Last post from Labuan Bajo, Flores! The next day after our Komodo Trip, @edvinukas and I rented a motorbike and went to Goa Rangko (Rangko Cave)! Well, you will need to go with a boat from a certain beach point, though. Entrance fee was IDR 20,000 for Indonesians and IDR 50,000 for foreigners. Since we had limited cash with us, they gave us discount ๐
so we paid IDR 60,000 for both of us. The boat ride (return trips) was IDR 300,000 for 2, but again, since we did not have enough money, we managed to bargain it to IDR 200,000. I would say basically there are no strict prices for everything, as long as you can show a little broke face ๐ PS: The last photo shows the condition of our rental bike after we survived some muddy road on the way! ๐ค๐ผ๐
Tadaaa...! Finally meeting Si Komo a.k.a. the komodo dragon at Komodo National Park, Komodo Island ๐คฉ In total, we saw 5 komodos during our visit, and this one in the picture is actually the smallest one! The other 4 were not too keen in hanging around that day and were just resting nearby some local buildings in the area, while this one looked like it was enjoying being photographed with the visitors ๐ Itโs important for you to always follow the komodo rangers / guides and never separate yourself from the group and approach any of the komodos by yourself. They might look calm (and even lazy) most of the time, but that does not change the fact that they are dangerous wild animals. In 2017, A Singaporean tourist was reported wandering around the national park by himself, trying to have a closer look and take better photos of one komodo who was in the middle of eating a goat. It only took a second for the komodo to snap and bite his leg ๐ณ So yeah. Our tour agent informed us that if we want to see more komodos, itโs better to visit Rinca Island as they have bigger komodo population there. Unfortunately since our time was limited, we didnโt have the opportunity to go to this other island.
PS: Thereโs a rumour saying that the local government of Nusa Tenggara Timur plans to increase the entrance fee of Komodo National Park for foreigners to US$500 (which I personally think is ridiculous), so just a friendly advice, if you are a non-Indonesian and interested to see komodo here, better plan your trip soon. I have detailed the cost for a 1-Day Komodo Trip in one of my previous posts. Feel free to check that out and ask me questions if you have any! ๐
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ Back to our #KomodoTrip series!
We booked the 1-Day Komodo Tour with @alexandrakomodotour to visit Padar Island, Komodo Island, Pink Beach, and Manta Point. It cost us IDR 550,000 per person, and the package included: all-round and return boat trips from/to Labuan Bajo, lunch box, banana and coffee & tea for snacks on the boat, and snorkeling equipment. We would definitely recommend them if you visit Flores as they provide great and friendly service and cover almost all areas you can possibly visit in the region, whether you want island tour, land tour, etc.
Please note that the package does not include the fees to enter and explore the mentioned destinations, as visitors need to pay separately at the entrances in Padar Island and Komodo Island.
So hereโs the fun part. Iโm going to detail all the prices here that one Indonesian and one foreigner will have to spend for the visits.
Indonesian (WNI)
Komodo Retribution Fee: IDR 50,000
Komodo National Park Visitor Entrance Fee: IDR 5,000
Ticket for Tracking, Hiking, and Climbing: IDR 5,000
Ticket for Wildlife Observation: IDR 10,000
Snorkeling Fee: IDR 15,000
TOTAL = IDR 85,000
{ or about โฌ5 / US$6 }
Foreigner (WNA)
Komodo Retribution Fee: IDR 100,000
Komodo National Park Visitor Entrance Fee: IDR 150,000
Ticket for Tracking, Hiking, and Climbing: IDR 5,000
Ticket for Wildlife Observation: IDR 10,000
Snorkeling Fee: IDR 15,000
TOTAL = IDR 280,000
{ or about โฌ18 / US$20 }
In conclusion, a foreigner would have to pay a little more than 3 times higher than an Indonesian for all these fees. Oh, and there was also an additional cost for the rangers/guides (that we had to pay at some shady office at Komodo National Park ๐), I donโt remember exactly the breakdown but we had to pay IDR 120,000 { or about โฌ8 / US$9 } for both of us.
So, in the final total, we as a mixed couple ๐ฑ๐นx๐ฎ๐ฉ (we prefer to call ourselves #Lithuanesian ๐), we spent as following for this 1-day trip
= (IDR 550,000 x 2) + IDR 85,000 + IDR 280,000 + IDR 120,000
= IDR 1,585,000
= โฌ99 / US$113
I sincerely hope that this information can help you to plan your own Komodo Trip ๐๐ผ and Iโll post more photos from the trip soon ๐
