Our top pickBestseller
10 hKomodo Island: Komodo Dragons & Islands Day Tour
★ 4.7 · 672 reviews
- Ten hours
- Local Komodo dragons
- Manta rays in the wild
- Free cancellation
$102
Check availability→ 
Speedboat Labuan Bajo
Book a speedboat Labuan Bajo trip to see Komodo dragons, Padar and Pink Beach in one day. We compared 16 tours, from $87, free cancellation and a top pick rated 4.7 from 672 reviews. Harbour departures at first light reach the dragons.
Price from
Day tour$87
Today's lowest full-day speedboat tour across all 16 tours
Average rating
All 16 tours46
5,205 verified reviews across 16 tours
Your day
Shortest to longest3–11h
Shortest: Flying Fox Sunset Cruise
Longest: Komodo Dragons & Island
Free cancellation 24 h
Labuan Bajo departures
Mobile voucher
English-speaking guides
Day trips and overnight boats
Ranger-led dragon walk
Everything you can book here
Sixteen ways out of Labuan Bajo harbour
Every trip on this page starts in Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores, and almost all of them head into Komodo National Park. What separates them is how much water you cross and how long you have on land: a fast boat back the same evening, a bed on board for a night or two, or a boat with nobody on it but your own party. One short trip on the list never reaches the park at all — the Rangko cave and snorkel afternoon stays close to town, and we say so where it appears. Prices from $45.
Lowest day fare1,865 reviews
10 hFrom Labuan Bajo: Komodo Island Day Tour with Snorkeling
★ 4.7 · 1 865 reviews
- Ten hours
- Relax at Pink Beach
- Most booked
- Free cancellation
Rated 4.8719 reviews
10 hLabuan Bajo: One Day Tour to Explore Komodo National Park
★ 4.8 · 719 reviews
- Ten hours, from Padar island
- Rich marine life
- Komodo dragon
- Free cancellation
SpeedboatRated 4.8
8 hLabuan Bajo: Komodo National Park Full-Day Speedboat Tour
★ 4.8 · 377 reviews
- Eight hours, from Labuan Bajo
- Hiking Padar Island
- Snorkeling at Pink Beach
- Free cancellation
All fees inside11 hours
11 hFrom Labuan Bajo: Komodo Dragons and Island Hop with All Fees
★ 4.5 · 66 reviews
- 11 hours
- Komodo National Park visit
- Longest tour here
- Free cancellation
$135
Check availability→ 
One dayQuieter pace
1 dayKomodo Wellness Tour One Day from Labuan Bajo
★ 4.4 · 24 reviews
- A full day, in Komodo National Park
- Padar Island exploration
- Manta Point snorkeling
- Free cancellation
Half dayLowest price
4.5 hLabuan Bajo: Rangko Cave and Beach Snorkeling Half-Day Tour
★ 4.1 · 414 reviews
- 4.5 hours, inside Rangko Cave
- Waters of Boleng Beach
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
Night on board470 reviews
2 daysLabuan Bajo: 2D1N Komodo & Pink Beach Shared Boat Tour
★ 4.1 · 470 reviews
- Two days, in a shared cabin
- Included meals
- Overnight stay onboard
- Free cancellation
$180
Check availability→ 
Inland, not islandsRated 4.7
2 days2D1N Exotic Waerebo Village from Labuan Bajo & Rice Field
★ 4.7 · 163 reviews
- Two days, Wae Rebo Traditional Village
- Countryside of Indonesia
- Departs from Labuan Bajo
- Free cancellation
$138
Check availability→ 
Private charter3 hours
3 hFlying Fox Sunset Cruise Private Boat Charter Labuan Bajo
★ 4.5 · 68 reviews
- Three hours, at sunset time
- Flying Fox Island
- Departs from Labuan Bajo
- Free cancellation
$160
Check availability→ 
3 days, 2 nightsShared cabin
3 daysLabuan Bajo: 3D2N Budget Komodo Liveaboard with Shared Cabin
★ 4.6 · 30 reviews
- Three days, shared cabin accommodation
- Solo travelers and budget explorers
- Departs from Labuan Bajo
- Free cancellation
$288
Check availability→ 
3 days167 reviews
3 daysLabuan Bajo: 3-Day Komodo Island and Pink Beach Tour
★ 3.9 · 167 reviews
- Three days
- Shared cabin accommodation
- Departs from Labuan Bajo
- Free cancellation
$300
Check availability→ 
Rated 4.7Sailing
3 daysLabuan Bajo: 3-Day Komodo Sailing Tour
★ 4.7 · 83 reviews
- Three days, through Komodo National Park
- Pink Beach, Padar Island
- Swimming with manta rays
- Free cancellation
$335
Check availability→ 
Private boatStarts in Bali
2 daysKomodo 2D1N Private Boat: Dragons, Padar & Pink Beach
★ 4.2 · 34 reviews
- Two days, on a private boat
- Overnight stay
- Padar Island, Pink Beach
- Free cancellation
$926
Check availability→ 
Boat and hotel3 days
3 daysKomodo Island: Private 3-Day Tour with Boat and Hotel Stay
★ 4.1 · 22 reviews
- Three days, to Padar, Pink Beach
- Overnight onboard
- Guided experiences included
- Free cancellation
$1,306
Check availability→ 
Four daysRated 4.7
4 daysKomodo 4D Private Tour: Boat Stay, Padar & Pink Beach
★ 4.7 · 31 reviews
