Princess Nabila
Princess Nabila Phinisi
Kalong Island flying foxes: watching the bats leave at sunset
Updated 12 October 2026
Kalong is the sunset stop of day 1 on the Princess Nabila 3D2N, a mangrove islet between Komodo and Rinca where thousands of flying foxes roost. Nobody lands. The group watches from the boat as the bats start streaming out about 15 minutes after sunset and keep going for about 30 minutes. Sunset is 17:57 in July.
Where 25 guests sit for the show
Kalong is the one stop of the first evening that asks nothing physical of anyone, so every guest in a mixed party joins on the same terms. The only planning is where 25 people sit.
The sun deck is the natural place. The roof is green artificial turf from end to end, with around a dozen bean bags in yellow, pink and navy, wooden benches and a low rail. It is open to the sky, which the show needs, and the turf has no shade.
Restaurant windows face three sides, some of them open, and the counters seat about 20. That room is the fallback for a guest who would rather skip the stairs, since the boat has no lift. Settle the split before dusk: the first dozen on bean bags, the rest on benches and turf. Children on the roof stay with an adult beside them, because the rail is low.
| Month | Sunset | Bats fly from about |
|---|---|---|
| January | 18:27 | 18:42 |
| February | 18:26 | 18:41 |
| March | 18:15 | 18:30 |
| April | 17:58 | 18:13 |
| May | 17:49 | 18:04 |
| June | 17:50 | 18:05 |
| July | 17:57 | 18:12 |
| August | 18:00 | 18:15 |
| September | 17:58 | 18:13 |
| October | 17:55 | 18:10 |
| November | 18:01 | 18:16 |
| December | 18:14 | 18:29 |
Times are computed for the location and are accurate to within a few minutes.
Day 1 ends on sunset, so something else gives way
After the 10:30 to 11:55 pickup, boarding and lunch, the printed order is Kelor, Manjarite, Strawberry Rock and then Kalong. Strawberry Rock is conditional. It is added only when sea and time allow, and the captain decides on the day. When the afternoon runs late, Strawberry Rock goes first, because the bats keep to sunset.
Tell your group that the swim at Manjarite ends at a time set by sunset. The table above gives sunset and the first-bats time for every month. The first quarter of an hour after sunset is quiet, and the boat needs to be in place before it starts.
Taken on a real Komodo Explorer trip · 5 photos
Chargers, layers and the quiet quarter hour
A long lens and a charged camera help. On a phone the stream reads as small dark dots on a pale sky, so tell the group's photographers to look with their eyes first.
- Charge phones and cameras at the start of day 1. Each cabin has one to three round two-pin sockets.
- Bring a light layer. The route lists it, and a roof in the open air cools once the sun drops.
- Agree the seat plan before the bats start, so nobody walks across the turf in the middle of the show.
- Take the group photograph on the turf in the quiet quarter hour, because nobody will want to stand up once the stream begins.
Dinner on board follows.
Who can skip it, and what it costs
Nobody goes ashore, so Kalong carries no walk, no snorkel and no ranger line. A guest with a bad knee or a fear of water sits beside the strongest swimmer in the party and sees exactly the same thing.
Sunset fixes the hour, and the bats follow it. You cannot move the stop to suit the group, so move the group's evening around it.
The park ticket is bought per person and per day in each visitor's name, and the park-fees page has a calculator by number of guests and days.
FAQ
What time do the flying foxes leave?
The stream starts about 15 minutes after sunset and runs for about 30 minutes. Sunset at Kalong is 17:57 in July and 18:14 in December. The table above has every month. Dinner on board follows the show.
Can the group land on Kalong?
No. The bats are watched from the boat, which is why the stop suits guests of every age and fitness. There is no walk, no ranger and no snorkel, and the sun deck is the place to watch from.
Is the roof or the restaurant better for watching the bats?
The roof. It is open to the sky and has around a dozen bean bags on the turf, but it has no shade and only a low rail, so children stay beside an adult. The restaurant seats about 20 and has windows on three sides, and it is the choice for a guest who avoids the stairs.
Does the full-day charter reach Kalong?
No. The full-day sample, Kelor, Manjarite and Kanawa, ends at the pier before sunset. Kalong is on day 1 of every overnight route: private 2D1N, 3D2N, 4D3N and 5D4N, and the open-trip 3D2N, so a group that wants the bats books at least one night.
What lens do we need for the bats?
A long lens and a charged camera help. A phone shows a pale sky with dark dots in it, so the stream is best seen by eye first. Charge everything at the start of day 1, since each cabin has between one and three sockets.
Check availability — Princess Nabila
Princess Nabila sails with its own crew, and PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia handles the booking, the payment and the trip file.