guide was  super  nonchalant about it but apparently, there’s a ton of bioluminescent algae in Komodo National Park that is very safe but makes the water and sand glow in the dark. I had experienced the bioluminescent algae in the  Gili Islands  a few years ago and didn’t even know it occurred outside the islands. If you’re lucky, you might be able to see it in Komodo!  

10. Take Photos With Your Private Photographer!

One of the super-cool things about taking a more high-end Komodo cruise was that it included a private photographer who would take pictures of us on the tour.

💡 Tip: If you’re taking a nicer Komodo Boat Tour make sure it includes a photography service! Most of them do.

11. Hike To The View Point At Kelor Island

Kelor Island is home to another iconic viewpoint hike in the Komodos. Shorter than the hike at Padar Island, it should only take you 10 minutes to climb the dirt and rock steps leading to the lookout spot. Also at Kelor Island are some wonderful warungs where you can take a break from the sun and enjoy a Bintang beer or two (or three), and a small coral reef lies off the coast of the island. While we were snorkeling off of Kelor I saw many Parrot Fish, as well as a Barracuda!

12. Eat Really Good Food!

The meals on the luxury Komodo Cruise I took from Labuan Bajo were all next-level. We had fresh fish, fruits, and vegetables, all presented and plated in a very high-end way. I was beyond impressed with the quality of food on the Luxury Komodo Cruise.

Quick Guide to Labuan Bajo 

Labuan Bajo is the gateway to Komodo National Park where you will be starting or finishing your trip before flying back to Bali. Full disclosure, I was supposed to stay in Labuan Bajo for two days after my first Komodo Boat Tour ended, but I wound up staying  a whole month  because I fell in love with the town and the island of Flores! Labuan Bajo is a sleepy port city, but it’s a great break from the hustle of larger cities in Bali – plus there’s a ton to do from sailing Komodo to exploring the island of Flores overland. 

🏨 Where to Stay In Labuan Bajo 

Labuan Bajo has become famous in recent years for having these  gorgeous  all-white Santorini-Inspired hotels. The best hotel in Labuan Bajo is Loccal Collection, but if you’re on a budget Seaesta Hotel & Hostel is also amazing! 

Where To Eat In Labuan Bajo 

After a lot of trial and error, my favorite cafe in Labuan Bajo (where I’m sitting and writing this post right now) is Bacarita Cafe. It’s in the center of town, kind of hidden above the Starbucks. They do great coffee, western, and Indonesian food, there’s wifi, and the prices are really good! I also loved the Labuan Bajo fish market come nightfall. Lots of fish vendors line up their stalls and you order whole fish, which they then grill or fry fresh to order and serve with rice and sambal. My favorite was the grilled squid! 

Other Activities In Labuan Bajo & Flores 

Visit Rangko Cave:  Rangko Cave is a half hour outside of the town of Labuan Bajo and a very memorable experience. It’s a salt-water cave so you can float without effort – Rangko Cave has  crystal-clear  blue water you can swim in, and the only way to get there is by taking a tiny boat from mainland Flores so you do need a tour to visit.

💡Tip:  In the afternoon, the sun aligns with Rangko Cave to light it up naturally from within. Amazing, right? Well , that’s what everyone else thinks too! We got there at 10 AM and even though it was kinda dark we had the cave  all to ourselves  until 11 AM when the other tourists started flooding in and the small cave quickly felt crowded. 

Trek To Wae Rebo Traditional Village:   Wae Rebo is most usually visited on 2-day overnight trips since it’s a difficult location to reach. You need to drive 4 hours outside of Labuan Bajo (over super bumpy roads), and then hike 1.5-3 hours uphill to reach the traditional village. Once you get there, you can experience one of the most picturesque traditional villages in Indonesia. ▶  Click Here to Book a Tour of Wae Rebo!

Visit Cunca Wulang Waterfall:  Full disclosure –  Cunca Wulang  is the most unhinged waterfall I’ve visited in Indonesia. I think Cunca Wulang’s infrastructure suffered during the pandemic, and it wasn’t really kept up with – but if you’re into an  adventure , the reward at the end of the path is a pretty cool waterfall that not many other tourists visit!

Katie Caf, founder of Katie Caf Travel, is a seasoned travel expert who has explored over 30 countries and lived abroad in places like Egypt, Morocco, Mexico, India, Indonesia Thailand, Europe, and the USA. Her goal is to help other traveler see the world by providing first-hand accounts of what to expect on the road.

Komodo Islands: How to Tour in Komodo National Park

One of the best-untouched treasures of Indonesia is the Komodo Islands. Komodo National Park is part of Flores, a group of 29 small and big quite white-sanded islands. It is home to the world-famous Komodo Dragon, countless manta rays, sea turtles, dolphins, small sharks, world-class snorkeling and diving sites with millions of fish, stunning hiking paths, and pink beaches.

What’s inside Komodo National Park

Exploring the Komodo Islands is done by a single or multi-day boat tour from Labuan Bajo . A small port town on the west tip of Flores Island. Depending on the weather conditions, your route will be filled with the most stunning spots around the national park. You can expect these things to be seen around the Komodo Islands.

Read: 21 Best  Things to do in Komodo, Flores

Viewpoints at Padar

One of the three larger volcanic islands in Komodo National Park is Padar. Padar Island offers a 20-minute hike to the top viewpoint. From here, you have a jaw-dropping view over the full bay. It is host to the Komodo dragon and a large population of deer. Contact our friend Yande below to make a booking .

The newly-build stair stops at multiple viewpoints so there is a difficulty for everyone. To enter Padar, an entrance fee of 150.000 IDR (10 USD) is required.

Here are all your hotel options in Komodo.

Meet the Komodo Islands inhabitants

See how the locals of Komodo Island live inside Komodo village. Most people make a living by fishing and others by creating and selling handicrafts to visitors of Komodo Island.

The local guides give a well-spoken English guided tour and make it possible for you to interact with the inhabitants.

A million flying bats at the Komodo Islands

Directly after sunset, the sky at the Komodo Islands turns black, filled with a million bats leaving the mangrove forest located on Kalong Island. This is a must-see experience during your Komodo Islands boat tour. Truly magical, and for sure, a highlight of your trip.

Swim with Manta Rays

Manta Rays are very common in Komodo National Park. They can be spotted year-round by snorkeling or diving. However, during the rainy season, the water is colder, and there is glowing plankton, which is food for the Mantas. During this time, hundreds of Manta Rays gather at Manta Point.

The rainy season runs from December to March and is the best time to spot Manta Rays around the Komodo Islands.

Dive in world-class reefs of the Komodo National Park

Divers and snorkelers can be very satisfied at Komodo National Park. With over a thousand kinds of fish and 230 species of coral, the reefs at the Komodo Islands are world-class for snorkeling and diving. Penga Kecil and Karang Makassar are the most visited reefs.

Expect to see small reef sharks, turtles, loads of fish and sea stars in all kinds of colors and sizes, dolphins, and even whales sharks.

The Pink Beaches of Komodo

There are many pink beaches around Komodo National Park. White sand mixed with tiny pieces of red coral makes the beach look pink. Expect other tourists during your visit due to its popularity.

Please: Never take sand or shells; keep nature as it is. It is also prohibited, which can get you in trouble at the airport. Read more about sustainable travel .

Komodo Dragons

Komodo National Park is the only place where the largest lizard on planet earth lives; the Komodo Dragon. Hiring a trained Ranger is required on Rinca Island to view the Komodo dragons. He keeps you at a safe distance and guides you through the park. 

The hike through the park and to the viewpoint is available in a short (1h), medium(1.5h) or long walk (2.5h). The medium was very easy to walk although we don’t recommend walking too in much middle of the day.

The Komodo dragon can grow up to 2.5 meters, weigh over 85 kilograms, and a bite from it is actually very deadly. Always stay behind the ranger, it’s his job to keep you safe.

Boat Tours at the Komodo Islands

Labuan Bajo is the start of every Komodo Islands boat tour. A small harbor town located on the western tip of Flores. Discover Komodo on a day trip from Labuan Bajo or spend some nights on the boat inside the national park.

Booking a Komodo Islands boat trip

Booking a Komodo boat tour can be done online or while you are in Labuan Bajo. There are boats available in every level of comfort and size. We’ve created a partnership with a local company in Komodo that offers:

• A Shared Cabin for 2.500.000 IDR (~ 165 USD) per person.
• A Private Cabin from 3.500.000 (~ 235 USD) per person.

The options above are for a 3-day, 2-night tour and include breakfast, lunch, and dinner, coffee/tea/mineral water, snorkeling gear, and more. Contact our friend Yande below for more information or to make a booking .

No matter with what company you book your trip, please keep in mind that most multi-day trips are fully booked 8 weeks in advance.

What to expect of a Komodo Islands boat tour

During a 4-day boat trip, you are able to explore the national park, visit lesser-known locations, do loads of snorkeling, seek for shooting stars at night, have an incredible sunrise at a sandbank and so much more.

Prepare for an unforgettable experience waking up on top of the boat in our bed with an unbeatable view, a fantastic crew, and delicious Indonesian meals (also vegetarian meals).

Do remember that it is a back-to-basic experience where there is a cold-pump shower and bathroom that you have to share with 8 – 10 people. The staff keeps this very clean 24 hours long. Also, there is no cell phone connection on the water, so don’t be afraid to talk.

Price of a Komodo Islands boat tour

The price of a boat tour totally depends on what you like to see, the comfort you prefer, and how many days you spend in the national park. An entrance fee to Komodo National Park costs 280.000 IDR (18 USD) and is valid for 3 days.

A day trip in the park costs you anywhere between 500.000 – 1.000.000 (~45 USD) per person for a shared boat tour. Four days on a boat, including meals, would cost you anywhere between 3.000.000 to 6.000.000 IDR per person. (~300 USD)

Whatever your budget is, a visit to Komodo National Park is an experience you absolutely must-do in Indonesia!

How to get to the Komodo Islands

Over the past few years, it has become much easier to visit the Komodo Islands. You can easily combine a 4-day Komodo Islands boat tour with your 3-week Bali Route .

Flights from Bali to Labuan Bajo’s brand-new airport take 60-70 minutes. The airport is a 5-minute ride from Labuan Bajo town.

Labuan Bajo & where to stay

Labuan Bajo is a great upcoming little town. Fantastic pool bars and restaurants opened their doors in 2013. Our favorite restaurants were La Cucina (Italian) and Happy Banana (sushi).

Please note that religion is Christian and Muslim. The people are lovely, so as a sign of respect for visiting their region, don’t walk in your bikini on the street.

Where to stay in Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo has a shortage of accommodation (2019), which is why they are building a lot at the moment. This makes it recommended to book a guesthouse or hotel in advance.

Hotels in Labuan Bajo 😴

By purchasing through our links, you support us at no additional cost. Thank you for your support. ♥️

• Find Hotels via Booking.com
• Find a Rental Car via Rentalcars.com
• Find Flights to Komodo via Skyscanner
• Get a Travel Insurance via Heymondo
• Book Tours & Attractions via GetYourGuide
• Book a Bus/Train/Transfer via 12Go

13 Things To Do in Komodo, Flores

11 things to do in labuan bajo, flores, indonesia travel guide: the ultimate itinerary to bali, java & flores.

Looking for more travel information? Plan a chat with us for personalised travel advice or get an answer from the Salt in our Hair Travel Community on Facebook.

Hi, just wondering what airline you flew with to Komodo or what do you recommend? Thank you 😊

Hi Orla, I think we flew once with Indonesia AirAsia and the other time with Lion Air. Have the best time!

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Komodo Shared Trip 3 Days

Our 3 days komodo island boat tour is the opportunity to meet other travelers from all around the world and discover the amazing spots of komodo national park..

We offer 2 different options for our 3 Days Komodo Island boat tour depending on the type of accomodation you prefer.

PRICE LIST on ALCIRA:

➜ 3 300 000  Rp per person for single bed in our 4 single beds cabin ➜ 4 950 000  Rp per person for private room with double bed (booking for 2 persons)

Shared komodo trips appear in green in the calendar.

03 – 05 May : fully booked 06 – 08 May : fully booked 09 – 11 May : fully booked 12 – 14 May : fully booked 15 – 17 May : fully booked 18 – 20 May : fully booked 21 – 23 May : fully booked 26 – 28 May : fully booked 29 – 31 May : fully booked We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them

01 – 03 June : fully booked 04 – 06 June : fully booked 07 – 09 June : fully booked 10 – 12 June : fully booked 13 – 15 June : fully booked 16 – 18 June : fully booked 19 – 21 June : fully booked 22 – 24 June : fully booked 25 – 27 June : fully booked We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them

03 – 05 July : fully booked 06 – 08 July : fully booked 09 – 11 July : fully booked 12 – 14 July : fully booked 15 – 17 July : fully booked 18 – 20 July : fully booked 21 – 23 July : fully booked 24 – 26 July : fully booked 27 – 29 July : fully booked 30 July – 01 August : fully booked We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them

04 – 06 August : fully booked 07 – 09 August : fully booked 10 – 12 August : fully booked 13 – 15 August : fully booked 16 – 18 August : fully booked 19 – 21 August : fully booked 22 – 24 August : fully booked 25 – 27 August : fully booked 28 – 30 August : fully booked 31 – 2 September : fully booked We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them

03 – 05 September : fully booked 08 – 10 September : fully booked 11 – 13 September : fully booked 14 – 16 September : fully booked 17 – 19 September : fully booked 20 – 22 Setember : fully booked 23 – 25 September : fully booked 26 – 28 September : fully booked 29 – 01 October : fully booked We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them

02 – 04 October 05 – 07 October 08 – 10 October 13 – 15 October 16 – 18 October 19 – 21 October 22 – 24 October 25 – 27 October 29 – 31 October We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them

03 – 05 November 06 – 08 November 09 – 11 November 12 – 14 November 15 – 17 November 18 – 20 November 21 – 23 November 24 – 26 November 27 – 29 November 30 Nov – 2 Dec We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them

03 – 05 December 06 – 08 December 09 – 11 December 12 – 14 December 15 – 17 December 18 – 20 December 21 – 23 December 24 – 26 December 28 – 30 December We have other alternatives to offer Contact us to know more about them 31 Dec – 02 January

Itineray of our 3 Days Komodo Island boat tour :

Day 1 : labuan bajo – kelor  – manjarite – kalong.

