Sep 18, 2024
An Unforgettable Family Adventure - Our family had an amazing time on 3 days/2 night Komodo island. The staff were very friendly, especially Rian as our guide. We saw Komodo dragon on Komodo island, manta rays,. so many fish. The views were insane. Very comfortable cabins with AC. Food very tasteful. Have the boat to ourself which is simple, clean and comfortable. Thank you to the team Discovery Komodo Adventure for such a great time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 18, 2024
You'll LOVE it! - Me and my wife (USA) have been traveling for 4 months and this 3 day 2 night boat trip was the highlight for me. Bit of a splurge for a backpackers budget but well worth the money for all of the amazing experiences. We saw HUGE manta rays, turtles, Komodo dragons, flying fox bats, and all sorts of fish.
Our guide, Rian, was very helpful and helped cater the experience so that we avoided big crowds and got the most value for our money. The crew was also very accommodating despite language barriers. Food was fresh and tasty!
The boat itself wasn't anything too fancy, so if you go in expecting a luxury cruise ship you'll be disappointed. That being said, our bed was comfortable, the A/C worked, all necessities were present, and the experience still felt like a real treat! If you're not picky, you'll love it I promise!
Words of advice:
1. Entrance fees came out to around 750k IDR per person and are not included so factor that as you will.
2. On komodo island there are two accessible locations: the komodo national park & komodo village. Komodo village has a cheaper entrance fee, smaller crowds, dragons that actually move around (not sleepy), and a glimpse at a local community. I'd recommend asking your guide to skip the national park and only go to the komodo village. It's a much better experience in my opinion.
3. BYOB, they don't serve alcohol on board.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 25, 2023
Great tour of Komodo - We had a fantastic time doing the private 3D2N tour with our guide, Opin, and would really recommend the tour to anyone else. The boat provided was really comfortable and the food delicious, whilst Opin had really good knowledge of all the wildlife so was able to tell us what to look out for as we went. The tour takes you to all of the main areas, but we also spent the second night at an incredibly quiet spot where you could snorkel and get away from the crowds which was fantastic.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 29, 2023
Incredible Komodo discovery trip - Fabulous trip! We saw 5 Komodo dragons on Komodo Island. We had multiple incredible snorkeling trips where we swam with mantas and turtles. We especially enjoyed the sunrise hike on Padar island and the sunset view of hundreds of fruit bats flying while drinking wine. Rian our guide and the staff were exceptional. Highly recommend this trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 16, 2023
Amazing tour of a lifetime - Had an amazing trip with Hans and team … the boat was nice enough, great to have AC in the rooms. The generator meant that we could charge phones to take pics everyday. Captain and crew take great care of everyone, food is lovely and fresh everyday. We saw everything - sea turtles, Komodo dragons, coral reefs, all the fish in the sea, mantas, great hikes and views. Best trip of my life … and that includes Seychelles. Highly recommend especially Hans the tour guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 15, 2023
Fun and caring experience - We are 4 Italians and went for this 3 days private boat tour, it was absolutely a great experience with the crew of Discovery. The guide called Vito shows us the best part and was always by our side to explain and assist us during the trip. The chef cooked great lunch and also grilled fresh fish the last night. All the team was super organized and aligned to give us the best experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 5, 2023
An unforgettable experience - We booked a three day two night private tour on a superior boat and had an excellent experience from the first inquiry with Komodo adventure until the drop off at the airport after our tour. Our tour guide Rian Maranus and the crew went all the way to make our trip as comfortable as possible. We went to all the highlights, most amazing Cora reefs, saw 8 Komodo dragons and snorkeled with the mantas and the turtles.
Thanks for the unforgettable experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 3, 2024
Amazing tour with Ryan from Discovery Komodo - We had an amazing trip with Ryan from Discovery Komodo. So many fantastic sights and experiences over the course of less than 72 hours. There were a few downsides which do need attention though and hence only giving four stars as I want the company to acknowledge and action these - but I would have gone with 4.5 if possible!
On our way out of Labuan Bajo port we were exhilarated to be on a comfortable catmaran cruising smoothly out into the beautiful sea. We even spotted some dolphins shortly after leaving the port.
Our first stop was to Pulau Kelor. This is a small island with a great view back over Flores and over other nearby islands. The hike to get to the top is steep and hot. It takes a little effort as there is no steps exactly so it is a hike. The beach at the bottom is quite tacky. When we were there it was full of a couple of boat loads of twenty-somethings desperate to top-up their tans. It was a lot more pleasant when they left and we could enjoy some quiet snorkelling to see the marine life including lemon sharks. It would have been helpful to have had a little more explanation about where we were going before hand so that we could have prepared for the stop (i.e. got our snorkelling gear ready) and also in case there was the possibility of stopping somewhere else away from the crowds.
