Komodo Island day
Does the 2025 trip include a swim and lunch on a nearby island after the Komodo Island viewing? Previous years has indicated this but do not see it scheduled for our June trip this year.
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Does the 2025 trip include a swim and lunch on a nearby island after the Komodo Island viewing? Previous years has indicated this but do not see it scheduled for our June trip this year.
Comments
The new itinerary does mention the swim and lunch activity. It also mentions packing a 3-day bag which was not mentioned in the original itinerary for this year.
It is still there. Take another look at the Day 11 itinerary for this year. I looked at the 2026 itinerary and Day 11 does not mention this so maybe you were looking at next year. I did not notice the part about the 3-day bag.
We took the tour when it was very new. No beach and swim was offered. We did get duffles, I can’t recall for how many days. You get them while you are there and they are not the usual sturdy bags. Instead, I believed they were bought locally and were made of thin cotton type patchwork fabric. The zip broke on one of ours the first time we tried to close it, so the TD had to give us another one.
The lunch and the swim on our 2024 trip was a hit and a miss. I was looking forward to a snorkeling adventure along with the lunch. There were difficulties and we had to divert to a different beach. The lunch was still wonderful, but we didn’t even bother snorkeling, opting to return to the resort sooner. The new beach where the lunch and snorkeling were done was pretty much just a public beach with no sea life of any particular interest to make the snorkeling worth it (in my opinion). Some people still swam at the new beach and some even snorkeled but I didn’t get any glowing reviews from the ones that did. It was more just a social experience in the water, which is fine, but not what I was looking for.
When we went to Komodo Island ,a few in our group snorkeled on our way back.They went in a smaller boat and rejoined us for lunch .The water was so clear and looked like they enjoyed the experience.
That’s a bummer, Smiling Sam! We were fortunate - we had a great snorkeling experience - the water was really clear and we saw very colorful fish and a sea turtle. In fact I regretted not bringing my underwater camera! But if I remember correctly, they did say that the exact snorkeling destination was dependent on weather/sea conditions, etc. that day and the guides would make the call based on that. The area we snorkeled was not visible from the beach where we had lunch. Small boats took us out to the snorkeling site which was at a coral reef out in the middle of the water - there was no beach there - and then to the lunch location. Sorry you didn’t get to have the experience you had anticipated! We did snorkel first and had lunch on what appeared to be a private island afterwards. There wasn’t really a place to swim there. No one else was there but our Tauck group.
Great tour, Komodo very special. After a few hours on island we went to a nearby resort for a very nice lunch. After eating, we broke into two groups on separate boats, one for snorkeling, one to return to our resort on Labuan Bajo. TD indicated Tauck has been changing the specifics of trip, trying to find the right combination for the day - I think they finally have it!
Any other updates or suggestions for the tour?
The tour description lists snakes as one type of creature that may be encountered on the island. How did that work out? Did you see any snakes, and if so, what was done to protect yourselves? Also, how was the monkey forest? Were the monkeys aggressive and did you actually come in direct contact with any of them?
I went the same year as British as there wasn't a beach / island tour. We just went to the Komodo Island and had lunch in the boat.
Do not encourage the monkeys to interact with you, you never knew if they might bite.
Hi, maximgr!
We didn’t see a single snake on this tour. The monkeys in the Monkey Forest won’t bother you. Our local guide told us as long as you don’t make eye contact or engage with them, they won’t do anything. However, the monkeys at the Uluwatu Temple were quite different. We were warned to be aware of our surroundings because they are more aggressive and will snatch sunglasses, hats, etc. One of our fellow Tauckers had her sunglasses stolen! A monkey swooped down and took off with them! It was actually rather comical. But, Tauck has “a guy” who follows the group and will bribe the monkeys with mangoes to get any stolen items back. The monkeys there apparently have received food, etc. and have learned to be aggressive. But no need to worry - you just have to be aware and don’t get distracted when taking photos, etc. They weren’t mean, just very mischievous!
Maximgr - We didn't see any snakes on the Komodo dragon tour either. We saw birds, monkeys, deer, and of course Komodo dragons.
Lots of monkeys in the Monkey Forest. Some people posed close to the monkeys. Here is our local guide eyeing a monkey and a couple of the posers.
In some areas the staff provides food for the monkeys
We were told the same thing as buonviaggio about the Uluwatu Temple monkeys. We didn't have any incidents.
No incidents in our group with the Uluwattu Temple monkeys when I went, however I did see them snatching a hat from a guy in a different group or by himself.
Thanks, buonviaggio and Sam. My primary concern is that the monkeys could potentially be a vector for disease, but maybe that is less of a concern. Regardless, I will follow the guidelines and hope to avoid them nonetheless.
Or Rabies