Komodo National Park

Founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon and inscribed by UNESCO in 1991, Komodo National Park spans the islands of Komodo, Rinca, and Padar plus the surrounding seas of the Sape Strait. For divers the park means current: tidal water funneling between the Flores Sea and Indian Ocean feeds sites like Batu Bolong, Castle Rock, and Manta Point, where reef sharks, trevally, and manta rays work the flow over intensely colorful coral. The marine section covers roughly two-thirds of the park's 1,733 km² and ranges from warm northern reefs to cool, plankton-thick southern bays such as Horseshoe Bay off Rinca.

The rules that bind divers

Visitors pay national park entrance and activity fees, collected per person per day through operators or at park offices in Labuan Bajo; fee structures have been revised several times, so confirm current rates before travel. Fishing is restricted to designated traditional-use zones, and core zones are no-take. Boats use moorings or anchor only in sand well away from reef. Land visits to see dragons require a park ranger or licensed guide, and drone use requires a permit. Operators must be licensed, and manta interactions follow no-touch, no-chase codes of conduct.

Fees & permits: Per-day park entrance plus diving/activity fees; amounts have changed repeatedly in recent years, so treat any published figure as provisional.