- Four days, to Padar, Pink Beach
- Guided experiences included
- Departs from Labuan Bajo
- Free cancellation
$1,550
Check availability→ Two questions
Which Komodo boat day is yours?
Seen the sixteen above and still torn? Out here there are really only four answers. Take a day trip out of the harbour and be back in Labuan Bajo by evening. Pay a little more and have the park and ranger fees inside the ticket. Sleep on the boat so the islands come without the race back. Or keep the whole boat for your group. Pick what matters and we will point at one.
See it before you pay for it
Three places a day in the park is built around
The dragons are on two islands, Komodo and Rinca, and on both of them you walk with a ranger rather than on your own. Padar is the climb: a stairway up a bare ridge to the viewpoint over three bays, and it is the picture most people have seen before they book anything. The third is the water itself — Pink Beach for the sand, Manta Point and Taka Makassar for the snorkelling, where mantas are seen on many days but never promised by the boat.
Side by side
One long day, a night on board, or a boat of your own
People book these interchangeably and then find out they bought different trips. The day tours run eight to eleven hours from the harbour and cover the dragons, Padar and a snorkel stop in one sweep, from $87. Sleeping on board changes the clock more than the map: the same islands, two or three days, and sunrise on Padar before the day boats arrive, from $180. A private charter hands you the whole boat and the order of the stops, which is why it costs what a week of the others would.
Swipe the table sideways →
| From Labuan Bajo: Komodo Island Day Tour with Snorkeling | TOP PICKKomodo Island: Komodo Dragons & Islands Day Tour | Komodo 4D Private Tour: Boat Stay, Padar & Pink Beach | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $87 | $102 | $1,550 |
| What it is | A shared day trip out of Labuan Bajo harbour | The same islands, on the day tour we point at first | Four days on a private boat, route set with you |
| Time it takes | 10 hours | 10 hours | 4 days |
| Who is with you | A shared boat with other travellers | A shared boat with other travellers | Your own group, start to finish |
| Komodo dragons | Yes — the ranger walk is in the route | Yes — with a ranger, on Komodo or Rinca | Yes, on the morning that suits your group |
| Padar viewpoint | Yes — the climb to the three-bay view | Yes — the viewpoint is part of the day | Yes, and early enough to have it quiet |
| Pink Beach | Yes — a stop on the way round | Yes — one of the three named stops | Yes, with as long there as you want |
| Snorkelling | Manta Point and Taka Makasar are in the listing | Manta rays are named in the operator’s route | Snorkelling is included across the four days |
| Where you sleep | At your own hotel in Labuan Bajo | At your own hotel in Labuan Bajo | On the boat, plus a hotel night on land |
| Cancellation | Free cancellation up to 24 hours | Free cancellation up to 24 hours | Free cancellation up to 24 hours |
Verdict
Take the day that reaches the dragons and the islands
It is the one day here that puts the whole park into the same ten hours: the dragons with a ranger, the steps up to the Padar viewpoint, the Pink Beach and a snorkelling stop — rated 4.7 across 672 reviews, from $102. Keep the cheaper half-day near the harbour for an afternoon in town, and the trips that sleep on board for the mornings a day boat cannot reach.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
The ticket decides what kind of day you get
Several different things get sold under the words “Komodo” and “Labuan Bajo”, and the fare tells you which one you are buying. A shared speedboat day is the common one: eight to eleven hours out of the harbour with a guide, the dragons on Komodo or Rinca behind a ranger, the stepped climb to the Padar viewpoint over its three bays, the Pink Beach, and a snorkelling stop at Manta Point or over the sandbar at Taka Makassar, with the pier again by evening. A trip that sleeps on board is a different purchase: two to four days over the same islands with the running done at night, which is how the sunrise on Padar is reached. And a private charter is a third thing again: the boat and the crew are yours, the anchorages are agreed with you, and the fare covers the vessel rather than a seat. The half-day to Rangko Cave sits outside all three, because it stays near town and does not enter the park. Decide which you actually want before you compare numbers, because otherwise you are comparing trips that are not the same trip.
