Asik OriginalFrom
$2,520
per boat
Labuan Bajo, Flores
Private Komodo Charter 3D2N from Labuan Bajo
3 Days / 2 Nights (or 2D1N)Small groups
beach · Labuan Bajo
Pink Beach (Pantai Merah)
Sand tinted rose by red coral fragments, best for a swim and shallow snorkel.
At a glance
- Entry fee
- Covered by Komodo National Park entry, IDR 250,000 per person per day for international visitors. Since the park fee regulation changed in October 2024, snorkelling is bundled into the standard foreign visitor ticket rather than charged as a separate line, so there is no extra to get in the water.
- Opening hours
- Daylight, inside the park's booking and daily-cap system.
- Time needed
- A couple of hours as one stop on a boat day.
About Pink Beach (Pantai Merah)
Pantai Merah gets its colour from fragments of red coral and the shells of tiny marine organisms mixed through white sand. The tint is real but restrained. It shows strongest along the wet strip at the waterline and in low morning or late afternoon light, and it is considerably pinker in edited photographs than it will ever look to your eye. Go expecting a warm blush rather than a rose-coloured beach and you will not be disappointed.
First, make sure you mean this one. Indonesia has several pink beaches and they are routinely confused. The one inside Komodo National Park is Pantai Merah, reached by boat from Labuan Bajo on Flores. There is a second, larger Pink Beach on Lombok, near Sekaroh in the far southeast, which is reached by road and has nothing to do with Komodo. A third stretch is sometimes pointed out on Padar. If a tour price looks unusually low, check which island it is actually taking you to.
The water does more work than the sand here. Reef begins close in, so you can wade out and be over coral and reef fish within a minute or two of leaving the beach, with no boat ride to a separate site. For casual snorkellers who do not want to swim in deep water, it is one of the easier stops in Komodo National Park. Stronger reefs exist elsewhere in the park, but few are this accessible.
The beach itself is open and bare. There is very little shade, no reliable facilities, and nothing sold, so whatever you need for a couple of hours has to come with you or stay on the boat. On busy days several tour boats anchor off at once and the small stretch of sand fills quickly, which is worth planning around rather than being surprised by.
Getting there
Pink Beach is reached by boat from Labuan Bajo harbour and usually sits on the same loop as Padar and Komodo Island. Shared speedboat day tours are the common option, while a private speedboat lets you arrive outside the midday cluster. Slower wooden boats include it on overnight itineraries. Komodo National Park entry applies, and it is one flat ticket rather than a stack of add-ons. Government Regulation No. 36 of 2024, in force since 30 October 2024, sets it at IDR 250,000 per person per day for foreign visitors and IDR 50,000 on a weekday or IDR 75,000 on a public holiday for Indonesians. Trekking, wildlife observation and snorkelling are already inside that ticket; only diving carries a separate charge, at IDR 25,000 a day. Since 1 April 2026 entry has also been capped at 1,000 visitors a day and must be booked through the government SiOra platform, which your operator normally handles.
Best time
Morning light brings out the pink tint best and the sea is generally calmer for snorkelling. The dry season, roughly April to November, gives better underwater visibility. The practical goal is to arrive either before or after the midday cluster of tour boats, since the beach is small and a handful of boats fills it. Tide matters more than most itineraries admit. The colour reads strongest on wet sand, so a falling tide that has just exposed a fresh band of shoreline gives you the best of it, while a high tide at midday gives you the least sand and the flattest light at the same time. Day trips out of Labuan Bajo tend to arrive between eleven and two, which is precisely the worst window for both. If the beach is the reason you are going rather than an incidental stop, that is an argument for a private boat or an overnight trip that can reach it early.
Good to know
Bring a snorkel set, reef-safe sun cover, drinking water and a hat, because shade is scarce and nothing is sold on the beach. Watch for boat traffic when you swim out, since tenders come and go close to shore. Do not stand on, break or pocket the coral. The red fragments in the sand are what give the beach its colour in the first place, and taking them home is both the reason the effect fades and, in a national park, not something you should be doing. The swimming here is sheltered rather than still. Water moves along the shore on a running tide, and the drop past the reef edge is deeper than it looks from the sand, so keep an eye on how far along the beach you have drifted and turn back earlier than feels necessary. Life jackets are standard on every boat and nobody will think less of you for wearing one over a reef this shallow.
Labuan Bajo
Things to do at Pink Beach (Pantai Merah)
01
Swim and snorkel off the sand
Shallow and easy, and the snorkelling is already inside your park ticket.
02
Look closely at why the sand is pink
The colour comes from red coral fragments broken down and mixed through the white sand, which is why it reads stronger when wet.
03
Bring everything you need onto the beach
It is open and bare, with very little shade, no reliable facilities and nothing sold. Whatever you want for a couple of hours comes with you or stays on the boat.
Labuan Bajo
Tours that include this
Good to know
Pink Beach (Pantai Merah) FAQs
Is the sand really pink?+
Yes, but the effect is gentle. It comes from red coral fragments and the shells of microscopic marine organisms mixed into white sand, and it reads strongest where the sand is wet and in soft morning or late light. Set your expectations against what you see rather than against heavily edited photographs.
Is the snorkelling good at Pink Beach?+
It is solid and unusually easy to reach. Coral and reef fish start in shallow water a short wade from the sand, which suits casual snorkellers and anyone not comfortable swimming out of their depth. Stronger reefs exist elsewhere in the park, but few are this accessible from a beach.
Do I pay extra to snorkel here?+
No. Since the park fee regulation changed in October 2024, snorkelling is bundled into the standard foreign visitor entry ticket for Komodo National Park rather than charged separately. Diving still carries a small additional fee. Confirm current amounts with your operator, as park pricing has changed repeatedly.
Are there facilities on the beach?+
Expect very little and often nothing at all. There is no reliable shade, no shop and no dependable toilet, so bring your own water, snacks and sun protection and plan to use the facilities on your boat.
Labuan Bajo
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