We travelled Komodo with kids together with another family — four adults and four children between four and eight years old. The plan was two nights near Labuan Bajo, three nights exploring Komodo National Park on a boat, and then a few slower days on Flores before flying home.
It sounded slightly ambitious. Dragons, remote islands, early hikes. In reality it turned out to be one of the most fun trips we've done.
Labuan Bajo — A Quiet Start
We began with two nights at Plataran Komodo Resort, just outside Labuan Bajo. Plataran is a more upscale boutique resort, great service and very relaxed vibe. They have larger villas up the hill but we opted for the beach front cottage, which had one very large room with a large double bed and an extra bed for the kids – but one of them actually preferred the comfy couch..
After travelling via Bali we kept the first day simple. The kids quickly discovered the resort jetty and spent most of the afternoon feeding fish and exploring the rocks.
One afternoon we borrowed the resort kayaks and paddled along the coast at sunset. It's surprisingly quiet outside the town — green hills, calm water, and a few fishing boats returning for the evening.
The resort has 2 restaurants, the Xanadu Restaurant, which is an open air beachfront restaurant with a more casual vibe, and just a 2 minute walk up some stairs from the beach is Atlantis on the Rock, on a wooden platform with amazing sunset views over the water. More upscale, but due to the spacious outdoor terrace setting still fine with kids. Food was good at both.
A very relaxed way to start before heading out to sea.
Moving onto the Boat
The next morning we boarded Vinca, our boat for the next three nights. There are many different boats that sail Komodo, so making your selection involves aspects like number of cabins, desired luxury, deck space, private vs shared boat. Going together with another family is great because it enables you to have your own boat, giving a lot more control over the activity pace and itinerary, especially with kids. Other friends had been the year before and warmly recommend Pirates Bay as agency because of their well organised trip and very friendly staff that was great with their kids. Vinca was one of Pirates Bay's boats and it fit our criteria well – we did not need the most luxurious boat but one with a lot of deck space, indoor and outdoor seating, cabins with own bathroom to avoid nightly wanders, and at least some railing for safety (surprisingly some really don't have any).
Vinca very much lived up to the expectations. Several cabins, each with its own bathroom, and plenty of deck space. The kids paired up in their own cabins opening into the common area, which worked well — if anyone wandered out at night they simply ended up in the lounge. But, tired after lots of swimming and other activities during the day the nights were pretty quiet. The adults had the top level cabins with amazing views.
The food on board was really impressive. The evening before the crew would ask what we wanted for breakfast the next day — eggs, pancakes, fruit — and somehow managed to produce restaurant-level meals from a tiny kitchen.
Lunch and dinner were just as good. Fresh fish, chicken, vegetables, noodles, rice dishes. Especially nice was that they made sure there was non-spicy kid friendly food while also having some stronger spiced dishes for the adults.
Very importantly, the crew were fantastic with the children from the start, making the trip much more relaxed for the parents!
One of the highlights of the trip turned out to be jumping from the top deck or front of the boat into the water. Every morning the captain would make sure we stopped somewhere with calm water so the kids could jump off the roof of the boat a few times before we sailed anywhere. That got the first energy out while we made way to the next destination.
Vinca is actually a sailing boat and looks beautiful with the sails up. However in practice we mainly moved around by engine, only one afternoon a short sail. I believe this is the case with most 'sailing' boats. Just to manage expectations when there are enthusiastic sailors in your group like we had.
Snorkelling and Island Stops
Our first snorkel stop was already promising.
Within minutes we counted six sea turtles drifting through the reef, just floating with the current and getting picked again downstream by Vinca's dinghy. The water was incredibly clear and full of fish.
Later we climbed a small viewpoint on Pulau Kelor, looking out across the islands scattered through Komodo National Park. Around the jetty and beach were baby sharks swimming close to shore – you could go in the water right between them which was fun and a bit scary for some.
That evening we watched a beautiful sunset from the top deck with a drink in hand while thousands of bats flew out of the mangroves on Pulau Koabe.
Not a bad first day.
Padar Island and the Komodo Dragons
The next morning started at 4:15 am.
We climbed the famous viewpoint on Padar Island, about 800 steps to the top. With a four-year-old that required a few breaks and a small amount of candy motivation, but the climb was worth it.
The sunrise view across the curved beaches and islands is spectacular.
Later that morning we walked the medium loop on Komodo Island with a park ranger. Within minutes we saw our first Komodo dragon lying beside the path in the shade like a prehistoric dog.
They mostly ignore people, and don't move much, at least not when we were there.
At one point our daughter became a bit excited and started flapping her sun hat enthusiastically near one of them. The ranger calmly suggested maybe not doing that.
