Liveaboard trip to Komodo Island and lands around is the next big hit in Indonesia. This is not your kind of everyday trip—and that’s why it’s so popular. The goal here is not to transport travelers to one harbour to another within the Komodo National Park. It’s to offer a stunning touristic trips on Flores’s pristine sea, with stopping points on Komodo’s best beaches, wildlife conversation, postcard perfect panoramic hills, and world class diving spots. Liveaboard is an experience of traversing the remote Komodo in the best environment possible. However, preparing a Komodo liveaboard trip would totally depends on your style of travelling and which kind of liveaboard that you are sailing with. Here’s our general rules on preparing a liveaboard Komodo trip.
Travelling Komodo Island in Phinisi Liveaboard
There are many kinds of liveaboard trip offered in Labuan Bajo, Flores. Phinisi liveaboard, however, is the best one. The phinisi-style ship is one of the finest and biggest fleet in Komodo. Phinisi liveaboard is usually pricier, but you are going to sleep in comfy and private cabins instead of shared dorms or open decks.
Save All Important Documents in Waterproof Folder
You are going to be surrounded by the water—and probably get wet for half of your trip. Store all your important documents in a waterproof folder so it won’t get ruined by the water. It’s also saver if—God forbid—something wrong happened with the ship. At least your important documents will be save.
The Packing Tips
Here comes the packing. While we can discuss packing tips for liveaboard trip in a whole separate articles, here’s the general rules. Don’t overpack. Bring clothes that can be folded to small and compact cubes. Choose quick to dry and anti wrinkle clothes. Pack only things that you will actually wear. Use soft-padded bags instead of hard case suitcases. Bring your personal dive gears (masks, snorkel, BCD, swimsuit, or dive computers) and put it on a dry bag. Insert that dive license to your wallet. Don’t forget your medicine including seasickness medications and bug repeller.
Maybe You Need A Blanket
If you take a phinisi liveaboard to Komodo Island, you can skip this part. But if you decide to take the most bargain ship in the port where all passengers sleep in a deck, you might need to consider bringing a travel blanket. Or at least something that can be used a makeshift blanket. A simple Bali sarong will do.
Tipping the Komodo Island Liveaboard Crews
You’ve been enjoying your Komodo Island liveaboard trips. Everyday on the board you’ve been relishing on delicious meals cooked by the crews. They’ve been your guides, your dive master, your trip organizer, your barista, and basically provider of everything you need during the trip. It’s not an easy job at all. Now let’s consider the labour they’ve went through and give some rupiahs to the tipping jar to appreciate their works. There’s no fixed rules of tipping. But basically the rule of thumb of tipping is 10% of the cost of of your Komodo liveaboard trip. The crew will divide the total tips equally. However, if you feel like thanking one particular crew member for their impeccable service, go ahead and slip it in their hand. You will absolutely make their day!
