Pulau Komodo Transportation

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one of a convenience way to reach Komodo island is sailing by boat, there were many tour operators at Soekarno Hatta street in Labuan Bajo offers atrip to Komodo National Parks, they offer one day trip to Rinca island, one day trip to Komodo island, two days one night package tour to Komodo and Rinca island and four days three nights package tour to Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang and other small island.

The price of the tour was depend on the package tour and also depend on how many persons on one boat, a small boat just loads up to 4 persons and a big boats loads up to 10 or 15 persons.

You could also hire one boat and do bargaining to the travel agent about the price.
The trip was include mineral waters, lunch and diner, morning and afternoon coffee, stop a few moment at many tourist spot for snorkelling (pulau kambing, pink beach, pulau bidadari or just walking on a special beach (pink beach and bidadari island)

The trip commonly begin at 09.00 AM and return in the late afternoon

Most tourists on Komodo just arrived to watch the Komodo lizard. You can't do anything without a guide, though they are willing to lead you anywhere. When you got a captain of your own, and a boat, ... heehee ..., try to get to Pulau Kalung. Its fame refers to the flying bats (kalung). See the goats swimming to Pulau Kalung from neighbouring islands. When ebb-tide, some places the water can sink for 4 m., the distances are not that far and the goats love to gnaw the roots of the trees at the island of Pulau Kalung. I haven't seen any Komodo !!!

With day-time you could sail for Pantai Merah (Red Beach), a beautiful beach on the Komodo Island, formed by red coral. Well,... one problem! You've got to swimm to the the beach, because the boat cannot come too close due to the riffs and strong undercurrents. And thinking of the Komodo dragon and its possibility to swimm around, it was me who crawled back to the boat, directly followed by the others ...
Still Sailing Around With Fun !!!

If you are on your own, of travelling with a small group, the best for a trip to Komodo is from Labuhanbajo, West-Flores. The boat rental is usually for 3 nights only, you won't get a permit from the Forestry Department longer than 5 nights anyways.

Because of the reefs, seldom do big boats go out to Komodo but you can take a small sailing/motor boat which takes about 18 onto 36 hours; going back takes only 12 hours. You might meet with some reluctance; there are hazardous rip tides, sand bars, and some currents around Komodo can attain a speed of 13 knots. In places the sea bubbles, boils and foams like a river below a waterfall.

Boats sometimes just disappear like within the Bermuda Triangle, even in calm weather. Find yourself a well-informed captain, check his boat, make the best bargain and go for the adventure ... Share expenses with several people.

Rent a boat!
There's no only way to go to Komodo unless you rent a boat. There are some travel agents in Lombok or Labuhan Bajo that can arrange for the trip. Usually they will charge you per tour package. So, the more people, the cheaper. It was Pak Ari who arranges our trip to Komodo. With 11 people for 4 days/3 nights, he charged us for more or less than IDR 900.000 (US$ 90) per person. The price included transportation from Muhammad Salahuddin Airport in Bima (Sumbawa Island) to the nearest seaport in Sape, the boat rental, meal, and of course...sleeping on the boat! haha... Then from Sape we went to Labuhan Bajo (Flores). After spending 1 night there, we started the journey to Komodo and any other islands in Nusa Tenggara Barat Sea.

Grand Komodo Tours and Dives is the premier adventure tour and dive specialist in Indonesia. The Tour Division has been specializing in “off the beaten track” tours throughout Indonesia, especially the region of the Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sundas) and Bali since 1987. The Dive Division offers scuba diving trips, from its flagships, to the island regions of Komodo, Alor and Flores for individuals and small groups. Grand Komodo also offers charter operations to many destinations in the islands to the East of Bali

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You may hire a local wooden boat in Labuanbajo to reach Komodo Island. There are a lot of boats available, from small boat with capacity max 5 people, 10 people and more. Which cost around $60 - $100. To save money you may join with other people or join a day tour that offer by local agent in Labuanbajo.

Actually, there is no flight to Komodo Island. This is just a small Island about 200 miles sq.
The nearest Airport is located in Labuanbajo – Flores Island. So, you can take a flight from Denpasar (Bali) to Labuanbajo (Flores), stay one night there, next morning hire a local boat to Komodo Island. It takes about 3 hours.

There are three airlines serve Denpasar - Labuanbajo; Merpati Airlines (byFokker 27), GT air (ATR) and TransNusa (ATR). Almost everyday there is flight to Labuanbajo.

The only way you can get to and around Komodo National Park is by boat. You can go to this small town called Labuan Bajo in Flores (can catch the flight from Bali twice a week). There are many tour operators in town and you can compare prices from one operator to another. Most of them can speak english well. I'd recommend our tour guide who became our really good friend, Mr. Ari. He works for the Flores Ecotourism Society.