Hi All,

I visited Labuan Bajo back in 2007. At the time, we chartered a local fishing boat to take us on a 2D / 1N trip. During this trip we visited both Komodo Island & Rinca Island. Having done some research recently it seems that most options are now 3D/2N and visit Komodo OR Rinca. Further many of the reviews state that they are disappointed in the trip to hunt Komodo's as they are typically rushed to do about 500M walking in about 30 mins and then corralled back to the boat to quickly move onto the next destination. From what I can see it seems like they are trying to cram in more destinations at the expense of spending more quality time in fewer destinations. I have a few questions for people who have visited more recently than me 😊.

1. Is my observation above sound right, based on my research?

2. Are there any boat tours that spend more quality time on both Rinca AND Komodo, but also fit in some snorkelling?

3. Can you still just arrive at Labuan Bajo and walk down to the port and negotiate directly with the boat owners? Or does everything have to go through agents these days?

4. We are a family of 4 (2 x adults and 2 x teenage boys) and would be keen to do either a 3D/2N or even 4D/3N. Looking for aircond cabins and would want to spend up to around A$500 per person (for the 3D/2N option). Any recommendations - noting desire to spend more time hunting Komodos.

Thanks in advance. BTW, for anyone interested I paid A$35 for 2D/1N back in 2007 on an Indo fishing boat including all meals 🤣.

Best

Mustdotravel