Komodo Islands are located in Indonesia and are made up of three main Islands – Komodo Island, Rinca and Padar. The Islands are located between the islands of Lombok on the West and the Flores (Labuan Bajo) on the East. Our visit was unfortunately limited to only Komodo Island. Komodo National Park is home to the dinosaur like Komodo Dragons and some of the best diving in the world. It currently holds a place on list of the 7 New Wonders of Nature.
Naturally, visiting the Komodo dragons was at the top of our list of things to do! Then in the afternoon head over to pink beach to cool off with some snorkelling.
The Komodo dragon is the largest monitor lizard on the planet. They grow up to 8.5ft long, can weigh up to 200lb and can run an impressive 12mph. (Humans can run up to 15mph) – so you definitely do not want to be chased by one unless you’re an Olympic sprinter! (Although on our visit, where we saw 5 or 6, they barely moved their heads to look left and right and seemed completely uninterested in our presence).
Komodo Island Hike 
Komodo Dragons
Komodo Island is popular with tourists and is included on most day trips/Komodo tours from Labuan Bajo Flores. It is home to over 3,000 dragons and offers 4 different trekking routes (short, medium, long & adventure) with the shortest taking less than an hour and the longest (adventure trek) up to 4 hours. We took the medium trek and you must follow and stay with the guide(s) at all times.
The park rangers/guides will also recommend that you don’t go to the toilet alone , that you don’t look the dragons in the eye, keep your head down and girls on their period must take extra care as the dragons have highly sensitive sense of smell and may attack if they smell blood.
The whole setup near the dock and the short/medium trek is really just a tourist trap. don’t come here expecting a David Attenborough experience. The ‘trek’ is a congo line of tour group people that leads you to a few dragons kept in an area for the tourists and back to the dock. I would have liked to have had the freedom to just hike up one of the hills but this not allowed. Perhaps the 4 hour adventure trek next time.
The rugged hillsides of dry savannah and pockets of thorny green vegetation contrast starkly with the brilliant white sandy beaches and the blue waters surging over coral.
I expect the best way to see Komodo is to make your way there, stay nearby at Labuan Bajo Flores and then take the time to include the Komodo adventure trek and the Padar island day trek. We went past Pandar Island but did not call in. The scenery is amazing.
We took a boat from the wharf at Komodo to the Pink Beach which is also in the Komodo National Park.
The executive lounge
Lunch was served on the table in the centre of the boat as we sedately cruised across the bay. We enjoyed pink beach swimming in the warm water and and snorkelling around the coral close to the shore.
Pink Beach – Komodo
THE Pink Beach at is the place to go to see the best hues. Caused by a combination of white sand and tiny bits of red coral washed up by the waves, the pink sand where the water meets the sand is quite unusual.
Pink Beach is included on most day tours and is also a great spot for snorkeling due to the array of tropical fish and well preserved beautiful corals just off the shoreline. Don’t forget your GoPro – the proximity of the coral to the surface makes for some of the best lit underwater photography in the world!
It’s actually not the only pink beach Indonesia has to offer — there are several pink beaches in the Komodo National Park, and also one on the island of Lombok, near Bali — but pink beaches in general are very rare, and there are only a handful of them worldwide!
The best time to visit Komodo National Park is between April and December during the dry season. The weather is very nice, not too hot with very little to no rain. The rainy season sometimes starts early in December, so if you don’t like getting wet plan your trip before.