What is it like to dive Komodo? Currents, mantas and the odd dragon

Diving Komodo means strong, nutrient-rich currents, coral-covered pinnacles and two quite different seas in one national park: warm, clear water in the north and cooler, plankton-rich water in the south. Expect reef manta rays, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks hunting in the current, and macro good enough to keep a photographer on one sea fan for an entire dive.

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Picture a rock barely bigger than a dive boat, sticking out of a channel where the tide is moving like a river after a storm. You roll in, kick down behind the pinnacle and the whole thing comes alive. Clouds of orange anthias swirl over soft corals, a giant trevally cuts through them like it's late for something, and two whitetip reef sharks hang in the pressure wave at the edge of the current. Above the waterline, a few kilometres away, a three-metre lizard is lying on a beach and looking unimpressed by all of it. That's Komodo. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands, between Sumbawa and Flores, where strong tidal currents pull cold, nutrient-rich water up from the Indian Ocean and squeeze it through narrow straits between the islands. The currents bring the food, the food brings the fish and the fish bring the predators. Komodo suits divers who are comfortable in current, or want to learn to be, and who would like big animals and tiny ones on the same trip. If you already know you want to go, you can compare boats and dates on LiveAboard.com. If you're still deciding, keep reading - and pack a reef hook either way.

When is the best time to dive Komodo?

You can dive Komodo all year, but where you dive changes with the seasons. The park has a dry season, roughly April to November, and a wet season, roughly December to March. The dry season usually brings the best visibility in the north and centre. The south is more exposed to swell, and many operators rate it most highly in the wet-season manta months, when the weather allows the crossing. Sources don't fully agree on the best months for the south, and conditions depend at least as much on tides and moon phase as on the calendar. Use the seasons as a guide, not a guarantee.

Water temperature and wetsuits

This is the part that catches people out. The north usually sits around 27 to 28 degrees C. In the south, cold upwellings from deep water can bring the temperature down to 22 to 25 degrees C, and sometimes lower in July and August. A 3mm suit is fine in the north. For the south, bring a 5mm and a hood, or at least a vest you can add. Nothing ruins a manta encounter like shivering so hard your mask leaks.

Visibility

As a rough guide, visibility in the north is often 15 to 30 metres, and in the south it's more like 5 to 20 metres because of all the plankton. Green water in the south isn't a problem. It's the reason the mantas are there.

What peaks when

Reef manta rays are recorded in the park all year. Monitoring studies have shown strong site fidelity at cleaning and feeding sites. Several operators move their southern itineraries to whichever season gives the calmest crossings and the most plankton, so ask your boat which months they run the south and why.

North Komodo: warm water, clear blue and sharks in the current

North Komodo is the postcard. You get warmer, clearer water, steep slopes and submerged pinnacles that rise out of deep channels. Some of the park's best-known current dives are here, including Castle Rock and Crystal Rock. In WWF-Indonesia's monitoring, Castle Rock had the most shark sightings of any survey site. The usual plan is to drop in fast, get down to the lee of the rock, hook in and watch.

What you'll see: whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus) and blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) patrolling the edges, giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis) hunting in packs through baitfish, and humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) doing their slow, slightly judgemental cruise past your mask. Huge schools of fusiliers and snappers fill the blue on a good tide.

Who it suits: intermediate to advanced divers. The pinnacles need negative entries, solid buoyancy and a calm head when the current switches. Sheltered bays nearby give easier dives for newer divers.

How to reach it: mostly by liveaboard. Day boats from Labuan Bajo do reach some northern sites, but it's a long run there and back.

Insider tip: On the northern pinnacles, timing matters more than anything else. A good guide plans around the tide tables, and a dive that is gentle at slack water can turn into a washing machine forty minutes later. If the briefing says 'stay close to the rock', it isn't a suggestion.

Central Komodo: Batu Bolong, mantas and the busy middle

The central park, between Komodo and Rinca islands, is where most visitors spend their time. It's closest to Labuan Bajo, so it gets day boats as well as liveaboards. Its most famous site is Batu Bolong, a small pinnacle that is completely covered in hard and soft coral and sits in the middle of a strong current. On the sheltered side the fish life is so dense it can be hard to see the reef. You might go through a tank faster than planned here, and the reason isn't the current. You'll be hyperventilating at the fish.

Central Komodo also has Karang Makassar, better known as Manta Point. It's a wide, shallow, rubbly area swept by current, and reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) come here to feed and to visit cleaning stations. In WWF-Indonesia's survey, Makassar Reef had the most manta sightings of any monitoring site. It's usually done as a drift: you fly along over the rubble while the mantas hover over the bottom and look a little bewildered by the procession of divers.

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are commonly encountered across the central reefs, often wedged under a ledge and fast asleep.

Who it suits: everyone, provided the guide picks the right site for the tide. The manta drifts are shallow and suit newer divers. Batu Bolong is better for confident divers.

