Princess Lala
Princess Lala Phinisi
A Komodo adventure cruise on foot and with a snorkel
Updated 11 October 2026
Three days on Princess Lala hold two ridge walks, a dragon walk with a ranger, a drift snorkel at Manta Point and the Taka Makassar sandbar. Open trips sail every Monday & Friday, from IDR 3,250,000 (≈ USD 199) each. You get a mask and snorkel; bring fins. There is no scuba on board.
The three walks
The adventure on this boat is done on your own legs and lungs, and then you come back on board to a meal. A ridge is better with breakfast waiting below it.
Kelor comes first, on the afternoon you board: a short, steep climb of 15 to 30 minutes to a viewpoint over the bay, on a dry path where shoes with grip earn their place in your bag, and then a swim from the sand to wash the dust away.
Padar is the big one, on the second morning. You leave the boat in the dark with a torch and water, climb a steep, loose path for 25 to 45 minutes to the main viewpoint, and watch the light arrive over three bays; the upper ridge goes on beyond that for those who want more. There are no dragons on Padar. Padar is never certain on the open trip, because the park's quota decides, and when it is full the hill walk moves to Gili Lawa.
The dragon walk follows breakfast, on Komodo, or on Rinca when the quota says so. A park ranger goes in front, because nobody walks among dragons without one, and it is done in closed shoes on trails with little shade. The dragons are wild. Seeing them is common and never guaranteed.
Three walks, then, in a day and a half, with a swim after the first and breakfast between the second and the third.
In the water with a snorkel and mask
Every guest is handed a snorkel and mask. That is the whole of the kit. The boat carries no fins, so bring your own or rent a pair in Labuan Bajo before you sail, and she carries no tanks and no compressor, so nobody dives from her.
The water starts gently. On day one you snorkel from the jetty at Manjarite, and on day two there is the reef close to the shore at Pink Beach, or at Namong when the boat goes there instead. Taka Makassar is a crescent of sand ringed by shallow reef, and the sand itself shows only at low tide. Go for the reef and take the sandbar as luck.
Then there is Manta Point. It is not a calm lagoon. You drift with the current along the reef instead of circling one spot, the current can be strong, the snorkelling is guided, and it is a swim for people who are confident in open water; there are life jackets on board for anyone who wants one. Mantas are common here and never guaranteed, and because sightings follow the tide, the order of the manta drift and the sandbar is settled on the day.
The third morning, for guests on the three-day fare, is Kanawa: shallow reef off a white beach, and the last swim before Labuan Bajo. Snorkelling makes people hungrier than they expect.
Day by day on the three-day sailing
A car collects you on the morning of day one, your guide having sent the hour the evening before, and the first lunch is eaten on board before Kelor.
Two fares share the sailing. The three-day fare, IDR 3,250,000 (≈ USD 199) a head in Cabin 3 and IDR 4,750,000 (≈ USD 291) in Cabin 1, takes in everything described above and ends before lunch on the third morning. The two-day fare, from IDR 2,750,000 (≈ USD 169), has the same stops on days one and two, which hold all three walks and the manta drift, and puts you ashore on the second evening, between 19:00 and 20:30; dinner that night is for the three-day guests. If the walks and the drift are what you came for and time is short, the two-day fare misses only Kanawa and the second night.
Both fares include the transfers, every meal, water, tea, coffee, snacks and soft drinks, the mask and snorkel, a local guide and the open-trip photographer, whose GoPro means the drift at Manta Point is filmed without you holding anything. Park fees and the ranger are paid separately.
The table below sets out the three days stop by stop, with what to have ready for each. Read the last column. Shoes with grip, a torch, closed shoes for the dragons and reef-safe sunscreen are small things that decide how a day goes, and none of them can be bought on a ridge.