A driver will pick you up around 8.30am to your hotel. At the harbour you will be welcome by your guide who will present you the facilities of the boat, give you the safety instructions and describe you the itinerary of your komodo trip.

Our first destination will be Kelor Island. Kelor is a small uninhabited island. You will enjoy a peaceful atmosphere and unspoiled nature, get around and enjoy sightseeing. Indeed the water is clear and the sand is soft. Numerous types of fishes also live in the water, including clown fishes also named Nemo.

Then we will have lunch at Manjarite. Manjarite is an excellent spot for snorkeling. There is shallow crystal clear water with minimum waves. You can find various colorful fishes such as clownfish, scorpionfish, angelfish and even blue ribbon eels. There is also a narrow and long wooden pier, almost 300 meters long from where you can take some nice pictures.

After that we will enjoy the sunset in Kalong Island. Kalong is a small island covered by mangroves. It’s the home of thousands of bats. At the end of the day, when daylight is replaced by darkness, they leave their nest to get some food. The sky will be covered by these majestic creatures.

Day 2: Padar – Pink Beach – Komodo – Manta Point – Taka Makassar

Then the next morning, we will sail to Padar. Padar Island is the third largest island in Komodo National Park after Komodo and Rinca Islands. For those who love photographic, this is perhaps the best place for spectacular photos. From the top of the hill you will enjoy a surreal panorama. It’s all surrounded by three turquoise bays, and curiously, each one of the bays’ beaches has different coloured sand: One is pearly white, another charcoal black, and a third is a very rare baby pink. As a matter of fact, it is a rare combination, a quirk of this unique island.

Then in the morning we will relax at Pink Beach which has pink sand along its coastline. Furthermore, the pink color is caused by the mixture of white calcium carbonate and the bright red skeletons of dead organ pipe corals which grow under its waters. Pink Beach also has various kind of amazing marine life and coral reefs. Indeed this is the perfect place to play with our full faced mask. Lunch will be served on site.

Then we will head to Komodo Island. It’s also the best place to meet the Komodo dragons. However, you could also see other wild animals, such as water buffalo, wild boar, horses, Timor deer and macaques. There is also great diversity of birds.

Manta Point

After that we will go to Manta Point. Manta Point offers excellent snorkeling experience. In fact the reefs are laying from only 2 meters to 9 meters depth. It’s the perfect place to spot manta rays, a huge marine creature that can grow up to 4 meters wide. Manta Rays are one of the extinct animal on earth. Turtles, sharks, eagle rays, giant trevallies, huge clams, various kind of sponges, and cuttlefish are marine animals you may see during your snorkeling expedition.

Taka Makassar

At the end of the day, we will enjoy the sunset from Taka Makassar. Taka Makassar is a tiny island smaller than a football field. It has a peculiar shape of a drop, with white sand mixed with pink sand. It is surrounded by shallow turquoise waters that looks too good to be true ! It only comes up during the time when the seawater is receding. Meanwhile, when the sea level rises, it will almost submerge underwater.

Day 3 : Siaba Besar – Kanawa – Labuan Bajo

Siaba besar.

After the breakfast, we will head to Siaba Besar. It’s also called the turtles nest. If we are lucky, we will be able to swim with them.

Then we will go to Kanawa Island. It’s considered as one of south-east Asia’s most idyllic islands, fully surrounded by spectacular reef. Snorkeling around Kanawa, in the pristine waters will make you discover thousands of fish species, turtles, corals and reef sharks, sometimes it is possible to see some mantas just around the arrival jetty. At the center of the island a hill guarantees astonishing 360 degrees views all over Komodo National Park

Departure : Please arrive at Labuan Bajo one day prior the departure for this komodo trip. We will pick up you at your hotel early morning.

Arrival : We will be back at Labuan Bajo after lunch around 2-3pm so you can book your flight back at the end of the afternoon. The airport is just 15min away.

To visit the official website of Komodo National Park, click Here.

* Note that the itinerary may vary. The captain will choose the stops and moorings according to the weather conditions giving priority to safety on board and to the pleasantness of the cruise.

What is included :

Transportation IN/OUT from/to Labuan Bajo’s downtown

Full service on board including 3 meals per day and snacks

Water, coffee and tea available 24h/self service

Snorkeling gear sharing

Beach Towel

What is excluded :

Return flights and Hotel in Labuan Bajo

Entrance fees (Komodo, Rinca, Padar, Rangko Cave)

– 200 000 IDR for indonesian citizens

– 600 000 IDR for foreigners

Personal insurance

Soft drinks and alcoholic drinks

Komodo Islands Travel Guide For Indonesia

The island of Komodo, in Indonesia, is famous for being home to the beastly Komodo dragons (the world’s biggest lizard), and it’s also an incredibly scenic place with lots of other ‘bucket list’ travel experiences.

Komodo National Park is UNESCO designated , with dozens of exotic islands, white and pink sand beaches , coral reefs for diving, and it’s the only place in the world where you can see Komodo dragons up close in the wild and get your picture taken with them!

Since Indonesia is my second home, I’ve visited the Komodo islands a bunch of times over the years and it’s always a thrill. One of the great things about the gateway town, Labuan Bajo, is that it’s not far from Bali and it’s easy to reach with a short flight from there.

This travel guide for Komodo will explain how to get there, where to stay, what to do in the islands, and everything else you need to know before you go!

Table of Contents show 1) Where Is Komodo Island? 2) How To Get To Komodo National Park 3) How To Get Around The Komodo Islands 4) Where To Stay In Komodo 5) Labuan Bajo Hotels 6) Best Things To Do In Komodo National Park 7) Komodo Dragon FAQ 8) Komodo Trekking FAQ 9) More Things To Do In Komodo 10) Komodo Island Map 11) Is Komodo Open Or Closed? 12) Komodo Entrance Fee 13) New Entrance Fee? (2024) 14) Other Tips For Labuan Bajo 15) Best Time To Visit Komodo 16) Best Komodo Island Tour / Day Trip 17) Where To Stay In Labuan Bajo 18) Future Of Komodo Tourism 19) More Things To See Near Komodo Indonesia 20) My Indonesia Travel Guide

Komodo has more than just dragons! This is one of the famous viewpoints.

Where Is Komodo Island?

Komodo island is part of the Komodo National Park, a group of tropical islands located just off the coast of Flores, in east Indonesia.

The park’s three main islands are Komodo, Rinca, and Padar , but there are lots of smaller ones too, so it’s the perfect place for island hopping!

The closest city is the fishing town of Labuan Bajo in Flores, which has its own airport and plenty of hotels and restaurants to enjoy in between visits to the park.

Wild Komodo dragon!

How To Get To Komodo National Park

The only way to visit Komodo island and the rest of the national park is on a boat tour from Labuan Bajo, where the airport is located. You can’t fly to Komodo island directly.

There are a bunch of flights to Labuan Bajo airport (LBJ) every day from Bali, with a 1 hour flight time and several airlines offering ticket prices as low as 1 juta ($70 USD).

Getting to Komodo island from Bali is easier than ever now that AirAsia flies between them several times per week. There are also flights from Jakarta, Surabaya, or Ende to the Labuan Bajo airport. You can shop for flights on Skyscanner .

Once you get to Labuan Bajo, it’s possible to book a boat tour to Komodo island at the harbor, or you can book a day tour online (more on that later).

The Komodo islands are located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Labuan Bajo as the crow flies, and the journey normally takes 3 hours with a slow boat, or less than half that with a speedboat.

It’s possible to knock out all the top sights of Komodo National Park (including the dragons) in one full day tour, or you can stay in a liveaboard boat and spend several days sightseeing!

How To Get Around The Komodo Islands

The three boat types for exploring the Komodo islands are slow boat, speedboat, or liveaboard boat.

Slow boat is the cheapest option, and it’s commonly used for day tours, but you do waste a lot of time in transit because it’s just so dang slow. Speedboat is much faster and more efficient, but it’s quite a bit more expensive.

Liveaboard tours can also be pricey, but it’s a unique experience where you get to sleep in a cabin and spend several days sightseeing and enjoying more of the sights in the park.

Book Now: Komodo Liveaboard Tours / Day Tours

Where To Stay In Komodo

There are no hotels in Komodo island. All of the hotels and accommodation are in the nearby town of Labuan Bajo.

You can find hotels and accommodation here to suit all budgets, from backpacker to luxury. However, it’s a little bit more pricey than Bali on average, because the development in Labuan Bajo hasn’t quite caught up to the number of tourists coming here.

We’ve included some of our hotel recommendations below.  

Labuan Bajo Hotels

Bayview Gardens

Komodo Suites

Seaesta Komodo Hotel

Plataran Beach Resort

Best Things To Do In Komodo National Park

• padar island.

One of the most scenic places in Indonesia is on the small island of Padar. It’s a short 30 minute hike to the top, and you’re rewarded with probably one of the best views in all of Southeast Asia.

This is like a Jurassic Park landscape. The island has a giant X shape, with three bays where you can see a white beach, black beach, and pink beach.

Each of those sand colors is pretty special in itself, but to see all of them in one place is crazy. This is probably the only place in the world where you can witness that!

Even though Padar is one of the smallest islands in the Komodo National Park, this scenic viewpoint has become a famous natural landmark of Indonesia, and it’s even been featured on the 50,000 Rupiah cash note.

Read More: Padar Island

The iconic Padar island viewpoint

Beaches in all directions!

• Pink Beach

The Komodo islands are home to several pink sand beaches! The color comes from tiny organisms in the coral called foraminifera.

Pink beaches are very rare, and there are only a handful of them worldwide. The one with the brightest color is hidden in a bay on the northwest side of Padar island.

These unique beaches are a must see when you’re visiting Komodo National Park.

Read More: Pink Beach

The extraordinary pink sand beaches at Komodo National Park

• Komodo Dragon Trek

Of course the main attraction of Komodo is getting to see the dragons themselves in the wild! The Komodo National Park is the only place in the world where you can do this.

For this part of the tour, you’ll go ashore at one of the two main islands where the dragons live in Indonesia (Rinca or Komodo island) and do a short trek looking for dragons while accompanied by a park ranger. The trekking path is flat and suitable for all fitness levels.

For sightseeing purposes, there’s not much difference between Rinca island or Komodo island, and many tours use these locations interchangeably. There are plenty of Komodo dragons living on either island.

You’re almost guaranteed to see at least a few dragons (after all, Komodo is their home), and with the guide’s help you can even take pictures with them! It’s an amazing experience getting to see these animals up close in the wild.

Komodo Dragon FAQ

• How big are they? Adult Komodo dragons can be 3 meters long (10 feet) and weigh more than 140 kilos (300 pounds). The males are bigger than the females.
• Are they venomous? I think the jury is still out on that. Some research has shown that the Komodo dragon bites may be dangerous because of venom or bacteria.
• How do they hunt? Komodo dragons can smell blood from almost 10 kilometers (6 miles) and they can run in bursts of speed up to 20 kilometers per hour (12 mph). Truly dinosaurs!
• What do they eat? They eat a mix of deer, boars, monkeys, birds, goats, wild horses, and water buffaloes. Their favorite food is the deer (Javan Rusa). They can also be cannibals sometimes and eat other dragons.
• Do they attack humans? Yes, but rarely. The dragons don’t think of us as food. Less than a dozen people have been killed by them in the past 50 years, and all of the victims were locals at the village on Komodo island, where they were living in close proximity to the animals.
• Do they breathe fire? No, the dragons can’t breathe fire, but the first Dutch explorers in the Komodo islands believed that!
• Are there Komodo dragons in Bali? No, there aren’t any wild Komodo dragons in Bali. You can see captive dragons at the Bali Bird Park or Bali Safari Marine Park , although I think it’s a much better experience to see the dragons in their natural environment on the island of Komodo or Rinca. Bali does have monitor lizards, which look kind of similar to Komodo dragons, but they’re smaller.
• Are there Komodo dragons in the Galapagos islands? No, there aren’t any Komodo dragons outside of Indonesia except in zoos. The lizards in the Galapagos islands of Ecuador are marine iguanas, not Komodos. Totally different animal. Those are much smaller and tamer.

Komodo Trekking FAQ

• Is it safe? Yes, just stay close to your guide and you shouldn’t have any issues. The only tourists that have ever been attacked by dragons were trekking alone without a guide.
• Can I visit during my period? Yes, menstruating women can still visit Komodo even though the dragons are good at smelling blood, but you’re supposed to tell the park staff so your guide can be more careful on the tour.
• How long is the trek? There’s a short, medium, long, or adventure trek. If you’re on a day tour (island hopping), then you’ll probably only have time to do the short or medium trek (both less than 1 hour) before you’re whisked off to go see the manta rays or pink beach .
• How easy is it to see dragons? You’re practically guaranteed to see dragons, even on the short trek, because there are thousands of them living on Komodo and Rinca. I’ve done the trek a bunch of times, and I saw lots of dragons every time. You can also spot them on the beach sometimes. Photo ops galore!

• Are the dragons sedated? No, the dragons are absolutely not sedated! The reason they lie around motionless sometimes is because they’re digesting a big meal or resting after a hunt. You’d want to sleep too after eating an entire deer. The dragons are most active in the morning, but like to chill in the middle of the day.
• Can I touch them? No way! The photos in this travel blog where we’re sitting close to the Komodo dragons are perspective pics. Don’t worry, we kept a healthy distance from them and definitely didn’t touch them.
• What else can I see? If you’re lucky on the trek, you can also see Komodo nests, baby dragons, rare birds, snakes, spiders, and more. Snake species include the spitting cobra and island pit viper.
• Do I need to tip? Tipping isn’t customary in Indonesia, but if your guide takes good pictures for you then a small tip is certainly appreciated. The guides in the Komodo islands are not paid very much.

