Pink Beach: coral sand and a reef at the edge
A curve of sand with a faint rose glow where the waves wash it, and a healthy reef starting a few strokes from the shore.
- Area
- Komodo National Park
- Start from
- Labuan Bajo
- Distance
- about 40 km by boat
- Time needed
- half a day (usually part of a longer trip)
- Best season
- April – November
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Transport
- Boat from Labuan Bajo
- Tickets & rules
- National park fees; check current rules
Why go
Pink Beach, Pantai Merah in Indonesian, is not bright pink, whatever the edited photos online suggest. It is a soft blush, strongest at the waterline in the morning and late afternoon, when wet sand catches the light. That is enough. The beach lies on a small bay backed by dry hills, and the water in front of it is a clear, pale blue fading into the deep.
The real treasure is under the surface. The reef begins almost at your feet and drops gently to a few metres, with table corals, soft corals, clouds of fusiliers, parrotfish, anemonefish and, if you are lucky, a turtle or a blacktip reef shark cruising along the edge. It is one of the easiest good snorkels in the park.
Most boat trips stop here for an hour or two between Padar and Komodo. Arrive early, swim first and then lie on the sand, and you may have it nearly to yourself before the other boats come in.
The story
The colour comes from tiny fragments of red organisms that live on the reef, especially foraminifera, single-celled creatures with reddish shells, and pieces of red organ-pipe coral. Waves grind them up and mix them with ordinary white coral sand, giving the faint pink tint. There are only a handful of beaches like this around the world.
There is more than one pink beach in the park. The best known is on Padar’s neighbour coast near Komodo, and there is another, sometimes called Long Pink Beach, on Padar itself. Boat crews tend to say Pink Beach for whichever one is calmer and less crowded that day.
Visitors used to take sand home in bottles. That is now forbidden, and with good reason: the pink grains are produced slowly, and in some places the colour has visibly faded where people have taken too much. Rangers and boat crews are increasingly strict about it.
Getting there
Pink Beach is a stop on most one-day speedboat trips and on overnight wooden boat trips. There is no road or jetty; boats anchor offshore and you swim or take a tender in.
Plan around the tide: at low tide some corals sit very close to the surface.
A suggested plan
- MorningArrive after Padar, before the main crowd.
- First hourSnorkel along the reef edge towards the rocks at either end.
- Second hourRest in the shade of the boat or on the sand, then a last swim.
- Late morningContinue to Komodo Island or another snorkel site.
Where to stay
Base yourself in Labuan Bajo or on a liveaboard. There is no accommodation on the beach.
Good to know
- Use reef-safe sunscreen, or better, a long-sleeved rash guard.
- Bring your own mask if you have one; rented sets on boats vary in quality.
- Morning light shows the pink colour better than harsh midday sun.
- Don’t stand on corals; they die where they are trampled.
- Currents can pick up off the points; stay close to the bay if you aren’t a confident swimmer.
- Taking sand, shells or coral is prohibited.