Anchoring is prohibited in many areas of Komodo National Park but this is largely ignored by local tour operators. We didn’t have any problem getting a mooring the two times we have visited, but we did get the moorings early in the day. In April the park was fairly quiet but when we visited a year later in July it was very busy. It is common practice to allow tour boats to tie up behind you if you are on a mooring. Those boats without dive compressors are pretty quiet and have their generators off at night. Most of the time they’re away early in the morning.
I would NOT recommend overnighting at Gili Lawa Darat. We had the worst night ever there. Three times we woke to boats dragging alongside our boat after a squall. Incompetent crew and lazy captains made for an unpleasant experience.
There are certainly strong currents that you need to be aware of. It’s not an area for complacency. The Komodo National Park website has good information on moorings, diving and snorkelling sites.
Komodo National Park anchorages & moorings
Here’s a list of anchorages and moorings we visited, in no particular order.
Komodo Island, north
S8.29.592 E119.33.072
2 moorings in the bay and a busy overnight stop for the charter boats.
Batu Montjo anchorage
S8.26.758 E119.27.116
5m, on sand. Good snorkelling nearby. Pigs and deer spotted on the beach. Beach difficult to access at low tide. Room for one boat.
Gili Lawa Laut mooring
S.8.26.804 E119.34.147
3 moorings here. Good snorkelling around bombies that surround a turquoise area in close to shore. We went to moor here the second time we visited and it was seriously busy. 6 phinisis anchored in bay and about a dozen more around the dive sites.
Crystal Rock is near here, drift snorkel, although it is quite deep.
Gili Lawa Darat mooring
S8.28.561 E119.33.352
2 moorings here. One heavy duty, one lightweight. Peaceful by day. Snorkel the reef on the south western side of the island, drift along the edge of the channel and see large fish. We saw a 3 foot puffer fish here, a very scary sized moray and a manta at different times. If you want a peaceful night, do not stay here.
There is another mooring buoy around on the south western tip of Gili Lawa Darat and a couple more across the channel off Komodo Island.
Pink Beach / Pantai Merah mooring
S08.35.67 E119.31.072
A few moorings are here but Pink Beach is very busy during the day with local tour boats rafted up or anchored (in a no anchoring area). A large mooring buoy can be located around the corner on the west side, it has 4 anchors apparently. We didn’t see any mooring buoys at Punja opposite but perhaps the floats are missing. Snorkelling at Pink Beach is pretty good. The soft coral is in amazing condition considering the amount of traffic this site gets. Visibility was a bit low though when we were here.
Loh Buaya, Rinca Island anchorage
S8.38.620 E119.42.832
A steady stream of tour/charter boats visit the ranger station on Rinca Island. You could anchor close to the jetty but the constant traffic will drive you up the wall. We anchored in 23m, sandy bottom with good holding and had a peaceful night.
There is a mooring buoy near the above anchorage but it got snapped up by a tour boat just as we arrived.
Siaba Besar Mooring
S8.30.234 E119.42.692
One mooring bay here but plenty of space in the bay to anchor. Good snorkelling around the area. Komodo Resort is a short dinghy ride away and we visited it for lunch. A fixed price, per person, of 250,000 for a two course lunch with tea or coffee. The quality of the meal did not match the price. A nice place to sit by the water and have a beer though, but I wouldn’t bother with eating there.
You will be pestered by hawkers at the more touristed bays trying to sell pearl or hibiscus products or children wanting a coke or anything and everything else. Fishing in the park is illegal but this is largely ignored by the locals and charter boats. Buying fish off these people just encourages them to continue.
Internet/phone reception in Komodo National Park
There is a tower on one of the highest points of Komodo Island and while you can’t get service everywhere, the coverage through the park is pretty remarkable.
Things to do ashore around Komodo National Park
Komodo dragons, must see!
We visited the Rinca Island Ranger Station to see Komodo Dragons, arriving at the park’s opening time of 7am and when the dragons were supposed to be at their most scary. There were many around the Ranger Station. They aren’t fed but are attracted by the smell from the kitchen. We saw one in the wild when we took the “medium” length walk which was about 3km, 50/50 shade and savannah. It was a pleasant walk with a large hill which gives you a view over the jetty harbour. There’s a tree offering shade near the top where you can catch your breath.
Take the short walk from the jetty to the Ranger Station to buy your Komodo National Park entry fee tickets. You give him a wad of rupiah and he’ll give you a wad of tickets for various things written in Indonesian. We paid 610,000 rupiah for the two of us, including camera and guide.
Walks
On the SE side of Gili Lawa Darat is a trek up to a point where you can get a wonderful 360 degree view over the national park. This is a very popular spot for all of the tourist boats so prepare for the walk to be very busy at sunrise and sunset. There are a few other treks on the island too. If you do the walk in the morning, the ascent is in shadow (cooler). There will be less people doing the sunrise/morning walk. All tour boats will be gone by 9am.
The islands are very rocky and scrubby so don’t make for easy walking but if you make the effort you will be rewarded.
