Pink Beach, and Pinker Beaches

Indonesia     Destinations, Sea Turtles, Tropical Beaches, Unexpected Gems
The pink against the turquoise is amazing!
The pink against the turquoise is amazing!
Forget the perfect white-sand tropical beach. Visit the pink beaches of Indonesia!
One of the main stops on a tour of the Komodo National Park in Indonesia (see Booking a Komodo National Park Tour - What You Need to Know) is Pink Beach.

The Flores Sea is full of tons of small islands, many with idyllic crystal clear turquoise water beaches. One wants to say "idyllic white sand beaches" but that's not the case. There is so much red coral broken up in the sand, that it makes the sand look pink! The pink sand, in contrast with the color of the sea, is something uniquely beautiful.
A view of the Lesser Sunda Islands in the Flores Sea. That's the Little Caribbean Island (the little cashew shaped patch of sand) just top left of center.
A view of the Lesser Sunda Islands in the Flores Sea. That's the Little Caribbean Island (the little cashew shaped patch of sand) just top left of center.

Pink Beach

Our boat pulled up near Pink Beach and we all jumped off into the water. It was quite chilly! There weren't tons of fish but I did see some parrots, moorish idols, triggers, and even a few sea turtles! :) The sea floor was absolutely carpeted with beautiful soft corals and anemones; possibly the most live soft corals and anemones I've ever seen in one place.
The soft corals and anemones at Pink Beach.
The soft corals and anemones at Pink Beach.
A very clever tuskfish.
A very clever tuskfish.
Sea turtle at Pink Beach.
Sea turtle at Pink Beach.
You can swim to the beach to relax and have a close look at the pink sand. There was only one other small group on the beach when we were there.
Pink Beach
Pink Beach
The small pieces of red coral in the sand are what make it pink.
The small pieces of red coral in the sand are what make it pink.
My test of a good beach. If I can see a chip in my toe polish from chest deep water. Yep, this passes the test.
My test of a good beach. If I can see a chip in my toe polish from chest deep water. Yep, this passes the test.
The problem came when the boat waited for us out in the channel so swimming back to the boat was a bit of a challenge. It's an easy swim until the sea floor drops off. It gets deep and the current is strong. Even with flippers I could barely make it to the boat and almost had to ask for help. I grabbed onto the beer boat's outrigger to pull myself the rest of the way to the ladder.

So yeah, there's a beer boat! A wonderful entrepreneur paddles up to the tour boat and sells "cool beer" (large Bintangs) for Rp 50,000 each.
Flowers on Pink Beach.
Flowers on Pink Beach.
The
The "cool beer" boat! Love this guy.

Crystal Beach

The next day we skipped the scheduled Kanawa beach which is only 1 hour from Labuan Bajo and is very crowded with loads of boats. Instead, we went to Crystal Beach. OMG it's about as good as it gets. Perfect clear water, a little chilly, and lots of tropical fishies. More like 1000s of many varieties of damsel fish. Nothing short of magical and it was much more pink than Pink Beach. :) Happy moment.
Wow, Crystal Beach was incredible.
Wow, Crystal Beach was incredible.
The water is at least 20 feet deep here (if not more) and you can see straight to the bottom.
The water is at least 20 feet deep here (if not more) and you can see straight to the bottom.

Little Caribbean

Then to top it all off, we went to Little Caribbean right by Manta Point. Now at the end of the tour, I was pretty exhausted (hiked Padar in the morning and just finished swimming with the mantas) but it was worth one more swim against the strong currents to walk on this little gem.

It's a small patch of (pink) sand in a swath of light turquoise sea against a baby blue sky.
There are 2 entire tiny islands in this photo. The front part, the sand, is where you swim to and hang out.
There are 2 entire tiny islands in this photo. The front part, the sand, is where you swim to and hang out.
Lots of small fish at Little Caribbean Island.
Lots of small fish at Little Caribbean Island.
I just sat back and soaked in the colors.
I just sat back and soaked in the colors.

More Details About the Tour

Booking a Komodo National Park Tour - What You Need to Know
What to Bring on Your Komodo Nat'l Park Tour
Visiting Komodo Dragons in Indonesia
Pink Beach, and Pinker Beaches
Padar - THE Komodo View Point
Manta Rays - Majestic Giants in Komodo
Pink pink sand on the tiny Little Caribbean island.
Pink pink sand on the tiny Little Caribbean island.

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