Top 5 Things to do in Komodo

Home to the largest lizard on earth, Komodo National Park promises dramatic landscapes, pink beaches, luscious sea-life and of course the magnificent Komodo dragon! You will need at least two whole days to fully enjoy the national park. Check out my top 5 things to do in Komodo.

I flew into Labuan Bajo airport and stayed near the harbour at the Mawar Hotel. The room was one of the cheapest I found and it also offered breakfast and complimentary pick up/drop off from the airport.

 

5) Chill out on a boat

The 4 things to do below make up 2 days of your trip, both with really early starts. I would recommend having a rest day in between to sleep and chill.

You can do this in style on board Le Pirate Boatel. You can catch a free shuttle there and back through out the day from le Pirate. They have food and drink onboard, as well as snorkles and a paddle board. You can even choose to spend the night onboard, a double room with a sea view is only 40$ a night.

 

4) Go snorkeling on the pink beach

The Pink Beach, or Pantai Merah, is one of only seven pink beaches in the world. The striking colour is caused by microscopic animals called Foraminifera, which produce a red pigment on the coral reefs.

The pink beach is located to the south of Komodo island, and will most likely be the third stop on your Komodo tour.

The pinkness of the beach is at it’s most visible when the tide is out.

 

3) Climb Pulau Padar

An absolutely breath taking view, well worth the 20 to 30 minute up-hill hike.

TOP TIP – Make sure this is your first or last stop of the day, as even at 9am it was really hot climbing up!

 

2) Scuba dive with manta rays

For me, scuba diving with manta rays has been my most exciting underwater adventure to date. They are just HUGE, but o so graceful and incredibly playful too!

We spent one day doing three dives with Divers Paradise Komodo for 1450k IDR ($100 USD). If you are completely new to scuba diving (or just without a license) you can still dive, it will just cost a bit more.

TOP TIP – Schedule your dive on either your first or second day in Komodo, as you can’t fly 24 hours after a dive. 

 

1) See the Komodo dragons

One of the main reasons why I came to Komodo was to see the largest lizards on earth, and they did not disappoint! We were lucky enough to spot several in the wild, including a young one!

You can see Komodo dragons on both Komodo and Rinca islands. Neither island has fences or roads and the dragons roam as they please on large islands

TOP TIP – Rinca feeds the komodo’s in order to attract them to a specific area, this has led to a diminished population. For ethical reasons, I would recommend you go to Komodo island where they are 100% wild.

You will be assigned two rangers per group who will be able to locate and spot the dragons, as well as share useful information and facts. They are also there to protect you from the komodo dragons (remember their bite is venomous!), and to ensure you don’t get too close.

You will need to pay a number of things to enter the island:
– Park entrance fee 150,000 IDR (225,000 IDR on Sundays and holidays)
– Area tax 50,000 IDR
– Ranger 80,000 IDR (per group)

We had three whole days in Komodo National Park, one day scuba diving, one day boat tour (going to Pulau Padar, Komodo and the pink beach) and one day chilling on the boatel.

TOP TIP – Make sure you book your diving and tours at least a day before as most of them leave around 5 to 6am.

We booked our day tour with Hubert, he was able to offer us a tour for only 300k IDR (we were a group so managed to negotiate), most other places were offering 400k IDR. You can contact him on Whatsapp on +62 821-4522-3077.

If you’re planning on exploring more of Indonesia, check out my top 9 things to do in Bali.

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