More Things To Do In Komodo

• Kalong Island: Also known as bat island, if you go here at sunset you can see thousands of fruit bats flying through the sky.
• Manta Point: Amazing spot where you can swim with giant manta rays in the ocean. They’re a little shy but not dangerous at all.
• Taka Makassar: This is a small crescent-shaped sandbar near Manta Point. It has perfect white sand and crystal clear water.
• Gili Lawa Darat: One of the most remote spots in Komodo since it’s located on the northwest boundary of the park, just off the coast of Komodo island. It has a hill that’s great for sunrise.
• Kelor Island: A lot of Komodo tours stop at this island since it’s close to Labuan Bajo. It has a hill you can climb for a nice view of Flores island.
• Private Island Resorts: For private island resorts near Komodo, you have your choice of Le Pirate Island , Sebayur Island Resort , or Kanawa Island Resort .
• Scuba Diving: Komodo is famous for its world class snorkeling and scuba diving. You can see bright coral reefs and lots of underwater wildlife here.
• Labuan Bajo: Don’t forget to spend some time exploring the town of Labuan Bajo and its surroundings. There are a bunch of good things to do near Labuan Bajo. I’ll be covering those separately from this Komodo travel guide.

Snorkeling at © Sebayur Island

© Le Pirate Island — you can camp in bungalows on this private island for very reasonable rates!

Drone pic at Kelor island, one of the popular stops on Komodo tours.

Komodo Island Map

Here’s a map of the Komodo islands, showing the dive sites and main areas of interest. You can click on the image to see it bigger.

Komodo dragons can only be seen on Rinca or Komodo island. The town of Labuan Bajo (top right) is where all the restaurants and hotels are concentrated.

Komodo island map

Is Komodo Open Or Closed?

In 2019, the government of Indonesia announced plans to close Komodo island for the year of 2020 in order to work on conservation and rehabilitation. The idea got a lot of backlash, though, so they decided to reverse it at the last minute.

A lot of the locals in Komodo and Labuan Bajo survive off of tourism, so closing it is a tough proposition for them. To be honest, the islands do need better conservation, but I’m not sure if that means they need to be closed completely. Trash cleanup could be done regardless, and some of the places need it.

As it turns out, the Komodo National Park was closed anyway for almost 6 months in 2020 because of the covid pandemic, but the park reopened in August 2020. We visited the islands again in 2021 shortly after they re-opened, and we had a wonderful time.

Tourism activities at Komodo were temporarily stopped again for two days in August 2022, because of strikes related to the Indonesian government trying to dramatically increase the park entrance fees.

You can read more about this in the section below. However, thankfully, the government relented and decided not to raise the park fees at this time, so everything is back to business as usual.

As of 2024, Komodo island is officially open for tourism!

Komodo Entrance Fee

The Komodo National Park has a confusing ticket system with a bunch of different entrance fees that you pay in a small booth at Padar. Here are some of the main fees:

• National Park Entrance Ticket (Mon-Sat): 150k IDR ($10 USD)
• National Park Entrance Ticket (Sundays & Nat. Holidays): 250k IDR ($17)
• Retribution For Recreation & Sports: 100k IDR ($7)
• Padar Entrance Ticket: 150k IDR ($10)
• Komodo Ranger Fee: 120k IDR per group up to 5 people ($8)
• Komodo Hiking Fee: 5k IDR ($0.30)
• Komodo Wildlife Observation Fee: 10k IDR ($0.70)

When you total everything up, you can expect to pay up to 500k Rupiah ($37 USD) per person for a 1 day park pass that allows you to do the highlights of Komodo National Park.

These ticket prices are current as of 2024 , but they seem to go up every year. There’s no discount for children or KITAS/KITAP holders, either, which is pretty lame. The least they could do is make the tickets last 3 days or 1 week so they have more value.

I think the price is still worth it for the outstanding nature you get to see at Komodo, but if they keep raising it then it may get unreasonable. For comparison, a U.S. National Parks annual pass doesn’t cost much more than this, but it gives you access to 400+ national parks for 1 year.  

New Entrance Fee? (2024)

In June 2022, it was announced that Indonesia was planning to raise the Komodo entrance fee to 3.75 million Rupiah ($250 USD) per person, and limit park visitors to 200,000 per year.

This change was originally supposed to take effect on August 1, 2022, but it was met with a large scale protest and strike by the local tourism workers, which forced the government to cancel the plan for now .

Most tourists who visit Komodo are not ultra rich, and to make a major change like this with such short notice was very inconsiderate of park visitors and most likely would’ve been a death blow to the local businesses in Labuan Bajo as well.

Thankfully, the Indonesian government reconsidered this plan and decided not to raise the Komodo entrance fees, and the boat trips and all other tourist activities in Komodo National Park resumed like before.

Near the end of 2022, there was some more talk about raising the Komodo entrance fee excessively, which was supposed to happen on January 1, 2023. However, the Indonesian news reported that this plan has been canceled once again.

I’ll update this Komodo travel guide if we get any more new information. I think it’s very unlikely any big price changes will happen, because the locals really depend on tourism. For now, tourists are welcome in Komodo like always, and the prices haven’t changed!

Other Tips For Labuan Bajo

• ATM: There are lots of ATM choices scattered around Labuan Bajo town on Flores. BNI worked great in our experience.
• Credit Cards: Some places accept card now, but many don’t. It’s good to keep a bit of cash handy for meals, taxis, and such.
• WiFi: A lot of hotels in Labuan Bajo still have weak WiFi connections, but they’re improving every year as the infrastructure catches up to the massive influx of tourism.
• Cell Service: Telkomsel has good 4G reception in Labuan Bajo, Komodo, and even some of the intermediate islands. We used this for a hotspot at times when we didn’t have good WiFi.
• Restaurants: There are lots of good places to eat in Labuan Bajo. Some nice restaurants to check out are Green Cherry , Baccalá , and La Cucina . We also liked Ayam Bakar Primarasa , near the airport.
• Transportation: Labuan Bajo town is small and easy to get around. You can rent a scooter all day for 75k Rupiah ($5 USD), or take a taxi around town for 50k per trip.
• Language: The locals in Flores and Komodo speak Bahasa Indonesia, and a little bit of English that they’ve been able to pick up from tourists. English proficiency isn’t nearly as widespread as in Bali, so be patient and come prepared to explain things by pointing or showing pictures.
• Religion: The island of Flores is mostly Catholic, but there’s also a significant minority of Muslims in Komodo, and there are several active mosques in Labuan Bajo. When I visited Labuan Bajo in 2018, there was a mosque using a noisy loudspeaker at all hours of the day and night, but when we last visited we didn’t hear any mosques, so maybe the local authorities have asked them to turn down the volume. In any case, if you’re a light sleeper then it’s a good idea to bring ear plugs with you to Labuan Bajo just in case there’s a noisy mosque at night.
• Mosquitoes: According to this Lancet study from 2018, Malaria cases are rare and decreasing in Flores and the Komodo islands. I’ve never heard of a tourist getting Malaria from mosquitoes in Komodo. We didn’t take malaria pills on any of our Komodo trips, but it’s still a good idea to wear repellant while out and about, just to be safe.
• Drones: The Komodo park rangers don’t allow anyone to fly a drone at Padar island anymore unless you pay an exorbitant fee of 1 million Rupiah ($70 USD). No prior application is needed, you just pay the fee in cash on the spot, and then they let you fly. There are some ways to get around this if you’re creative.

Javan Rusa (deer). The favorite meal of the dragons.

Best Time To Visit Komodo

The best time to visit Indonesia really depends on what you’re looking for.

You can see the Komodo dragons all year round. Prime diving season is March to October. High season for Komodo National Park is July to August, when the weather is cooler and more comfortable, but the park is also more crowded with tourists.

The climate in Komodo tends to be drier and more sunny than other places in Indonesia, like Bali. The main months to avoid for Komodo island are December to February, when Indonesia has its rainy season and the weather is not very good for sailing or trekking. Generally the only reason to go in these months would be to avoid the crowds.

The grass color at Komodo changes with the seasons. It’s green in the tail end of the rainy season (January to April). By April or May, the grass color starts to turn yellow. In the summer and fall (July to November), the islands are bone dry and the grass is brown. The pictures in this Komodo travel blog were taken in early March.

The scenery and dragons are honestly spectacular in any month of the year, so regardless of when you go, you’re sure to have a very memorable trip. Happy travels!

Sunset in the Komodo islands

Best Komodo Island Tour / Day Trip

If you’re looking for a vetted tour company for visiting Komodo, here’s a top rated Komodo day trip with Klook starting from Labuan Bajo.

This speedboat tour includes the top sights in Komodo like Padar island , pink beach , and the Komodo dragon trek, and their prices are very competitive based on what we’ve seen quoted for similar tours in Labuan Bajo. The online reviews are positive too.

We’ve used Klook for lots of tours and activities around the world, and they’re great. Highly recommended!

Book Now: Komodo Island Tour / Day Trip  

Where To Stay In Labuan Bajo

Future of komodo tourism.

The future of Komodo tourism is still uncertain. I’m happy Indonesia has opened the park for everyone to enjoy, and I’m glad it’s given employment to the locals, but further development of the islands could become a problem.

There’s been some talk of a ‘Komodo dragon park’ or luxury resort being built on Rinca island, for example, which seems like a very bad idea.

Komodo dragons are amazing animals. They’re already endangered, and their habitat is very limited. I hope Indonesia will do the right thing, and choose conservation over greed, so we can continue to enjoy this place for many years to come.  

More Things To See Near Komodo Indonesia

There are lots of other great things to do near Komodo if you have time.

On mainland Flores island, you can visit the Goa Rangko Cave in Labuan Bajo, and then do an overland tour of Flores from west to east and see sights like the spiderweb rice fields, Wae Rebo traditional village, Mount Inerie volcano, and the turquoise volcanic lakes of Mount Kelimutu .

The Kelimutu National Park has a trio of colorful volcanic lakes in central Flores, and you can see it without doing any hiking. The lakes are known to regularly change colors (to blue, green, pink, or brown!) because of changes in the underlying gases and elements.

In spite of the lack of publicity and infrastructure, Flores is definitely one of the best places to visit in Indonesia!

Read More: Best Islands To Visit In Indonesia

Kelimutu National Park is one of the most spectacular sights on Flores island

My Indonesia Travel Guide

Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed this travel guide for Komodo island in Indonesia.

Seeing wild dragons on the Komodo tour was one of the best parts of our visit to Flores.

Don’t forget to check out my complete Indonesia Travel Guide for more tips, info, and photos!  

• Most Beautiful Indonesian Islands – Best Places To Visit In Indonesia
• Indonesia Beach Guide – Best Beaches In Indonesia
• Best Hikes In Indonesia – Volcanoes, Jungles, & Waterfalls
• Best Things To Do In Indonesia – What To Do In The Islands
• Indonesia Waterfall Guide – Best Waterfalls In Indonesia
• Indonesia Travel Guide – Tips, Info, & Photos

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Hi thank you for sharing information about Komodo Island

Thank you for the wonderful blog. its really useful and informative.

Brilliant, organized, informative post!!!

I really appreciate your day trip recommendation. Is that with a speedboat or slow boat?

Do you have any recommendations for an upscale two or three day liveaboard boat?

Hi Clay! The day tour recommended in the article is a speedboat tour, which is normally faster and more efficient, so you get to have more time on the islands compared to the slow wooden boats. We normally do day trips instead of liveaboard, but I know GetYourGuide has a very high rated 3 day or 4 day tour with a combination of hotels and some liveaboard action. Cheers

Io sono disabile causa un incidente di macchina avvenuto in Germania nel 2009 . Ho una moglie indonesiana e un figlio di 10 anni. Sono al momento in vacanza a Lombok. Un disabile può vedere le lucertole di Komodo su una delle isole??? Grazie

Ciao Giuseppe. Dovrai prendere una barca, ma sì, penso che sia possibile per una persona disabile vedere i draghi sull’isola di Komodo. La spiaggia è pianeggiante e facile da navigare. Grazie per il tuo commento!

Hi, I’m currently in Bali on a holiday. As I was walking in Seminyak, which is near the shops, I saw a massive Komodo dragon in one of the streams that are between two buildings. It was walking pretty fast and I couldn’t take a pic but yea I think there are Komodo dragons in Bali just very rare. That was crazy tho

Hi. That would be a monitor lizard, which looks kind of similar to a Komodo dragon, but a bit smaller. They are fairly common in Bali and always fun to see. 🙂

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The best Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days

Published by adminsuper on.

Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days 2 Nights is one of the most requested boat tours. This tour offers a fantastic experience to explore Komodo National Park. You can do this tour from Bali, from your hotel in Labuan Bajo , or directly do this tour right after you finish your Land Tour or Car Trip on Flores Island.

How to Do Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days?

There are 2 options to do this tour, do it from Bali or Labuan Bajo. If you are going to do it from Bali, our team then will pick you up at Komodo airport based on your confirmed flight. If you are going to do it from Labuan Bajo, this means that you are staying in Labuan Bajo one day before doing your tour. This is how our team will see you at your hotel in Labuan Bajo.

On the other hand, Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days sometimes no need to pick you up anywhere but in this case, you and your guide from your Land Tour/Car Trip will drive directly to the port upon arrival in Labuan Bajo (The last day of your Land Tour in Labuan Bajo will be the beginning of your Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days).

You will be drop off to the airport if you are going to fly soon after the tour after finishing the tour. But if you want to stay one more night in Labuan bajo, your booked hotel will be your drop-off location and this is how your tour ends.

Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days can be done both private or group tour (share with other travelers. For most of our tours are private base as it is more comfortable and flexible as you wish too.

Boat Provided in Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days

Boat Tours are ranging from the standard boat tour up to the luxury one. The boat provided is based on your tour budget. This boat is completed with an air conditioner as for all the cabin boat tours in Komodo. Meanwhile, the facilities on every boat is depending on the boat type.