Two-minute check
Which Komodo trip fits your trip?
Three things decide it: how many days you have in Labuan Bajo, whether a bunk on a boat sounds like part of the holiday or the price of it, and whether you mind sharing the deck with fifteen other people. The searches arrive from every direction — dragons, Padar, Pink Beach, mantas — and the booking question underneath them is always those three. Answer them and find out before you pay rather than on the pier at six in the morning.
How many of you are going?Most of these are shared boats; a private charter is yours for the whole trip
How early do you want to leave the harbour?The boats that reach the Padar steps first leave Labuan Bajo at dawn, and it shows at the viewpoint
How much of the trip is Komodo getting?A few hours is the water near town; a whole day reaches the park, and a night on board buys you Padar at sunrise
Answer the three questions above
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
Six ways to see Komodo
5,205 reviews across sixteen Komodo listings
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own.
4.6
★★★★★
Based on 5,205
verified reviews
5 ★80%
4 ★14%
3 ★4%
2 ★1%
1 ★1%
All sixteen trips on this page, rated on GetYourGuide.
Read all 5,205→🐉
Komodo Island: Komodo Dragons & Islands Day Tour
From $102 · 672 reviews
★★★★★
The dragons, Padar and Pink Beach in one day
Ten hours that put the three things people come for into a single day: the walk to the dragons with a park ranger, the climb to the Padar viewpoint over the three bays, and Pink Beach, with snorkelling in between. Rated 4.7 across 672 reviews, which is why it is the one we point at first.
🚤
From Labuan Bajo: Komodo Island Day Tour with Snorkeling
From $87 · 1,865 reviews
★★★★★
The day out of the harbour more people here have booked than any other
Ten hours from Labuan Bajo with Padar, Pink Beach, Manta Point and the dragons in the route, a meal inside the price and a stop at the Taka Makasar sandbank. It carries 1,865 reviews at 4.7, more than any other listing on this page, and it is also the lowest fare among the days into the park.
⛵
Labuan Bajo: 2D1N Komodo & Pink Beach Shared Boat Tour
From $180 · 470 reviews
★★★★★
The cheapest way to sleep out there instead of coming back
Two days and one night on a shared boat around Komodo Island, Pink Beach and the smaller islands, with meals and a shared cabin inside the price. Rated 4.1 across 470 reviews, more than any other overnight trip here. This is the one that takes the race out of the day.
🏝
Labuan Bajo: Rangko Cave and Beach Snorkeling Half-Day Tour
From $45 · 414 reviews
★★★★★
Half a day near town, and not the park at all
Four and a half hours on the water beside Labuan Bajo rather than out in Komodo National Park: a swim inside Rangko Cave, snorkelling at Boleng Beach and the view from Amelia Hill. Rated 4.1 across 414 reviews, and the lowest priced ticket on this page — worth saying plainly that it does not reach the dragons.
🎫
From Labuan Bajo: Komodo Dragons and Island Hop with All Fees
From $135 · 66 reviews
★★★★★
Eleven hours, with the park fees already in the ticket
The longest single day here, and the one listing that says in its own title that the fees are included: the dragons, the views over Padar and a chance to swim with manta rays, with the park and ranger charges settled before you board. Rated 4.5 across 66 reviews.
