Komodo adventure trip: treks and snorkels

The list is short, and every item on it appears in the footage. Each guest gets a mask and a snorkel, with no fins. The kayak is an inflatable two-seater in yellow and grey with EXPLORER printed on it, and the paddle board is a red inflatable with a koi-fish print. The rate card prints no count for either, so treat one of each as the working number. A white open fibreglass tender with an outboard runs guests to the beaches. Swimmers drop off the bow, and a wooden platform with a ladder on the starboard side brings them back aboard.

Kayak and paddle board come on every sailing at no extra charge, because the open-trip fare and the charter fare each list the kayak and the paddle board among what is included. At a beach stop two people paddle and the rest swim, then you swap.

The boat has no tanks and no compressor. Divers should read the snorkelling and diving page before booking.

Effort differs from stop to stop. The times below are general planning figures for each place, and the 3-day 2-night route page lists the stops day by day.

• Kelor: the hill is steep and takes 15 to 30 minutes, with a viewpoint over the bay at the top.
• Padar: 25 to 45 minutes up a loose, steep path to the main viewpoint. On the open trip Gili Lawa replaces it when the park quota says so.
• Komodo village or Rinca: 45 to 120 minutes on foot with a park ranger, on trails with little shade.
• Pink Beach or Namong: 45 to 90 minutes in the water.
• Manta Point and Taka Makassar: 30 to 60 minutes each in the water.
• Kanawa or Seture: an easy snorkel over shallow coral.

Day 2 is the hard one, because the ridge, the walk and three snorkels all fall into it. Day 1 is an afternoon on the open trip, since pickup runs from 10:30 to 11:55. The park quota decides which of Padar and Gili Lawa you get, and which of Komodo village and Rinca.

A snorkeller who kicks hard wants fins, and the boat does not carry them. Bring a pair you have worn before, because new fins on a long day cause blisters.

Currents differ by stop. Pink Beach is mild, in water of one to eight metres. Taka Makassar is mild too, over one to five metres, and its sandbank shows only at low tide. Manta Point is the other kind of stop: three to fifteen metres of water and a current that can be strong, so snorkellers drift along the reef with it. Its order with Taka Makassar can swap with the tide. Anyone who is not a confident swimmer should wear a life jacket there.

The open-trip fare includes a local guide. On a private charter nothing is guided unless you buy the guide line. Mantas are common at Manta Point and never guaranteed, and sightings peak in December, January, February, July, August and September.

A nervous swimmer can skip Manta Point and stay on the boat. The rest of the day does not depend on it.

Twenty people never move at one speed, and a plan that gives the climbers, the paddlers and the guests who prefer the deck each a job keeps the whole group on one timetable. Komodo walks go with park rangers, in parties the park sizes, so build slack into the time you plan there and at each tender landing.

Give each stop a job. Padar is for the climb, and a guest who stays aboard needs a companion from your party. Komodo is for the ranger walk, in closed shoes and long sleeves or sunscreen, because shade is thin. Pink Beach is for the water, with the paddle board while the sea is calm. Kanawa is for the easy snorkel on the last day, which suits the guests who were nervous earlier.

On a charter, tell us which guests are fast walkers, which are slow and who must stay near a toilet. Every cabin has its own bathroom, but the beach stops and the ridge do not.

Bring hats, reef-safe sunscreen and a water bottle, because the sun deck has no shade at all.