Labuan Bajo: 3-Day Komodo Sailing Tour

About This Experience

This is the 3-day, 2-night Komodo liveaboard in its standard, most-booked form: a traditional wooden Phinisi with air-conditioned cabins, three cooked meals a day, and a route that reaches every stop the park is known for rather than the four or five a day boat can manage.

The sailing plan covers Kelor, Manjarite, Kalong, Padar, Pink Beach, Komodo Island, Taka Makassar, Manta Point, Kanawa and Sebayur. Sleeping on board is what makes that possible — the boat repositions overnight, so you are anchored below Padar before sunrise and at Manta Point before the day-trip fleet arrives from Labuan Bajo.

The boat carries paddle boards, a canoe, snorkel gear, life jackets and an outdoor dining area, and a bilingual guide and photographer travel with the group. Harbour transfers at both ends are included; national park fees are not.

Highlights

• Sleep two nights aboard a traditional Phinisi with air-conditioned cabins
• Reach Padar Island for sunrise, before the day boats arrive from Labuan Bajo
• Snorkel Manta Point, Taka Makassar, Kanawa Island and Pink Beach
• Walk Komodo Island with a park ranger to see dragons in the wild
• Watch the flying-fox exodus off Kalong Island at dusk
• Three cooked meals a day, snacks and free-flow coffee and tea on board

What's Included

• ✓ 3-day, 2-night sailing trip aboard a Phinisi boat
• ✓ Air-conditioned cabin accommodation
• ✓ Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks on board
• ✓ Bilingual guide and an on-board photographer
• ✓ Return harbour transfers in Labuan Bajo
• ✓ Snorkelling equipment and life jackets
• ✓ Paddle board, canoe and beach towels
• ✓ Wi-Fi (satellite), speaker set and board games

Not Included

• Komodo National Park entry, ranger and conservation fees
• Flights to and from Labuan Bajo
• Alcoholic drinks
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses and crew tips

What to Bring

• Reef-safe sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat
• Swimwear and a quick-dry towel
• Light, loose clothing for the deck and closed shoes for the Padar and Komodo trails
• A dry bag for phones and cameras on the tender transfers
• Cash in rupiah for park fees, drinks and crew tips
• Any personal medication, including seasickness tablets
• A power bank — cabin sockets run off the boat's generator and are not always live

Good to Know & Caveats

• Komodo National Park entry, ranger and conservation fees are collected separately by the park authority and are usually payable in cash in Indonesian rupiah. Budget roughly IDR 650,000-750,000 per foreign visitor for a multi-day trip; operators quote the exact figure at booking and some now require it in advance.
• Itineraries are weather-dependent. Skippers reorder or drop stops when the swell between Padar and Komodo builds, and Manta Point in particular is skipped whenever the current runs too hard to snorkel safely.
• Komodo dragons and manta rays are wild animals in a national park. Rangers know where the dragons usually rest and manta season peaks December to February, but no operator can guarantee a sighting.
• Cabins are air-conditioned, but the generator is typically shut down for part of the night — expect the cabin to warm up in the small hours.

Meeting Point

Hotel or airport pickup in Labuan Bajo, then transfer to the harbour.