The standard boat tour is the most boat tour we use on all our Komodo Island Boat Tour because it is affordable for the tour. If you are sailing on a standard boat tour, please bear in mind that the facilities provided are not like in a luxury one but at least it is safe and comfortable for the tour. A details description and information on the standard boat tour will be provided during your correspondence. Message: superior boat or deluxe boat tour are provided depending on your request.

Highlight Itinerary of Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days

Before you are going to decide your plan to do Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days and to avoid the wrong arrangement of boat tours, you are suggested to consider the boat condition for overnight boat tours, flight schedules or arrival day and time, and important things regarding the meals, etc.

OPTION A : Airport Picks  and  drop – off airport  after the tour

• Komodo Airport pick up (Morning arrival)
• Kelor   Island  (Snorkeling & Relaxing)
• Manjarite   Bay (Snorkeling)
• Kalong Island  (Sunset & Bats watching)
• Boat overnight
• Padar Island  (trekking for a breathtaking view – 15 minutes’ walk up on wall ladder to the top)
• Pink Beach  (Snorkeling & Relaxing)
• Komodo Island  (Trekking on land to see the dragons – trekking duration: 1 hour, 1,5 hours and 2 hours)
• Manta Point  (Snorkeling and swim with manta)
• Takak Makssar  (relaxing on a white tiny island)
• Siaba Island  (Snorkeling & Relaxing)
• Sail back to Labuan Bajo
• Drop to airport (latest flight is recommended – 5 pm – tour would finish around 3 pm)
• Siaba Island (Snorkeling & Relaxing) – Drop to airport (latest flight is recommended – 5 pm – tour would finish around 3 pm)

OPTION B: airport picks  and  drops off to hotel  after the tour

• Airport pick up (Morning arrival)
• Taka Makassar  (Snorkeling & Relaxing)
• Siaba Island  (Snorkeling)
• Kanawa Island  (Snorkeling & Relaxing)
• Drop to Hotel
• Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days ends

OPTION C: hotel picks  and  drops

• Hotel pick up (Morning arrival)
• Pink Beach  (Snorkeling & Relaxing)
• Duration on every spot is normally about 45″ to 1 hour
• We will help you to explain in details whether visiting Rinca Island or Komodo island on our correspondence.
• Our itinerary is still flexible and might be not the fixed, If you have any questions regarding the islands/spots out of our itinerary, please kindly let us know, we will explain it in our correspondence.
• Private Boat with cabin
• 2 x transfers by private AC car
• Meals on the boat (B/L/D)
• Mineral water
• Coffee or tea and snack every afternoon of the day
• Experienced English speaking guide
• Snorkeling gears
• Blanket and towel
• Service charge.
• Hotel in Labuan Bajo
• All entrance fees in Komodo National Park (about IDR 500.000-600.000/person/day)
• Soft and alcoholic drinks
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses, and tips.

What to Bring during Komodo Boat Tour 3 Days

• Long sleeves
• Swimming suits
• Insect repellent
• Camera/video camera
• IDR in cash for entrance fees & personal expenses.

BOOK A TOUR

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EXCITING Boat Tour Komodo 2 Days

Boat Tour Komodo 2 Days is one of the most requested Boat Tours on Komodo Island. This tour offers a fantastic experience to explore Komodo National Park. You can do this tour from Bali, from Read more…

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• Komodo Liveaboard

Check Availability

Komodo Liveaboard Tour is a Package Tour to discover Komodo Dragon Island with a great experience stay on Boat at your Liveaboard budget tour . This 2-day package is ideal for those who would like to make the best of their limited time to visit the most important sites, to see the komodo dragons , and to snorkel in pristine water of superb snorkeling spots.

Highlights of Komodo Liveaboard Tour

• Private-based boat trip to visit surrounding islands
• One-night stay on your chosen type of local wooden boat
• Full-board meals provided
• Guided trek on Komodo Island and Rinca Island
• Meet the biggest lizards on Earth
• Visit one of only seven pink beaches in the world
• Snorkel in the clear waters of Kelor Islan d

Itinerary of Komodo Liveaboard Tour

Day 1 : arrival labuan bajo – komodo island – pink beach – rinca island  (-/l/d).

This Komodo Liveaboard tour will start with the first flight of the day to Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores.  Labuan Bajo is now a busy and it is a bustling centre of tourism since it is the entry point for trips to see the world-famous Komodo Dragons , or Varanus Komodensis . Upon arrival, you will then directly transfer to Labuan Bajo Harbour to embark on liveaboard journey.

We start sailing towards Komodo Island , one of the best locations to see the dragons in their natural habitat. On arrival at the island, you will get a safety briefing and then start trekking from Loh Liang by following the trails of the dragons ’ walking paths with a local ranger.

Day 2 : Rinca Island – Kelor Island – Departure Labuan Bajo (B/L/-)

Breakfast is onboard. Afterwards we continue to have 2-hour trekking on Rinca Island . It provides the opportunity to see more dragons , as well as other animals on the island. Then we cruise to Kelor Island for snorkeling around the island (snorkeling gear is provided). Please enjoy lunch when the Boat starts sailing back to Labuan Bajo harbor. Upon arrival in Labuan Bajo , then transfer directly to Komodo Airport  for your onward journey with wonderful memories of your visit.

Our ‘Komodo Liveaboard Tour’  Package includes:

• 1-night stay on a local wooden boat based on twin-sharing (2 persons per room)
• Meals mentioned in the itinerary as specified (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)
• Return airport transfer based on private basis in a chauffeured, fully air-conditioned vehicle
• Boat trips based on private basis with activities as indicated in the itinerary
• Professional and licensed English-speaking guide
• Complete snorkeling gear
• Applicable entrance fee and ranger fee at Komodo National Park
• Public Liability Insurance
• 11% local government tax and 10% service charge

Our ‘Komodo Liveaboard Tour’ Package does NOT include:

• Visa fee / arrangements if applicable
• Any domestic or international flights
• Any beverages (juice, soft drinks or any alcoholic beverages)
• Personal expenses such as travel insurance, laundry, telephone call, room service, mini bar, etc
• Gratuities/ tipping for driver, guide, ranger, boat crew
• Any additional excursion/optional tours/activites that are not mentioned in the itinerary (e.g. extension stay, diving certification and/or diving trips, rental diving gear)
• Additional Rp 75,000 per person per day for conservation fund on Sundays/public holiday

Good to know

• Suitable for FITs with minimum of 2 persons (price will be adjusted for small group or a group of 10 persons)
• Private basis only (no seat in coach available)
• Operated daily, with 36 hours advanced reservation required (subject to boat availability) – EXCEPT DURING BLACKOUT PERIOD
• High potential of strong current and waves during the peak of wet season (between December to February) might affect your program. Please consult with your travel consultant closer to your date of travel (1 week prior to your visit)
• It is harder to spot the komodo dragons during the mating season (July to August). Best time to visit is between April until June (dry season, manta season – best time for snorkling, diving on the north side of the Komodo National Park, and for overland journeys). September to October is whale season, manta season, and komodo season

Komodo Liveaboard Tour

$0.00 per adult, exceed persons, discover the dragon, komodo island tours.

• Komodo Island Tour
• Komodo Highlights Tour
• Komodo Day Tour
• Rinca Island Tour
• Komodo Package Tour
• Komodo dragon tour
• Trekking Komodo Rinca

KOMODO BOAT CHARTER

• Seamore Papua
• Amalia Bahari
• Dara Komodo

KOMODO & FLORES HOTELS

• Bintang Flores
• Ina Labuan Bajo
• Ayana Resort
• Pelataran Komodo
• CF Komodo Hotel
• La Prima Bajo

FLORES ISLAND TOURS

• Komodo Wae Rebo Village
• Flores Highlights Tour
• Flores Komodo Tour
• Kelimutu Komodo Tour
• Komodo Ca-Ci Dance
• Flores Komodo Discovery Tour

Sailing Komodo National Park Tour 3D2N

• Accommodations
• Deals and Discounts
• Komodo Tour
• Meals included

After many years experience in organizing boat tour in Tanjung Puting National Park, now we expand our boat tour to Komodo National Park. We have our own traditional boats ready to explore the Island around Komodo National Park, to meet the Komodo Dragon. Komodo National park is the home of the unique and rare Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Because of the unique and rare nature of this animal, KNP was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The park includes three major islands, Komodo, Rinca and Padar, and numerous smaller islands together totaling 603 square km of land. At least 2,500 komodos live in this area.

Large dragons are usually three meters long and weigh up to 90 kg. Their habitat has beautiful panoramic views of savannas, rain forests, white beaches, beautiful corals, and clean blue seas. In this area, you can also find horses, wild buffalo, deer, wild boar, snakes, monkeys, and various types of birds. On Rinca Island, you can see komodos lying down outside the homes of national park rangers, or “parking” near the officials’ homes.

If you don’t see a dragon, Rinca and Komodo have beautiful sceneries with white beaches, mangroves, savannas and blue waters. During the dry season, these savannas and hills have dried grasses.

The tour we design in Komodo National Park is a complete destination for your adventure in Flores, Indonesia. You can meet the Komodo dragon, hike to the top if beautiful hill, white sand beaches, crystal view water, etc. Our scheduled tour is departing every weekend for Labuan Bajo, solo traveler or couple travelers are welcome to join on our trip. However, if you would like to enjoy the time only with your family or friends, a private tour is the best option. With the private boat you can depart anytime from Labuan Bajo.

Additional information

Day 1: labuan bajo – kelor island – rinca island- kalong island (l/d).

• Pick up from the airport or your hotel in Labuan Bajo and transfer by car to the port to board the boat. Upon arrival on the boat we will start the voyage through the blue sea of Flores.
• Our first destination is Kelor Island, after around 45 minutes on the boat we will arrive on a small this small island. The activity is snorkeling, enjoy the beach or you can hike the hill to see the view around the island.
• Lunch serve on the boat.
• After Kelor Island we boat up to Rinca Island to meet the last dragon on earth, Komodo. Lead by the local ranger we will do the trekking through the forest and savanna to find the famous Komodo.
• Enjoy the sunset while watching millions of fruit bat covering the sky, the fly from small mangrove island to the main island hunting for fruit at night.
• The boat will slowly move to find the save place to overnight, dinner and sleep on the boat.

Day 2: Padar Island – Pink Beach – Manta Point

• While enjoying you breakfast with the view, the boat is heading to Padar Island. Opun arrial we will hike to the top of the island and enjoy the best view in Komodo Islands. Use your trekking shoes because the trek is slippery and steep hill.
• After trekking in Padar Island, the boat is cruising to Pink Beach. The famous beach with its mixing red and white sand. Enjoy the colorful coral and many kind of fish by snorkeling, you also can just lay down on the beach to enjoy the sun and the scenery.
• The next destination is heading to Manta Spot to search the biggest ray in the world and we can swim with the giant and calm Manta Ray if we can meet them. The meet is not guaranteed because they are wild animal.
• Dinner and sleep on the boat.

Day 3: Gili Lawa – Manta Poin – Kanawa Island – Labuan Bajo

• Breakfast on the boat and heading to Taka Makassar, enjoy a tiny island made of  sands with turquoise water around it.
• Then we will visit is Kanawa Island. Snorkeling or swimming in the island with white sand beach and beautiful underwater world.
• After Kanawa Island we will back to Labuan Bajo, pack you bag and farewell to the crew on board.
• If we still have time we could stop is Bidadari Island to enjoy the beach and some snorkeling.
• Upon arrival at the jetty the car is waiting, transfer to your hotel or airport in Labuan Bajo
• See you next trip.

Note: Itineraries are samples only. Cruise itineraries are subject to the season, wind, current and weather around Komodo National Park.

Traveling alone or only 2 person? Join our group tour, not only get cheaper price but also meet new friends from around the worlds, there’s nothing better than sitting on a boat while cruising the sea and sharing stories from different world-perspectives. Private cabin and shared cabin available.

Schedule for 2022

Depart every weeken on Friday-Sunday

However it you need a private boat we can do the tour with only you as the guest on the boat, depart anytime.

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The Complete Guide to Komodo National Park (How to Plan a Komodo Island Tour)

last Updated: February 10, 2024 indonesia komodo labuan bajo

FYI: Affiliate links may be sprinkled throughout the awesome, free content you see below. I’ll receive a small commission when you purchase from my links (at no extra cost to you), which I’ll totally blow on adult things like boba tea and avocado toast. As always, thanks for the support.

Headed off to see the dragons of Komodo National Park and looking for the best Komodo tour package? We just got back a few months ago, and I have to say, you’re in for a real treat. Dragons, rusty-red volcanic hills, coral reefs, pink sand beaches, glassy turquoise waters… yeah, you’ll see why I’m semi-obsessed with this group of islands in Indonesia already.

Everyone visits Komodo National Park in Indonesia to see one thing and one thing only – the dragons. And for good reason – Komodo’s the only spot in the world to meet them! But what many don’t realize is that the Komodo islands are oh so much more than these giant monitor lizards. 

In our 3 days on our Komodo island tour, we swam and snorkeled in crystal clear turquoise waters, jumped into the Flores Sea from our two-story boat, watched millions of bats fly overhead at sunset, hiked up ~1,000 steps for the most spectacular sunrise views, and wandered/relaxed around pink sand beaches. 

We watched the sunrise and sunset in the same day, woke up to luminous blue waters surrounding our boat, drank fresh fruit juice at every meal, and forever gazed at green volcanic mountains jutting out of the sea.

To say our Komodo trip was nothing short of spectacular is an understatement – heck, we kiiiinda loved Komodo even more than we loved Bali ( and we fell head over heels for that place ).

There’s just something to be said about waking up to gentle waves, sailing to new islands and sandbars every few hours, witnessing the most dramatic sunset, and sleeping beneath the brilliant stars on comfy bean bags come nightfall. And then doing it alllll over again the next day.

Komodo National Park’s even been selected as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, along with already being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And this diverse location in Indonesia surely deserves all its accolades and then some! It’s downright dreamy.

