Komodo sailing adventure: three hikes, five water stops and a paddle board

Kelor comes first, on day 1: a short steep hill about an hour by boat from Labuan Bajo, with a viewpoint over the bay. Expect 15 to 30 minutes up on a dry path, so wear shoes with grip.

Padar comes before sunrise on day 2. You leave the boat about 65 minutes before first light and climb for 25 to 45 minutes to the main viewpoint, with a head torch. Parts of the path are loose and steep, and the upper ridge takes longer.

Komodo Island is the third, a walk from the Loh Liang station with a ranger. Nobody treks without one. Short, medium and long trails exist, and most itineraries take the shorter ones.

Kelor and Padar are rated moderate and Komodo easy. None of them is a mountain, but all three are either early or hot.

Day 2 runs Padar before sunrise, breakfast, Pink Beach, Komodo Island, Taka Makassar and Manta Point, with lunch and dinner aboard. That's most of the printed route in a single day.

Day by day

• Day 1. Light. One short hill, a first swim, a sunset.
• Day 2. Hard on the legs and on the sleep, and the reason people come.
• Day 3. A swim and a soft landing, with no hike printed.

Think about your energy. By Manta Point it's been a long day.

The current there asks for strong swimmers, and weary legs make that harder. Taka Makassar and Manta Point sometimes swap order with the tide. That's the tide's timetable, not ours, and the guide decides on the day.

Bombana 2 lists a canoe and a paddle board among the things on board. Bombana 1 doesn't list either. Worth saying once, so nobody books the wrong boat for them.

On Bombana 2 they fill the flat-water hours. A morning at Pink Beach or the swim stop at Siaba or Sebayur is where a paddle board earns its space. Whether the water is calm enough on a given day is the crew's call.

There is no separate charge, and wind and tide decide when it's safe.

Nobody on Bombana 1 is short of things to do without them. The snorkel stops, the three hikes and the evening karaoke set fill the days.

Pack for the three climbs. That means closed shoes with grip: Kelor is dry and steep, and Padar is loose underfoot.

Bring a head torch for the Padar start in the dark, plus a hat and reef-safe sunscreen, because there's little shade on Komodo Island or the Taka Makassar sandbar. Add a refillable water bottle. Pack it all where you can reach it on day 1, before the first hill.

Long sleeves or a light shirt help on the trails, and they keep the sun off the shoulders on the climb. Sandals are fine for the boat and for the beach stops, not for the hills.

Our hiking guide compares the trails in more detail, and the Padar page covers the sunrise climb.

Day 2 is too much for bad knees or a bad back, and for anyone who can't manage a pre-dawn start, a steep path in the dark and a long day in the sun. It's a lot for very small children too.

That doesn't rule out a mixed group. The hikes are guided or ranger-led, the slowest walker sets the pace, and you can tell the guide what you can do. We make no fitness promises, and nobody should book hoping for an easier route than the one printed.

If the climbs worry you, the route page shows the day plan in order, and you can ask us before you pay. Rinca is not on the printed route, so there is no extra trek to plan for.