Otherwise the walk was relaxed with the ranger sharing some interesting details.
To be honest, when thinking initially about going to Komodo I thought seeing the dragons would be the highlight and main event, but actually it was just one activity - and in the end for none of us the most memorable experience of the trip.
Swimming with Mantas
The highlight of the trip was Manta Point.
One daughter, the youngest, stayed in the small motorboat with a crew member because the water was a little choppy. From there she became the official manta spotter, pointing excitedly whenever one appeared. It was great that the crew made her feel so comfortable with them, she would be chatting and playing with them, giving us a bit more flexibility.
To be honest, with the choppy water and no sun it was not that inviting to go in the water. However, the moment we put our heads underwater made it fully worthwhile. We were in the middle of what seemed a Manta Highway – a stream of mantas gliding past on the current just below the surface like enormous floating carpets, completely ignoring the swimmers right above them.
At one point a friend signalled at me to look down as I was talking a little breather - and a huge manta was cruising directly underneath me. Slightly scary but also amazing.
Catching a Unicorn
Later that afternoon the kids tried fishing from the boat using simple lines and bait. Fishing is not allowed in the national park, but as the kids were big fans of fishing they kept asking the crew about it - especially after seeing so many fish when snorkelling. When at some point we were at the park boundary, the crew came out with some lines, hooks and raw chicken and sat down with the kids at the edge of the boat.
To everyone's surprise they actually caught something: a unicorn fish, which is edible.
The fish went straight to the kitchen, where the chef cleaned and fried it on the spot. Ten minutes later the kids were eating the fish they had just caught. They were very proud.
The Rainy Beach Dinner
The last full day on the boat was a relaxed one. The morning was very relaxed on the boat, playing some card games, reading, as we moved to 2 more snorkelling spots, including Pink Beach - which gets its name from finely ground red coral washed up on the shoreline. Great for pictures of course. After lunch we sailed to Pantai Sture, where the crew had planned to set up dinner on the beach.
Tables on the sand, beanbags, parasols, fairy lights, and a bonfire for the kids – for which they helped collecting driftwood on the island. It looked like a small beach restaurant had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Unfortunately, when we were about to eat the threatening dark clouds turned into heavy rain.
One big rush and scramble to move everything back onto the boat and dinner continued inside. On the beach or boat, it was an incredible meal: fresh lobster for the adults, fried chicken for the kids, grilled corn, roasted potatoes and fresh salsas.
Though the beach set up had been beautiful and the kids had a lot of fun with the bonfire, everyone was also pretty tired from the busy day – so the fact that the kids could just fall asleep right after dinner instead of having to come back from the beach full of sand was also not such a bad thing in the end.
The Last Day on the Boat
The final morning included one more snorkel and some time on the beach at Pantai Bidadari.
Then came the last round of boat jumps before sailing back to Labuan Bajo.
The crew gathered for a photo before we said goodbye. They had been incredible with the kids all week.
Back on Flores
We spent the final days at Sudamala Resort, Komodo, Labuan Bajo (there is a similar named sister resort nearby), which turned out to be perfect after the boat.
The beach is wide and quiet, the pool large, and the spacious rooms sit around gardens and ponds.
Every afternoon at 4 pm the resort brings out fish food for the ponds. This quickly became the daily highlight. The kids would wait for the bucket of feed and enthusiastically throw handfuls to the goldfish.
One morning we arranged a driver through the hotel reception and drove to Cunca Walung waterfall, about an hour away. The trail crosses suspension bridges and jungle paths before opening into a canyon where you can swim below the falls. Quite cold water but refreshing after the walk, and good to bring water shoes with the rocks underwater.
On the way back we stopped for lunch at Bajo Banana, a quaint restaurant with nice views known for fried chocolate bananas and a collection of metal puzzles that kept the kids busy while we waited for the food.
The resort also has a spa, which made one of the advantages of travelling with another family very clear – we took turns watching the kids and escaping for a massage, a relaxing end of the holiday.
From Komodo we flew back to Singapore with kids who are now convinced that dinos still exist and boats are meant for jumping.
What We Skipped and Why
- Longer road trips across Flores: Distances are bigger than they appear on the map and roads are slow. Even though it was tempting to go inland to see more of Flores while we were it would have been too rushed.
- More nights on the boat: Three nights felt perfect with kids. It gave enough time to properly settle in and have some flexibility with the itinerary, also considering weather conditions. Staying longer feels like it would become more of the same, shorter would feel a but rushed.
- Scuba diving: There should be amazing diving here, but harder to combine with younger children.
Trip taken May 2025.