Komodo content creator trip shot list, hour by hour

Pin this to the wall before you pack. The list follows the 3D2N route, and the order of stops is the captain's call on the day.

• 1. Day 1, near midday: Kelor ridge, a short climb, the bay below.
• 2. Day 1, dusk: Kalong, bats leaving the mangroves, watched from the boat.
• 3. Day 2, before sunrise: Padar ridge, three bays, light from the east.
• 4. Day 2, after breakfast: Komodo Island, a ranger-led walk, closed shoes.
• 5. Day 2, after Komodo: Pink Beach, pale pink sand, high sun.
• 6. Day 2, afternoon: Manta Point, current and mantas, sightings never promised.
• 7. Day 3, morning: Taka Makassar sandbar, visible at low tide only.

Light is weather, and that's the one rule. Clouds and haze rewrite the list, and no hour of light is guaranteed. Treat each line as plan A, with the captain holding plan B.

The sections below give each frame its hour, its light direction and one practical note. Where a time is shown, it is a computed figure for the Padar and Kalong area, accurate to about 2 minutes, and not a promise.

On day 2 the dragon walk comes after breakfast. A ranger leads every trek and there is little shade. The dragons are wild, so a sighting is never guaranteed. Wear closed shoes. Shoot low, and from where the ranger puts you, because the ranger sets the distance.

Pink Beach follows. The sand is pale pink, not bright pink, tinted by fragments of red coral. On the sample route the boat arrives after Komodo, so the sun is high rather than low. Let the water carry the frame instead: turquoise over reef, with shallows close to shore. A morning visit gives softer light, and the captain decides on the day whether the order allows it.

Manta Point is a current, not a lagoon. The boat drifts guests along the reef with the current, a life jacket is advised, and sightings depend on tide and current. They are never guaranteed, so plan the frame around the reef and treat a manta as a gift.

Shoot the transit too. The ride between islands is where the boat itself is in your frame. The hull, the masts and the wake belong in a reel as much as the beach does.

Taka Makassar is a crescent sandbar in shallow reef, and it is visible only at low tide. At high tide it can be underwater, and nobody walks it then. There is little shade on the sand, so a hat and reef-safe sunscreen go with you.

Kanawa Island follows on the route, with white sand and shallow coral for an easy snorkel. Then lunch on board and the harbor, with check-out by 14:00. Finish your last frames by noon, then pack.

On Derya the photographs show two daybeds on the teak bow under a white sail awning. That's where I'd sit to go through the morning's frames. Giona, Akassa Cruise and Semesta Voyages each have a sundeck with lazy chairs.

The boat decides how much of the shoot you can spread out. Parties of up to 10 fit Akassa Cruise, Derya or Giona. Parties of 11 to 18 need Semesta Voyages, the only boat above 10. A shoot with a model, a second shooter and friends fills a small boat quickly, so count heads before you pick.

A guide and photo or video documentation sit outside a private charter. Both are on request, quoted separately. Park tickets and ranger fees are never in the fare.

Flying a drone in the park needs a SIMAKSI permit and a daily drone ticket, applied for in advance. Kalong, Komodo Island and Rinca are no-fly zones. We never promise drone footage, and who files the permit is something to settle with us in writing before you pay. Our drone rules guide has the detail.

Nothing on the list is a promise. Weather, tide and the captain's call move the order of stops, a stop can drop out, and the anchorage is chosen on the day.

Whole-boat 3D2N on Giona starts at IDR 45,000,000 (≈ USD 2,761) for 1 to 5 guests. The cost page divides it by your party.