Pink Beach Flores tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 06:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Asia/Makassar local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Fri 08 May (range 1.8m). Last neap on Thu 07 May. Next neap on Tue 12 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Pink Beach (Pantai Merah — the name translates directly as Red Beach in Indonesian, though the English convention calls it Pink Beach) sits on the eastern coast of Komodo Island, within Komodo National Park. The beach faces southeast into a sheltered bay; the limestone and volcanic headlands on both sides protect it from the direct swell that affects the park's more exposed western coasts. The famous pink colour of the sand comes from the shell fragments of Marginopora vertebralis — a foraminifera, a single-celled marine organism that grows a calcite shell with a distinctive reddish-pink colouration when living and fades to pink-white when broken into fragments. These fragments are mixed into the standard white silica and coral sand of the beach, producing the pink tint that gives the beach its name. The ratio of Foraminifera fragments to silica varies along the beach, and the colour is most concentrated at the eastern end, below the rocky outcrop where the foraminifera colony is densest in the shallows. Light quality matters more than tide state for the colour: overcast sky or the low-angle light of early morning and late afternoon renders the pink most vividly, because the soft light does not bleach the colour the way direct overhead sun does. Midday photographs in bright sun can make the beach look pale beige. The spring tidal range at Pink Beach is approximately 2.5 m, matching the rest of the Komodo National Park area. At low spring water (approaching 0.1–0.2 m above Chart Datum), the beach widens to 50–60 m and the reef flat in the bay sits at 0.5–1.0 m depth — snorkellable but shallow, and fins need to be managed carefully to avoid touching coral. At high spring water (2.4–2.5 m above CD), the beach narrows to 20–25 m and the reef flat has 2.0–2.5 m of water overhead — the most comfortable snorkelling depth, with clear visibility down to the coral structure. The recommended snorkel window is mid-to-high tide, in the two hours before and after the predicted high. The reef at Pink Beach is a mix of hard and soft coral, with fish diversity typical of the Komodo park system — high biomass relative to most Indonesian reef sites, reflecting the nutrient upwelling driven by the park's tidal currents. The outer reef drop-off on the southeastern headland (accessed by swimming 150 m from the main beach) starts at 5–6 m and drops to 20 m; the wall supports gorgonian fans and crinoids. Dive boats anchor in the bay on the protective side of the headland; the anchor site holds in moderate current, and the bay is sheltered from the main park channel current. Day trips from Labuan Bajo take 2.5–3 hours by fast boat or 3–4 hours by standard day-trip boat. The typical schedule arrives at Pink Beach mid-morning (10:00–11:00), which often aligns with the mid-to-high tide window, though this varies with the daily tidal cycle — check the prediction for the specific date. Komodo dragons are occasionally sighted on or near the beach — the park's dragon population roams freely across Komodo Island, and the coastal vegetation behind Pink Beach is within the animals' range. Rangers accompany all visitor groups in the National Park; do not approach dragons independently. The beach has no shade structure (shade is limited to the headland rocks) and no fresh water — carry adequate sun protection and water for the visit. Boats moor in the bay and use a dinghy or wade to reach the beach; at low spring, the dinghy may ground in shallow water 30–40 m from the sand and passengers wade the last section. Tide predictions here are from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model, accuracy ±45 min / ±0.2–0.3 m. BIG (Badan Informasi Geospasial) is the authoritative Indonesian source.