However, planning a trip to the Komodo islands can be all kinds of confusing. If you follow my advice you’ll be visiting a whole slew of islands in the National Park, not just Komodo (which is the main island and the largest of them all).

After reading this lengthy guide (I know, I know, I’m beyond wordy), I hope it’s the one and only Komodo island blog post you’ll need to plan your trip. Am I missing something? Please let me know down below in the comments! I write these guides for you guys to have the best trip possible!

***Note that the Indonesian government will temporarily close Komodo Island in January 2020 to help preserve/protect the remaining dragons, with no reopening dates announced just yet. HOWEVER, don’t fret, ONLY Komodo Island will close to tourists (and thankfully not the entire National Park, there are numerous other islands).

You can still see Komodo dragons on Rinca Island (where we went), as well as visit all the other islands we visited (including Pink Beach, Padar, Kanawa, etc). We didn’t even go to Komodo Island on our Komodo tour (nope, not even once!). So yes, this means you can still take the same trip I did and see the same exact sights.

Komodo Trip Planning Logistics

Where is komodo national park anyways.

If you gave me a world map a few months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you in the slightest bit where Komodo Island could be found. And to tell you the truth, I didn’t even know it was in Indonesia (facepalm; I can’t be the only one).

Now I can thankfully not only give the general vicinity of Komodo, but I can pin-point its exact location as well. How’s that for progress?!

If you haven’t figured this out by now (no judgements), Komodo National Park is part of the Indonesian archipelago.

It’s located between Lombok and Flores, and is a few islands east of everyone’s favorite, Bali. The park is comprised of three main islands: Komodo, Padar, and Rinca (you’ll probably visit all 3 on your Komodo tour), as well as 26 smaller, less frequented ones. 

When to Visit Komodo

Komodo essentially has two distinct seasons – the dry season and the rainy season.

This comes as no surprise, but you’ll want to visit Komodo National Park during the area’s dry season , occurring between April and December. The weather is pretty much perfect – not toooo hot, and with very little to no rain whatsoever. If you’re hoping for that lush greenery on the volcanoes, plan a visit between April and June, as you’ll find comfortable temps, cool, fresh air at night, and calm seas.

Do note that it’s technically most crowded in July and August, although we didn’t feel this much (except for our sunrise trek up Padar Island).

A visit during the rainy season (December to March, with February being the peak of monsoon season) will result in rainy, wet days, making walking paths uncomfortably muddy and difficult to trek around. Heavy rainfall, strong wind, and big waves are common, so avoid this time if that doesn’t sound your like idea of fun. 

And thankfully, no matter when you visit, you can see Komodo dragons. Do note that July and August is the height of Komodo mating season, meaning you may witness a male dragon fighting to get attention from a female. We actually saw two dragons mating, although they were doing their thang in private under a large structure, so we couldn’t really see much of the action. :p

Another dragon was guarding her eggs, although I don’t really know why they do so since they’re known to eat some of their young anyways!

How Long to Stay in Komodo

Many travelers opt to spend a few nights on a Komodo tour. We slept two nights on a liveaboard boat, and another two nights in Labuan Bajo (1 night before the Komodo island tour and one night afterwards), making our total trip 3 days (5 if you include arrival and departure days) and 4 nights.

And trust me – 3 days in Komodo is the perfect amount of time to witness the sunrise and sunset from the deck of the boat, numerous times. However, we could have stayed an extra few nights, it was that comfortable! 

With all that being said, I think spending 2 and a half days will suffice, especially if you booked yourself on a fully equipped Komodo tour package which takes you to the best spots in the National Park (like we did). We were thankful we had a ½ day to relax at our resort (the oh so beautiful Ayana Komodo ) after trekking around in the hot hot sun for a few days.

And if you’re a serious diver, you’ll probably want to spend an extra day or so doing your thing, as Komodo is a haven for all kinds of underwater life. We unfortunately don’t our scuba certs, so I can’t report much on all things diving for ya.

How to Get to the Komodo Islands

Note that if the Komodo Islands are your final destination and you aren’t interested in spending a few days (or more) in Bali, you’ll first need to get yourself to Bali anyways. 

Komodo National Park is roughly an hour flight plus a 2 hour boat ride away from Bali, and although it’s kiiiinda a pain to get to, it’s 1000% worth it, and then some. Keep reading, you’ll see.

Coming from Bali → By Far The Best Option

If you’re headed to the Komodo Islands from Bali like we were, it’s easiest to hop on a quick 1 hour, 15 minute flight over. You’ll need to get yourself to Labuan Bajo on Flores Island, the main gateway to Komodo National Park.

Thankfully, there’s heaps of daily, nonstop flights available from Bali (DPS) to Labuan Bajo Airport (LBJ) on Flores Island. We ended up on a flight with NAM airlines for about $100 roundtrip, but note that there are also direct flights on Wings Air and Garuda Indonesia as well. 

And trust me – that flight over to the Komodo Islands will be one of the most scenic you’ll ever experience (atolls and reefs every step of the way, especially once you get closer to the National Park). Don’t give up your window seat for just anyone — I had my eyes peeled to the glass the whole time!

Once you’re on Flores situated in Labuan Bajo, the Komodo Islands are just a quick-ish boat ride away.

For visual learners like myself: Bali airport (DPS) → flight to Labuan Bajo (LBJ) on Flores Island → taxi into town → boat to Komodo Islands

Psst: you can actually take a ferry over to Flores from Bali, but a 36 hour trip through treacherous waters doesn’t sound very appealing to me.

Coming from Lombok → Possible, but not the best choice

If you’re coming from Lombok, you’ll also find flights as well, although many make a stop in Bali (kinda silly, but that’s airlines for ya). After doing a bit of research, it looks like there’s ONE direct flight on Wings Air per day, so snatch that up if you’re able to (check LOP → LBJ).

If you really prefer not to head back to Bali and can’t catch a nonstop flight, you can also take a 24 hour bus/ferry combo (ouch), or a 4 day/4 night snorkeling boat trip (with conditions which I heard aren’t all that great). Just come from Bali if you can. 🙂

How to Get Around Komodo National Park

*Psst: There are only a handful of hotels on the Komodo Islands (which get booked up quite far in advance), and you’re only allowed to visit Komodo Island with an official guide and park ranger.

Meaning you’ll absolutely 100% NEED to book a tour (this isn’t a DIY type of trip, although there are Komodo tours for all price points). There are plenty of options for staying in Labuan Bajo, don’tchu worry.

You’ve basically got two options when it comes to touring around Komodo National Park. And no, since Komodo National Park is an archipelago (a group of islands), you cannot drive around yourself (ha!). 

Option #1. Basing yourself in the town of Labuan Bajo (the main gateway for the park) and taking day trips to the different islands of Komodo.

If you’re choosing this option I’d highly recommend finding tours ahead of time and getting yourself on those. I mean, how often are you gonna be visiting Komodo National Park? Might as well get on the exact ones you want, right?

If you’re more of a last-minute planner (I most definitely am not), you can show up in Labuan Bajo and book tours directly in the town itself once you arrive, but there’s no guarantee your preferred dates will be available. My advice? Just book tours ahead of time for some peace of mind.

Tours to check out beforehand:

• Best of Komodo Island Hopping : You’ll 100% want to do a full day Best of Komodo tour (like this one or this one ), as they go to a bunch of the hot spots, including Padar Island, Pink Beach, Kanawa Island, Taka Makassar, and of course, Komodo Island. If you only have time to do one tour during your time in Komodo, make it this one .
• Sunset tour at Kalong Island : Watching the flying foxes/bats (by the millions I might add) fly overhead at sunset is just one of those “must do” things in Komodo. Don’t miss it (book here).
• Komodo Diving : And if you’re a driver, definitely check this out . The underwater life in Komodo is just teeming with excitement – it’s a known hotspot for divers!
• Cave Tour on Flores Island :  If we had extra time I would have definitely wanted to take this cave tour on Flores Island near Labuan Bajo. There’s always a next time for us, but you can check it out now! And be sure to report back and lemme know how it is!

Option #2. Finding a Komodo island tour, inclusive of meals, island hopping, snorkeling equipment, and of course, accommodation on the boat .

This is essentially a complete Komodo tour package (meaning you don’t have to worry about a thing once you get yourself to Labuan Bajo). Most of these Komodo tours are 3 days and 2 nights, but you can easily find one for 1 or 3 nights instead, depending on your interests and time availability. Komodo island tours vary in price, with the average being approximately $100 or so per day.

Psst – As you could have guessed after reading about me gushing about the boat so much, we chose the second option and absolutely loooooved it. I can’t imagine staying in Labuan Bajo and missing out on boat life! For reference, we chose a 2-day/3-night liveaboard, and felt like it was the perfect amount of time. 

And now for some not-so-fun-yet-highly-necessary stuff:

Malaria pills: Unlike Bali and other parts of Indonesia, you’ll want to talk to your doctor about taking malaria pills if you’re planning a trip to the Komodo Islands, as malaria is quite common in these parts of the country. Key words: talk to your doctor (I ain’t a doc and I don’t pretend to be one).

We both chose to take malaria pills – we figure, better to be safe than sorry (and plus, I typically get eaten alive, although I only managed to get a handful of mosquito bites on our trip #notcomplaining).

Vaccinations : The CDC states that all travelers to Indonesia should be up to date on routine vaccines (MMR, tetanus, chickenpox, pollo, flu shot).

In addition, it’s also wise to get the Hep A, Hep B, and typhoid vaccination as well (some of these are good for years, so if you plan to do a lot of traveling to other undeveloped countries, you’ll probably need them there – might as well get them now and keep yourself protected always). As always, talk to your doctor.

Water : Do note that you absolutely cannot drink the water in Labuan Bajo or the Komodo area in general; you’ll find that all hotels/restaurants and Komodo tours provide fresh drinking water (either bottled or from large treated water jugs).

Because of the unsafe water, Bali belly is quite common – which is just a fancy name for food poisoning. We had no problem while in Labuan Bajo or with the food on our liveaboard. You may want to ask your doctor for a prescription of Ciprofloxacin for serious travelers diarrhea in case you find yourself with any disturbing stomach issues. We always pack immodium as well, just in case.

Travel insurance: Yes, you need this. I always recommend purchasing travel insurance before your trip. You never know what might happen (flight delays, lost baggage, illness), and travel insurance definitely helps with all of those unfortunate unexpectancies.

I highly recommend the company SafetyWing . I’ve recently been buying coverage with SafetyWing since they cover pandemic-related costs (which most travel insurance companies do not do).

Whenever we travel, we always buy a short term plan (depending on how many days/weeks we’ll be away) before leaving for any trip! Even if you don’t end up using it, peace of mind is 100% worth it in my opinion. Find plan options and pricing here (and at only a few bucks a day, there’s no excuse not to!) I always say, if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford your trip. It’s that easy.

Dragons : I can’t have a safety section and not mention the dragons. I mean, they’re called dragons for a reason .

However, fear not; visiting them on Komodo Island isn’t as scary as I initially perceived it to be – we casually strolled around (with an official park ranger of course) and saw the dragons lazing on the grounds, caring about us humans for less than .2 seconds. It was actually a bit anticlimactic to tell you the truth (yet still terrifying at the same time).

Their diet mostly consists of deer (and other large-ish mammals like the water buffalo – yup!); however , Komodo dragons also occasionally attack humans, which is why it’s oh soooo very important to do EXACTLY WHAT YOUR GUIDE SAYS. With shark-like teeth and poisonous venom, a bite from a Komodo dragon can kill a person within hours.

I don’t say this to scare you (or deter you from visiting), I just want you to understand the significance of not following directions. Just stay with your guide at all times and you’ll be golden. 🙂

A Note for the Ladies: You may wanna plan your trip around your cycle/period/menstruation (whatever you wanna call it). The dragons can smell blood from miles away, and are more prone to attack. If you can’t alter your plans to fit around this time of the month, be sure to ask your guide/park ranger the best course of action.

It’s possible they may advise to skip a visit to see the dragons. This may seem silly, but it’s no joke! Komodo dragons occasionally attack humans, although this is relatively uncommon (and guides will use all precautions to keep visitors safe). I’m pretty sure one girl on our trip was on her period (I overheard her talking to our guide), and she said it was ok to come along.

While no one will be checking of course, I’d highly advise you to disclose this information to your guide just in case.

An Extra Note on the Komodo Dragons

Can’t visit Komodo National Park without hanging out with a few dragons, right?! These dinosaur-esque looking creatures are endemic to the Komodo Islands and are a very rare species, meaning you can’t see them anywhere else in the world! There are about 5,700 dragons left in the wild, and they’re all over here in this stunning part of Indonesia.

Being the largest and most lethal lizard on Earth, they can weigh as much as 300 pounds, with some growing as long as 10 feet! The dragons are not only carnivorous, but cannibalistic as well! Since the dragons are known to eat their young, not many survive, which is a prime reason for their endangeredness. 

As noted earlier, Komodo Dragons are dangerous creatures, so be sure to stay with your guide (always) and follow all their safety instructions. Below are clear instructions we were given:

• Never look a Komodo dragon directly in the eye
• Keep your head down
• Stay together with your group (at all times)
• One ranger leads the group while another is at the back end
• Walk only on the specified trail
• Never go to the bathroom alone

Where to Stay on Labuan Bajo

If you’re planning to book a liveaboard Komodo tour like we did (sleeping on the boat and all that jazz), you’ll need to sleep in Labuan Bajo the night before. You don’t really have a choice, as flights don’t arrive early enough and you definitely won’t make it there by ferry in time. Since the Komodo tours start pretttyyyy early in the morning, getting to Flores island and Labuan Bajo in particular the night beforehand is a must. Don’t wanna miss your boat!

We decided to check out two different spots on Labuan Bajo → one before our Komodo tour package started (Le Pirate), and one once the Komodo island tour was finished ( Ayana Komodo ).

