Go Backpacking

  • About
  • Travel Tips
    • Accommodations
    • Budgeting & Money
    • Adventure Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Gear & Gadgets
    • Packing Tips
    • Travel Blogging
    • Travel Insurance
    • Trip Planning
    • UNESCO Sites
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Morocco
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
      • United States
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • French Polynesia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Advertise
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Travel Tips
    • Accommodations
    • Budgeting & Money
    • Adventure Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Gear & Gadgets
    • Packing Tips
    • Travel Blogging
    • Travel Insurance
    • Trip Planning
    • UNESCO Sites
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Morocco
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
      • United States
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • French Polynesia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Advertise
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Travel Tips
    • Accommodations
    • Budgeting & Money
    • Adventure Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Gear & Gadgets
    • Packing Tips
    • Travel Blogging
    • Travel Insurance
    • Trip Planning
    • UNESCO Sites
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Morocco
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Cuba
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
      • United States
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • French Polynesia
      • New Zealand
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
  • Advertise
×
Home » Destinations » Asia » Indonesia

Pink Beach: Snorkeling on Komodo Island

Modified: Nov 21, 2019 · Published: Nov 28, 2012 by Dave Lee |

Pink Beach
Pink Beach in Komodo National Park

Way back in March 2008, when I first visited Indonesia, I learned Komodo Island was known not just for being home to the world's largest monitor lizards, but for the high quality of its dive sites and underwater life as well.

But unless you're a diver, you're probably not aware of the crystal-clear waters, teeming with coral and all forms of marine life in Komodo National Park.

After coming face to face with Komodo Dragons in the morning, we boarded our speed boat for a short ride to Pink Beach, on another part of the island.

 

Arriving at high tide, we were able to pass over the coral and jump directly off the boat and onto the sand.

When standing on the beach itself, it's hard to see the pink hue, a color given to it from the red coral that erodes and washes ashore here.

Luckily, there's a small bluff at the far end where you can get a better perspective on it.

When I asked about the fact that we were still on an island filled with dragons, I was told they don't inhabit the area where we were.

The turquoise waters at Pink Beach
The clear, turquoise waters at Pink Beach offer ideal conditions for snorkeling. The bluff at the top center of this photo is worth the short walk for a better perspective on the pink hue of the beach.

Pink Beach may be the most popular and visited beach in Komodo National Park, but we were kindly informed it was hardly the only one featuring rose-colored sand.

We were told the beaches of Indonesia get increasingly pretty the further east you go.

And if you look at a map, you'll realize Komodo Island is far from the easternmost island in the Indonesian archipelago.

Once we were all ashore, it was time for lunch. Staff were already making use of a small gazebo to barbecue a fresh seafood feast for us all, including fish and squid.

Pink Beach
Pink Beach gets its name from the ground-up red coral that washes ashore

But our collective attention was on the sparkling waters awaiting us. A few people from another tour were already on the beach when we arrived.

One girl in a red bikini was sunbathing on her own, clearly in a state of bliss. A few of the guys in her group were lounging around in the shallow water further down.

At one point, two of them decided to race, bare-chested, the length of the beach. That certainly caught all the girls' attention.

Once lunch was hastily consumed, we grabbed the snorkeling gear.

The shallow depth of water, combined with the sunshine, allowed for terrific visibility. I've never seen so much live, healthy-looking coral in my life.

There were dozens of fish species too. I even found Nemo!

If it weren't for the high likelihood of getting sunburned, I would've spent all afternoon swimming around.

Enjoying a cold Bintang beer on the beach
Enjoying a cold Bintang beer on the beach

Emerging from the waters, I reached into a plastic cooler and pulled out a cold Bintang beer. It was the perfect way to cap an epic day of dragons and clownfish.

During our time at Pink Beach, the first group left, and another arrived. By the time we were ready to leave, just before the sun had begun to set, the tide had gone out.

Stephen, against others' advice, and in what turned out to be one of the funniest moments of the trip, tried to swim to our boat, anchored further out.

He soon returned, shouting that we should not try to swim out. He'd discovered, the hard way, that there wasn't enough water covering the coral for him to swim.

Instead, some locals with dugout canoes helped shuttle us from the beach to the boat.

Between both the dragons and the snorkeling, Komodo National Park exceeded my expectations. With short, direct flights from Bali, it's going to quickly become a trendy side trip for visitors to Bali.

___________

Note: My visit to Indonesia was in conjunction with a blog trip hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. We took all of the trash associated with lunch with us when we left the beach.

Related Stories

  • Rice fields in Tegallalang (photo: Sofianna P).
    The Best Way To Stay Connected in Bali
  • Boats bob in the water off the coast of Camara de Lobos - Madeira, Portugal (photo: Piotr Musiol).
    The Best Remote Work Destinations in the World
  • Gili Trawangan, Indonesia (photo: Danny de Groot)
    Cruising Indonesia: Best Destinations to Visit
  • Temple in Ubud, Bali
    Why Low Season is High Time for a Visit to Bali
383 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

About Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 68 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    November 28, 2012 at 8:28 am

    Wow the beach looks so pretty!

  2. Stephen says

    November 28, 2012 at 11:10 am

    That was one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been at. I will admit, it was a funny moment when I tried to swim out, even though I was the fool. I tried...

    • Dave says

      November 28, 2012 at 5:20 pm

      I agree, this beach holds up to some of the best I've ever seen (many of which were in Thailand). Glad you managed to make it back to shore without serious injury!

  3. Paul Krol says

    November 28, 2012 at 12:21 pm

    Beautiful beyond belief. I can't believe how secluded and amazing those beaches look. And that last shot with the cold Bintang beer hanging off that branch...so tantalizing!!

  4. Andi of My Beautiful Adventures says

    November 29, 2012 at 10:00 am

    Wow it is SO gorgeous!!!!!!

  5. ourjourneytothesea says

    November 30, 2012 at 3:28 am

    This looks like an amazing place. Now added to the long list of places to go

  6. Mebin Mathew says

    December 03, 2012 at 4:58 am

    the pictures look so beautiful.. like every one even i wish i should be there for some days

  7. Katie says

    December 03, 2012 at 10:44 pm

    Wow! What beautiful photos. I'd be a little nervous about dragons coming to that area of the island... but then again I'm afraid of everything! I want to add this to my travel wish list, thanks for sharing!

    -Katie

  8. Dean says

    December 08, 2012 at 5:50 am

    Now that is a beautiful beach. It looks so uncrowded and inviting.

  9. Adit says

    December 09, 2012 at 9:06 pm

    Very interesting, the komodo dragon and pinky beach in Indonesia is like a fairy tale. I must go there sometimes.

  10. mary says

    December 12, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    I just want to lie there and suck it all up!!! Absolute paradise!!

  11. alesia koh says

    August 01, 2013 at 11:30 am

    Hi there,

    your pictures look wonderful! Im planning to go to komodo islands this september and was wondering if its advisable to book flights and just book tour packages/boat trips when I'm there or should i do while Im in my home country ?

    • Dave says

      August 01, 2013 at 12:59 pm

      Hi Alesia, thank you. I don't know for sure, but I don't think you'll have any trouble booking your trip upon arrival in Indonesia, and you'll probably save some money that way too.

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

Footer

back to top

About

  • About
  • Archive
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

Contact

  • Contact
  • Work With Us
  • Submissions

Copyright © 2025 Go Backpacking

383 shares
  • 369
  • 11