🛤
Komodo 4D Private Tour: Boat Stay, Padar & Pink Beach
From $1,550 · 31 reviews
★★★★★
Your own boat, and your own running order
Four days with the boat to yourselves: Padar, Pink Beach and the dragons at the hour your group picks, nights on board and one on land, with meals, snorkelling and transfers included. Rated 4.7 across 31 reviews, the highest score among the private boats here.
What it really costs
What a day on the water costs, line by line
Prices are per person and cover the boat, the crew and the stops the listing names; most of the day trips include lunch on board and pickup at your hotel in Labuan Bajo. Three things move the number: how many days you are on the water, whether you sleep on board, and whether the boat is shared or yours. The national park and ranger fees are paid separately at the park unless the listing says otherwise — one of the day tours below has them written into the price, and we have marked it.
Swipe sideways →
| What you do | Price | What that buys | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rangko cave and beach snorkelling, half a day | $45 | 4.5 hours near Labuan Bajo, a cave pool and a snorkel stop — this one stays outside the park | Free cancellation |
| Komodo Island day tour with snorkelling | $87 | 10 hours, Padar, Pink Beach, Manta Point and the dragons, lunch and pickup included, 1,865 reviews | Free cancellation |
| Komodo Dragons & Islands day tour | $102 | 10 hours, the dragons with a ranger plus the islands and a snorkel stop, rated 4.7 across 672 reviews | Free cancellation |
| Dragons and island hop with all fees included | $135 | 11 hours, the longest day on the list, park and ranger fees written into the price | Free cancellation |
| Two days, one night on a shared boat | $180 | 2 days, a shared cabin, meals on board and sunrise on Padar before the day boats | Free cancellation |
| Four days, private boat and your own route | $1,550 | 4 days, the boat to your party alone, dragons, Padar and Pink Beach at your own pace, rated 4.7 | Free cancellation |
Costs the listing doesn't show you
- The day is longer than the islands in it. Eight to eleven hours are counted from the harbour in Labuan Bajo, and a good part of that is the run out to the park and the run back in the afternoon.
- Park and ranger charges sit inside some fares and outside others. Where a listing names them, they are settled; where it says nothing, expect to pay them on the day at the landing.
- A hotel in Labuan Bajo is a separate booking. The day boats start and finish at the harbour, and only the two, three and four-day listings here include the nights, which they spend on board rather than ashore.
- Private is the whole boat. The charters cover the vessel and the crew rather than a seat, so read them against the size of your party, not per person.
- Drinks and the small stops are often your own. A meal is inside the fare where the listing names one, but the stalls at the jetties and the drinks along the way are not, and small notes go further there than a card.
What is genuinely included
- The boat and the crew from the harbour at Labuan Bajo, and the return to the same pier
- A guide on the trips that name one, and the ranger who walks you through the dragon country on Komodo or Rinca
- The island stops the listing names — Padar, the Pink Beach, Manta Point or Taka Makassar
- Snorkelling gear on the listings that name it in the fare
- Lunch and meals on board where the listing states them, on the day boats and on the trips that sleep out
- Park and ranger charges on the listings that say so — the eleven-hour island hop names them in its own title
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, with a full refund
The honest answer
Is a Komodo speedboat day worth it?
Eighty-seven dollars buys ten hours, four or five stops and the only way to stand on Padar and on a beach of pink sand in the same afternoon, and 1,865 people have rated that day 4.7. What the extra fifteen buys on the top pick is a route built around the ranger walk instead of the snorkelling. The overnight boats answer a different question: they cost twice as much and give you the islands at sunrise, when the fast boats from town are still an hour away.
What makes it worth it
- The cheapest day into the park is $87, and it carries 1,865 reviews — more than anything else on this page
- The dragons, the Padar viewpoint and Pink Beach fit into one day out of the harbour: the ranger walk in the morning, the climb and the snorkelling after
- The walk to the dragons goes with a park ranger, on Komodo as on Rinca
- One listing settles the park and ranger fees before you board, at $135 for eleven hours
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours, so a date held early is not money spent
Keep in mind
- A day trip runs 8 to 11 hours, and a fair part of that is the water between the islands
- The park entrance and ranger fees are paid separately on most of these listings — read what the ticket covers before you pick a date
- A meal is inside the price on some listings and not on others
- Shared days run $45 to $135; a private boat into the park starts at $926
- The $45 half day stays beside Labuan Bajo — Rangko Cave and Boleng Beach, not Komodo National Park
The day, hour by hour
Out at dawn, back in the dark
Hold the date before the week fills up
Free cancellation runs to 24 hours on these tickets, so a booked date costs you nothing until the day before. In the dry months the early departures go first, and several listings ask to be booked eight to ten hours ahead.