From there we progressed to Manjarite beach as another snorkelling spot and had great view of the marine life including a green turtle. The coral here as well as in other spots we stopped does appear to be struggling. There is a lot of bleaching (white and dead coral) but in the slightly deeper water the coral appears to be doing better.
The final stop on the first day was Pulau Koabe where we watched the Flying Foxes emerge from the mangroves at sunset. This was an absolutely magical experience watching the hordes of Flying Foxes (big bats) emerge in the soft light of the sunset set against the sea, islands, and other boats. This was one of my highlights of the whole trip.
The following morning we got up early to climb Pulau Padar. A longer climb than at Pulau Kelor but easier as nearly all of the climb is either on a boardwalk or steps. The view from the top is beautiful, particularly as the sun is rising. It is popular, so you are better off coming here out of peak season. The beach at the bottom is quite dirty - this is a bit of a perennial problem in Indonesia. It's a shame because the place overall is beautiful - there does need to be a bit of an awareness campaign and a significant effort from locals to clean up and dispose of their trash properly.
After returning to the boat we had a long ride to Komodo passing by various bays and some time to relax on the boat.
Komodo island and the Komodo national park was in some respects brilliant but unfortunately also a major let-down. It's not the fault of Discovery Komodo but I think the company does need to recognise what is happening in the park and take action against it. As others on Tripadvisor and other places on the internet have pointed out, there are a number of the larger dragons in Komodo which are clearly being sedated and strategically placed along the trail to cater for tourists to get ridiculous selfies. The guides have clearly been instructed to build up the suspense and feed various pieces of BS to tourists to make them think otherwise. But the state of the dragons speaks for itself - they are virtually lifeless. We saw other smaller dragons which were not sedated and the difference in behaviour was so marked. We saw some other fascinating wildlife as we walked along the trail including a wild cockatoo and a viper which was amazing. Overall though, the abuse of animals going in the park needs to be stopped and practices changed. I would urge Discovery Komodo to do what they can to influence practices on the island, potentially taking tourists elsewhere if there is another place to go on the island where this practice isn't happening.
After leaving Komodo, we went to Pink Beach on Komodo for some more diving. Here there is a lot of red coral which is what makes the beach here amongst other places slightly pink. Again, fantastic snorkelling.
And from there we went to Manta Point and Taka Makassa where we were lucky enough to see some manta rays albeit swimming quite deep and then we had an amazing encounter with three green turtles in the shallow water near Taka Makassa.
The following day we headed back to Labuan Bajo with a couple more snorkelling stops along the way at Sabolo island (probably the best snorkelling spot of the trip) and then again at Kanawa Island before getting back to Labuan Bajo.
Throughout the whole trip, the boat crew were amazing, friendly and helpful. The food produced from the tiny kitchen at the back of boat was amazing and delicious and there was always plenty of it so we were never hungry.
The cabin we had was comfortable and clean. Space was a little limited as you would expect on a boat but there was easily enough room for our stuff. There was an AC unit and a fan but we didn't really need these as long as we left at least one of the side flaps up to let in some air.
The toilet/shower is equally small but entirely usable and clean.
Ryan was brilliant throughout the trip, helpful, friendly, and informative.
Even better if:
1) More information about where we are going and what to expect there and what to bring / potentially with the option to avoid some stops that are already crowded
2) Reduce plastic waste by avoiding providing small bottles of water - instead use few large bottle to refill flasks
3) Lobby against the practices at Komodo island in sedating dragons - if possible stop taking tourists to spots where this is being done and avoid paying money that is allowing this practice to continue
4) Develop more understanding of the environmental impacts e.g. bleaching of coral and develop a stronger eco-tourism model
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dec 16, 2023
Horrible experience on a rickety boat! - This was perhaps the worst ever experience! We paid $900 a night (total of $1700 for two nights), and what you get is a toilet that does not have flush and you have to use bucket to flush, no shower bucket bath, the washbasin with no pipe (i.e. if you brush your teeth, the used water will fall on your feet!), uncomfortable bunk beds and air conditioner that never works! We were told that this is because we paid for "standard" boat. For $900 a night, how is this a standard that your toilet will not flush?! You can get a suite in Waldorf Astoria for $900! Plus they never gave an option of standard or luxury at the time of booking.
The boat is the slowest ever. We had other boats pass us by. We could not even stay for one night and checked into a hotel. The boat is not what is shown in the pictures. The agency should add the picture of the beds and the toilet for transparency. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR and you will thank me later.
Review provided by Viator
Dec 15, 2023
Horrible experience on a rickety boat! - This trip was probably the worst ever! The boat was so rickety, and the bathrooms had no shower or flush. You had to use a bucket for both! The water from the washbasin splashed on the floor! The air conditioner never worked! The beds were bunk beds, highly uncomfortable! We just could not stay even for one night and came back and stayed in a hotel and did a day tour. We asked to a refund and he only gave a partial refund. We reached out to Viator, which were useless. Please do not take this tour!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor