The reef Kanawa Island
A long sandbar and a house reef that starts about two metres off the beach. The better of the two for time in the water.
Location silo · Anchorage
The two stops closest to town, and the clearest water
Kanawa and Kelor sit between Labuan Bajo and the park proper. Short hill walks, reefs straight off the sand, and the anchorage most charters take on the first or last afternoon.
- Hours, typical stop
- 2
- Minutes, Kelor hill walk
- 20
- Metres, reef off the sand
- 2
- Hour from Labuan Bajo
- 1
At a glance
- Best daypart
- Midday to golden PM
- Time ashore
- ~2 hrs
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Bring
- Reef shoes
- Season
- Year-round
These are the stops that make a first afternoon feel like a holiday rather than a transfer, and the last one feel unhurried rather than a rush back to port.
Where they sit
Close enough to be an afternoon, not a day
Both lie in the water between Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park proper — about an hour out, which is why they open and close most itineraries.
Neither needs a plan. You anchor, swim off the boat, walk up something small, and get back on.
- House reefs directly off the beach on both
- No ranger, no permit gate, no queue
- Shelter that works when the outer bays are rough
The two
What each one is for
They are twenty minutes apart and most charters take one, not both. Which one depends on what the group wants that afternoon.
The reef Kanawa Island
A long sandbar and a house reef that starts about two metres off the beach. The better of the two for time in the water.
The hill Kelor Island
Small, steep and quick — about twenty minutes up for a view over the whole bay and the boat below.
Half a day Both, on a longer charter
A week-long route usually fits both plus a swim between them, which is how the unhurried day gets built.
The water
Why these stops keep getting added back in
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Worth knowing
Six small things
Low-stakes stops, but a couple of details make the difference.
-
Reef shoes
The Kelor path is loose and the Kanawa entry has coral rubble.
-
Reef-safe sunscreen
You are over living coral within a few metres of the beach.
-
Little shade ashore
The boat awning is the shade. Plan around it rather than the beach.
-
Twenty minutes up
Kelor is steep but short. Most people are back down inside the hour.
-
Good rough-day option
Sheltered enough to work when the outer anchorages are not.
-
Outside the park gate
Kelor sits outside the main permit zone, so fewer fees apply here.
Where it lands in a route
First afternoon, or last
Almost every charter puts these at one end or the other. Both work, for different reasons.
Most common
First afternoon
- Board at three, in the water by half four
- Acclimatise before the early start next morning
- Gets everyone swimming on day one rather than day two
The unhurried end
Last afternoon
- A slow final swim on the way back to port
- Close enough that the return leg is never rushed
- Works when the outer bays were rough earlier in the week
On a seven-night charter these often appear twice — once at each end — and nobody minds.
Six honest answers
Before you stop here
Same route
What sits either side of it
Get a firm quote
The easiest two hours in the itinerary
Send dates and group size. These stops get placed where they do most good — usually the first afternoon or the last.
By sending you agree we may reply by email or WhatsApp about your charter.
- House reef off the sand
- Twenty-minute hill, big view
- Sheltered when the park is not