3 Interesting Places to Visit When You Are On a Komodo Island Cruise

AYANA Komodo Resort

A cruise is one of the best ways to explore Komodo island and its environs, especially, other smaller islands. You get to experience exciting water activities, the pristine views and interesting land activities depending on the pit stops the cruise makes.

An excellent example of a pit stop is Loh Liang. Loh Liang is a popular tourist destination that allows tourists to see Komodo dragons in their habitat.

You can either choose a long trip or a short trip based on your budget. Long trips tend to costlier, but the upside is that you get to visit more places and enjoy more activities.

Each cruise ship or boat charts its own path, and when you are booking the cruise, that information is available. However, here are three places you should aim to visit when you take a Komodo Island cruise.

1. The Pink Beach

The Pink Beach

It takes approximately 40 minutes of boating from the port at Komodo island to the Pink Beach. The beach is only one of seven in the world to have that pink tinge. It is as a result of red coral which has degraded over time and mixed with the white sand.

One of the most humbling experience when exploring the pink beach is the view—the green hills from afar, the clear blue sky, the turquoise waters and of course the pink beach. Moreover, if you like swimming, then you can enjoy clear and calm seas.

Other favourite activities at the beach include snorkelling and diving. The area makes an excellent snorkelling and diving spot because the waters are densely populated with hundreds of species of marine life. Additionally, the underwater is home to multiple species of both hard and soft corals and reefs. 

2. Rinca Island

Rinca Island

Of the three islands that make up Komodo National Park, Rinca is the second largest. It also hosts the second largest population of Komodo dragons. Rinca is only two hours away by boat from Labuan Bajo.

Once you disembark from the ship or boat, the park rangers are always around waiting to take you on trails. They often know the places you are most likely to see a Komodo dragon. Note, however, that due to safety, you are not allowed to roam the island alone.

Moreover, you can only walk on designated trails. Komodo lizards have been known to attack to protect themselves and adhering to these rules ensures you remain safe.

3. Komodo Village for an Experience with Local Culture

Komodo Village

One of the reasons tourists visit Komodo and take a komodo island cruise is to experience a culture outside of their own culture. Local Komodo villages are spread out across the various islands, especially the small ones.

A good example is the Mesa island located on the way to Komodo. The island is home to a traditional fisherman village with approximately 1500 residents. The people who live in Mesa are known as the Bajau people or the sea gipsies.

They live in traditional stilt houses. These houses hover above the shoreline and the sand. They are friendly people who enjoy interacting with visitors and tourists. If you spend enough time at the island, you will get to see them indulge in daily tasks such as drying cucumber, preparing seafood and processing shellfish.

Summary

There are more places you can visit when taking a Komodo island cruise. As noted above, it all depends on the path the cruise boat or ship charts. However, the only way to guarantee you will have the best experience is to look for a cruise that will make all the above pit stops when booking a cruise.

Also, book a cruise that offers exciting activities on the boat or ship. That way, when you are in transit from one pit stop to another, you will still have fun even though you are on board.

Some exciting activities include games with other tourists, watching the sunrise or sunset from the sea, swimming in the middle of the ocean, diving in the middle of the sea and so on.