At the harbour in Labuan Bajo
The boats gather along the waterfront while it is still dark. You check in, hear the briefing and find a seat before the lines come off.
Out of the harbour
The town slips behind and the dry hills of Flores turn from grey to gold. The first islands of the park come up on the bow within the hour.
Padar and the climb to the viewpoint
Steps and a dirt path lead up the ridge, and at the top three bays open out below on three sides of the island. The boats that left first have it quietest.
The dragons, with a ranger
On Komodo or on Rinca, the walk goes with a park ranger and nobody sets off without one. The dragons are wild animals and the ranger decides how the group moves.
Pink Beach
One of the few beaches anywhere with sand this colour, and a snorkelling stop as much as a landing. Lunch is on board on most of these listings.
Manta Point, then back to Labuan Bajo
The last stop is in the water, where manta rays pass through the channel. The boats turn for the harbour in the late afternoon and are alongside by evening.
Best time of day
Leave the harbour early, and the water is flat
Two things pull against each other out here, and an early departure settles both. The channels between the islands are usually calmest in the first hours after dawn and build through the middle of the day as the wind comes up, which is the difference between a smooth run to Padar and a wet one. The same hour is when the steps to the viewpoint and the landing at the Pink Beach are at their quietest, and when the rangers take the first groups out into the dragon country. The other reason is arithmetic: the day boats run eight to eleven hours counted from the pier, so a late start is a late return, and the trips that sleep on board exist because a sunrise on Padar is reached from an anchorage rather than from town.
On the day
What the day actually looks like
The boat
Most of these days are done by speedboat out of Labuan Bajo harbour.
The dragons
They live on Komodo and on Rinca, and the walk to them goes with a ranger.
The islands
Between the named stops the boats thread through islands like this one.
On board
Hours of the day are spent here, between one island and the next.
What it's like
One harbour, one park, and three completely different ways across the water
Almost everyone books this trip the same way round. The flight lands at Labuan Bajo, the hotel is on the hill above the harbour, and the plan is simply “the dragons”. What nobody explains before you start comparing listings is that the dragons live out in Komodo National Park, on Komodo and Rinca, and the park is a scatter of islands reached across open water. The thing you are actually buying is a boat and the hours it spends moving between them.
The common version is one long day. A speedboat leaves the harbour around sunrise, runs out to Rinca or Komodo where a ranger walks you through the dragon country, climbs the steps to the Padar viewpoint over its three bays, stops at the Pink Beach and puts you in the water at Manta Point or over the sandbar at Taka Makassar, then turns for home in the afternoon. These days run eight to eleven hours from the pier and start at $87.
The second version sleeps on the boat. Two days and one night, or three days and two nights, over the same islands at half the speed: the sunrise on Padar from the water rather than the afternoon crowd, a second morning of snorkelling, and the running between anchorages done while you are asleep. Shared trips of that kind run $180 to $335.
The third is your own boat. The private charters here are two to four days with the vessel, the crew and the route belonging to one party, from $926 to $1,550, and two of them are sold as packages out of Bali with the flight to Flores arranged around them. That fare is the boat, not a seat on it, which is why it reads so differently from everything above.
Our top pick is the day that reaches the most for the money: Komodo Dragons & Islands, ten hours, rated 4.7 across 672 reviews, at $102, and it is listed from Komodo Island itself. The most booked listing on the page is the ten-hour day out of Labuan Bajo with snorkelling at $87, which 1,865 travellers have rated. Across the sixteen trips here there are 5,205 reviews to read.
The fares stretch a long way, and the reason is nights rather than luxury. A seat on a shared speedboat for one day is $87 to $135, depending on how many islands are in the route and whether the park and ranger fees are inside the fare. A bed on a shared boat for a night or two moves it to $180 upwards. A charter with the whole vessel to yourselves is where the top of the range lives.
