Rinca and Komodo Island: Komodo Dragon Island in Indonesia – TRAVEL GUIDE

Rinca and Komodo Island: Komodo Dragon Island in Indonesia – TRAVEL GUIDE

Rinca and Komodo Island in Flores are two of the main options for visiting a Komodo Dragon Island in Indonesia. Both islands are located in Komodo National Park, a biodiversity hotspot for marine and terrestrial animals.

Seeing the incredible Komodo dragons in the wild is at the top of many people's wish lists. This guide is intended to help those planning a trip to Rinca and Komodo Island and provide tips and insight into these incredible gems of Indonesia.

Where do Komodo dragons live?

One of the most frequently asked questions about Komodo dragons is where they live and where they can be seen. The answer is that Komodo dragons only live on five islands in the Flores Sea in southeastern Indonesia. The list of Komodo Dragon Islands includes Flores, Gili Montang, Gili Dasami, Rinca and Komodo Island.

Although their populations were once again widespread in the region, a combination of hunting and lack of food has caused Komodo dragons to become extinct on the other smaller islands such as Padar.
alt=“WILD KOMODO DRAGON IN RINCA ISLAND”>

Where can you see Komodo dragons?

For tourists, the best place to see Komodo dragons is Rinca and Komodo Island. To better protect the dragons, these two islands have imposed strict environmental and ecological restrictions as part of the Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Both Rinca and Komodo Island have professional ranger guides employed to guide tourists around the islands in search of the dragons. If you visit these islands, I'm told you're almost guaranteed a sighting.

Rinca and Komodo Island National Park and entrance fees

The fees for Rinca and Komodo National Park are 150,000 rupiah, which is valid for 24 hours. The ticket includes other popular islands in Komodo National Park including Padar, Rinca and Komodo Island.

In addition to the entrance fee, you have to pay additional surcharges for certain activities. Since it is a Komodo dragon island in Indonesia, the most popular activity is of course kite watching. There is a ranger guide fee of 80,000 rupiah payable per group, so it's best if you split the cost.

Organized 3-day, 2-night Komodo National Park tour to Rinca and Komodo Island

True, Komodo National Park is not the most budget-friendly place in the world. Since there are no public ferries to most islands, you will need to book island hopping tours.

If you're already in Labuan Bajo, then arguably one of the best value for money options is to take an organized island hopping liveaboard tour. Don’t worry, this isn’t your typical “handheld tour”. They're mostly just a great way to get to any destination.

While it's possible to book a trip on the main road in Labuan Bajo, you can save time and money by booking this high-quality, well-reviewed boat tour online for under $100 per day. This includes:

• Abholung von der Unterkunft in Labuan Bajo
• AC Unterkunft an Bord des Bootes
• Alle Mahlzeiten
• Schnorchelausrüstung
• Snacks
• Rinca und Komodo Island Komodo Spotting
• Wanderung zur Insel Padar
• Rosa Strand Komodo
• Manta Point Schnorcheln
• Gili Lawa Aussichtspunkt bei Sonnenuntergang
• Langer Strand
• Kanawa-Insel
• Siaba-Insel

• Wie bei den meisten Reisen sind die Eintrittsgebühren für den Komodo-Nationalpark nicht enthalten.
  alt=“AUSSICHTSPUNKT PADAR INSELWANDERUNG, KOMODO NATIONALPARK, FLORES“>

READ MORE: PADAR ISLAND VIEWPOINT HIKE IN KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

If you want to make the most of your time on Komodo, you can also stay in Labuan Bajo and take separate island-hopping tours. However, I have found that this is usually more expensive than just booking a 3 day liveaboard. Regardless, I have detailed how to get to both Rinca and Komodo Island below.

Getting to Labuan Bajo – You can book a cheap domestic flight to Labuan Bajo (also known as Komodo Airport – LBJ) with daily connecting flights to Denpasar in Bali for $50 to $80. You can compare cheap flights to Komodo Airport on Skyscanner here.