I planned it quite strategically, staying at the less expensive option the first night (since we were planned to arrive in Labuan Bajo around sunset and were getting picked up early the next morning – meaning not much actual time to enjoy the hotel) and a much more lux spot the last night (when we knew we would have much more time to actually enjoy the amenities).

Le Pirate Labuan Bajo: That first night before the Komodo tour started we stayed at the simple Le Pirate Labuan Bajo, which turned out to be a-okay, especially considering it cost about $60 a night and had a rooftop bar and pool (we saved our pennies for the resort afterwards).

It was that first night we witnessed our first Komodo sunset – and it was absolutely surreal. SO. MUCH. COLOR. All from the roof of our little hotel. There are dorm style rooms and private rooms to choose from.

Ayana Komodo : Once the trip was over, we checked into the Ayana Komodo , and it was by far one of our favorite hotels on our entire trip to Indonesia .

Besides the stunning infinity pool overlooking the exquisite Waecicu Beach, the design was exceptional, the cuisine superior, and the service unparalleled (everyone here’s so warm and friendly). And it’s basically brand new – it first opened its doors in September of 2018. 

Again, that sunset view! I swear we witnessed more golden sunsets in Komodo and Labuan Bajo than elsewhere in the world. If you’re looking for top notch (in terms of amenities and location), check out the Ayana Komodo , as it’s the only 5 star resort in Labuan Bajo. We loooooved it, and I don’t say that lightly (plus, I’m always keepin’ it real over here so you can be sure you’ve got our honest opinions).

Just beware – if you do decide to spend a night or two at the Ayana, don’t book any of their tours – they are ridiculously overpriced (FYI).

Other accommodations options in Labuan Bajo include Bintang Flores Hotel , Plataran Komodo Beach Resort , and The Jayakarta Suites Komodo Flores , but in all reality, I think we chose the best two (and trust me, I did tons and tons of research, like I always do before any big bucket-list trip).

What to Bring on any Komodo Tour

Thankfully, if you book a Komodo liveaboard tour like we did, you won’t need to pack any camping gear, cookware, or other heavy nonsense. The boat provides all that and more. Do be sure to ask your specific tour operator what specifically is needed, as I’m sure all don’t provide the luxuries we had on board. However, there’s a few things you will most definitely want to bring/be aware of when packing before visiting the Komodo islands!

First of all, you’ll want to pack on the lighter side . The planes to Labuan Bajo (for Komodo) are quite small, with a lighter luggage allowance than most other flights. With that being said, you can always pay for extra baggage, which is what we had to do since my husband brought along a full-size suitcase (he’s not as swift at packing for 2 weeks in a carryon like I am).

If I remember correctly, the prices were more reasonable than other times we needed to upgrade baggage. The bigger bag was fine on the boat, but I wouldn’t suggest bringing more than one suitcase per person. Most people on our liveaboard brought backpacking backpacks.

A few recommended items : a strong mosquito repellent, high SPF reef-safe sunscreen (to protect the fishies and coral of course), medicine for seasickness (we don’t suffer from seasickness, but if it’s your first time sleeping on a small-ish boat you may want to bring some dramamine just in case – we did), bathing suits, hiking shoes/sneakers for trekking (we both brought Tevas), and high-quality camera gear (photo spots alllll around, you’ll see).

Things to do in Komodo National Park

It’s hard to get bored in Komodo. There’s stunning beaches, colorful coral reefs, and exotic wildlife every corner you turn. Below are the most popular things to do in Komodo National Park, and exactly what we did on our few days in the area! Don’t miss any of them (I’d be hard pressed if I had to eliminate one or two).

Hike up Kelor Island, take in the views, then go swimming

Kelor is kinda the perfect island – there’s hiking, crystal clear water, sandy beaches, and coral underneath the surface.

Kelor Island was our first stop on our Komodo tour, and we trekked up the hill right away! To be honest, it was much more difficult than I had initially thought (read: steep), although others were breezing right by me. And plus, I get a tad nervous (okay, I’m scared shit) when hiking down on loose gravel/sand, so I did the crab walk for the better portion of the way back (ha, ha, ha). 

BUT the views more than made up for my dirty bum. Just look! And we didn’t even make it to the very tippy top (although the rest of our group who hiked did – some stayed at the surface enjoying a bit of extra beach time)! 

If you’re gonna trek up, I highly advise you do so in proper shoes with a good grip (my husband and I wore tevas); others in our group wore sandals but they obviously had much more hiking experience than us.

You can also go snorkeling here, but our guide noted that there was much better snorkeling nearby which we’d be doing soon anyways. After the quickish hike, I searched for seashells and swam in the shallow waters near the shore.

Meet the Dragons (on Rinca Island and/or Komodo Island)

Imagine standing next to a Komodo dragon. In the wild. Yup, it’s a terrifying and utterly fascinating experience all at the same time. I was petrified (just like I was of the monkeys in Bali ). But you absolutely cannot visit this group of Indonesian islands and not hang with the largest lizard in the world (fun fact)! 

Komodo Island National Park is the only spot on planet Earth where Komodo dragons call home (all 5,700 of them). And once you make it the area, you’ve got a few islands to choose from, particularly Komodo Island and Rinca Island.  Yes, it’s a little confusing, but Komodo is also the name of a specific island as well (although when many say they’re headed to Komodo Island they mean the area in general).

So which one to visit? Well, you can always visit both, but we just visited Rinca and found our experience to be satisfying enough (hey, more time for the beach, right?).

While you can easily spot dragons on both islands (with a guide, of course), there are a few main differences.

1) The amount of time it takes to get there – Komodo Island is reachable in about 4 hours from the mainland of Flores (originating from Labuan Bajo), whereas Rinca is significantly closer, taking roughly only 2 hours.

2) The number of dragons on the island (with the largest population existing on Komodo Island with roughly 1,700, with Rinca coming in as a close second with approximately 1,300).

If I had to choose just one, I’d pick Rinca.

Since Rinca is less impacted from tourism, you’re much more likely to spot the dragons in their natural habitat (a reason why Komodo Island is shutting its doors to visitors soon). The island is completely undeveloped, making it the perfect home for exotic and dangerous wildlife (hence the dragons).

On Rinca there are 3 main trekking paths to choose from; we chose the shortest trek (roughly 20-30 minutes) and saw a dozen or so of these 300ish pound monsters along with a spectacular view out to sea. And with Rinca’s extreme heat, I doubt you’ll be able to handle a much longer trek (we were dripping).

Regardless of which island you end up visiting, you’ll be walking through the bush in search of the Komodo dragons with a guide (always!) and armed only with a stick. We also saw a water buffalo lurking behind some trees, which was quite shocking to say the least! Do note that venomous snakes frequent the area, so be sure to stay on the path and always watch your step.

Snorkel with sea turtles

If there’s one thing I make sure of on any tropical trip, it’s including some time to snorkel with the sea turtles! And thankfully, not only did our Komodo tour include some great snorkelling spots, but green turtles and hawksbill turtles are quite plentiful in coral reefs in Komodo! Your guide/tour will know great spots to jump outta the boat for a good snorkel, so fingers crossed you see a few of these beauties yourself!

If you’ve never swam with a sea turtle before, you’re in for a real treat. There’s just something so majestic about these (larger-than-you-realize but) graceful creatures swimming below the surface.

And please oh please – do not attempt to chase/feed/pet/play with a sea turtle. Our touch is dangerous to their sensitive turtle shells, potentially causing disease and other harm.

Pro tip for spotting the sea turtles: While seeing animals in the wild is never guaranteed, there’s a few tricks you can use to increase your chances. First things first, you’ll wanna swim to where the edge of the reef meets the open ocean. Turtles seem to congregate over in these parts, and you’ll have a much higher chance of seeing them over here!

And just remember, turtles need to come to the surface for air every so often, so keep your eyes peeled all around you! You can see them resting on the sea bed, swimming up for a breath, and just casually hanging around. Patience!

Witness millions of bats overhead at Kalong Island

What’s more insane than watching a swarm of thousands upon thousands of the world’s largest bats fly overhead at sunset? People actually call them flying foxes they’re so big! It’s a pretty surreal experience, despite sounding extra odd (haha). 

Our guide anchored our boat some distance from the island, and we just couldn’t peel our eyes away from the sky full of bats! I mean, just look at these photos! Absolutely spectacular!

Where do the bats come from anyway (yes, I wondered about this too)? Kalong Island is covered with mangrove plantations which is where hundreds of thousands/millions of these bats live. Once dusk arrives each and every day, the bats leave their roost (where they rest during the day) and head for their feeding grounds on the mainland.

It’s really a magnificent spectacle. Be sure to book a Komodo tour package which includes this experience, it’s just like being in the pages of National Geographic.

Fun tidbit: Kalong actually means bat in the local language, which makes perfect sense all things considered!

Hike up Padar Island for Sunrise

Set your alarm clock, because we’re waking up early (as in 4am or so)! If there’s one thing you can’t miss on your Komodo tour, it’s the spectacular sunrise trekking on Padar Island. The views are by-far outta this world insane. BUT it comes at a grueling price – about 1,000 steps or so straight up the mountain!

It’s quite a steep hike, and was quite challenging to reach the top, but not impossible by any means.

I even wore sandals (with a strap on the back though, which really helped)! Just so you’re aware, the first few sets of wooden and then stone steps are safe, but then, near the top, they’re pretty crumbled and/or non-existent. You may want to grab your hiking shoes instead, which I probably should have done. Also a wise idea to come equipped with a water bottle and sunscreen!

However, WHEN you climb to the summit makes a huge difference. Since there’s little shade on the entire trek, come as early as possible (before sunrise) to not only avoid the crowd, but the intense heat. Yes, it was still blistering hot on our way down, but I can’t imagine trekking up with that scorching sun shining down on us nonstop.

I’m guessing it took us roughly 25-30 minutes to reach the top, including a few photo breaks. (Heading back down was way easier despite the heat).

Once you reach the top, you’ll get a grew view of this island dreamscape below – a full panoramic view of all of Padar. Those photos you see on IG are real – 3 turquoise bays, each with different colored sand (a rare combo of sparkling white, charcoal black, and baby pink sand beaches).  We then watched the sun rise above the horizon, making the ground a soft golden hue, before taking about a million and 5 photos.

Do note if you visit just after the rainy season (visiting between April to June), the mountains will be much more lush and green. We visited in July and the land was dry and brown, albeit beautiful, to say the least.

Relax at Pink Beach

Striking pink sands. Clear turquoise waters. Endless blue skies. Rolling green hills. I can go on and on. This idyllic spot has got to be one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever been. In my life . Yeah, yeah, I already deemed San Blas and the Zapatillas worthy of that title, but after visiting Pink Beach (and Komodo in general), I think they’ve been booted of the #1 spot.

And yes, my pink-obsessed friends, Pink Beach does in fact have pink sand; why else would it be called that?! The unique color is formed by crushed shells of microscopic single-cell sea creatures (called Foraminifera – whoaaa science). When you combine these small flecks of red shell with fine white reef sand, you get a soft pink tink! And trust me, you’ll notice the rosy hue even before getting off the boat, as it’s visible from the water.

There are actually quite a few different pink sand beaches in Komodo National Park, but any experienced guide will know the best spots to take you for that fine, fine pink tinted stuff. What to do once you get there? You can either relax, swim, and play in the waters like we did, and/or go snorkeling (the reefs here are booming with sea life).

Be sure to take some photos of this natural phenomenon – it’s not everyday you find yourself digging your toes into pink sand! We definitely took our fair share…

Go swimming with Manta Rays at Manta Point

Imagine crossing paths with a giant Manta Ray; what a magical, remarkable, mind-blowing experience. And no, you don’t even need to go diving to see them as these gentle giants play right on the surface! Definitely bring along your GoPro!

→ Learn my secrets for taking underwater photos here.

Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate during our Komodo trip (it was a bit windy making the tide too rough), so fingers crossed you’ll get better conditions! Of course safety is the number one priority on any Komodo tour package (as it should be), but to say I was bummed we missed out on this is a complete understatement! Next time!

Wander/Swim around Taka Makassar

Absolute perfection. This tiny blip of white sand in the Middle of Nowhere, Indonesia will surely help live out all your beachy postcard dreams. The sand and sea of Taka Makassar is surely on par with the blues of Bora Bora (can’t believe I’m admitting that), and I kinda wished we had brought along a few Bintangs or some fresh watermelon juice to shore! 

Yes, this banana-shaped sand bar is small – you can walk from end to end in about 5 minutes or so! There’s a bunch of coral lining the sand and water, so be careful! Tons of photo ops here, so don’t forget your camera. 

Sunset at Sebayur Island

Can there ever be enough sunset hikes during a Komodo island-hopping trip? Nope! Thankfully there’s a bit of shade of here, so you hopefully won’t be heading up in the heat!

And just so there’s no confusion, there’s actually two Sebayur Islands, differentiated by their size. I’m honestly not sure which one we hit up, but it was either Sebayur Kecil (small) or Sebayur Besar (big).

Psst: we didn’t actually make it up. We didn’t even make an attempt. It was a last minute decision and we were all waaaaay too tired, so we watched the sunset from the boat, and it was perfection. My husband hiked up the next morning for sunrise and he said it only took about 5 minutes, so there ya go, shouldn’t be too hard. 

Snorkel and relax at Kanawa Island

Before we headed back to Labuan Bajo, we made a pit stop at the fairytale island of Kanawa. Being only 15km or so from Labuan Bajo in Flores, it’s a great first or last place to hit up on any Komodo island tour itinerary.

We lounged and played in the water while others snorkeled. You’ll see – the water is soooo crystal clear you can even see the fish from above water!  And if you’re lucky, you may see a few starfish in the shallow water near the jetty. There are apparently some sea urchin so be careful when walking in the water!

Our Komodo Trip

Our Komodo trip was an overdose to the senses: think crystal clear waters, giant bats flying overhead, stunning views everywhere we looked, and brightly colored corals beneath the surface.

