Komodo Resort in Komodo National Park

By Ellen (Updated Aug 22)

⏱ 8 min

Is Komodo National Park worth visiting?

First off, I have to start this post by saying Komodo National Park is truly one of the most breathtaking places we have been. The islands are characterized by tall hills, white, black and pink sand beaches, and the waters sparkle in gem-tone blues. One of the main draws of the area is, of course, Komodo Island. Tourists visit for a chance to see Komodo Dragons wild, in their natural habitat.

For me, it was beneath the water that left me speechless. The snorkeling and diving in Komodo National Park are some of the best in Indonesia, and even the world. The coral reefs are so healthy and abundant with colorful corals, unlike any I have seen. The ocean is alive – turtles, reef sharks, rays of various kinds (if you’re lucky, mantas), and thousands of fish.

Where to stay when visiting Komodo?

You can experience Komodo National Park in several different ways. There are a number of resorts on the nearest main large island, Flores, and from which they make day trips out to the national park. Otherwise, you can venture out on a live-aboard boat. We chose to empty our pockets for a 4-day/3-night stay at Komodo Resort on Sebayur island. This is one of the few resorts on one of the smaller islands closer to Komodo National Park, making day-trip excursions more convenient.

We visited with another couple and we all say that our time at the resort was magical. The praise comes from the unbeatable natural beauty of the island, boosted by its own spectacular house reef steps from the beach. Not to mention the attentive staff that demonstrate they know what it means to provide great hospitality. This post is specifically about our experience staying at Komodo Resort.

Getting to Komodo Resort in Komodo National Park

First we flew from Bali to Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores, the gateway to Komodo National Park. All flights need to go through Bali first, at the time of writing this. However, locals told us that people will soon be able to fly from Singapore, direct to Flores.

Komodo Resort organized airport pickup and speedboat transfer to the resort. Our driver met us at the airport and it only took 10 minutes to get to the harbor where our boat captain Yan and crewman Tomy were waiting. As we made our way to Komodo Resort, the sun started to set, painting the sky with marvelous hues and a preview of the beautiful days to come.

Stepping off the boat and onto the sand of Sebayur Island where Komodo Resort is located, we arrived in the ultimate paradise. We knew we were in good hands from the moment we arrived. The team swiftly took our bags off to our rooms while Sebot gave us the brief for our stay. We eagerly listened while sipping on a refreshing welcome drink made with fresh tamarind.

The rooms at Komodo Resort

The island itself, and the resort are small, providing an intimate atmosphere. The bungalows are spacious and beautifully designed. Each unit has a nice terrace/deck complete with chairs and a set of chaise lounges on the beach. Roberto also claims its the comfiest bed he has ever slept on!

Eating at Komodo Resort

3 meals a day are included in the cost of the stay, at the time of this post. We were very impressed by the food offerings, which give provide a choice of Indonesian staples and Western entrees. Breakfast offers traditional Indonesian fare like nasi goreng or mie goreng (fried rice or fried noodles). Else, there is plenty of fruit, breakfast meats, pancakes, and an egg station where you can order eggs the way you like them at no extra cost.

Lunch sticks to more traditional Indonesian dishes, with the ability to order salad or sandwiches in addition without paying anything extra. We usually ended our day with a cocktail, beer, or glass of wine in hand on the beach, watching the sun go down giving us beautiful sunsets each evening. (Note that cocktails are an additional charge.)

Dinner was probably Roberto’s favorite as it was a 3-course meal with Italian entrees and dessert. (The owners of the resort are Italian, and if there was one cuisine Roberto could only eat for the rest of his life, it would be Italian). Homemade pasta and pizza hit the spot after days full of adventure. I can’t forget to mention the delicious Indonesian appetizers available at the buffet.

What to do in Komodo National Park?

Komodo Resort can organise excursions to all the tourist favorites in Komodo National Park, and even take you to some lesser-known spots. They can customise itineraries for your group based on what you want to do.

Padar Island

Search for Komodo National Park and a photo of Padar Island’s iconic views are sure to appear. Hiking up to the lookout point only takes about 30-40 minutes depending on your fitness level. The views in person are even better than photos. It was definitely worth the small entrance fee we had to pay.

When we visited in July 2022, it cost 120,000 rupiah (roughly 8 Euro/USD) for our group of 4 people to enter the island and do the hike. However, the Indonesian government is increasing the entrance fee on both Padar and Komodo Island come January 2023. For more information about visiting Padar Island, see our post on it: Padar Island: Best view in Komodo National Park

Komodo Island

Komodo Island is home to the Komodo Dragon, the largest living lizard on Earth. A bite from these endangered species can be deathly due to its venom. Nevertheless, tourists flock to Komodo Island in hopes to see the creature in its natural habitat.

There are different tracks you can choose to embark on and a guide accompanies you. The day we visited, no tourists had yet spotted a Komodo Dragon. It isn’t guaranteed that you’ll see one since they roam free all over the island. Luck was in our favor though, and we spotted 2! For us, I’m sure it was a once-in-a-life encounter in nature, for which we were happy to pay 200,000 rupiah per person (about 13 Euros/USD). The entrance fee is going to go up, like on Padar Island, in January 2023. See our latest post on visiting this island: Komodo Island: Land of the Komodo Dragon

The island also has one of the few pink beaches in the world due to the red coral mixing with white sand. Padar has one as well, but we were told that Komodo’s pink beach is cleaner.

Snorkeling in Komodo National Park

I can’t say enough how much I loved snorkeling and scuba diving in Komodo National Park. Komodo Resort has a beautiful house reef in excellent condition which I took into consideration when booking accommodation. We were able to just hop into the water from the jetty, and be submerged in an underwater world teeming with fish and healthy coral. We all absolutely loved it. On our last day, we were delighted to see a reef shark and a turtle on our morning snorkel.

The Komodo Resort team also took us out to a snorkel site called Siaba Besar, also known as “Turtle City.” This is a great dive site in addition to snorkel. We thought we’d maybe see a few turtles if we were lucky, but the spot lived up to its name. That day we swam with not one or two turtles, but at least 15! Some of these turtles were absolutely massive! We were all more excited by all of these turtles and the plentiful cabbage coral surroundings than the Komodo Dragons. It was truly a memorable experience.

Scuba Diving in Komodo National Park

If you’re a scuba diver, you must dive while in Komodo. It would be a great place to learn as well as Komodo is known to be one of the best places to dive in Indonesia and is one of the world’s top biodiverse marine environments. I was only able to do 3 dives during my time there, but each lives on in my memory vividly. In Komodo, there is good visibility year-round and the topology of the region provides vast coral gardens and reef walls. Depending on the dive site, you can spot a variety of marine life from rays, black tip reef sharks, pygmy seahorses, sea turtles, leafy scorpion lionfish, giant trevallies, and huge schools of fish, and more!

I was able to dive Sebayur Rock, Tatawa Besar, and Tatawa Kecil. My favorite was Tatawa Besar, where we drifted along a sloping reef and over soft and hard corals. Akry, a dive master from Komodo Resort was my guide for all 3 dives. He was very thorough in his briefings and enthusiastic under the water, pointing out the various marine life. I had a great time diving and talking with him!

Rinca Island

Rinca Island was closed still from the pandemic when we visited, but it will open back up to tourists soon. Komodo Dragons also roam freely on this island.

Hospitality at Komodo Resort

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