Trip Highlights
- Travel on a traditional all-wooden pinisi boat
- Tropical climate and diverse nature
- Remote islands
- Snorkeling in the area with the largest marine biodiversity on Earth
- Clothing-optional environment
- Three meals served daily onboard with a revolving Juice-of-the-Day
- Free-flow alcohol, massages, body shaving services, and more
Trip Features
Preparation
Entry requirements (visa) -When coming into the country, Immigration will grant you a free visa, good for a 30-day stay. Although this option exists for nearly 90% of the countries in the world, there are a few countries with which Indonesia restricts travel, and so a visa arranged beforehand would then be necessary. Because of that, you’ll want to confirm your specific situation with a visa agent or embassy in your home country, beforehand.
Health
No vaccinations are currently compulsory for entry into Indonesia. If you require regular medication, be sure to have enough of it before your trip departs, as all medicine may not be available.
Travel Arrangements
There are many ways to fly into the country of Indonesia, for example through islands like Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, or Bali. We recommend Bali for several reasons: it’s very proficient in handling travelers arriving from all over the world, it’s got great proximity to the island of Flores, and it has several daily flight departures between the two islands. Moreover, a lot of guys like to spend some time in Bali, too – see “CAN I EXTEND MY TRIP?” under the Booking FAQs. A roundtrip flight from Bali to Flores is fairly cheap.
A decent alternative would be to fly into Jakarta, on the island of Java. Sometimes airfare prices are significantly lower to Jakarta than Bali. And a roundtrip flight from Jakarta to Flores is not much more than from Bali.
Airport codes: Bali “DPS”; Jakarta “CGK”; Labuan Bajo “LBJ”.
- One day before the ship sails, you’ll fly into the airport of Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores. We’ll meet you at the airport and bring you to your hotel.
- The next day, you can go to the dock in Labuan Bajo and meet us there, at the boat. Or, let us pick you up from your hotel – your choice.
We request that all travelers come in the day before our departure, and stay in a Labuan Bajo hotel.
What to bring
Bring comfortable shoes for walking or trekking, if you’d like to explore any of the islands on foot. Waterproof sunscreen. A hat, and sunglasses, if you like. And a swimsuit for when we’re near others – although we’ll have baskets on the ship with sarongs to grab for a quick cover-up, should another boat pass by. And a yoga mat, if your group decides each of you will bring your own. Payment on the islands is mostly on a cash basis – so make sure you bring enough cash in rupiah – the local currency. Overall, pack lightly – you won’t be needing many changes of clothes! Either soft or hard luggage is fine.
Amount of money to bring? Not much. We’ve aimed to make things all-inclusive on the boat, so that while you’re free of clothes, you’re also free of costs.
- You’ll come in one day before the ship sails. Most hotels in town will range from US$40 – $90 for the night.
- If you want to pick up a souvenir (like a carved Komodo dragon sculpture), or buy various sundries in the town of Labuan Bajo on your first night pre-sail, you should budget for that. Most people would have a hard time spending more than $30 or $40 for such, but obviously there are more expensive works of art that can be had, too.
- The only other thing to anticipate as a cost is tips – but only if you desire to give any to the crew. Suggested range of tips that a person could give for the whole crew – $50 – $90.
Here’s a suggested clothing list:
- 1 pair of comfortable walking shoes
- 1 pair thongs / sandals / flip-flops
- 1 pairs light jeans or trousers
- 2 pairs shorts
- 4 shirts / t-shirts
- 1 lightweight jacket
- Underwear, if you must 😉
- Some other things…
- Cash in rupiah (IDR)
- Passport (with visa, if required – see above)
- Yoga mat (depends on group)
- Camera, batteries & chargers
- Mobile phone
- Toiletries
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- Waterproof sunscreen
- Basic medical kit (including plasters, antibiotic ointment, pain relief medication, motion sickness medication, etc.)
- Insect repellent
- Adapter for plugs, if necessary
- Indonesian Phrasebook (You’ll get to try out words and phrases with the crew)
And here are some other things you might want to bring, but may not, in fact, use. Up to you…
- Socks
- Swim suit
- Washing powder
- Sewing kit
- Flashlight
Please note…
If you’re not wearing many clothes during the trip, you probably don’t need to bring many.
Towels and linens are provided on the ship.
Travel Insurance
We recommend you take out comprehensive travel insurance before your trip begins, covering cancellation, medical expenses including repatriation, loss or damage to baggage and personal belongings, money and public liability. One well-respected and reliable company offering travel insurance is World Nomads:
https://www.worldnomads.com
Prices
Base prices:
- 7-Day trip – USD 2,190 per person
- 4-Day trip – USD 1,790 per person
Per person prices will be reduced based on the number of participants
Not Included:
- Accommodations for one night, before we sail
- Tips, if you choose to give gratuity to the crew
Included:
- Three meals per day on boat
- Soft drinks, mineral water, Juice-of-the-Day, coffee, tea
- Beer, wine, arak, vodka, gin, whiskey, and rum
- Snacks
- Fruits – any time of day or night
- All linens, including towels
- Services of a Western Group Leader on boat
- Services of Captain and Crew
- National Park access fees
- Wifi
- A massage for every three days on ship
- Body shaving services
- Snorkeling gear and instruction
- Life jackets
- Warm welcome with transport from airport in Labuan Bajo, Flores (LBJ) to your hotel, on the day before we sail
- Pick up from your hotel to boat marina on first day