4 Days Adventure In A Boat Navigating Komodo NP

This was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. A proper pirate quest in this 4 days adventure at Komodo NP!

This journey is full of incredibles places, amazing animals and the most loveable people ever.
Our trip was from Labuan Bajo to Lombok but you can make it backwards if you prefer. We took a plane from Bali to Labuan Bajo.

We booked this trip with Wanua Adventure, you can check their page and contact them directly. I would definitively recommend them.
The tour generally starts on Wednesdays and Sundays at 7:30 AM.

In these four days you will see many paradisiacal islands, experience firsthand how a fishing community lives surrounded by Komodo Dragons, snorkelling in amazing coral reefs, explore caves, jump from the top of the boat, climb up a small waterfall and witness incredibles sunsets.
You will have an experience that will stay with you forever. And its one of the seven natural wonders of the world
You will see lots of Plastic and Garbage on shore of Moyo Island.
Indonesia is one of the worst places of South East Asia with regard to plastic. Most of the plastic waste washes ashore with the tides, and much of it isn’t even generated locally.

The Boat

Our boat was a double deck called Tiara Mandiri.

You can choose a private “room” or the shared room in the top deck. We choose the private one with my girlfriend and it was very good.

It’s gonna be hot and humid anywhere you are, so don’t expect AC in the private room. But trust me, you will spend most of the time jumping to the crystal clear waters or outside deck enjoying the fresh breeze on your face rather than in your room.

The food served in the boat is very tasty and abundant, they prepare it all onboard, breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have vegetarian options if you a are a vegetarian as myself. They served generally rice with different ingredients, and all sort of Indonesian plates. All very yummy and filling.
You will be starving by the end of each day. There’s also unlimited water, coffee, tea and hot water.

The boat will become your house for the next couple of days so try your best to keep it clean and enjoy the incredible views which will be deliver to you every day in this incredible journey.

Jumping from the upper deck to the water was so much fun! Overcome your fear and Jump!

Day 1

From Labuan Bajo to Rinca Village

As soon as you’re settled in and have put away your belongings, the crew will welcome you and offer you some Indonesian sweets to start your day.

The first stop will be at Rinca Village, a small fishing village. Here we will make a small walking track to see a cave full of bats (they will be at the ceiling of the cave looking down at you with shiny eyes) with the possibility of seen a Komodo Dragon, but is not certain. Don’t worry, you will see them later for sure.

Once back from the walking track and into the village you will have lunch and also a local cultural dance, everybody at the village are specially friendly and welcoming.
The small children will run about and laugh constantly. If you have tattoos, these will make the kids very curious, and probably want to touch them.
Most people of Indonesia are muslims and there’s a religious law which doesn’t allow them to mark their bodies so no one has tattoos.
You will probably end up dancing with everybody at the end of the performance.

From Rinca To Strawberry Point For Snorkel

Once we got close to Strawberry Point they take us out to Snorkel close to some mangroves which is something crazy to see underwater.
Most of the coral reef you’ll see here is dead or almost dead but still is something worth seen as there are some massive corals.

Exploring Strawberry Point and Sunset

This small island in the middle of turquoise water is made of a smooth pinkish rock with crazy patterns, very psychedelic if there’s a word to described them.
I would recommend to go barefoot or with good tracking shoes because the island is all made of smooth rock and in some parts could be slippery.

Always with my Mate ready at all times!

Right after sunset the bats came out from their slumber and took the skies, in thousands! Such an incredible view!

Day 2

Padar Island And Sunrise In Komodo NP

On the second day we woke up one hour before sunrise, and start going to the beach to start a trekking up hill to the best spot on the Island for sure!
Going up we saw some deers and a couple of rabbits. The way up is easy, you can take your time to get to the top.
The path is well signalised and easy to follow.

After sunrise at the summit, you have time to take pictures and be blown away by the marvellous view!
Be mesmerized by the incredible changes of color as the sun rises from the horizon. Put your phone or camera down and enjoy this moment of bliss.
Once back at the beach, you’ll be back to the boat to have breakfast and start your journey to see the Komodo Dragons!

Komodo Island In Komodo NP

At first once we got to the beach there was an excitement in the air, imagining this living dinosaurs so close.
They give you a small chat about safety and tell you to not get close or go walking alone far from the group.
This is something very safe to do, lots of people have done this tour and nothing ever happen. The attacks from Komodo Dragons to people are very rare (not impossible) so don’t panic about it.

