Indonesian Archipelago Series-5: Komodo Island

My last posts kind of broadened your options about places to visit in Indonesia besides Bali. This time, Komodo island, is literally a must-visited destination but… it will also depend on the upcoming Indonesian government decision to fully open or close these islands for tourism due to so many human-made chaos. Last year we had a fire in one of the island after Komodo complex was suddenly being so famous among local visitors. I did this tour 3 years ago, before it was become a trend, so I was kind of lucky. This Komodo trip was actually a super spontaneous yes to my friends. By only paying 1,500,000 IDR which is around 130 eur, you got this marvelous 3-day guided trip to Komodo Island on a boat. At the beginning I thought we would sleep in a hotel of each island that we were going to visit, but nope, we slept on our anchored ship under the stars. 

However, you still need to buy your plane ticket to Labuan Bajo (excluded from the price I mentioned) with a transit in Denpasar, Bali. 

Day 1 - Labuan Bajo 

Komodo island is a part of East Nusa Tenggara island complex with Komodo dragons inhabiting there. Labuan Bajo has a very small airport with interesting architecture. As you landed, you could see the green hilly contour of the island and you would have a feeling that you are landing in a Jurassic Park world. No kidding. All of the islands that we would visit from Labuan Bajo are mostly not inhabited by humans, it would be a total empty islands. Super adventurous!

We were picked up by the driver to the hotel where we stayed: Greenhill boutique hotel. The boys got their rooms at Le Pirate, which was next to ours. I personally prefer the interior of Le Pirate. But if you are a fan of vintage things you can choose Greenhill. Our hotels are just in front of the harbor with an amazing view. We had dinner in seafood street restaurants along the beach lines. It was so good and fresh. Our group tour consisted of 8 people and we all ate here together. We could choose which fish we wanted directly. Along the way you could see people selling fishes, some cute boutiques and souvenirs. It was not as crowded as now. There were a lot of locals selling tenun cloth which have beautiful patterns of handmade weaving technique. Make sure you have it with you!

Day 2: Kelor island, Rinca Island, Komodo island 

The next morning, we had an amazing breakfast at the rooftop of the hotel with the sunrise view and the sea. We went to the harbor at around 10 AM. The water was so clean that you can see small fishes dancing along the harbor.

Our ship was a modest wooden yet lovely one. Our guide, Ata is the highlight of this trip. He was so easy going and friendly. It took hours to go to the 1st island: Kelor. The water and the beach was as clear as crystal. I lost my words when I climbed to the top of a small hill and enjoy the view. Here, I also had my first snorkeling. The rule of snorkeling is actually to stay together, but it was so calm that day and I also was not brave enough to go deeply to the middle. The corals and little fishes are so beautiful. We had our lunch cooked on the boat and it was just perfect for a fish lover like me. By the way, there was no signal for our providers at that time. It was really a therapy of discarding our gadgets and really taking time to be present in the nature.  

We then sailed to Rinca island also with the view of some boats and its savanna. People say there are still komodo dragons living here wildly but no one knows the population for sure. It is much less than the one in Komodo island for sure. Here we also found many unique animals like the unusual birds and chickens. 

If you are having period, you are not allowed to go to Komodo island because komodo can smell blood from very far distance. We saw one little juvenile komodo from afar and oh my god, it evened so fast. We could see 3 komodos in front of a traditional and we could take pictures from certain distance with them because there 3 komodos are raised among human so they are more used to humans than normal ones. Their tongues were so long! They were fed by chickens if I am not mistaken. They are amazing creatures! We could also see a lot of bird species and monkeys as we walk through the track.  

The next stop is Pink Beach. This is my favorite because it was literally pink, no jokes. The sand is pink and the sunset was crazily exquisite. Turns out that this pink color is due to the mixing of white and red sand caused by Protists mechanism to have their food. Amazing, right? There was literally no one in this island. It was quite a long walk to find the beach and it was getting dark when we went back. But really, I could cry because of its beauty and the sunset. One of our group members found the body of a boar. I was kind of scared, I mean, who could possibly kill the boar?

Two people from our group are foreigners and they were taking pictures and videos by drones in the era where drones were so new. They hiked so fast and went down so fast. I am always amazed at how contrast we were. We went a little bit by boat again near Padar Island and slept onboard. We sang with Ata and his ukulele, it was a lovely evening. That night, I was also in love with Flores coffee and could not stay away from it until a year after, before my gastric problem stroke. 

Day 3: Padar island, Manta Point, Kenawa Island, Sembilan Island

Waking up at 4 in the morning, we hiked the Padar island to see the sunrise. The beach layout makes it looks like having lakes jutting in the hills. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life no matter how I travel in Europe. You could stay for hours and hours here. If you are a great trekker you will surely enjoy the road and hike until the highest peak. Make sure you wear hiking sandals because I did not. We then went back to our boat and also given chance to ride the small lifeboat and take pics on it. It was a lovely morning.

Before we headed to Kenawa island, we stopped above a point where we could see and swim with Manta Rays. We could not see them at all because the waves were so strong. I have to tell you that the boat trip in this 3rdday was crazily scary because of the wind and wave at some point I was so afraid that we would die there, really. Our boat was kind of the normal and modest one, you could choose better one with “wave breaker” specs if you want to feel safer. However, we managed to arrive in Sembilan island which has the shape like number 9.

Sembilan is nine in Indonesian. Here we found lot of jellyfish, they are at the same time cute and scary. Well it did not really look like number 9 but yes it surely has unique shape. It was kind of challenging to take picture here.

Next, we went for another crazy ride to Kenawa island which was the ending of our trip. It was also quite a hike here. The view was amazing yet different from Padar island. Here we also stopped to drink the typical coconut drink directly from the fruit. They also have little cottages here if you want to spend the night.

I don’t know why I didn’t feel tired at all in this trip, only the fear of the waves maybe. But the rest, the trip was so meaningful and priceless. You could not just pay 1.5 million IDR to witness the magic of these islands. No wonder, Komodo island was debatable to be nominated as one of world 7 wonders. But if you are afraid of water and sea, for sure this might be extra challenging because it was 48 hours onboard. 

We went back and stay another night at the hotel before flying back to Java the next day. 

If you have more days to stay, you could also visit Wae Rebo, a cultural village in Flores. I did not make time to choose that package. I hope whatever the government decides for Komodo will be the best for both local economy incomes from tourism and for the ecosystem. Flores people were so friendly and warm to you, for sure! 

I would say that you must go to Komodo complex once in your life. You have to witness the crystal-clear ocean and the dragons! Trust me, this is a kind of trip you will cherish until the rest of your life. 

This is our lovely guide, Ata:

---

Photo gallery