Review Author: Jessica

Review Date: 07 Oct 2024

Review Body: The first place on the tour was a hike up roughly 800 steps to a beautiful viewpoint. For the most part it wasn't a difficult hike, though the the steps at the top were a bit more challenging. If you want to picture at the top, be prepared to wait in line for the good photo spots. Next was pink beach. I had low expectations because I had heard the sand was barely bink, but was actually pleasantly surprised by the colour. It was nice enough to just sit on the beach and enjoy the weather. The national park was certainly a highlight. We saw 5 Komodo dragons, one of them was a baby. The guide was willing to take photos of everyone, leaving the perfect souvenir photo. The guides were really informative and willing to answer any question thrown at them. One guide was very honest and told a story about a tourist that had died, but it was helpful to remember that this isn't some petting zoo and these are dangerous creatures. You need to follow the instructions of the guides so they can keep you safe. Lunch was good, the portion was quite big and most of us couldn't finish it all. We went to another beach after lunch with pink sand as well. The guides told us it wasn't a great place for snorkeling but we were welcome to try, or just swim around and relax. The water was shallow but a very comfortable temperature. Next we went snorkeling at manta point and it was absolutely incredible. We saw a good 15 manta rays all swimming together in a group, even our guide was excited. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It was a very easy snorkel and weak swimmers can choose to wear life jackets if they want. The boat has a mix of different levels of experience, but was enjoyable for all. We only saw one turtle at the final stop, though some others in our group saw a second, but it was a big one and the coral and tropical fish were enjoyable to look at as well. My only complaint is that the snorkel times seemed a bit short, but that may have been to manage the level of tourists at the spot at any given time. Overall, I consider this to be an excellent experience and would highly recommend it. Just make sure you wear good clothes to get sweaty in and it's not a bad idea to bring hand sanitizer as there weren't any places to wash your hands.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Kat and Liv

Review Date: 27 May 2025

Review Body: There should be 10 stars for the Red Whale. They made everything so easy and so fun. They picked us up from our hotel, the experience at the port was surprisingly relaxed and organized, and they took our park fees (400kIDR) and handled absolutely everything. They had coffee on the boat (huge for us getting up at 6am) and made sure to remind us to have breakfast before at our hotel. The hike was breathtaking (814 stairs though, come prepared to sweat!) they had a changing room on the boat too. When they said we could have brought beers we were so sad we didn’t plan ahead, but the pink beach had tiny beach bars and we bought some bingtangs to take back on the boat (be sure to bring a bottle opener though, the guys opened them for us with a lighter which is a trick I’ve never been able to master). Seeing the Komodo Dragons was incredible, our local guides were so kind and informative. There is so much more to the island than just the dragons!!!! Our snorkeling guide ROCKED, he guided us through strong currents to see barrel rolling manta rays, the sand bar stop was so relaxing and we saw turtles and baby sharks. The turtle bay stop was gentler but still so deep and we saw so so many rays and fish. The whole experience was once in a lifetime for us and we will treasure the memories forever! Thank you Red Whale!!!!!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Sharyn Pearmine

Review Date: 16 Sep 2025

Review Body: Absolutely fantastic day. The crew were fun, attentive, professional & informative. I felt safe the entire time. We saw 2 male Komodo and 2 smaller females the Rangers on Komodo Island were very knowledgeable. The 818 steps to the top of Padar Island were a challenge but the view was so worth it, definitely need to be reasonably fit to get all the way to the top. Pink Island is not really all that Pink, Intagramers are definitely overselling it. But the Bintang after all those steps was worth the stop. On the way home we snorkelled and saw a smaller Manta Ray & 3 Turtles one was huge. Overall a fantastic trip. I will definitely be back to explore more of the Labuan Bajo area it is truly stunning 😊

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Inna Morrva

Review Date: 17 Feb 2025

Review Body: We are in love with the team, organization and comfort! We were pickes up from the hotel exactly as was written to us, comfortable car just for 2 of us. Boarding to the boat was seamless. We were able to make all points based on schedule and go for hiking before other groups. We were able to find huge manta rays in 2 places!!! Overall the boat is comfortable, but simple, gas good chair, there is no smell of gasoline. It is clean, we were provided with water, soft drinks, snaks, decent lunch! All was great! Thanks for a fantastic day.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Benjamin Woll

Review Date: 30 Dec 2023

Review Body: We now that experiencing wild life is always a question of chance, but Red Whale delivered on everything! We saw 4 different Komodo Dragons of different ages and sizes. We snorkeled with 15-20 Mantas, which was absolutely breathtaking beautiful. And then we snorkeled with 4 big turtles in the end. The crew was amazing and relaxed and were super cool with our kids. The lunch (we had the vegetarian) was also super Tasty. All in all we would have given Red Whale 6 stars ⭐️ if we could!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Sandra

Review Date: 01 Sep 2023

Review Body: Loved the trip. All very well organized, pick up on time, food and drinks available all day and a very nice crew who took great care of all of us. Loved in particular that lunch was provided in reusable container and that they offered water bottles that can be refilled on the boat all day long. We also had an incident that one passenger did not feel very well and the crew took really good care and adapted accordingly. I can only recommend this trip

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Val

Review Date: 25 Dec 2024

Review Body: We had a great island hopping trip on the Red Whale 3 boat. Benny was a great guide and we were lucky to see 5 Mantas and lots of turtles with his expert eyes guiding the way. The other staff were so helpful getting us all our snorkeling gear and helping us in and out of the boat at all the stops. We saw the Komodo as well and had a big lunch. They provide plenty of water during hikes, soda and snacks!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Mona&Dave

