As did I in 2000, it was pretty much THE place back then
Just for curiosity, how are independent birders doing Komodo these days and at what cost?
A
If all you wanted to do was hire a boat for a long day (0400 start) to Komodo and back it will run around 1.5 million ($110ish). My friend did an overnight trip similar to what you described last year and I think it cost him around $350 for two people. We did things a bit different as we wanted to dive as well. Our private overnight trip with 6 dives each was quoted at about $750, but in the end we ended up paying a good bit less, as we had some boat issues and didn't get in as many dives as expected. We also had to visit both Rinca and Komodo (originally plan was only Komodo) as we dipped the dragon on Komodo! More on all that in the next blog post though which should hopefully be up somewhat soon. Haven't had much wifi lately as last three island visited were Morotai, Obi, and Talaud!
Best,
Ross