How to reach it: day boat from Labuan Bajo, a resort, or a liveaboard. It's the most accessible part of the park.

Insider tip: At the manta sites, stay low, don't chase and let the mantas come to you. Mantas visiting a cleaning station will often come back past the same spot again and again if divers keep still and stay off the station itself. The diver who swims after them gets a good view of the tail. The diver who waits gets the fly-past.

South Komodo: cold water, critters and a wall of colour

Head south past Rinca and everything changes. The water gets colder, greener and full of life. The upwellings that make you reach for a hood also feed some of the richest reefs in the park, with soft corals, sea squirts, crinoids and sponges covering almost every surface. Many operators rate the south as the best manta diving in Komodo, at sites such as Manta Alley. The sheltered bays around southern Rinca, including Horseshoe Bay and Cannibal Rock, are famous for macro.

This is pygmy seahorse country. Bargibant's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) lives on Muricella sea fans. It grows to about 2.4 cm, and its colour and bumpy skin match the fan so closely that you will swear the guide is pointing at nothing. Brown-banded bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium punctatum) can turn up resting under ledges, and on a good day Manta Alley can have large numbers of reef mantas feeding at once. Look for frogfish, nudibranchs and ghost pipefish on the slopes, but be prepared for a guide to tap the reef, point at a blank patch and say 'it was here yesterday'.

At some point you'll meet the macro photographer who surfaces from one sea fan with 400 photos of the same pygmy seahorse and is already planning to go back and 'get the eye in focus'. Let them have this. They are happy.

Who it suits: divers who don't mind cold water and are patient about finding small animals. The macro bays are often gentle. The manta channels and exposed sites can have strong current and surge.

How to reach it: almost entirely by liveaboard. It's too far for a comfortable day trip from Labuan Bajo, and the crossing depends on the weather.

Insider tip: Bring a torch even on day dives in the south. Plankton-rich water swallows colour quickly, and a small light shows you the reds, purples and yellows of the soft corals, which otherwise look grey-brown at depth.

What marine life will you see in Komodo?

Big animals

Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are the headline act. WWF-Indonesia's 2016 to 2017 monitoring logged 134 manta and 50 shark encounters over 35 survey dives, and sharks turned up at every site it surveyed. Treat that as a survey count, not a promise. Whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus) and blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) are the sharks most divers see. Grey reef sharks are not common here, so don't plan your trip around them. Giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), dogtooth tuna and big schools of fusiliers and snappers fill out the pelagic action. Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are commonly encountered throughout the park.

Reef life

Komodo is part of the Coral Triangle, and its reefs show it. Expect anthias by the thousand, damselfish and chromis over hard coral gardens, triggerfish nesting in the sand, clownfish in anemones on almost every reef and soft corals that look different in each current. Napoleon wrasse and big groupers hold station in the current like they're paying rent.

Macro

The south is the macro hotspot, but every region has small animals for divers who slow down. Pygmy seahorses (Hippocampus bargibanti) on sea fans, nudibranchs in absurd colour combinations, frogfish pretending to be sponges, shrimps and crabs on crinoids and sea cucumbers, and brown-banded bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium punctatum) under ledges. For some divers, a single pygmy seahorse is worth the whole trip.

And the dragons

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is a land animal, so you won't see one underwater. Most liveaboard and day-boat itineraries include a ranger-guided walk on Komodo or Rinca island. Walk close to the ranger, do what they say, and remember these lizards are fast over a short distance. This is the only part of the trip where 'stay close to your guide' really matters on land.

Liveaboard or land-based?

Both work in Komodo. They suit different trips.

Liveaboard

A liveaboard is the best way to see the whole park. You reach the northern pinnacles and the southern manta and macro sites, you dive when the tides are right instead of when the day boat arrives, and you usually get three or four dives a day plus a dragon walk. Many Komodo trips run for about five to ten nights out of Labuan Bajo. Longer one-way trips run between Bali and Komodo, or the other way, and stop along Sumbawa on the way. The downsides are cost, a fixed schedule and less space than a hotel. If you get seasick, check how much open water the route crosses. You can compare routes, trip lengths and boat styles on LiveAboard.com, which is the quickest way to see who's running the south in the months you can travel.

Land-based

Staying in Labuan Bajo or at an island resort and diving from a day boat is cheaper and more flexible. It also works if a non-diving partner wants a hotel pool and a restaurant. The central park is well within day-trip range. The north is a long day, and the south is mostly out of reach, because the best sites are too far apart for serious day trips. A land-based trip suits divers with less time, newer divers who want to build confidence before the big current sites, and anyone who would rather sleep on a bed that doesn't move.

If you can manage it, the strongest option is a few days of day diving from Labuan Bajo to get used to the currents, then a liveaboard that goes south.

How do you get to Komodo?

