How To Get To Komodo National Park From Bali

Famous for its stunning scenery, vibrant pink beaches, amazing marine life, and, of course, the famous Komodo dragons, Komodo National Park is a fantastic addition to a trip to Bali. So much so, we've already done it twice!

While it’s a bit off the beaten path, getting to Komodo from Bali is easier than you might think, with a few travel options to suit different preferences and budgets.

There are two main ways to travel from Bali to Komodo—by plane and by boat. We’ve experienced both options and have shared our experiences, opinions, and practical tips below.

Where is Komodo National Park?

Komodo National Park is a group of islands situated between Flores and Sumbawa in central Indonesia, around 470 km from Bali. It's made up of three main islands—Komodo, Padar, and Rinca—along with numerous smaller islets.

Listed as one of the "New 7 Wonders of Nature," the stunning national park is famous for its rich biodiversity and is the only place in the world where you can see the rare Komodo dragon in the wild.

The water around the islands is also a popular location for diving and snorkeling thanks to its amazing marine life.

Despite its distance from Bali, Komodo National Park is one of our absolute favourite places in Indonesia and somewhere we'd definitely recommend adding to your trip if you have the time.

How to visit Komodo National Park

To visit Komodo National Park, you'll need to take an organised boat trip around the islands. The park is a protected area and tourism is highly regulated.

You can either see the highlights in a day or choose a multi-day liveaboard experience to explore more of the park, which is what we'd recommend doing.

The main options for visiting Komodo National Park:

• One day trip to Komodo by fast boat/speed boat

• Two days one night liveaboard boat trip

• Three days two night liveaboard boat trip

Komodo liveaboard boats can vary greatly in their level of comfort and luxury.

On our first visit to Komodo, we opted for a super-budget liveaboard with Wanua Adventures that cost just €100 per person for 4 days 3 nights (incl. boat back to Lombok).

We slept on a camping mat on the floor in a large room with 15 other travellers, used a hole in the floor as a toilet, and a bucket as a shower - a unique and adventurous experience but still a lot of fun!

On our second trip, we shared a slightly more upmarket private 4-person dorm room with AC on a 3 day 2 night trip for €170 per person.

If you really want to splash out, you can also find some boats offering spacious double cabins with private bathrooms, balconies, and even hot tubs (like this one or this one). But you can expect to pay much more for these (€500-1,000).

It's best to book your boat trip or liveaboard experience before you organise your transportation from Bali to Komodo, as trips can get booked up months in advance.

How to get from Bali to Komodo

Option 1: Fly from Bali to Labuan Bajo

The easiest way to visit Komodo from Bali is to take a domestic flight directly from Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport (DPS) to Komodo Airport (LBJ) in Labuan Bajo on Flores Island.

Numerous airlines fly between Bali and Labuan Bajo, including Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air, Air Asia, and Wings Air. The flight takes around 1hr15 and costs approx. 1,000,000 IDR ⓘ each way.

Labuan Bajo is known as the gateway to Komodo National Park, with most cruises and boat trips leaving from Labuan Bajo Harbour.

You'll need to fly into Labuan Bajo the day before your Komodo boat trip begins and stay in a hotel overnight as most trips begin early in the morning.

Komodo Airport is just a 10 minute drive from central Labuan Bajo and the harbour and it's easy to get a taxi once you arrive. You can also prebook an airport transfer in advance.

Option 2: Public ferry from Bali to Komodo

If you're travelling on a super tight budget, the cheapest option to get between Bali and Komodo (Labuan Bajo) is to take the public ferry.

The passenger car ferry, which is primarily used by locals and operated by PELNI, departs from Bali's Benoa Port just once every couple of weeks.

The journey costs as little as 280,000 IDR ⓘ per person. However, it can take up to 38 hours and isn't particularly comfortable, so we wouldn't recommend this option when flying is only a little more and takes just 1 hour.

We've not tried this method ourselves and don't plan to, so we can't give any information based on our own experience.

Option 3: Komodo boat trip from Lombok

While we wouldn't recommend getting the public ferry to Komodo, there is another - better - option for reaching the national park by boat. This is the option we used on our first trip to Komodo from Bali.

Many Komodo cruises and liveaboard boats offer the option to start (or end) your Komodo trip in Lombok, the neighbouring island to Bali, instead of Labuan Bajo.

These trips are usually 4 days 3 nights, with the first (or last) day and night of the journey spent sailing the 470 km distance to/from Lombok.

On our trip, we started our liveaboard boat trip in Labuan Bajo, spent 3 days sailing around Komodo, and then spent the final day making our way back to Lombok.

This final day at sea was spent relaxing on the boat, sunbathing, and playing card games with our new friends, with a brief stop at a beach mid-journey.

Once we arrived at Kayangan Harbour in east Lombok, we got a free shuttle bus (offered by our company) across the island to Bangsal Harbour in west Lombok. We then chose to spend a couple of extra days in the Gili Islands (just a 20 minute boat ride) before jumping on the public ferry back to mainland Bali.

While we chose the Komodo to Lombok route, most people prefer the Lombok to Komodo option as it includes a stop in Saleh Bay, where there’s a chance to see majestic whale sharks.

However, this route does tend to be much busier - there were only 15 people on our boat (a nice number) but were told there could be up to 35 guests on boats going the other direction.

Most companies that offer Komodo boat trips to/from Lombok include transfers between Bangsal Harbour and Kayangan Harbour on Lombok as part of their package, making it easy to get back to Bali.

How long do you need to spend in Komodo?

How long you need in Komodo depends on your method of transport from Bali and the type of boat trip you choose to do in the national park.

On average, most Komodo liveaboard cruises are 3 days 2 nights. You'll also need one extra night in Labuan Bajo the day before your trip. You can usually fly back to Bali on the day your trip finishes. For this method, you'll need 4 days in total.

If you decide to take the boat from Lombok one way, you'll also need to factor in an extra day for sailing and most of another day for getting back from Lombok to Bali. Plan for at least 5-6 days in total.

If you have the time, we'd also recommend taking one more full day in Labuan Bajo to visit the town and mainland. A full week will give you plenty of flexibility and time to explore.