Homestays in Pulau Komodo

Nice people, good food, interesting place

I appreciate adventurous journey and sometimes prefer to stay at accommodation closer to local life. Staying at Jeki's place gave me a glimpse of local life in fishing village, I also deeply enjoyed in his arrangement of itinerary with more flexibility and privacy compared with joining tours with many people. The highlight of my experience would be the short hiking around the back of the village where we get to spot komodo dragons with beautiful views in the background. The other personal favorite moment would be during the trip sailing from Labuan Bajo port to the village throughout sunset; tropical climate with different shades of colors on the cloud became a piece of art that I'll not forget. Once again many thanks to the hospitality of Jeki's family. I liked the food as well. Meanwhile please be reminded that it's a homestay not a hotel. There's no air conditioning (the temperature during my stay around Apr was cool at night so all is fine) and only has shared bathroom, which could be inconvenient for some people. Make sure you have the understanding of condition and have the right expectation, hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Great host, guide and a very intelligent and attentive person. Honest, knowledgeable and trustworthy. The best part of the home stay is that you can tailor your stay according to your needs and liking. Khulna is always there to help you and meet your needs. He also called me weeks before our arrival and sent all the pricing sharing his advice and suggestions. We saw many Komodo Dragons, fish, mantas and had great times every day. It was very hard to leave.We enjoyed the stay very much and will be back very soon!!!

Georgio was great at communication all the way through our stay. He acted as our guide to see Komodo Dragons and the surrounding Islands, which was an amazing experience. Georgio was very knowledgeable on the Dragons and his family was very hospitable. If you want an authentic experience then this is for you.

We are a French couple and tried this genuine experience for 3 nights on beg December 2023. We are very happy and recommend it, but we believe it must be clear what to and not to expect. We hope the details below will help other travelers. First challenge is to contact Jahiding, the lovely host who is also a komodo ranger. You will get his WhatsApp once you book the stay. Once on the Island, Jahiding will take care of you from A to Z, he stayed with us as the guide during the tours we planed with him and the captain. It's a private small boat (meaning not big) and you can choose where to go and how long you stay at each spot. We believe It was a privilege compared to other tours with dozens of people and timed visits. -Transportation The main challenge is to get to komodo Island with the "phantom" public boat that nobody knows about. It does exist and is actually located in a separate Harbour. Here is the GPS location : -8.484518,119.876788 The name is "TPI Kampung Ujung port". There is a smelly fish market to go through, not hard to miss. Price is 100k IDR if captain does not try to charge the tourist fee. You have to ask people around the boat if it is the correct one as there is no ticket to buy in advance nor any special desk. Just hope on the boat once you are sure it is the right one and pay when you arrive. The boat is mid size and around 20-30 people make the trip. It is not a ferry, it is much smaller, around 20 meters long and 4 meters wide and only one deck with shade. Transport takes 4h and is noisy (depends on the boat you have), travelers are komodo residents which are all very kind. Be prepared for basic confort, no seat no bench, just boat wood. No toilet break neither. The boat schedule as Jahiding told us is as such, and you will have to plan your stay based on this. From Labuan to Komodo Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Between 9am and 11am. From Komodo to Labuan Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday between 9am and 10am.

Our family of 5 had a wonderful stay. The family who hosted us was very kind and helped arrange a local boat to take us to different beaches and snorkeling spots that were absolutely gorgeous (like manta point and pink beach). The host is a ranger at Komodo National Park and gave us a wonderful tour. It was very special to stay in the Muslim village on the sea and have a glimpse of life there. Everyone was very friendly and warm.