I’ve decided to give you an overview of our entire Komodo tour package so you get an accurate representation of all you can see and do within a short time period. As noted earlier, we chose a 2 night/3 day Komodo island tour, and felt this was the perfect amount of time to explore the islands and take advantage of the boat.

Do note that we slept in Labuan Bajo the night before the tour, and the night after the tour, making our time in the area 4 nights (2 nights in hotels, 2 nights on the boat).

Here’s how our entire Komodo trip went down:

Our Komodo Island/Labuan Bajo Itinerary:

Day 1: We arrived to Labuan Bajo in late afternoon, took a quick taxi ride to town and checked into Le Pirate right before sunset. Not wanting to miss our first Flores sunset, we headed up to the rooftop bar straight away for some dinner and much-needed drinks. 

Day 2:  We got picked up by Travass Life the next morning around 9, transferred to the boat, had some welcome snacks and fresh fruit juice on board, and set sail! First activity: a hike to the top of Kelor island for our first Komodo National Park views and some relaxation time on the beach/go in water/look for shells.

Rinca island was next, for a short trekking loop to see Komodo dragons (!!!), then we anchored the boat near Kalong Island to watch the bats overhead at sunset.

Day 3: Today was a super early day, as we did the sunrise hike at Padar Island. After the trek we spent a fair bit of time at Pink Beach and Taka Makkasar, then spent the rest of the afternoon jumping off our boat and snorkeling in the crystal clear waters of Komodo.

Day 4: On our last full day in Komodo, we relaxed at Kanawa Beach, enjoying the bath-like waters and searching for seashells. After one last liveaboard lunch, we arrived back in Labuan Bajo around 2pm, making our way to Ayana Komodo around check-in time (3pm).

Since we were utterly exhausted from the last few days of Komodo adventures, we hung at the pool and relaxed, before witnessing one of the best sunsets of our lives.

Day 5: We woke up early to take full advantage of the stunning Ayana Komodo, before making our way back to Bali in the early afternoon. PHEW, what a few days!

The Boat and our Full Komodo Island Tour Package

After doing an insane amount of research (as I always do), we ultimately decided to book our Komodo tour package with Travass Life. The itinerary included everything on my Komodo bucket list and then some, and promised delicious sounding Indonesian hot meals, fresh fruit juices multiple times per day, and a personal photographer with a DRONE.

We were shocked that meals consisted of freshly caught fish, juicy watermelon and dragonfruit (among other exotic fruits), healthy veggies, and enough variety so we never got bored of boat food, as well as snacks throughout the day; and nope, we never went hungry.

We were lucky that the company’s spankin’ new boat was juuuuust finished right before our trip, and we got to sail on the fully-equipped Papiton (which was an absolute dream).

Our boat consisted of 12 passengers and a handful of crew members, all sharing a few rooms and 3 bathrooms. My husband and I opted for a private room with a comfy full-size bed, and I was in awe of our space on the boat. The deck area was large enough to fit all of us comfortably, with bean bag chairs and chaise lounges for relaxing during our island hopping adventures. 

Are you planning a trip to the Komodo Islands any time soon?! What are you most excited for?

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September 16, 2020 at 2:21 pm

Thanks for this post. It's inspired me to venture from Bali to Komodo when we go next year 🙂 I'm even looking into Trevass Life for our liveaboard experience.

September 17, 2020 at 7:03 pm

You'll have the best time, promise! It's such a stunning set of islands!

April 20, 2022 at 11:36 am

Hi! I am wondering if this company (Travass life) had you wire them money for the payment? I have never paid like this before, so I am a little worried about it. Please let me know if you can! I really appreciate your blog and am using it a lot for my upcoming trip to Indonesia!

Thank you 🙂

April 20, 2022 at 2:58 pm

I just took a look in my emails and it looks like we were able to pay via PayPal (after asking them) — I’d ask if you can! Komodo was absolutely GORGEOUS and I can’t wait for you to go! Glad my blog is helpful! You’ll love Indonesia; we’re dying to go back!

November 17, 2022 at 9:24 am

How did you find the accommodations on the boat? Do you know which boat of theirs you were on?

November 17, 2022 at 10:02 pm

We had a full size bed and it was pretty comfy! A shared bathroom. Way better than we had thought it’d be! I’m not sure exactly what boat we were on, but it was definitely on the newer side and we loved it!

April 19, 2023 at 5:44 am

Hi Jess – thanks for writing about your experience and your trip in such detailed way. I quite enjoy your style of writing! I have couple of question: how was the boat itself? was it air conditioned? how were the bathrooms? private per room? I have also read that the shared/semi-private trips only depart on certain days of the week. is that true? My wife suffers from migraines and having an air conditioned room will ensure us not ruining our trip. We were able to get a room in one of the accommodations on the islands closer to the national park and were thinking of doing the day trips they offer. But now after reading your blog, I am second guessing myself 🙂

April 19, 2023 at 12:11 pm

So glad the you enjoyed the post! If you can, I highly recommend the 3 day/2 night sailing experience. By taking day tours, you will be essentially losing out on a lot of time, and we felt sleeping on the boat and looking up at the stars was an experience second to none. The company we used (Travass Life) has quite a few boats, so I would highly recommend reaching out to them to check for exact accommodations (air conditioning, bathrooms, etc). We were lucky that we were on a brand new boat — I do remember we had a shared bathroom, but a couple who picked a different room had a private bathroom upstairs. Definitely ask them; such a great company and we loved our entire experience and would definitely do it again!

July 1, 2023 at 9:25 pm

We stopping at Komodo Island for just one day on an P & O cruise, how do we book tickets with a park guide to see the dragons. The ones that i have seen all come from mainland, where as we just want to book a park ranger so we can get off the cruise ship and see the dragons. Any help would be very much appreciated.

July 11, 2023 at 9:41 am

Hmm.. I really don’t know! I’m sorry I can’t be helpful! 🙁

November 23, 2023 at 4:13 am

I love your blog. It’s full of details and beautiful pictures. Thank you. Now I wanna go. Great job!

January 20, 2024 at 10:59 pm

Komodo really is a special place! And oh so beautiful! Highly recommend it!

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Your Cheat Sheet to Planning a Trip to Komodo Islands [2024]

Everything you need to know about planning your bucket list trip to komodo national park.

Komodo National Park is one of our favourite places in the world to visit. Over the years, it has become increasingly gentrified - from not having street lamps or pavements a few years ago, it now even has a Starbucks! It doesn't get easier to plan a trip there though as questions like how to choose a boat, what are the park fees etc, are still maddeningly opaque.

Here is everything you need to know about planning a trip. If you're ready to book, check out all the Komodo experiences here !

What are the Komodo Islands?

Most people don't know this, but the UNESCO heritage Komodo National Park doesn't just have one island, it has 29 islands. Komodo Island is just one of the many islands on Komodo National Park (more on that later).

When you visit Komodo National Park, you not only see Komodo dragons, you'll also head to other islands to see Pink Beaches, swim with Manta Rays and hike up to otherworldly view points.

How to Get There

The gateway town to Komodo National Park is Labuan Bajo (LBJ). Labuan Bajo airport has a few international direct flights, but most travellers will fly here via Jakarta or Bali (which has multiple flights a day to LBJ).

From Labuan Bajo town, it takes a couple of hours by boat to get to Komodo National Park. Most of the boat trips will offer a pick up from Labuan Bajo town.

Finally, for adventurous travellers, there is a boat that goes from Lombok to Labuan Bajo via Komodo National Park.

How to Explore Komodo National Park

You can only see Komodo National Park on an island hopping boat tour. You can either do a sightseeing boat tour or you can do a diving boat trip .

The sightseeing boat tours range from a day tour on a speedboat to a 3D2N liveaboard . Both will cover all the usual highlights like trekking with Komodo Dragons, seeing a Pink Beach, hiking to the viewpoint at Padar island and some snorkelling.

The diving boat trips range from one day leisure dives to 4 day liveaboards. They usually are only diving focused and they'll take you to some of the top dive spots but they won't go sightseeing to the various islands.

Staying in Komodo National Park

There are no hotels in Komodo National Park so generally travellers will stay in Labuan Bajo town. If you want to spend the night in Komodo National Park, you'll need to choose an overnight boat , and stay on board ( pictured ).

While there are resorts that are located on an island, and not in LBJ town, these resorts are not in Komodo National Park itself. The issue with staying in these resorts is that the join-in boat trips do not offer pick up from these resorts, so it'll be more logistically painful to do a sightseeing boat trip.

How Much Time to Spend Here

The shortest amount of time you need here is 3 days, even if you're only doing a one day speedboat trip . Because you'll fly in on the 1st day, do the speedboat trip on the 2nd day, and fly out on the 3rd day.

If you really want to see everything that Komodo National Park and Labuan Bajo has to offer, we would recommend 7 days if you're not diving (for 3D2N boat trip + 1 day road trip around LBJ + 2 days travel time). If you want to dive as well as sightsee, we would recommend at least 9 days (including travel time).

Note that the timings of the boat trips usually means you should fly in the day before your trip starts, and fly out the day after it ends.

Best Time to Go

Try to avoid the rainy season from January to March, as most boat trips don't run during this time, other than the one day speedboats. Even the one day speedboat trips may be cancelled on the day due to bad weather. If you do go then, plan for a couple of days' buffer time so you can reschedule your boat trip in case the original trip gets cancelled.

If your aim is only to see Komodo dragons, avoid mating season in July and August. You'll likely only see small Komodo dragons during this time as the large dragons are in the forest mating, and hard to find.

Finally try to avoid local holidays (for e.g. Raya) as it's way too packed then. You'll be queuing to hike up Padar, and crowding around the Mantas!

Crucial Logistics

Komodo National Park requires all boat trip passengers to pre-register. After you've booked your boat trip, you'll be required to submit your full name, nationality, and passport number to your boat host at least a day in advance, otherwise you'll be denied entry to the park. Several travellers have missed their boat trip for this reason!

What to See & Do

Komodo island.

This is one of the two islands where Komodo dragons live, and the largest island in Komodo National Park. This is also the only island in Komodo National Park that's inhabited by humans, as Komodo village and the indigenous Ata Modo are here. Here you'll get to trek with a local guide (usually from the indigenous Ata Modo tribe!) and try to spot wild Komodo Dragons.

Tip: Usually boat trips will either visit Komodo Island or Rinca Island to see Komodo dragons. But it's a bit harder to spot them in Komodo Island as the island is larger and more wild.

Rinca Island

Home to over-1000 Komodo dragons, Rinca is the only island other than Komodo Island where you can find Komodo dragons. Though it's not as famous as Komodo Island, it's actually easier to spot Komodo dragons here as it's a smaller island with a larger population of dragons on the island!

Tip: Rinca Island is a bit more manicured, with a boardwalk and easier sightings. If you want something more wild, go to Komodo Island.

Padar Island

This is the most iconic viewpoint at Komodo National Park, and the picture you've probably seen everywhere. Here you'll do a 45 minute easy trek to the top, and get to see panoramic views of Komodo National Park. If you peek carefully in that picture, you'll see a pink beach, a black beach and a white sand beach!

Tip: If you do an overnight boat trip, you'll be able to come here for sunrise when it's a little less crowded.

There are several Pink Beaches in Komodo National Park. The Pink Beach that most boats go to is the one near Komodo Island, which is a little less pink recently as travellers take the red coral (which gives the sand its colour) home. To see the pinkest part of the beach, venture to the far end of the beach where travellers don't go, and you'll see it in a dark pink hue.

Tip: If you take a private boat or if currents permit, you can head to the pinkest (and more remote) Pink Beach near Padar Island - called Short Beach. Don't forget to leave the red coral behind 🙈

Manta Point

Here you can snorkel with giant Manta Rays! The waters here are colder, which is what the gentle Mantas like, and during Manta season you'll be able to swim with many Mantas around you.

Tip: The best time to come here is actually in rainy season from December to March where the waters are especially cold, but you'll be able to see them up to June. If you come here from July to September though the chances of seeing them are low.

Also known as Turtle Bay, Siaba Bay is home to gorgeous coral reefs and where giant turtles like to hang out because of their favourite food (sea grass!) here. Siaba Bay is one of our fave spots in Komodo - you can snorkel and dive here to see the super zen and gorgeous turtles.

Tip: Not all the boat trips go to Siaba Bay so if you do love turtles and want to come here, check the itinerary carefully or go for a private boat where you can customise your itinerary.

Kalong Island

This was our highlight when we went to Komodo National Park! Here you'll see the exodus of millions of bats at sunset and it's such a otherworldly sight. First you'll see just a handful of bats fly out, and before long the entire orange sky is entirely covered with bats.

Tip: Not all boat trips go to Kalong island. The 3D2N trips will go, but the one-day join-in speedboat trips and dive trips won't. Kalong island alone is a good reason to do a 3D2N trip or a private speedboat trip !

How to Choose a Boat Trip

Join-in vs private boat.

Most of the boat trips in Komodo are join-in boat trips , but you can charter your own private boat as well.

If you're solo/couple or want to make friends, do a join-in trip. But if you have 4 or more persons, or any time constraints, you may want to charter a private boat . It's more flexible, more comfortable and not a lot more expensive.

The join-in trips have a number of constraints that private boats don't. For e.g. if you want to do a 3D2N join-in trip you'll need to arrive by Thursday. And if you're looking to do a 2D1N trip, you'll only find basic boats willing to do that trip on a join-in basis. If you do a private trip you don't need to worry about any of this, and can customise your itinerary!

Day Trip vs Overnight

If you want to wake up with the incredible views of Komodo National Park, you'll have to do a liveaboard trip as there are no hotels in Komodo National Park. However if you would rather not spend the night on the boat, a one-day speedboat actually covers most of the destinations that the overnight boats do.

The only difference in itinerary is that on a one-day speedboat, you don't get to go to Padar Island at sunrise (which isn't the biggest deal really), and you don't get to see the exodus of bats at Kalong Island. If you really want to see Kalong Island on a one-day trip, you can charter a private speedboat .