Rinca Island

Rinca Island, pronounced “rin-cha,” and also known as Rincah and Rindja, is a large, mostly grassy island adjacent to Komodo Island. While people live on Rinca Island, life can be quite difficult due to a lack of infrastructure and education.

Rinca Island is also home to over 1000 wild Komodo dragons, who often relax among the houses and warungs in the village.

Where is Rinca Island?

Rinca Island is the closest Komodo Dragon Island to Flores and the main fishing and tourism port of Labuan Bajo. Although the main dock you arrive at is much further west, the northeastern tip extends so far that the bulk of the island is technically only 300 meters from Flores.

How to get to Rinca Island?

To get to Rinca Island, you need to take a one-day tour from Labuan Bajo again. Below I have described one of the top rated options.

Day trip to Rinca Island from Labuan Bajo

This 1-day speedboat and island hopping tour goes to Rinca and includes:

• Abholung von der Unterkunft in Labuan Bajo
• Rinca Island Komodo Trekking (Ranger-Führer inbegriffen)
• Wanderung auf Kelor Island
• Majerite Island Schnorcheln
• Sonnenuntergang auf der Insel Kalong

• Diese Tour beinhaltet auch nicht die Eintrittsgebühr für den Komodo-Nationalpark, die zusätzlich zur Tour berechnet wird.
  alt=“RINCA-INSELLANDSCHAFTEN“>

COMPARE ALL BOAT PRICES IN RINCA AND KOMODO HERE

What to do on Rinca Island?

By far the most popular activity on Rinca Island is a guided Komodo dragon viewing tour with a professional ranger.

The ranger will point out wild Komodos and show you the nearby Komodo dragon nest on the hike to the nearby hill.

While it's possible to walk around alone, it's important to remember that the rangers rely on tourism revenue, plus it's only 80,000 rupiah for a group, which should barely make a dent if you're splitting the cost. Additionally, there have been Komodo attacks on tourists in the past.
alt=“VIEWPOINT HIKE ON RINCA ISLAND”>SUNSET VIEWPOINT ON RINCA ISLAND
alt=“KOMODO DRAGON ON RINCA ISLAND”>KOMODO DRAGON RESTS AT A LOCAL WARUNG IN RINCA VILLAGE

Komodo Island

Komodo Island is the largest Komodo dragon island in Indonesia and also the most famous. It is also home to the largest number of Komodo dragons, with a total number of nearly 1500. Like Rinca Island, the people of Komodo Island live and rely largely on tourism for income.

Where is Komodo Island?

Komodo Island is located west of Padar and Rinca Island. It is the furthest island in Komodo National Park from Flores and Labuan Bajo.

How do I get to Komodo Island?

I'm sure you know the story by now. If you want to get to Komodo Island, you need to book an organized island boat trip from Labuan Bajo.

The cheapest, most popular and highest ranked tour is with Bintang Tours. Unfortunately, many of the destinations on most Komodo Island tours overlap with the tours that visit Rinca Island. Therefore, it may be better to choose one or take a 3-day boat trip instead.
alt="KOMODO DRAGON IN KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, INDONESIA">

Do Komodo restaurants feed Komodo dragons? Updated information 2019

I've already covered this in another blog post, but I think it would be relevant here too.

The Komodo dragons were fed until 2009. However, this was stopped with the introduction of a new nature conservation law. The implementation of this law will be strictly enforced by the national parks responsible for protecting dragons.

It is important to remember that Komodo dragons are large reptiles and therefore need to move as little as possible throughout the day to conserve energy. The smell of food draws her to the restaurant. However, dragons only actually eat once a month, so most of the time you'll find them just lounging around instead of hunting.

Komodo dragons must rely on their natural hunting behavior to obtain food on Komodo Island.
alt=“CLOSE UP OF A KOMODO DRAGON”>

Cheap alternative for travelers in Lombok

By far the best value boat trip around Komodo National Park is with a company called Wanua Adventure. They organize trips from Lombok to Labuan Bajo and vice versa for 4 days and 3 nights for only 2.3 million rupiah per person.