Review Date: 12 Jun 2024

Review Body: Die Tour hat uns super gut gefallen. Wir haben alles gesehen was wir uns wünschten (Komodo-Drachen, Rochen, Turtel, Manta Ray und sogar ein Dugong). Wow! Was ein Tag. Würden diese Tour auf jedenfall weiterempfehlen. Trotz 1 Tagesausflug war es überhaupt kein Stress. Was noch Potenzial nach open hat ist das Mittagessen, hat uns persönlich nicht so geschmeckt. Sonst aber Top.🥰

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Jaime Fernandez

Review Date: 12 Mar 2025

Review Body: It was hands down the best tour we have ever taken. The crew was amazing, paying great attention to detail, there was plenty of snacks, water, soft drinks and a big lunch in the komodo island. Every part of the tour was beautiful, with incredible spots to relax, observe wildlife, and snorkel. We saw plenty of dragons, rays, and turtles. Highly recommended!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Megan

Review Date: 03 Oct 2024

Review Body: Great all round trip! Visited all the places we wanted to and didn't feel rushed. Saw 4 komodos on the island plus mantas, reef sharks and lots of fish on the snorkel trips. We were quite a small group so went on the small speed boat. Plenty of snacks and drinks provided. Boat staff are very helpful to make the day go smoothly.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Allyx G

Review Date: 20 Nov 2023

Review Body: I really enjoyed today! We saw Komodo dragons, mantas, sting rays and turtles. The team was great - I came onto the boat after snorkelling and not having seen mantas, and the team was great and took me and a couple others back out expressly to let me see some again! We were also provided with water, snacks and lunch.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Nicky

Review Date: 05 Jul 2025

Review Body: Excellent trip. Lovely crew, running a tight ship and everything ran smoothly. We saw some incredible views, some dragons big and small and we got some great snorkelling, running with the currents. No mantas atm, but lots of beautiful turtles to make up for it. Thanks guys!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Jo

Review Date: 10 Oct 2023

Review Body: Epic day! Highlight was definitely the Manta Rays but the whole day was perfect. We got lucky with the weather & water clarity & the wildlife being present everywhere. Staff were great … helped us to locate the turtles, & got us prepped for each location. Thanks.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Helga Jonsdpttir

Review Date: 03 Jul 2025

Review Body: Komodo dragons snorkling watching sea turtle, magnificent colourful fish and corals Hiking tour up to a viewpoint which allowed me to enjoy the scenic beauty An awesome day to remember forever Professional, friendly, helpful staff. A joy to be with.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Sara

Review Date: 14 Apr 2025

Review Body: Great tour. We saw several manta rays, turtles and Komodo dragons. Padar island with the pink beach is really wonderful. The boat was modern and comfortable , the crew very nice. Lunch included , snacks and drinks available at all times.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Ana

Review Date: 12 Apr 2025

Review Body: I had an amazing experience with this tour, we explored every part of Komodo possible and the whole crew were so helpful and willing to answer every question and were so attentive. I would recommend this to anyone visiting Komodo!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Sam Matthews

Review Date: 26 Jun 2024

Review Body: Red Whale were overall extremely organised and professional, with excellent communication throughout the day! Price was very affordable as well. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a Komodo day trip!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Anastasiia Smirnova

Review Date: 15 Dec 2024

Review Body: We had fantastic experience with red whale tour. Our guide Benny was super kind & attentive to the details. In this tour we saw Dragons , swam with mantas and turtles. Thank you for this amazing day!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: chris trant

Review Date: 17 Mar 2025

Review Body: Fast comfortable boat, easy access in/out of the water. Hotel pick up/drop off. Good communication as Komodo was shut on our day, but found alternative. Would recommend.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Angie

Review Date: 21 Sep 2024

Review Body: Trip was good. Guides Fredo, Edi and captain Jack were frenly and helpful. Managed to see turtles and manta rays although it was not manta ray season! Thank you

Review rating: 5

Itinerary Day 1

Itinerary Summary: Island hopping and snorkeling adventure

Itinerary Description: 06:00 – Hotel pick-up 06:30 – Departure to Padar Island 07:45 – Arrive at Padar Island, start hiking to the top of the hill. 09:15 – Finish trekking, enjoy the view, and take pictures. Back to the speedboat and departure to Pink Beach. 09:30 – Arrive at Pink Beach. Snorkeling around and enjoying the incredible colors of the sand. 10:30 – Departure to Komodo Island. 10:50 – Arrive at Komodo Island, and we do the medium trek to see the Komodo Dragon. 12:00 – Finish trekking and Savor Lunch at Komodo Island. 12:30 – Departure to Taka Makassar. 13:00 – Arrive at Taka Makasar. Enjoying a tiny island in the middle of the sea. 13:45 – Departure to Manta Point. 13:55 – Arrive at Manta Point. If we’re lucky, we’ll snorkel alongside the majestic manta rays. 14:30 – Departure to Turtle Bay. 14:50 – Arrive at Turtle Bay and snorkel around. 15:45 – Departure back to Labuan Bajo. Please note that the itinerary can be changed during the day due to weather conditions. We strictly follow the harbor master and captain’s decision on when to cancel or change the schedule of the tour for the interest of your safety. The time of the itinerary is an example, and the time range can be different from the actual tour.