Day 1
| What happens | Sailing from previous stop | Have ready | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:30 | Labuan Bajo — Hotel or airport pickup between 10:30 and 11:55; your guide confirms the time the evening before | — | soft bag rather than a hard suitcase |
| · | On board: cabin keys, safety briefing and the first lunch at the long table | — | |
| · | Short, steep climb to the Kelor viewpoint, then a swim off the beach | 50–70 min | shoes with grip, swimwear |
| · | Snorkelling off the jetty at Manjarite | 30–60 min | your own fins if you swim with them |
| · | Strawberry Rock, when the sea allows the stop | — | |
| · | Sunset off Kalong as the fruit bats leave the mangroves | 50–70 min | camera, a light layer |
| · | Dinner at the long table | — | |
| 🌙 | Night aboard. She spends the night where the weather and the captain decide on the day. | ||
Day 2
| What happens | Sailing from previous stop | Have ready | |
|---|---|---|---|
| · | Ridge walk on Padar; on the open trip Gili Lawa takes its place when the park quota for Padar is full | — | torch, water, shoes with grip |
| · | Breakfast on board | — | |
| · | Dragon walk with a park ranger on Komodo; on the open trip Rinca when the quota says so | — | closed shoes, park ticket |
| · | Swim and snorkel at Pink Beach, or at Namong beach | 30–60 min | reef-safe sunscreen |
| · | Lunch on board | — | |
| · | Drift snorkel at Manta Point Tide | — | |
| · | Sandbar and shallow reef at Taka Makassar Tide | 20–30 min | |
| · | Dinner at the long table | — | |
| 🌙 | Night aboard. She spends the night where the weather and the captain decide on the day. | ||
Day 3
| What happens | Sailing from previous stop | Have ready | |
|---|---|---|---|
| · | Breakfast on board | — | |
| · | Beach and snorkelling at Kanawa; private charters call at Sebayur first | — | |
| 10:00 | Back in Labuan Bajo between 10:00 and 11:00, then the transfer to your hotel or the airport | 60–90 min | bags packed before breakfast |
The times show the shape of each day, not a timetable, because tide, wind and the park quota move them. The one hour we fix in advance is your pickup, agreed with you before you sail.
Picking a month for the sea you want
The same route is a different trip in different months, and what you want from it should choose the date.
For calm water and clear snorkelling, the table below marks April, May, June, October and November: a calm sea and high visibility. For manta rays, the peak months are December to February and July to September. Those two lists do not overlap. September comes closest to both, when the winds ease, visibility improves and the mantas are still around.
July and August are dry but windy, with rougher water and the busiest anchorages of the year, and the Padar ridge at sunrise is shared with many more people then. January and February bring heavy showers and the roughest seas, and fewer boats.
Sunrise moves too, which changes how early the Padar walk begins: 05:31 in November against 06:18 in July.
In any month the sea, the weather and the park quota can reshape the route, and where the boat spends the night is the captain's decision on the day. An adventure that never changed its plan would not be much of one. Tell us which matters more to you, the mantas or the calm, and we will suggest sailings.
| Month | Sea | Visibility | Mantas | Crowds | Rain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | rough | low | peak | low | wet | Wet season and the roughest seas of the year; manta rays at their best. Families with small children do better from April. |
| February | rough | low | peak | low | wet | Still wet and rough, with lower visibility; few boats at the stops and good months for manta rays. Keep the camera in a dry bag. |
| March | moderate | medium | good | low | wet | The showers ease and the sea settles; the stops are still quiet. A fair month for photographers who do not need a guarantee of sun. |
| April | calm | high | fair | medium | dry | The dry season begins: calm sea and some of the clearest water of the year. The first month we suggest to families. |
| May | calm | high | fair | medium | dry | Dry, calm and clear; steady days for snorkelling with children and for the walks on Kelor and Padar. |
| June | calm | high | fair | medium | dry | Dry and clear, with the south-east wind starting to build towards July. Still a family month. |
| July | rough | medium | peak | high | dry | Dry but windy, with a rougher sea and the most visitors of the year; manta rays pick up. Sunrise on Padar near 06:18. |
| August | rough | medium | peak | high | dry | The windiest dry month and busy anchorages; manta rays are common. Better for strong swimmers than for toddlers. |
| September | moderate | high | peak | medium | dry | The wind eases, visibility improves and the manta rays are still around: the month we point photographers to. |
| October | calm | high | fair | medium | dry | Calm, clear and hot, with fewer visitors than July and August. Hats and shade for the children. |
| November | calm | high | fair | low | dry | The end of the dry season: calm sea, clear water, quieter stops, and the earliest sunrise on Padar, near 05:31. |
| December | moderate | medium | peak | medium | wet | The wet season starts and the manta rays return; late December is busy with holiday travellers, so book the family cabins early. |
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How wild this trip is, and is not
This is three days of walking and snorkelling from a comfortable base: six air-conditioned cabins, each with a sea-view window, a chef, and every meal at a long table. The hardest thing you will do is a climb of up to 45 minutes in the dark.