Diving vs Sightseeing

You'll need to decide whether you want to dive or go island hopping to see all of Komodo's highlights. The dive boats usually only includes one or two highlights like trekking with Komodo dragons and Padar Island, and, on the other hand, the sightseeing boats will have snorkelling but not diving.

If you want to dive and sightsee, you'll need to do 2 separate trips. Either a 4D3N diving liveaboard trip and then a separate one day Komodo sightseeing boat trip . Or you can also do a 3D2N Komodo sightseeing boat trip and a one day leisure dive trip

Budget Boat vs Phinisi Boat

For overnight trips, you can choose between basic boats , or Phinisi boats (which is basically a deluxe or luxury boat - pictured).

A basic boat usually has on-deck sleeping and you can choose from either a 2D1N trip or a 3D2N trip. A Phinisi boat will have private rooms (some will have both private rooms and dorms), and generally have better food, and amenities.

Komodo is a complicated place, and every year, several basic boats do sink. So if you do go for a budget boat do check their safety credentials carefully.

Common Questions from Travellers

What are komodo park fees.

Generally park fees are excluded from your boat tour price, and you'll need to bring cash for the fees. Usually the amount is quoted as a range, not a fixed sum because, well, it's complicated!

Komodo park entrance fees depend on the island you're visiting, whether it's a weekday or weekend, whether you're foreigner or local, and even how many people there are on your boat. To complicate it more, there are constant talks about increasing the fees 🤷

Current fees per person/per day on weekdays: Foreigners/Kitas holders: IDR 400-500k / Indonesians: IDR 180-250k. Sundays/public holidays per person (Foreigners/kitas holders : IDR 450-550k / Indonesians : IDR 180-250k)

What should I pack?

Pack light if you're spending the night on the boat! The rooms on the boats aren't large so if you bring a large suitcase you may not even be able to open it in your room.

Pack swimwear for snorkelling (and a rashguard if you're sensitive to the cold), sea sickness pills if you're prone to motion sickness, and hiking sandals or sneakers (as you'll need grip for the Padar trek).

Can I fly out on the day my trip ends?

We don't recommend flying out on the same day. Usually the boat trips are scheduled to arrive back at Labuan Bajo between 4-6pm in the evening. However this is subject to the currents and weather, and is very unpredictable. So ideally you should plan to fly out the day after your boat trip.

Can I go on my period?

Yes you can. Some people are concerned that Komodo dragons may be aggressive towards people on their periods, but that is not a risk at all.

As with any wildlife, whether or not you're on your period, just keep a sensible distance away from the wildlife and you'll be ok.

Can I bring my drone?

Guests who bring their own drone for usage within the Komodo National Park are required to purchase a drone ticket at the National Park Office at Labuan Bajo 3 days prior to the trip. The cost of the ticket is 1 million rupiahs so please do prepare enough cash. 

Can I go from Bali to Komodo on Boat?

No you can't. You can only fly from Bali to Labuan Bajo (1.5 hours flight, multiple flights a day), which is the gateway town to all the Komodo boat trips. You should aim to arrive a day before your trip, since all boat trips start before the flights arrive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Komodo National Park in Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia is a UNESCO World heritage site, and one of the most beautiful places on earth. Here you can see the prehistoric Komodo Dragon (basically a giant lizard!), swim with manta rays and turtles in crystal clear waters and see surreal pink sand beaches. You’ll do an island hopping boat trip here to visit all the highlights of Komodo National Park, and you can hike, dive and snorkel when you’re here.

To safely encounter Komodo dragons in their natural habitat, it is essential to visit the Komodo National Park with an experienced guide. These local guides are knowledgeable about the dragons' behavior and will ensure your safety while maintaining a respectful distance from the animals. Additionally, it is important to follow the guidelines provided by the park and your guide, such as not feeding the dragons, wearing appropriate footwear, and staying on designated paths.

• Manta Point - Known for its large population of manta rays, this site is perfect for observing these majestic creatures up close.
• Castle Rock - An underwater pinnacle teeming with fish, sharks, and other marine life, Castle Rock is ideal for experienced divers seeking a thrilling adventure.
• Batu Bolong - A coral-covered rock formation that attracts an abundance of marine life, including turtles, reef sharks, and schools of colorful fish.
• Cannibal Rock - This dive site features stunning soft corals, sea fans, and a variety of macro creatures, making it a favorite among underwater photographers.
• Tatawa Besar - With its gentle currents, Tatawa Besar offers a relaxing drift dive along a vibrant coral reef, perfect for divers of all levels.

We would recommend not visiting Komodo National Park during January to March as this is monsoon season and most boats don't run during this time, other than the one day speedboats. Even the one day speedboat trips may sometimes be cancelled if the weather is so bad that it's deemed unsafe to go out on the day. So if you visit Komodo National Park during this period, include more buffer time just in case your initially booked trip gets cancelled because of the weather.

Other than that, the other months are fine to visit Komodo National Park. The timing that you visit will determine what you'll get to see as some months are better for Komodo dragon sightings and other months are better for Manta Ray sightings.

• For Komodo dragon sightings, the ideal time to visit is during the dry season, which typically occurs between April and November. However, it is essential to avoid the mating season (July and August) when the dragons are less active. During mating season, the large dragons would be much more difficult to spot and you'll likely only see small, monitor-lizard sized dragons.
• Manta rays on the other hand love the rainy season. So if you only care about seeing them, the rainy season from December to February can be an excellent time to visit. Although the weather is wetter, manta rays are more likely to be spotted during this period as they tend to aggregate near the surface to feed on plankton.
• To maximize your chances of seeing both Komodo dragons and manta rays, consider visiting during the shoulder months of April, May, October, and November. These months generally offer favorable weather conditions and fewer crowds, increasing your chances of memorable wildlife encounters.

More Field Notes finds

Leong The Explore - Komodo Tour Guide

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Leong The Explore - Komodo Tour Guide - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

9 Things to do in Komodo National Park

K omodo National Park is one of the most beautiful places in Indonesia, and with so many things to do there, a trip is a must-do for any Indonesian traveler.

Famed for being the home of the notorious Komodo dragons, the park offers far more than just wildlife sightings. This UNESCO World Heritage site is known for its untouched nature, stunning landscapes, and rare animal species. 

Whether you’re a thrill-seeker looking to conquer new heights or a marine life enthusiast eager to swim alongside manta rays, Komodo National Park is the perfect place for extraordinary encounters. 

Best time to visit Komodo National Park

The optimal time to visit Komodo National Park in Indonesia is during the dry season, which spans from June to September, when the weather is best for trekking and spotting the park’s famous dragons. 

During these months, the seas are calmer, making boat travel between the islands smoother and diving conditions excellent, with visibility at its peak. While July and August are the busiest months, visiting in the shoulder months of April, May, and October offers a balance of good weather and fewer tourists, allowing for a more tranquil experience without the tourist crowds. 

Best things to do in Komodo National Park

Komodo has a lot to offer, from water activities, hiking, seeing wildlife, and just relaxing on a boat.

1. See Komodo Dragons

Spotting the legendary Komodo dragons in their natural habitat on Komodo Island is an experience you’ll never forget. These huge lizards, the largest in the world, are not merely a tourist attraction but a living wonder of evolution, often seen lazily sunbathing in the thick forests or lumbering through the underbrush. 

You can only explore the Komodo dragon’s natural habitat with a guide, who will provide not only safety but also plenty of information on the dragons’ behavior, diet, and the conservation efforts to protect them. 

The dragons can actually be quite dangerous, and their bite is deadly due to the bacteria inhabiting their mouths. Luckily, guides are very experienced, and incidents only occur when visitors wander off the trails by themselves. Stick to your guide, and you’ll be perfectly safe.

Observing the Komodo dragons is like stepping back in time, a truly unique wildlife experience that defines the raw, untamed beauty of Komodo National Park.

2. Explore Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo, once a sleepy fishing village on the western tip of Flores Island, serves as the main gateway to Komodo National Park. This busy port town has transformed into a thriving hub for travelers planning on visiting Komodo National Park or heading on a road trip around Flores. There are also beautiful resorts close to Labuan Bajo since staying in the national park itself is not possible.

But Labuan Bajo’s charm extends beyond its role as a transit point; it invites travelers to dive into cultural immersion, offering stunning sunset views from Amelia Sea View, fantastic seafood restaurants, and a nice waterfront, which is perfect for an evening walk. The town’s rapidly growing tourism infrastructure makes it an appealing spot for both the casual traveler seeking comfort and the rugged, eco-conscious explorer.

3. Go on an overnight boat tour

The best way to explore Komodo National Park is by joining an overnight boat tour, which will take you to see all the highlights.

These tours, which typically depart from Labuan Bajo, range from rustic to luxury, depending on your budget and preferences. Accommodations on these boats vary, offering anything from simple mattresses on deck under the stars to private, air-conditioned cabins. 

Choose from tours ranging from one to four nights and consider if you’re going to be scuba diving, which will need a bigger budget.

Meals on board are typically inclusive, with chefs preparing a fusion of Indonesian and international cuisine, often including the fresh seafood of the region. 

You can book your boat trip online in advance or find an operator on arrival in Labuan Bajo. With so many tours to choose from, you’re guaranteed to find one you’ll like.

4. Hike to Padar Island at sunrise

Padar Island is arguably Komodo National Park’s most famous lookout point and is known for being one of the only places in the world where you can see a white, pink, and black-sand beach at the same time.

For a sunrise hike on Padar Island, it’s essential to start climbing early while it’s still dark. The hike is moderate but involves steep and uneven terrain, so good hiking shoes and a flashlight are necessary. The climb takes around 30 to 60 minutes, and bringing water and a snack is recommended. As the summit can be windy, a windbreaker might be useful. Once at the top, hikers are greeted with a panoramic view of the island’s distinctive crescent beaches and rugged topography. Just keep in mind that this spot is very popular and can get very crowded, so adjust your expectations. To avoid the crowds, consider coming at noon or in the early afternoon instead.

5. Visit Rangko Cave

Rangko Cave is located close to the national park, in an area that is only accessible by boat. This is one of the more off-the-beaten-track things to do in Komodo, so you won’t encounter as many tourists here.

Visiting Rangko Cave requires a drive, a short boat trip, and a short hike. To reach the cave, travelers typically arrange for a taxi or private transfer to Rangko village, followed by a quick boat ride to the area of the cave. 

The locals will know where to take you, and the trail is straightforward and short, so it’s easy to find.

Appropriate footwear is advised due to the rugged terrain. Inside the cave, the main attraction is the stunning natural pool with its crystal-clear, saline water, ideal for a refreshing swim. 

The best time to visit is around midday, when the sun is high, as it illuminates the interior and enhances the beauty of the pool. Visitors should bring swimwear water and be prepared to pay a small entrance fee used for the conservation of the area.

6. Go scuba diving

Komodo National Park is one of the most beautiful places in the world to go scuba diving, and if you have your license, there is no excuse not to try it.

This is one of the most biodiverse marine environments on the planet, and you can see animals like reef sharks, turtles, and, of course, plenty of different tropical fish. The underwater topography here is as varied as it is dramatic, featuring everything from shallow coral gardens to deep walls and pinnacles, with currents that bring a constant flow of nutrients and attract a spectacular array of marine life. 

Whether you’re an experienced diver looking to ride the challenging currents or a beginner keen to explore under the expert guidance of local dive masters, Komodo’s underwater world is sure to leave a lasting impression. With dive operators offering a range of services from day trips to liveaboards, the diving adventure in Komodo can be tailored to fit any itinerary or skill level.

7. Visit Pink Beach

No trip to Komodo is complete without a stop at the national park’s famous pink beach. Named after its blush-colored sands, a natural phenomenon resulting from the mixture of white sand with red coral fragments, Pink Beach stands out as one of only very few pink beaches in the world.

This stretch of pastel-tinted coastline is not just perfect for relaxing, it offers excellent snorkeling opportunities just a few meters from the shore, where the coral reef is alive with a diverse array of marine life. 

Accessibility to Pink Beach is typically by boat, with most tours offering it as a stop for lunch or the early morning. The combination of its rare pink sands, the inviting waters, and the encompassing natural beauty makes Pink Beach a must-visit destination within the park, especially if you’re hoping to take lots of photos.

8. Swim with manta rays

Swimming with manta rays in the pristine waters of Komodo National Park is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The park, particularly around Manta Point or Makassar Reef, is known as a cleaning station where these graceful creatures gather, allowing divers and snorkelers the opportunity to observe them up close. 

Manta rays are an impressive sight to behold, with wingspans that can reach up to 4 meters. Despite their size, they are known for their docility and are friendly towards humans. 

Just keep in mind that manta sightings in Komodo are natural and that the animals are not fed by locals. This means that there is no guarantee that you’ll encounter them, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t. 

Generally, there is a higher probability of seeing manta rays when you scuba dive compared to snorkeling.

9. See the bats at Kalong Island

Kalong Island in Komodo National Park offers an extraordinary natural spectacle that unfolds at dusk each day. As the sun sets, painting the sky in shades of deep oranges and purples, thousands of flying foxes or fruit bats awaken and fly into the night.

This is an incredible sight to see, and you’ll be in awe as thousands of bats fly over your head in large swarms. If you’re staying on an overnight boat, you’ll get to enjoy drinks and maybe even dinner as you watch the bats. The boat crews know exactly where to go for the best view, so you’ll be in good hands.

Guest bio: Victoria is a travel blogger and Indonesia travel expert from Germany and her blog  www.GuideYourTravel.com  is focused on providing helpful and accurate information on the best places to visit in South East Asia.

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Choose Activities and Tours

To find great activities in any area I use Get Your Guide and Viator . If we are visiting a city with lots of popular attractions I always check CityPass and GoCard to see if they have discount cards available.

When I want to book a full-on multi-day tour I use TourRadar . They’ve got fantastic weekly deals. If I am going somewhere in Mexico or the Caribbean I use Apple Vacations .

Rent a Car or Take a Lyft

More often than not Lyft is cheaper than Uber. Use my Lyft link for an $18 credit ! For a car rental in any country, I recommend Discover Cars .

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