Travelling from Bali to Komodo Island

As you are right now I spent a lot of time surfing the Internet trying to find any information I could about getting from Bali to Komodo island. Here hopefully I can answer some of the questions you might have. Before I dive into what I did I'll also tell you all the options available, as some travellers might prefer other means, but I'm not gonna lie if you are on a budget it's quite pricey getting to Komodo island and for eating whilst you are there. Unless you are really determined to see these amazing dragons and manta rays you may as well head to gilli island it's much cheaper from Bali and the marine life is amazing and you have a chance of seeing manta rays, just no dragons. That is my advice for anyone on a serious budget.

How to get to Komodo Island

You have about two options you can go by boat and bus, or plane

Option One - boat and bus

This route takes approximately 65 hours, and probably is about £50/$42 dollars cheaper than plane depending on season, but that doesn't include food your'll need to buy on your 3 day travel to Komodo island. So you really need to weigh up whether it is worth it but if you are taking this route but you do get to stop at beautiful places along the way.

Firstly, from Bali you have to get to Ubud where there is a bus terminal next to the main supermarket in Ubud here you can buy tickets on the door and they will take you to the docks in Bali. Now you could get a boat to gilli island which will cost maybe $15-20 so it's quite easily to get there and spend some time here it's beautiful great for surfers or people who want to explore marine life.

From here you have to travel to the east of the island where you can hop on another boat to Pulau Lombok island. Here you have to get a 3-5 bus journey to the east of the island. Which is roughly $10-15 they might charge you $20 but try haggle here. Once you have arrived at the eastern docks. You will get a short 1-2 hour boat journey to West Nusa Tenggara.

This is the long part of the journey you have a 12-14 hour bus ride across this Long Island, this can cost $35-45 and you might only get 2 stop overs so chose wisely how much liquid you consume so you're not needing the pee! These buses will not have toilets on them like the coaches in England.

From here you can visit Komodo island the boat rides here will be more expensive you're looking at up to $60 dollars the more people the less it is. But it is an over night boat trip and food is included, I recommend you book this from the hostel you are going to be staying at they usually have cheaper rates, and is genuinely a safer option. When are arrive on Komodo island you have an additional $10 charge for the tour guide. Read on for more information about this.

Option 2- plane

If you're in Bali your'll depart from Denpasar to Rinca Island which is the nearest island to Komodo. In some seasons this can cost $150 and also double check because weirdly enough it was cheaper for us to go business class which was glorious but sadly it was only a 75 minute plane journey. This is much more hassle free option and similar price to going via boat and bus. However some times of the year it may only cost $70-80, so if you have lots of planning time then try fall for this time of the year which is around October.