If adventure to you means a tank on your back, a week without a harbour, or water-sports gear stacked on the deck, another trip will suit you better. Divers should book a day with a dive centre in Labuan Bajo.
What a charter adds is days and stops, not hardware. The four-day route brings in a hill walk on Gili Lawa as a stop of its own and snorkelling at Siaba, and gives Pink Beach a whole afternoon; for up to four guests it costs IDR 46,000,000 (≈ USD 2,822), and the three-day route IDR 38,000,000 (≈ USD 2,331). A five-day charter exists as well. On a charter guide and photographer are quoted separately.
If the walks matter more to you than the room, the three-day open trip in Cabin 3 is the answer: the cheapest berth, IDR 3,250,000 (≈ USD 199) a head, with a shared bathroom and every walk and swim on the route. Tell us how fit the least fit person in your group is, and we say how day two will feel for them.
FAQ
How fit do I need to be for the walks?
Fit enough to climb a steep, loose path for 25 to 45 minutes before breakfast, which is the ridge on Padar. Kelor is shorter, 15 to 30 minutes, and just as steep. On Komodo the dragon walk is easier, with a park ranger in front. Bring shoes with grip and a torch for the dark start; sandals are not enough on either hill.
Can I manage the drift at Manta Point without fins?
The boat supplies a snorkel and mask and no fins, so decide before you sail: bring a pair or rent one in Labuan Bajo. At Manta Point you drift with a current that can be strong, the snorkelling is guided, and life jackets are on board. If you swim with fins at home, bring them. This is not the place to learn to do without.
Is there any scuba diving on the adventure trip?
No scuba. Princess Lala carries no tanks and no compressor; she is a snorkelling boat, and divers book a day with a dive centre in Labuan Bajo before or after sailing. Every guest, on every trip, has a snorkel and mask.
Will we see Komodo dragons and manta rays?
Dragons are a regular sight and mantas are common, and neither is guaranteed, because both are wild. The dragon walk is on Komodo, or on Rinca when the park quota says so, always with a ranger. Manta sightings are best from December to February and from July to September and follow the tide on the day. Nobody on this boat will promise you an animal.
Is the two-day fare enough for the main walks and the manta drift?
Yes. Kelor, the ridge, the dragons, Pink Beach and the manta drift all fall on days one and two, and the two-day fare starts at IDR 2,750,000 (≈ USD 169) a head. You go ashore between 19:00 and 20:30 on day two, so sleep in Labuan Bajo that night. The three-day fare adds a second night on board and Kanawa.
What should I pack for the walks and the water?
Shoes with grip for Kelor and Padar, closed shoes for the dragon walk, a torch for the dark start, swimwear, a light layer for the evening, reef-safe sunscreen and a hat, your own fins, and cash for tips and for the park fees. Pack it all in a soft bag, not a hard suitcase.
Check availability — Princess Lala
Princess Lala is sailed by her own crew; bookings and payments are handled by PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia.