By Salah Teman · 5 August 2026
Padar is the image most people have seen before they ever book Komodo: three curved bays meeting beneath a ridge, each with a different shade of sand. The photograph is taken from a marked trail that climbs the spine of the island.
Timing is everything
The hike is short but exposed, with almost no shade, and the difference between doing it at sunrise and doing it at midday is substantial. Boats arriving early get the light, the cooler air and a far emptier ridge. By late morning the trail is busy and the heat is punishing.
What to bring
Proper footwear rather than flip-flops, water, and a hat. The steps are uneven and loose in places.
Not a dive site
Padar is a land stop, which is worth saying plainly because it appears on both diving and leisure itineraries. Guests who came only to dive sometimes skip it; most regret that.
Conditions
Water temperature in central and north Komodo runs 26–30°C, generally warm and calm. A 3mm long wetsuit is the most versatile choice; bring a 5mm or a neoprene hoodie if you feel the cold. The Komodo season is June to September, departing from Labuan Bajo. Open Water divers are limited to a maximum depth of 18m by law and insurance.
Visiting with Teman
The KLM Teman carries 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a crew of 10. This stop features on our Komodo itineraries from 4 days upward.
More Komodo dive sites
See all itineraries and dates on our Komodo liveaboard page.
Salah writes for Teman Liveaboard, the owner-operator of the KLM Teman. The Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi, handbuilt in Sulawesi and launched in 2017, carrying 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a permanent crew of 10 and a Cruise Director. The team behind her has more than 20 years sailing the Indonesian archipelago. The boat works Komodo National Park from June to September out of Labuan Bajo, Raja Ampat from November to April out of Sorong, and runs Banda Sea and Ring of Fire crossings between the two seasons. The dive site guides on this blog are written from the operator's own logs and itineraries, with conditions, seasons and equipment guidance checked against the dive team who work these sites every week. Where a detail depends on the day — depth on a given tide, or where a current will take you — we say so rather than guess, because that is a briefing the Cruise Director gives on the boat, not something a web page can promise.
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About the author
Salah Teman — Salah writes for Teman Liveaboard, the owner-operator of the KLM Teman. The Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi, handbuilt in Sulawesi and launched in 2017, carrying 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a permanent crew of 10 and a Cruise Director. The team behind her has more than 20 years sailing the Indonesian archipelago. The boat works Komodo National Park from June to September out of Labuan Bajo, Raja Ampat from November to April out of Sorong, and runs Banda Sea and Ring of Fire crossings between the two seasons. The dive site guides on this blog are written from the operator's own logs and itineraries, with conditions, seasons and equipment guidance checked against the dive team who work these sites every week. Where a detail depends on the day — depth on a given tide, or where a current will take you — we say so rather than guess, because that is a briefing the Cruise Director gives on the boat, not something a web page can promise.
