Boat Tour to Komodo Island and Rinca

Rising from the sea like sinuous spines on a dragon’s back, the chain of islands in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara Province are rugged, remote and largely unexplored. These islands—fringed by pristine white-sand beaches and spectacular coral gardens—speckle the sapphire waters of the Flores Sea.

It seems like an entirely different planet from the lush and tropical island of Bali.

But the otherworldly scenery is not the main reason most intrepid travelers make it out to the town of Labuan Bajo. In recent years, adventure-seekers have flocked to the sleepy village, due to its proximity to Komodo island and Rinca–two islands in the Flores Sea that are the world’s only known habitats of the lethal Komodo dragon.

We, too, were flying to this tranquil corner of Indonesia in an attempt to track down some of the world’s largest lizards on a boat tour to Komodo and Rinca. 

 

KOMODO DRAGON TOURS

As soon as we arrived in Labuan Bajo, we dropped our bags off at the lovely Green Hill Boutique Hotel and set out to find a tour operator that could accommodate us on an overnight boat tour to Komodo and Rinca.

Seeing the Komodo dragons in their natural habitat is one of the most popular things to do on Flores Island.

After comparing various excursions and haggling a bit over prices, we agreed to spend 600,000Rp ($45) each on a 2 day/1 night tour that left the following day. The price included transportation, meals, accommodation on the boat, and snorkel gear. It excluded the entrance fees and ranger fees associated with visiting the two islands. 

Our 2 day/1 night boat tour consisted of visits to Komodo and Rinca, followed by a day of snorkeling at Kanawa Island and Manta Point. 

 

LABUAN BAJO

Labuan Bajo has become an increasingly popular tourist destination in recent years. The town’s proximity to the some of Indonesia’s best wildlife-viewing destinations (both above and below sea level), have turned the town into a small-yet-growing tourism hotspot. The town is a launching pad for snorkel trips, dive adventures, and Komodo island tours.

Labuan Bajo is a pleasant city surrounded by spectacular views in every direction. The town has a handful of nice restaurants and guesthouses—making it an ideal sendoff point for tours to the surrounding area.

With an evening to spare before our highly-anticipated boat trip, we heeded the advice of our tour operator and hiked to the summit of Bulkit Cinta for sunset. 

From the top, we enjoyed jaw-dropping views of the surrounding islands and a sunset that rivaled those of Gili Air.

 

THE DRAGONS OF KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

Komodo dragons are the world’s largest lizard and can reach up to three meters in length. As if their size isn’t frightening enough, the reptiles can run up to 20km/hr. They can also swim, climb trees and hunt down animals twice their size. Komodo dragons have two glands in their lower jaws that secrete toxic proteins. Their bites are lethal to humans.

The world’s entire Komodo Dragon population lives on four Indonesian Islands. We visited two of these islands—Komodo and Rinca—on our overnight boat tour to the UNESCO-recognized Komodo National Park.

 

• RINCA ISLAND

Rinca Island lies nestled between the larger islands of Sumbawa and Flores. The island’s hilly terrain—fringed with mangroves and carpeted in palm-speckled savannah—is home to hundreds of free-roaming Komodo dragons.

Accompanied by a guide wielding a flimsy-looking, two-pronged stick, we began our expedition. The hike followed a forested path through a thicket of trees and continued alongside a palm-studded mountain ridge. Throughout our walk, I kept my eyes and ears peeled for the slightest rustle or blurred movement.

On our short loop hike in Rinca, our guide pointed out a total of six Komodo dragons. Some were merely babies, others were fully grown.

We tiptoed around the dragons and tried our best not to startle them with jerky movements or loud noises. Standing so close to the animals was terrifying and our guide’s two-pronged stick did little to reassure us of our safety.

At the end of the hike, our guide led us to a kitchen near the visitor’s center, where we saw seven or eight Komodo dragons camping out under the shade of the wooden structure. The Komodo dragons are purportedly attracted to the smell of the kitchen and often spend much of their day lounging around the area in hopes that scraps of food will fall to the ground.

While encountering the dragons near the ranger station may have felt a little staged, it gave us a great (albeit terrifying) opportunity to see and photograph them up-close.

 

• KOMODO ISLAND

After our harrowing visit with the reptiles on Rinca, we headed back to our boat and continued onward, toward Komodo.

Like Rinca, Komodo Island sits in the Flores Sea and houses various forms of wildlife. During our short walk on the island, we had the opportunity to see antelope, exotic birds, wild boar and, of course, Komodo dragons.

In total, we spotted about five Komodo dragons on our hike and we would have likely seen more had my fellow travelers and I decided not to cut our visit short in order to make it in time to Kalong Island—a small island renowned for the clouds of flying foxes that emerge each evening from its mangrove forest.

 

• KALONG ISLAND

We reached Kalong Island at about 5pm, anchored our boat out at sea and waited for the colonies of flying foxes to awaken from their sleep.

       

As the sun began to set, the flying foxes slowly woke up and—one by one—emerged from the mangroves until there were columns of screeching bats swirling ominously above our rocking boat. 

We watched them swoop and swarm, until the fiery orange skies gave way to a flickering canopy of stars.

 

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When we could no longer see the flying foxes, I laid my mattress out on the boat deck and got ready for bed.

And then, in the ink-black darkness of the night out at sea, I fell asleep to the eerie chorus of screeching bats, as our boat rocked gently back and forth.

 

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