Where a listing starts matters more here than the route does. Thirteen of the sixteen are sold from Labuan Bajo, one is listed on Komodo Island, and two begin in Bali as multi-day packages. A Labuan Bajo start means the harbour is a short ride from your hotel and the boat is the whole journey; a Bali start means the trip is organised around you from another island altogether.
Boats run all year, so the plan that works is the plain one. Decide first whether you are coming back to the harbour the same evening or sleeping on board, because that alone halves this page. Check whether the park and ranger fees sit inside the fare or are paid on the day. Then hold the date as soon as it is firm: every trip here has free cancellation.
If you only have one day
The three most reviewed days on the water
Some of the listings on this page sleep out in the islands for two or three nights. These three leave the harbour at Labuan Bajo in the morning, take in the dragons with a ranger, the Padar viewpoint over the three bays, the Pink Beach and a snorkelling stop, and have you back at the pier the same evening. They run ten hours from the harbour, and between them they carry more than three thousand reviews.
Most booked here
From Labuan Bajo: Komodo Island Day Tour with Snorkeling
10 hours · ★ 4.7 (1 865)
$87See dates Highest rated day
Labuan Bajo: One Day Tour to Explore Komodo National Park
10 hours · ★ 4.8 (719)
$99See dates Our top pick
Komodo Island: Komodo Dragons & Islands Day Tour
10 hours · ★ 4.7 (672)
$102See datesPractical
Plan the trip
Five things decide how it goes: which of the sixteen you take, how many days you give Labuan Bajo, whether you want a bed on the boat, what you bring for a ridge with no shade and a deck with a lot of sun, and which month you come. Flights into Labuan Bajo arrive from Bali in about an hour and a half, and the harbour is a few minutes from most hotels in town. Each listing is booked by date on GetYourGuide, with free cancellation to hold a morning while the rest of the trip settles.
The most booked day
Ten hours out of Labuan Bajo with snorkelling on the route, from $87. Rated 4.7 across 1,865 reviews, more than anything else here.
Our top pick
Komodo Dragons & Islands, ten hours at $102, rated 4.7 across 672 reviews, and it reaches the dragons, Padar and the Pink Beach in the same day.
The highest rated days
The one-day run through the park at $99 and the eight-hour speedboat day at $93 both carry 4.8.
Fees already in the fare
The eleven-hour island hop at $135 says “with all fees” in its own title, so the park and ranger charges are settled before you sail.
A night on board
Two days and one night over Komodo and the Pink Beach from $180, or three days and two nights in a shared cabin at $288.
Your own boat
Private charters of two to four days, from $926 up to $1,550 for four days with the boat as your accommodation.
Sun cover you can swim in
There is very little shade on an open speedboat and the water throws the light back at you, so a long-sleeved rash top does more than a hat on its own.
Shoes for the Padar steps
The viewpoint over the three bays is reached by a stepped path, and the dragon walks on Rinca and Komodo are dry, uneven ground behind a ranger.
Cash in small notes
The park and ranger charges, the drinks at the jetty and the small stalls at the landing points are easier with rupiah in small notes than with a card.
A dry bag for the camera
The view from Padar, the pink sand and the mantas at Manta Point are the three pictures people come back with, and everything on a speedboat gets spray on it.
Something warm for the early start
The boats leave the harbour before sunrise and the wind across an open deck at that hour is colder than the town you left.
Patience for the hours on the water
A day here is eight to eleven hours counted from the pier, and a good part of that is the run between the islands rather than time ashore.
Decide day or night on board first
A day boat brings you back to Labuan Bajo the same evening; the two and three-day trips sleep out there. That single question rules out half of this page.
Free cancellation on every trip
Holding a date early costs you nothing on any of the sixteen, so book as soon as your days on Flores are firm.
Read what the fare covers
Park and ranger charges sit inside some fares and are paid on the day on others, and the listing says which before you pay.
Private means the boat, not the seat
On the charters the fare covers the vessel and the crew for the whole trip, so it divides across everyone you bring instead of multiplying by them.
One price everywhere
Hotel desk, operator or this page — the fare is the same. Booking ahead buys the date you want, not a discount.
