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Past trip · Recap/Roll 042 · 12 frames selected

KomodoSlow Sail

Dates
May 03 — 09, 2026
Place
Labuan Bajo · Flores · Indonesia
Trip lead
Ade Tirta
Rating
4.9 / 5 · 12 travellers
Read the recap
By the numbers

Seven days on a wooden phinisi between Labuan Bajo and Padar. Twelve travellers swam with mantas, watched dragons walk the dry hills at dawn, and learned to read the sea by its colour.

12
Travelers
07
Days at sea
09
Islands visited
186
Nautical miles
04
Sunrise hikes
4.9★
Rating
The Logbook

Six entries from the captain's notebook,
and the bits we couldn't stop talking about.

  1. DAY 0116:42 · Departure
    Labuan Bajo — Anchors upFlores Harbour

    Labuan Bajo — Anchors up

    We met at the pier with sun-cream on our noses and too much luggage, as everyone does. Captain Yusuf was patient. By dusk the boat was three miles out and the harbour lights were the size of a fingernail.

  2. DAY 0205:18 · Sunrise
    Padar — A walk before breakfastPadar Island

    Padar — A walk before breakfast

    Up the spine of Padar before the sun. The three bays unfold below — pink sand, white sand, black sand — and nobody talks for a while. Coffee on the boat afterwards, brewed in a tin pot.

  3. DAY 0311:04 · Slack tide
    Manta Point — Twelve wingspansKarang Makassar

    Manta Point — Twelve wingspans

    We dropped in on the cleaning station and counted twelve mantas circling underneath us. The biggest had a wingspan wider than the dive boat. Nobody surfaced for forty minutes.

  4. DAY 0407:30 · Dry season
    Rinca — Walking with dragonsLoh Buaya Ranger Station

    Rinca — Walking with dragons

    A two-hour loop through the savannah with two rangers and their forked sticks. We saw seven Komodos, a buffalo skull, and a kingfisher that didn't care about any of it.

  5. DAY 05All day · No plans
    Pink Beach — A quiet dayPantai Merah

    Pink Beach — A quiet day

    Snorkelling, reading, a long lunch of grilled snapper and sambal matah on the deck. The sand really is pink — bits of red coral, ground up by a million tides.

  6. DAY 0618:50 · Golden hour
    Kelor & Kanawa — The last anchorageSouth of Labuan Bajo

    Kelor & Kanawa — The last anchorage

    A short hike up Kelor for one more view, then back to the boat for the last dinner. Someone brought out a guitar. Bioluminescence in the water by 22:00.

Frames

A roll of thirty-six, eight kept.

View full roll (36)
Padar ridge, 05:42
01Padar ridge, 05:42
Bow of the Phinisi
02Bow of the Phinisi
Manta, Karang Makassar
03Manta, Karang Makassar
Reef, 11 m
04Reef, 11 m
Rinca savannah
05Rinca savannah
Last anchorage
06Last anchorage
Captain Yusuf
07Captain Yusuf
Galley, 19:10
08Galley, 19:10
The Route

A loop around the dragons,
186 nautical miles, no rush.

AnchorageStop / diveSailing leg
01LABUAN BAJO02PADAR03MANTA POINT04RINCA05PINK BEACH06KELORN 08°33' / E 119°50' — KOMODO ARCHIPELAGO25 NAUTICAL MI
The Crew

Twelve strangers,
by the end of day three — not strangers.

I came alone and left with eleven friends and a sun-tan I can't justify. The slow pace is the whole point — you stop checking your phone by day three.
— Maya R., Lisbon
Best trip lead I've had. Ade knew every cove, every dive site, and exactly when to leave us alone with the view.
— Theo K., Berlin
What's next

We're going to the rainforest
in August. There's room for three.

Six days driving the slow road through old-growth rainforest in Washington, sleeping under cedar, and ending barefoot on Ruby Beach. Eight travellers. One van. No itinerary past sunset.

Reserve a seat See all upcoming trips
Hoh Rainforest
Next trip · Aug 14 — 19, 2026
Hoh Rainforest & Olympic Coast
Washington · USA·3 of 8 seats left