Scuba diving in Komodo is on most divers’ bucket lists, and for good reason. This biodiversity hotspot hosts an abundance of stunning coral, reef fish, and a high chance of encountering stunning manta rays.
Komodo has been a firm favourite for our Girls that Scuba Trips, so we’ve definitely learned a thing or two about diving in Komodo National Park. Here’s everything you need to know to plan the ULTIMATE Komodo scuba trip!
Komodo – The Basics
Komodo is located in Indonesia, approximately 520km to the east of ever-popular Bali. You’ll find the incredible diving of Komodo National Park tucked between the larger islands of Flores and Sumbawa.
Labuan Bajo, located on Flores island, is the gateway to diving Komodo. This small town has become a thriving tourist hub and is incredibly well connected. Domestic flights arrive regularly from Bali, Jakarta, and many other Indonesian destinations.
There are many land-based dive operators based in Labuan Bajo and the surrounding area offering day-boat trips to the popular dive sites. However, to truly see the best that Komodo has to offer, you’ll want to hop onto a liveaboard. We’ll dig into the community’s favourite land-based and liveaboard operators later!
What can I see diving in Komodo?
Diving in Komodo National Park offers up some of the best underwater sights in the world. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s an outstanding area of natural beauty, and much of the marine environment is protected by the National Park’s boundaries. This makes it a haven for marine wildlife, with a huge biodiversity of reef-building corals, invertebrates, marine mammals, fish species, and more!
Expect to see stunning structures of healthy coral, turtles, reef sharks, pelagic fish, and an abundance of reef fish. There’s a good chance you’ll find napoleon wrasse and groupers which are almost as big as you! Manta rays are often encountered when diving in Komodo, with a number of sites acting as cleaning or feeding stations. If you’re lucky, you may also come across dolphins.
As well as beautiful reefscapes and megafauna, Komodo is a haven for macro-lovers, too. Be on the lookout for smaller critters such as the elusive flamboyant cuttlefish, pygmy seahorse, Coleman’s shrimp, mandarin fish (head out for a sunset dive to spot these), zebra crabs, blue ringed octopus, frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish, and many more.
Local guides are often wizards at spotting these tiny wildlife wonders, so if you’re into macro, make sure to let your divemaster know! Additionally, many of these macro critters will only be found on night dives, so night diving in Komodo is not to be missed.
What are the conditions like?
Diving in Komodo offers incredible conditions throughout most of the year. Visibility is generally 15-30m (49-98ft), but this can vary depending on the season. November-April is the rainy season, which will likely mean lower visibility. However, the boost of nutrients in the water means you may be more likely to see manta rays and other pelagics.
Between May-October, the dry season brings better visibility. You will have a wider choice of liveaboards during this time, too. It’s the off-season in Raja Ampat and many boats return to Komodo during this time. From June-August, however, Komodo National Park receives the most tourists (both divers and non-divers). If you prefer quieter dive sites and land excursions, you might want to avoid these peak months.
Water temperatures in Komodo range from 24–29°C (75–84°F) depending on the site and season. You’ll find cooler water and thermoclines in the south and in deeper areas.
Depths vary from site to site, but many of Komodo’s best dive sites have deeper areas which you wouldn’t want to miss. For this reason, we recommend at least Advanced Open Water certification to make the most of diving in Komodo. For our Girls that Scuba Trips, we recommend guests have a minimum of 50 dives, and this is often the case for liveaboards in the area too.
What about those currents in Komodo?
If there’s one word you’ve probably heard associated with diving in Komodo, it’s current. For thrill-seeking divers that may conjure up excitement, but others may be more hesitant. In our experience, currents often bring along the fun creatures and make for some incredibly memorable dives.
If you don’t fancy the full-throttle experience that Komodo’s currents can sometimes bring, try planning around the moon cycles. Currents are stronger around full and new moon, so timing your trip between these phases can offer more gentle dives. And of course, if you’re that thrill-seeking diver we mentioned earlier, the opposite suggestion applies!
Need some advice on dealing with currents? Here are a few quick-tips, and we also recommend checking out our full guide:
- Pay close attention to briefings. Some Komodo dive sites have to be dived in a specific way to stay safe in the currents.
- Follow guides closely underwater. They know the conditions and sites, and those conditions can change very quickly. You’ll want to be close enough to see their signals if the dive plan needs to change.
- Carry a DSMB. Dive operators will often enforce this as a rule. If you get carried away at the surface, you’ll want to be seen from far away, and a DSMB will help hugely. Our Girls that Scuba DSMB is incredibly visible.
- Consider a PLB. If that DSMB isn’t enough to get you found in a sticky situation, a PLB or other location device could be life-saving.
- Respect the requirements. We already mentioned minimum certification requirements and logged dive requirements, but it’s worth repeating here. The requirements are there for your safety and for your enjoyment. You might not enjoy Komodo the way you should if you’re struggling with buoyancy when you’ve only got 20 dives under your belt.
Which are the best dive sites in Komodo National Park?
There are so many incredible dive sites to choose from, it’s hard to say which are truly the best dive sites in Komodo. Keep an eye out for these highlights on your itineraries:
Batu Bolong
The wild currents striking this tiny rock in the ocean bring in an unbelievable wealth of marine life. Zig-zagging up the protected side of a plummeting wall, you’ll be spoilt for choice deciding whether to watch pelagics appearing from the blue, or the myriad of critters and fish on the wall. The shallows at Batu Bolong are truly like a scene from an aquarium – it’s often aptly nicknamed “fish soup”.