Check where the trip starts
Most listings meet at the harbour in Labuan Bajo, but two are sold from Bali as packages and one is listed on Komodo Island itself.
From Labuan Bajo
Thirteen of the sixteen leave from the harbour in town, a few minutes from most hotels, with the meeting time set early because the water is calmest in the morning.
From Bali
Two listings are organised from Bali as two and three-day packages, which is the arrangement to look for if Flores is a side trip rather than the reason you came.
To the dragons
The dragons are on Komodo and on Rinca, and on both islands the walk goes out with a ranger, so the island a listing names decides where you meet them.
Padar and the Pink Beach
Padar is the viewpoint over three bays reached by steps from the landing, and the Pink Beach is one of the few beaches anywhere with sand that colour.
Manta Point
Manta Point is the snorkelling stop where manta rays are seen, and the listings that include it say so by name rather than leaving it to the day.
Close to town
The half-day to Rangko Cave and a beach at $45 is the one trip here that stays near Labuan Bajo and does not enter the park at all.
Best time
When to come
Boats run all year, and the dragons are on the islands in every month of it. What changes is the sea: how flat the crossing is, how clear the water at the snorkel stops, and how often the mantas are at Manta Point when a boat pulls up.
Apr – Jun
Dry, green and not yet crowded
The hills still hold some green from the rains, the sea has settled, and the boats are not yet full. Good visibility at the snorkel stops and the easiest crossings of the year. Book a week or two ahead for the day tours and longer for the private boats.
Jul – Aug
The busiest months, the flattest water
High season in Labuan Bajo: calm seas, reliable sun, and every boat in the harbour working. Padar has company at sunrise and the day boats arrive in convoy, so the overnight trips earn their price here more than at any other time of year.
Sep – Nov
Warm water, the end of the dry season
The hills go gold, the water is at its warmest and the crowds thin out after August. Manta sightings are reported through these months as often as any, though no boat can promise them. A good window if you want the long day without booking far ahead.
Dec – Mar
Rain, wind, and days boats stay in
The wet season brings afternoon rain and occasional wind that keeps the smaller boats in port, and a rough day can cut a route short. Everything still sells and the islands are at their greenest. Hold the date with free cancellation and ask the operator the evening before.
Worth knowing
Six things that aren't in the listing
01
There are three products here, not one. A day boat out of Labuan Bajo that has you back at the harbour by evening, a shared trip that sleeps a night or two on board, and a charter where the whole vessel is yours. They are sold under the same search words and they end in different places, which decides more than the price does.
02
The park charges are a separate line. Entry to Komodo National Park and the ranger who walks you through the dragon country are paid on top of some fares and included in others — the eleven-hour island hop puts “with all fees” in its own title, which is the cleanest way to see the difference.
03
The dragons are on two islands, not one. Komodo and Rinca both have them and both have rangers, and a listing names which one it lands at. Rinca is the closer of the two from the harbour, so it is the one the shorter days tend to use.
04
Rangko Cave is not the park. The half-day at $45 is the lowest fare on this page and it is a cave pool and a beach near Labuan Bajo, with no dragons and no Padar in it. Read that line before you compare it with the day boats.
05
Private is the boat, not a seat. The charters from $926 to $1,550 cover the vessel and the crew for the whole trip, so the fare splits across your party instead of multiplying by it, and the running order is set with you.
06
Book the date, not the discount. The fare is the same wherever you buy it, and every trip on this page carries free cancellation, so holding a morning as soon as your dates are firm costs you nothing.
Round out the trip
Booked alongside
A night on board
Labuan Bajo: 2D1N Komodo & Pink Beach Shared Boat Tour
2 days · ★ 4.1 (470)
$180View Three days, shared cabin
Labuan Bajo: 3D2N Budget Komodo Liveaboard with Shared Cabin
3 days · ★ 4.6 (30)
$288View The boat to yourselves
Komodo 4D Private Tour: Boat Stay, Padar & Pink Beach
4 days · ★ 4.7 (31)
$1,550ViewGo deeper
More on Komodo and Labuan Bajo
Common questions
Komodo by speedboat, answered
Can you see the dragons, Padar and the Pink Beach in one day?
