Hi All,
I'm looking for some advice. I want to do a tour 3d 2n from Labuan Bajo around the Komodo national park. There are alot of tour operators offering this tour. Has anyone used these before and what has your experience been like.
I got a quote from an online agent looking for 870USD for the trip. I will be a solo traveller but would like to join a group tour so I have the option to interact with other people. I'm reluctant to book anything from this end as alot of the agents look for money upfront which I'm not willing to pay. Has anyone any advice on how to book this tour with a reputable operator. I've read alot of online forums going on about huge problems with boat safety etc. I'd like to book something knowing it was going to be positive outcome. Any advice appreciated.
:-)
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I wouldn't book anything until you're there. That way you can chat to the people, see how reliable you think they are, hopefully go and check out the boat before committing, see what other travelers are doing and if you can team up with them. There's no shortage of boats in Labuanbajo. You're not going to miss out on anything by not booking in advance. And with prices like what you've been quoted, you'll be able to find much, much cheaper options when you're there.
I haven't done that style of tour specifically, but I have visited the national park.
May I ask how you visited? I'm open to just being able to visit?
There are many ways to visit. Different kinds of boats, for different lengths of time, visiting with different numbers of travelers, and stopping off at different places. There's a major tourism industry in Labuanbajo. I'm sure a bit of searching will bring up a fair amount of information.
Personally, I went on a tour traveling all the way to Lombok, stopping off at the park along the way. Which is nice, if you're heading to Lombok, but obviously not a good option if you're not.
Yes I've already done plenty of homework and got mountains of information. Just curious on your personal experience. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to wait to arrive to book and go with the flow.
Cheers.
Like @Giora I took a boat trip from Labuan Bajo to Senggigi, Lombok via Rinca Island in the Komodo National Park.
My trip was enjoyable.
See: www.peramatour.com
I'd say you better go around the Labuan Bajo central, there are a lot of tour operator offering many itineraries to choose from and they don't ask your money upfront. They are pretty friendly so feel free to hop from one place to another until you find one that "clicks". If you think you're good at bargaining, you can even go to the dock and the break of dawn, around 4AM and negotiate the price, and places you'll go with the locals. If I was good at bargaining I'd defo choose this route. ;)
I went there 3 months ago with my mom and took 2 different tours. One which we took from Labuan Bajo (local tour at central) and another we booked in advance (and paid upfront). Both are "open trips" so they put us in a group of strangers haha.
First one is gotokomodoflores for a day trip to Padar, Komodo Island, Pink Beach, Manta Point, and Kanawa. We paid IDR900,000 (around USD60) for us both, the price will be slightly higher for foreigners. The price includes boat ride, snorkeling gear, and lunch. We have to pay more for Komodo Island entrance. I don't know for sure how much is it for foreigners, some say IDR100,000, some say IDR75,000, some say IDR250,000, anyway the foreigners we traveled with paid IDR80,000. Will not recommend this trip as the operator didn't even try to help us to reach the top of Padar, or look for manta rays. They dropped us randomly at Manta Point. Snorkeling sessions last about 15mins, we had 3 sessions at Pink Beach, Manta Point, and Kanawa.
The latter one is from belibur, ad 3D2N liveaboard tour on an air-conditioned boat + 1 day at Labuan Bajo (hotel included), so total 4D3N. We paid IDR5,200,000 (around USD360) for us both, all in. We don't know if they have an office at Labuan Bajo where you can book spontaneously and not pay upfront. We don't know either if they have foreigner package. I think indonesiajuara trip has a pricelist for foreigner, around USD250/ person for a 3D2N liveaboard on an air-conditioned boat.
We went to Gili Lawa, Komodo Island, Padar, Pink Beach, Rinca, Kanawa, Manjarite, Manta Point, hopefully I don't miss anything. Crews are nice & helpful, food are freshly cooked and they're amazing. The crews tell us a lot about the islands, the animals, etc. One of the crews lived in Komodo and took us on a tour around his village, then we joined a graduation ceremony at a local school.
With both trips, we went with people booking from different tour operators.
Overall, both boats we went on were safe and they don't overcrowd the boat. I think USD870 is a bit overpriced, and you better book offline in the Labuan Bajo central. If you ended up booking online, my tip I've been using is search out their instagram account and stalk their tagged picture. :D
Hope you have an amazing day, and hope you enjoy your upcoming trip! :)
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