My sister and I have been living away from the Philippines for a few years, and we seldom coincide our travel days when we visit home. To treat our parents, we gift them a family vacation for the Christmas holidays. My parents are avid fans of UNESCO World Heritage sites and those lists for wonders of the world. We visited Jeju Island in 2018 and now we go around Komodo Island in 2019! Exciting!
The route we took was to take a flight from Bali to Labuan Bajo. I flew to Bali in advanced so I had a few days for myself before the family trip, and went around Nusa Penida (another post to come, but check out what others to see in Bali!). Upon reaching Labuan Bajo, we stayed in a small hotel called Exotic Komodo (3-mins away from airport) where we will be picked up by the tour the next morning. Going around Komodo Island was convenient due to the tour organized by Top Komodo Tours. We sailed around the islands on a private boat for 3-days / 2-nights with everything included. The home cooked food on the boat was also satisfying – very fresh seafood! We never went hungry as the crew cooked all day round with snacks.
Table of Contents
Amazing landscape view of Padar Island
I put this first because it is probably the highlight of the entire Komodo Island tour (aside from the Komodo dragons!). You absolutely should not miss it! There were no Komodo dragons around (I think), but this island gives you the maximum reward for minimum effort. It took me less than half an hour to trek to the viewing point and just look at that view. You can see the pink, white, and black sands with crystal clear waters. The landscape looks like a giant “T” which makes it interesting. As for the sunrise view, you get a 360 degree open view at the top and I was able to play around doing sunbursts.
Pink Beaches of Komodo Island
My luck during this tour was pretty good. The pink beach is one of the most popular places to see in Komodo Island because of its unique features. When we arrived, the place was very empty! People were probably still around Padar Island and since we went there early, we had a jump start to this spot? The pink sand is caused by microscopic organisms in coral named Foraminifera, which produces the pigment when broken down.
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving – See the Manta Rays and Turtles of Komodo Island!
A boat and island trip, of course there will be underwater views! Honestly, this underwater view is surreal and blew my mind. Despite being a Filipino with obvious bias about having the best islands, this one is a top contender! This is the first time I’ve seen a Manta Ray and sea turtles as well! I broke my GoPro when I went to Palawan earlier in 2019, but luckily my parents had an underwater camera to take these shots.
The rare and dangerous Komodo Dragons of Komodo Island
Finally, the main reason why people come to Komodo Island – it’s dragons. This island is home to over 4000 dragons and is the top predator around the islands. They are the largest lizard in the world, can run around 20kph, carnivorous, and their saliva is venomous. They only eat once every few months, but eat up to 80% of their own weight when they do. It is a must for safety to be accompanied by a guide in front when walking (human shield / bait?). When hunting, they bite the prey let the venom kill it, which may take a week.
See fruit bats flying out of Kalong Island
Kalong Island is famous for its giant fruit bats, nicknamed “flying foxes,” who live in the island’s mangrove forests. Each day after sunset, thousands of bats emerge from the trees and fly to the surrounding islands for fruits. As a clueless tourist myself, I didn’t know this was a thing to see around Komodo Island. It started to drizzle and became gloomy with the clouds that day. It actually made it feel like something from a suspense movie.
Catching the sunset around Komodo Island
You had the sunrise view in Padar Island, why not go around the boat to catch the sunset? Obviously, I am a sucker for chasing the sun and island views. We had time to kill on our last night, so we asked the captain for a sunset run. The crew took us back to the side of Pink Beach.
Other shots around Komodo Island
During the boat ride, the captain will take us to lesser known islands for a short trek or snorkel under the sun. The parks where the Komodo dragons are offer pack a nice view. It was very sunny those days, so we opted for the shorter trek in Rinca island and Komodo National Park.
And that’s a wrap! This one is definitely going in my books and top recommendations for an island trip. The tour was well managed, epic sceneries, and a relaxed vibe. Hope you enjoyed this and see you on my next post!