That is what most of this page is: eight to eleven-hour days that leave the harbour at Labuan Bajo early, land at Komodo or Rinca for the walk with a ranger, climb the steps to the Padar viewpoint over the three bays, stop at the Pink Beach and put you in the water at Manta Point or Taka Makassar, and are back at the pier by evening. The hours are counted from the harbour, not from the first island, so a good part of the day is the run out and the run home.
How much does a day out to Komodo cost?
A seat on a shared speedboat starts at $87 for the ten-hour day with snorkelling. The days that reach more islands or settle the park charges for you run $99 to $135, a night on board starts at $180, and a private charter runs $926 to $1,550.
One day, or a night on the boat?
Both are sold here, and it is the first thing to settle. The day boats are return trips: they start and finish at the harbour in Labuan Bajo the same day. The two and three-day trips cover the same islands more slowly, with the running between anchorages done overnight, which is how people reach the Padar viewpoint at sunrise rather than in the middle of the day.
Where do the Komodo dragons actually live?
On Komodo and on Rinca, both inside the national park, and on both islands the walk goes out with a ranger rather than on your own. Rinca is the closer of the two to Labuan Bajo, which is why the shorter days often use it, and the listings say by name which island they land at.
Are the park fees included in the price?
On some listings, and the titles tend to say so — the eleven-hour island hop at $135 is sold “with all fees”. On the others, entry to the park and the ranger are paid separately on the day. We do not quote a figure for them here, because the amount is set by the park rather than by the operators, and each listing states its own position before you pay.
Where do the boats leave from?
Thirteen of the sixteen leave from the harbour at Labuan Bajo, a short ride from the hotels in town, with an early meeting time because the water is calmest in the morning. One listing is sold on Komodo Island itself, and two are organised from Bali as two and three-day packages with the travel to Flores arranged around them.
What is Manta Point like?
Manta Point is the snorkelling stop in the park where manta rays pass through the channel, and you see them from the surface rather than by diving. Sightings go with the season and the current, so the listings that name the stop are promising the place rather than the animal, and Taka Makassar, the sandbar nearby, is often on the same route.
Shared speedboat or private charter — which should you book?
They buy different trips through the same islands. A shared speedboat is the reason the fares start at $87, and it runs a set route on a set day with everyone else aboard. A charter covers the vessel and the crew rather than a seat, so it carries only your own party and the anchorages are agreed with you — from $926 for two days to $1,550 for four.
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Komodo by boat — the plan we'd follow
Which of the sixteen listings matches the days you actually have: the ten-hour run out of the harbour, the version that settles the park charges for you, the trips that sleep on board for a sunrise on Padar, and the charter with the boat and the route to yourselves. Built from the operators’ own listings and the same live prices as this page.
- All sixteen trips, with hours on the water and what each fare covers, from the listings
- Which routes reach the dragons, Padar, the Pink Beach and Manta Point, and which stay closer to town
- The private charters, and what the whole-boat fare works out at for a group
- What a night on board adds, and which months suit the crossing
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Why trust this page
How we put this together
Checked, not guessed
Durations, inclusions and operator names come from the live GetYourGuide listings for each trip. Prices and ratings are read off the same listings and updated with the page.
How we pick
The speedboat and boat trips sold from Labuan Bajo into Komodo National Park are here, along with the short runs near the harbour and the packages sold from Bali. Nobody pays to be featured.
We say where the boat starts
Thirteen of the sixteen leave from the harbour at Labuan Bajo, one is listed on Komodo Island and two begin in Bali. That decides how much of your trip is travelling, so we mark it on the card.
Day boats and nights on board, stated plainly
A day boat is one long run: out of the harbour before sunrise, the dragons with a ranger, the Padar steps, the Pink Beach and a snorkelling stop, and back at the pier by evening. A two, three or four-day trip covers the same islands with the nights spent at anchor. We explain the second because it changes what you see, and we compare both because both are bookable here.
The answer
See the dragons and the islands in one run.
The trips on this page work the same water between Labuan Bajo, Komodo and Rinca. What you are choosing is how much of it you get: ten hours by speedboat with the dragons, the Padar viewpoint, the Pink Beach and a snorkelling stop, the same islands with a night at anchor and a sunrise over the three bays, or a boat with nobody else aboard. Day boats from the harbour start at $87. Pick an early departure and book ahead.
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