About Kanthaka
The first thing I noticed was the smell of clove coffee drifting up from the galley as dawn broke over Padar. I stepped barefoot onto the teak deck, still cool from the night, and saw the silhouette of Komodo Island in the distance. We’d anchored near Kalong the night before, and bats were already swirling above the mangroves. There was no rush, no crowd—just the crew quietly preparing breakfast and the soft creak of the hull. This wasn’t a tour. It felt more like being let in on a secret.
Kanthaka is 33.7 metres of hand-sailed Phinisi, but you don’t feel its size because it only carries ten of us. The five cabins—Sagara, Nandini, Jivana, Mihika, Aruna—are spread across the lower deck, each with proper ventilation and private bathrooms that actually worked without pump issues. I stayed in a Mihika Cabin, which shared a bathroom but had its own porthole and storage nooks. At night, the ship was quiet. No engine noise after 8 PM, just the sound of water slapping the hull.
We followed a classic 3D2N route, but the timing was smarter than I expected. Day one started with a short transfer from Labuan Bajo to Menjerite. We snorkeled in the late afternoon when the sun was low and the reef—soft corals waving like ribbons—was easiest to photograph. No one else was there. That evening, we dined on grilled reef fish and jackfruit curry, served on real plates, not plastic. The chef remembered dietary notes without being asked twice.
Day two began at Padar, hiking up just after sunrise. The view from the top—the three-bay panorama in pastel pinks and blues—was packed with day-trippers at the lower platform, but our group took a side path the guide knew, and we had the upper ridge to ourselves. After Komodo Island, where we saw dragons feeding on a water buffalo carcass (a bit grim, but real), we snorkeled at Manta Point. Two mantas circled us for nearly twenty minutes. One passed so close I felt the water displacement on my face.
Final day, we hit Taka Makassar at low tide—just sandbar and turquoise, no people. Then Kanawa for last-minute snorkeling. The crew had packed a final lunch of satay and tropical fruit, and we ate on the bow as we sailed back. No rush. No drop-off at 14:00 sharp. They waited until we’d all taken our time. When we docked, I didn’t feel exhausted. I felt adjusted—slower, more aware of tides and light.