Castle Rock
One of Komodo’s most famous dive spots – and rightly so, it’s like a fish and coral explosion down there!
Pinnacles rise from a shelf 20-24m (65-79ft) deep and reach almost to the surface, offering an unforgettable view. This also gives the site its Castle name. Whitetip and blacktip reef sharks patrol the area, and during the right season, you may also be visited by eagle and manta rays.
Crystal Rock
If you’re a current lover, diving in the split at Crystal Rock will not disappoint. Find a spot, settle in (as best you can when the current is pumping), and watch the sharks, trevallies, tuna, and jacks appear. In calmer conditions, you can stay around the protected side of the site. Here, you’ll enjoy being surrounded by sweetlips, snappers, and surgeonfish.
Manta Alley
You’ll see lots of mentions of Manta Point in the central area of the park, and rightly so. However, if you’d prefer the chance of a quieter encounter with less dive boats, we recommend Manta Alley in the south. With both feeding and cleaning stations in close proximity, there’s a high chance of manta magic being made. When there’s a bit of current you have the chance of seeing up to 30-40 mantas at once! Being in the south of the park the temperature can be a little colder (25-27ºC/77-81ºF), so you may want to pack your 5mm wetsuit.
Cauldron (Shotgun)
This is another one for the adrenaline junkies. The famed “Shotgun” is part of Cauldron dive site. If the current is strong, you’ll fly along the site on an exhilarating ride and be shotgunned out into the cauldron area. After the ride of your life, the current generally settles down into a gentle drift across a beautiful coral garden with an abundance of anthias and glassfish.
Should I dive Komodo from a liveaboard or land based resort?
So, should you experience diving in Komodo from land, or from a liveaboard? We’re huge advocates of liveaboard diving, and we always opt for liveaboards for our Girls that Scuba Trips to Komodo!
Liveaboards
A liveaboard is truly the best way to see a larger area of the marine park and to maximise your dive time. If you’re on a budget or short on time, there are 3-day liveaboard routes which head to the standout sites of the park. To see the true diversity of what Komodo has to offer, though, we’d recommend a 7 or even 10-day itinerary.
If you’re looking for something truly unique, seek out itineraries which start in Labuan Bajo and end in Bima. You’ll hit some macro-diving hotspots, including the muck wonders to be found diving around the active volcanoes of Sangeang Island.
One of our favourite liveaboards is the stunning Amira. Like many Indonesian liveaboards, the boat is a beautiful traditional Phinisi. We’ve experienced excellent service from warm and attentive crew, luxurious touches, and of course, incredible diving.
Another luxury favourite liveaboard in Komodo is the Scubaspa Zen. Much like their boats in the Maldives, the Scubaspa combines incredible diving with outstanding facilities on board. With an on board spa, guests can choose from dive only, dive & spa, or spa-only packages, making this the ideal experience to share with a non-diving travel partner.
Searching for a more budget-friendly liveaboard in Komodo? The Girls that Scuba community highly recommend Mimic from Wunderpus liveaboards. You’ll experience the same world-class diving, just from a stripped-back environment – you’ll even be sleeping on deck! With a maximum of 6 guests, you’ll be sure to have attentive service and personalised diving. Their more luxury boat, Wunderpus, is also well regarded.
Land-Based
If you’d prefer to explore Komodo National Park from land, Scuba Junkie Komodo Beach Resort is hugely popular with the Girls that Scuba community. The beautiful beach setting is an hour’s boat ride from Labuan Bajo, and the location gives their speedboats a head start on getting to the popular sites before many of the other day-boat operators. Scuba Junkie’s liveaboard, KLM Eliya, also comes highly recommended.
Looking for somewhere to spend a night in Labuan Bajo before boarding your boat? We’ve loved Seaesta Hotel & Hostel. There are private rooms or hostel dorms available, friendly staff, and a stunning view out to the National Park. For a more luxurious stay, our Girls that Scuba Trips guests have enjoyed resting and relaxing at AYANA Komodo before the thrills of diving in Komodo.
If you want to start or finish your adventure on an extra special stay, check out the beautiful over water bungalows of TA’AKTANA Resort & Spa.
Things to do on land in Komodo
Whilst our favourite wonders are under the waves, there are some land excursions you won’t want to miss in Komodo. These may be on your liveaboard itinerary, or can be easily booked from one of the many tourist offices in Labuan Bajo.
Dragon Trekking
What’s a trip to Komodo National Park without seeing the famous Komodo dragons? You can encounter them with a guide on either Komodo Island, or from the more recently renovated visitor centre on Rinca.
You’ll hike around the lush greenery while searching for these beautiful lizards, whose poison can be fatal with one bite. Don’t worry, though. Your guide will be with you at all times, carrying around a large wooden stick to ward off any inquisitive dragons.
Padar Hike
Hiking to the top of the Padar viewpoint offers a stunning vista, with views overlooking pink, white, and black sand beaches. For the most epic view, head up at sunset.
Be warned, though – it can get extremely busy during peak season (June-August), with many people queueing to reach the pinnacle.
Bat Watching
Kalong Island is one of the only places on earth where you can see this natural phenomenon. Thousands upon thousands of bats migrate out from the mangroves into the night sky around 6pm on summer evenings. This National Geographic-esque display lasts for around 30 minutes, and is best enjoyed from a liveaboard top deck with a cold Bintang in hand.
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