Sail Komodo

Gather in the AYANA lobby at 15:00 for the short transfer to the jetty, where Lako di'a boards between 15:30 and 16:00, with a brief safety talk before the lines come off. A welcome drink and afternoon tea follow as the boat sails for Kalong Island.

At dusk, thousands of flying foxes rise from the mangroves of Kalong Island and cross the sunset sky, watched from the deck. Dinner is served at 19:00, and the evening is yours: games, karaoke, or the open deck, as the boat cruises on toward Padar.

Gather in the AYANA lobby at 15:00 for the short transfer to the jetty, where Lako di'a boards between 15:30 and 16:00, with a brief safety talk before the lines come off. A welcome drink and afternoon tea follow as the boat sails for Kalong Island.

At dusk, thousands of flying foxes rise from the mangroves of Kalong Island and cross the sunset sky, watched from the deck. Dinner is served at 19:00, and the evening is yours: games, karaoke, or the open deck, as the boat cruises overnight to Komodo Island.

The boat sails early for Taka Makassar, a crescent of white sand rising from open water. After breakfast on board, you have an hour on the sandbank, barefoot, with canapés served on the sand and the option to swim straight off it. The morning continues underwater: first Manta Point, where manta rays are often seen feeding in the current, then Siaba Island, where sea turtles graze in the shallows.

Lunch is served on the return sail, and by 15:00 you are back at AYANA Komodo.

Board Lako di'a at 15:00 from the AYANA jetty. After a brief safety talk the lines come off, and the boat turns north into the open Flores Sea, a crossing most visitors to Komodo never make. Welcome drink and afternoon tea on deck as the coastline thins to a line, then to nothing.

Dinner is served under way. With no islands and no lights around you, the stars have the sky to themselves. The boat sails on through the night, so you wake in the waters where the whale sharks gather.

The crossing finishes while you sleep. Breakfast is served on deck as the hills above Labuan Bajo return to view, and the voyage ends where it began, at AYANA Komodo.

Board Lako di'a at 15:00 from the AYANA jetty. After a brief safety talk the lines come off, and the boat turns north into the open Flores Sea, a crossing most visitors to Komodo never make. Welcome drink and afternoon tea on deck as the coastline thins to a line, then to nothing.

Dinner is served under way. With no islands and no lights around you, the stars have the sky to themselves. The boat sails on through the night, so you wake in the waters where the whale sharks gather.

The climb up Padar comes first, a ridge path rising above three curved bays, each a different color of blue. Then a late morning at Pink Beach, where the sand really is pink, for swimming and snorkeling off the shore.

On Komodo Island, a park ranger leads the walk among the dragons, the largest lizards on earth, in the only place they live in the wild.

At dusk, thousands of flying foxes rise from the mangroves of Kalong Island and stream across the sky, the voyage's last great spectacle, watched from the deck.