That's an insane value considering they stop at many of Komodo National Park's highlights, including:

• Insel Komodo
• Rinca-Insel
• Rosa Strand
• Langer Strand
• Insel Padar
• Kelor-Insel

Best of all, the price includes accommodation, all meals, all national park fees and all transportation costs. I wrote a detailed blog article about this trip here. Of course, you either need to be in Lombok or be open to going there afterwards as it is a one way trip.

• alt=“BOOTSFAHRT ZU DEN KOMODO-INSELN VON LOMBOK, LOMBOK NACH FLORES MIT WANUA ADVENTURES“>
• alt=“4 TAGE 3 NÄCHTE BOOTSFAHRT VON LOMBOK ZUM KOMODO NATIONALPARK, UNTERWASSERSCHNORCHELN“>

Rinca Island vs Komodo Island

Everyone loves a good showdown. But honestly, you're probably now weighing up which Komodo dragon island in Indonesia you want to visit.

To be honest, the Komodo dragons on Rinca and Komodo Island look exactly the same and you are almost guaranteed to see them in both destinations. In addition, the islands are very similar in terms of landscape and activities. The only real difference is that Rinca Island is closer to Labuan Bajo than Komodo Island.

However, since you will most likely be booking an island trip that visits Rinca or Komodo Island anyway, this doesn't matter.

• alt=“RINCA-INSEL-SONNENUNTERGANG-AUSSICHTSPUNKT“>
• alt=“ROSA STRAND-KOMODO-NATIONALPARK, FLORES“>

alt=“WILD KOMODO DRAGON IN KOMODO NATIONAL PARK”>Young Komodo Dragon

Komodo Dragon Facts

Most of you are probably reading this because you are curious about Komodo dragons. So, after a little research and speaking with several park rangers, here is a summary of my limited knowledge on the subject.

Are Komodo dragons poisonous?

Komodo dragon saliva contains potent septic bacteria as well as toxic proteins that infect bitten prey. Komodos often hunt by biting a wild deer and waiting for it to die slowly before eating it.

Are Komodo dragons dangerous?

As you probably already know, Komodo dragons are very dangerous. They were responsible for several human deaths and injuries.

What do Komodo dragons eat?

Komodo dragons typically eat large game such as deer, water buffalo and carrion.

Komodo Dragon Speed

The top speed of a Komodo dragon over land is 20 km/h

Are Komodo dragons threatened with extinction?

Komodo dragons are not officially endangered, but are listed as endangered. The World Animal Foundation estimates that there are only 6,000 Komodos left in the wild.

More facts

• Komodowarane können schwimmen, verbringen jedoch die meiste Zeit damit, an Land zu jagen und sich zu sonnen.
• Es wurden mehrere Komodo-Angriffe auf Menschen registriert.
• Diejenigen, die das Pech haben, von einem Komodowaran gebissen zu werden, benötigen eine starke Antibiotikakur, um die Ausbreitung der Infektion zu verhindern
• Ein typischer erwachsener männlicher Komodowaran wiegt zwischen 79 und 91 Kilogramm. Das größte jemals aufgezeichnete Exemplar war jedoch 3,3 Meter lang und 166 Kilogramm schwer
• Komodowarane können 80 % ihres Gewichts in einer Sitzung fressen

For more facts and information about Komodo dragons, visit the National Geographics website.
alt=“KOMODO DRAGON CLAW IN KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, INDONESIA”>
alt="WILD DEER ON KOMODO ISLAND, KOMODO NATIONAL PARK">
alt="WILD KOMODO DRAGON ON KOMODO ISLAND">
alt="KOMODO DRAGON IN KOMODO NATIONAL PARK">
alt="Youth KOMODO DRAGON IN KOMODO NATIONAL PARK">

alt="Rinca and Komodo Island: Komodo Dragon Island in Indonesia – TRAVEL GUIDE">
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