This Incredible reptile is humongous! The size of the head, the tong and the claws are huge!
You can’t help but feel immense respect for them! They are the apex predators of the entire Komodo NP, hunting down water buffaloes that can weigh up to half a ton.

Getting To Pink Beach

After seeing these incredible reptiles, we will continue our journey to the amazing Pink Beach, which is located on the same Komodo Island at Komodo NP. However, just getting there is an experience worth noting.

Pink Beach

After a small walk you will arrive to Pink Beach in Komodo NP, The colour comes from a red reef that gets crushed by the tides over a long period, gradually turning as fine as sand and giving the beach its incredible hue.

When we visited, the beach appeared pinkish, though not as pink as some pictures might show. However, I have friends who came a year later, and the colour was different, so it can vary.
Still incredible sight! don’t get me wrong!

Day 3

Moyo Island Snorkel Time

We spent the entire night and part of the morning sailing to Moyo Island, which took between 14 to 17 hours. You won’t even realise it’s happening.
Once here, you’ll do some snorkelling, and let me tell you, it’s much better than the first snorkel site we visited on the first day.
There’s a lot more living coral reef and fish in this place at Komodo NP.

The colour of the water! It’s just breathtaking! And we were lucky enough to spot a cuttlefish that resembled a living Pokémon, capable of changing colours like crazy!

Waterfall In Moyo Island at Komodo NP

After snorkeling, we begin a trek through the jungle to reach a waterfall.
The exciting part is that upon reaching the waterfall, you ascend it to reach some pools with porous rocks, which make the climb easy.
At the end of this climb, there’s a small lagoon where you can jump from a tree and have fun with the crew atop this jungle waterfall.
I did the whole trail barefoot but you can go with your slippers, I don’t recommend to use shoes because they will get soaked.

At the beach in Moyo Island we saw our first monkeys! So have you eyes peeled to see some.

Gili Bola or Gili Bedil To Swim Or Relax

After Moyo Island, we headed to Gili Bola, a true paradise. It’s small, with no one around except for the gentle breeze swaying the palm trees and the waves.

Here, you can relax almost until sunset in this amazing spot in Komodo NP.

Party In The Beach To Finish The Day

To finish this incredible couple of days we end up partying at the beach with a very cute family who sell us drinks.
They made a bonfire, had music ready and lots of cold beer (the good old Bintang). We sang and dance together with the other passengers and the boat crew.

There was a beautiful full moon illuminating the beach, making it the perfect way to nearly conclude the day. I say ‘nearly’ because a friend of mine brought a bottle of rum from the mainland with the idea of drinking it on our last night aboard to have a true pirate experience.
We ended up sharing it with the crew and laughing our heads off.
You can imagine how it all turned out—just good quality time.

Day 4

On the forth day this trip will come to an end, you can organise with the tour where do you want to be drop off.

Between 8 Am and 9 AM we were at Kayangan Harbour (East of Lombok) and from here they put us in a van to go through Lombok to the other side of the Island to get a Ferry to Gili Tranwangan.

We decide to go to Gili Trawangan, but you can choose either Mataram, Senggigi, Bangsal or Kuta in Lombok, Gili Meno and Gili Air which ever suits you better for your next adventure.

Closing Statement Of This 4 Days Adventure At Komodo NP

This 4 days of adventure was one of the best trips I’ve ever had by far. We were lucky enough of doing it with 4 close friends which gave an extra spice to this amazing experience.
But if you are alone it’s also almost impossible for you to have a bad experience so don’t think you need to be accompanied to do this.
In fact, we end up very good friend of a girl that was traveling alone.

I’ll say that the tour agency was great and all of the crew were amazing, the whole time we felt very comfortable and we laugh at all times.

I would recommend this tour to anyone. I’ve already done it myself. Everyone I know who has done it, loved it.

Price Of The Tour

The price for this incredible tour in any direction (from Labuan Bajo to Lombok or from Lombok to Labuan Bajo) is 2.8M IDR ($172) for deck sharing class or 3.3M IDR ($202) for a private cabin.
The bathroom is always shared.

This price includes the government fee, entrance fee and snorkel fee of the Komodo National Park. The 3 meals of every day, unlimited water, tea and coffee.
With the transfer until you final destination as well.
We didn’t have to take out our wallets once in the whole journey.