Is the sand really pink?

Yes, though it is a blush rather than the saturated pink in edited photographs. It is clearest at the waterline where the sand is wet, and in low morning light. Overcast conditions wash it out almost entirely.

Where exactly is Pink Beach?

On Komodo Island, inside Komodo National Park, roughly two hours by speedboat from Labuan Bajo. There is no road and no scheduled boat: you reach it as part of a tour or a charter.

Can I visit Pink Beach on its own?

Not practically. The crossing takes two hours each way, so nobody runs it as a single destination. Every day trip and liveaboard route already includes it.

Is it good for snorkelling?

It is the best snorkel stop on a standard day trip. The reef begins close to the sand and shelves into deeper water, so you get coral and fish without swimming far.

Can I take some sand home?

No. Removing sand from the park is prohibited and rangers do check bags. The beach is finite and the coral that makes it is not replenishing quickly.

Are there toilets or food?

Nothing. No shade, no shop, no fresh water and no toilets. Everything you need comes off the boat, and the boat is where you eat.

KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

Pink Beach

Red coral ground into white sand, on a beach reachable only by boat. Here is what makes it pink and when it actually looks it.

Plan my trip How to get there

UNESCO World Heritage: 1991
By speedboat from Labuan Bajo: 2 hrs
Typical time ashore: 45 min
Facilities on the beach: 0

Why is the sand pink?

The colour comes from red organ pipe coral. Waves break the dead coral into fragments, the fragments mix with ordinary white sand, and the blend reads pink. It is not dye and it is not algae, which is why the colour changes with the light and the tide rather than staying constant.

It sits on Komodo Island, inside the national park, and is reached only by boat.
The pink is strongest at the waterline, where the sand is wet.
Overcast light flattens it. Morning sun is when it looks like the photographs.
The reef starts close to shore, which makes it the best snorkelling stop on a day trip.
Taking sand is prohibited. Park rangers do check.

The shoreline at Pink Beach with the reef visible through the water

What it is actually like when you land

Expect a blush rather than a postcard. Photographs of Pink Beach are usually taken in strong low light with the wet sand in frame, and the colour in person is subtler than that. It is still unmistakably pink, and there are very few beaches anywhere that do this.

The stop is usually forty five minutes to an hour, most of which people spend in the water. There is no shade, no shop and no fresh water, so whatever you need comes off the boat with you.

What people do here

An hour ashore, and this is where it goes.

Snorkel the drop off

The reef starts close in and shelves quickly. Best visibility of the day, and the guide swims with the group.

Walk the waterline

The colour is strongest where the sand is wet. Ten minutes along the tide line is the whole beach.

The reef at Makassar Reef near Manta Point

Pair it with Manta Point

Both sit on the same run. Tide decides the order, and a good captain will rearrange the day for the mantas.

Pink Beach seen from the low hill behind the shoreline

Climb the low hill

A short scramble behind the beach gives the frame that shows the pink against the turquoise.

Getting to Pink Beach

It is a stop on a boat day, not a destination you travel to on its own.

01
Start in Labuan Bajo
Every boat leaves from the harbour there. About two hours by speedboat, longer on a wooden boat.
02
Take it as part of a route
Nearly every day trip and liveaboard already includes it, usually after Padar and before the dragons.
03
Aim for morning light
The colour reads best with the sun still low. Later in the day it flattens out.

There is a second pink beach on Padar Island, smaller and usually skipped. When people say Pink Beach they mean this one, on Komodo.

Pink Beach questions

The ones that come up before anyone books a boat.

Ask us anything

See it on the way to Padar

Tell us your dates and we will put a route together that takes in Pink Beach at the right time of day.

Plan my trip