Komodo is an Indonesian island located further east of Bali. It is globally renowned as the home of the Komodo dragons, the world’s largest living lizards. In addition to this, it offers exceptional scuba diving experiences, thanks to its rich and diverse marine life.
How to get to Komodo from Bali
Being two major tourist hotspots, the two places are well connected. There are several daily flights from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo. This airport is situated on the western end of the large island of Flores and from here you can book al kinds of trips to explore the neighbouring Komodo above and below sea level.
Things to do at Komodo National Park
You can not really stay on Komodo itself since it is part of a national parc. There is a village on the island but it is a very poor environment and there are not tourist accomodations. So you basically stay in Labuan Bajo and book your trips from here.
There are really only 3 things you can do here:
- Komodo Dragons: You can either join a group day trip or a 3-day/2-night boat tour to see the dragons on either Komodo or Rinca Island. Unfortunately, the park is not well-maintained, with a lot of trash. The dragons are easily spotted in the shadows of the trees just behind the small village on Komodo Island, and the guides keep telling you how lucky you have been today… It’s a somewhat disappointing experience, but it’s the only way for regular tourists to see these creatures in their natural habitat.
- Scuba Diving: With so many dive centers available, the hardest part might be choosing which one to go with. In contrast to the somewhat disappointing Komodo Dragon experience, the diving here is absolutely pristine. I went for 2 days, with 3 dives each day. Make sure your dive center will head to the northern part of Komodo, where marine life is more abundant. Personally, I think I had my best dive yet (out of 50 dives so far). There were countless fish species I’d never seen before, and about 12 white-tip reef sharks swimming among them – truly amazing!
- Inland Trips: Some tour operators offer trips to explore Flores, which is quite a large island. Although I didn’t join these tours, the spiderweb rice fields and the traditional village of Wae Rebo seem quite interesting.
Goodbye Asia
I could easily spend much more time in Asia. Honestly, I can imagine living here for the rest of my life, but without the skills for a digital job, that’s sadly not financially feasible at the moment. As they say in Thailand: “No money, no honey.” I’ll return later, and one day I will start calling Asia my home, I am certain of that.
But for now, time is ticking, and I still have other countries and continents I want to explore before I have to return to the gray monotony.
The journey continues to new adventures in a land down under! See you on the other side!