The gateway is Labuan Bajo, a harbour town on the western tip of Flores. It is served by Komodo Airport (LBJ), which has direct domestic flights from Bali (Denpasar) and Jakarta. Most international travellers fly into Bali first and connect from there. Almost every Komodo liveaboard and dive centre leaves from Labuan Bajo, and many crews meet guests at the airport and take them straight to the boat. Some longer trips start in Bali and sail east to Komodo, or the reverse.

Entry rules, park fees and flight schedules change, sometimes at short notice. Check the current Indonesian entry requirements and park fees before you book, and confirm local conditions with your operator before you travel.

Planning tips for diving Komodo

• Experience: An Open Water certification is enough to start, but many Komodo sites are better suited to Advanced Open Water divers with experience in current. If you've only dived in calm water, book a few easier dives first, or take a drift diving course.
• Nitrox: Ask your boat whether they offer it. It's worth getting certified before you go if you plan to do three or four dives a day.
• Dive insurance: Essential. Komodo is remote, and you'd want specialist cover for evacuation and chamber treatment. Make sure your policy covers the depths and type of diving you plan to do.
• Reef hook: Bring one and learn how to use it. Hook onto bare rock or dead coral only, never living reef.
• SMB: Carry a surface marker buoy on every dive, plus a whistle or other audible signal. In Komodo's currents you can surface a long way from where you started.
• Torch: For colour in the south, for looking under ledges, and for night dives.
• Exposure protection: A 3mm for the north, and a 5mm plus a hood if your trip goes south. Better to bring too much neoprene than spend the trip cold.
• Gloves: The park's visitor guidelines say no gloves, and many operators enforce it. Good buoyancy is a better plan.
• No-fly time: Allow at least 18 hours between your last dive and flying after multiple dives or multiple days of diving. Most liveaboards finish the final day early or with a dragon walk for this reason.

Booking your trip

Once you've worked out your season and which regions you want, here's where to start looking:

Why I recommend LiveAboard.com

I've worked on liveaboards for 13 years. I've booked through LiveAboard.com many times, and so have a lot of my guests. They don't sponsor Fins and they don't see what we write. Here's why I point people to them:

• The biggest choice of boats. In most of the places we dive, they list more boats and departure dates than anyone else, so you can compare everything in one place.
• You don't pay more. Booking through them doesn't cost more than booking with the boat directly, and you get some of the most competitive prices around.
• Service that actually helps. They answer questions quickly and help with the planning before your trip and with anything that comes up after it.

If you're not sure which boat or itinerary is right for you, they're a great place to start: compare liveaboards in Komodo.

For the full range of Indonesian trips, including routes that combine Komodo with Bali or go further east, take a look at LiveAboard.com's Indonesia page.

Before you go: get Fins

Know what you're looking at. Fins is a marine life ID app built by divers. Before your trip, use it to get to know the animals you're likely to meet. After each dive, identify what you saw from a photo, or answer a few simple questions if you didn't get a shot, and keep it all in your dive log. Download Fins before you fly.

Before you fly to Labuan Bajo, practise telling a whitetip from a blacktip reef shark, a reef manta from an oceanic one and a pygmy seahorse from a lump on a sea fan. Then on the boat you can use Fins to identify the frogfish, nudibranchs and odd small animals from each dive while the rest of the group is still arguing about them.

Komodo diving FAQ

Is Komodo good for beginner divers?

Parts of it are. The shallow manta drifts and sheltered bays suit newer divers, but many of the famous sites have strong current and are better for Advanced Open Water divers with drift diving experience. A good operator will choose sites to match the group.

Are mantas guaranteed in Komodo?

No wildlife is guaranteed, but reef manta rays are recorded in the park all year and are commonly encountered at the central and southern manta sites. Your chances are best on a trip that visits several manta sites at the right tides.

What sharks will I see diving Komodo?

Whitetip and blacktip reef sharks are the ones most divers see, especially around the northern and central pinnacles. Brown-banded bamboo sharks sometimes rest under ledges. Grey reef sharks are not common in Komodo.

How cold is the water in Komodo?

The north is usually around 27 to 28 degrees C. The south can drop to 22 to 25 degrees C, and sometimes lower, because of upwellings. Bring a 5mm and a hood if your trip goes south.

Can I see Komodo dragons on a dive trip?

Yes. Most Komodo liveaboards and many day trips include a ranger-guided walk on Komodo or Rinca island, where the dragons live. They stay on land, so not underwater.

How many days do I need to dive Komodo?

A short liveaboard trip can cover the central and northern highlights. A longer trip gives you a better chance of reaching the south as well, since the crossing depends on the weather. Day trippers based in Labuan Bajo will mostly dive the central park.

Komodo is fast, cold in places, sometimes humbling, and one of the richest dive areas on the planet. You might see a manta, a hunting trevally pack and a seahorse smaller than your fingernail on the same day, and then go and look at a giant lizard in the afternoon. Learn the animals before you go so you recognise them when they turn up. Download Fins and arrive in Labuan Bajo ready to identify what you see.