Some quick questions about Labuan Bajo first;

Where is Labuan Bajo? It is an area on the western side of Flores Island in the zone of East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia
How to get to Labuan Bajo? Most people fly from Denpasar, Bali and transfer via Batik Air, Indonesia AirAsia or Superair Jet. However there is ONE international flight that runs from Singapore to Labuan Bajo and it is run by Jetstar. The route will close when Jetstar ceases operations on 31 July so we’re not sure when / who will take over the route.
What is a liveaboard? It’s a boat trip around the islands, the boats have permits and all the photographers who fly drones have permits too. You stay on the boat for 3D2N (some boats go even longer routes) and snorkel, hike and basically camp out at sea. There are many different providers both international platforms like tripadvisor or getyourguide.com or local providers like Travass Life with whom you can sign up for trips with.

Contents:

Itinerary with Travass Life
Accommodation on Papiton Duwa
The experience
Total cost
Tips and tricks
Staying on Labuan Bajo itself: Katamaran Hotel and Resorts

Our liveaboard experience

01 Itinerary

We booked BOAT TWO: PAPITON DUWA, owned and managed by Travass Life.

Disclaimer: All difficulty levels assessed from the perspectives of two individuals who aren’t the fittest of people, please don’t judge us

DAY 1

Pick up from hotel at 7-9am and check into to boat
Siaba island - snorkel
Manta point - snorkel
Lunch
Taka Makassar - beach time
Padar Island - sunset hike: walking and mild hiking needed (difficulty 2.5/5 terrain is ok, it’s just steps but it’s a longer vertical trek)
Dinner

DAY 2

Komodo national park - walking and mild hiking needed (difficulty 1.5/5)
Breakfast
Pink Beach - beach/Stand-up paddling
Lunch
Kalong island - watch flying foxes - on board the boat
Dinner

Day 3

Breakfast
Kelor Island - climbing needed and good shoes/hiking sandals as you’re going up and down rocks without proper steps (difficulty 3/5)
Snorkelling somewhere near the Labuan Bajo area (30 minutes out from the mainland)
Shower and pack
Lunch
Back to Labuan Bajo port

02 Accommodation

We stayed in the Manta Cabin - it has a wonderful view of the sunrise/sunset depending on which direction the ship is travelling in. It’s clean and as comfy as a cabin on board a ship can be. There is a balcony for you to hang your towels and gear as you’ll be pretty much in swim gear all day anyway. If you pick other cabins, some have bunk beds. We were on level 2, level 1’s three cabins have spaces to hang your gear outside the room.

There are some issues with the airconditioning but nothing that really bothered us too much.

You would be more than able to sleep, initially we were worried that the noise of the generators would be very loud. But our fears were unfounded because the ship parks every night and you get silence from 8pm to around 5-6am and then off we go again.

03 The experience and what we loved

second night watching flying foxes head to Flores Island

The crew: amazing and friendly people who made the experience wonderful. The crew comprises of a captain, chef, tour guide, camera man, and two other people who run the boat and take care of your safety. They are conversant in English and Bahasa Indonesia. Everything you need is taken care of. One night we asked for extra blankets and they kindly obliged. They ensure your safety especially since this is a beginner friendly trip which means some of us couldn’t swim or the children on board needed more attention etc, they took care of everything.

The food: It’s really incredible how you could whip up such nice food for so many meals over three days. We had great choices of fresh food, meats, vegetables and the spread was delicious. Everyday there was also tea break where you’d get a snack and fresh juices. Shoutout to that cassava dish, I need a whole plate more of it.

The people on our ship: there were 10 people in total, 3 couples and one family with children. It was very comfortable and everyone was very nice to hang around. Beers were shared and random karaoke sessions were held. It was cozy, just the right number of people on board.

04 Total Cost

The entire trip cost IDR 14935000 which translates to roughly SGD 1180. That covers 3D2N of accommodation, lunch and dinner on day 1, all three meals on day 2 and breakfast and lunch on the last day, as well as snacks. All gear is provided and all photos and videos taken for you with camera, gopro and drone. The only other payment is $60 SGD to enter Komodo National Park.

05 Tips and tricks

hiking up Komodo Island to find the dragons

Do bring a pair of shoes for the hiking, I cannot emphasise this enough. We struggled during Padar Island and Kelor Island as some of the rocks are not really steps, they’re somewhat slippery and have not enough grip. Also when we were at Komodo National Park, some of the zones to see the Komodo dragons were very rocky and you might slip and fall without proper footwear.
Bring antihistamines or whatever equivalent you can. There are insect bites and mosquitoes (as one might expect).
Enjoy yourself, immerse yourself in everything that nature will gift to you. It was one of the most insanely breathtaking experiences we’ve had.

Finally, special thanks and credits to the team at Travass Life, Sail with Papiton, Papiton Duwa / 2 and the entire crew of the ship, as well as our dedicated photographer Walmin Hamzah.

position 4 on the Padar Island hike, unset

Staying on Labuan Bajo

Before travelling on the liveaboard we recommend coming to Labuan Bajo one night before and staying one night after! The place itself is beautiful and you need more time to soak in every bit of its beauty.

Recommended accommodation:
Katamaran Hotel and Resort

This hotel is barely 5-6 minutes away from the airport, it’s perfect for a late flight in or an early flight out. You cannot find much around the area but you can just take a GrabBike or GoBike out to the more busy areas.

Katamaran is a new hotel and has a wide range of facilities, activities and food. There are water activities like kayaking, bicycle boat, etc, as well as a gym, boxing and table-tennis area. The hotel has 2 cafes - one is Indonesian cuisine and the other is Italian Japanese. We managed to try both and they did not disappoint.

The resort in itself is huge and we took the time to walk around it all the way to the jetty area where the overwater villas are (at time of googling, around SGD1000 a night). We opted for the smaller Grand Deluxe rooms (the basic one) and on our return from the liveaboard they upgraded us to the one with the bathtub in the room!

Airport transfer by the hotel is possible for SGD 22 per trip (regardless of how many persons) and when you transfer back from the hotel to the airport, they can call a driver for you and payment would be made directly to him.

This is a hotel we would definitely come back to!

Recommended spa/massage place:
Cocomama Yoga and Spa

There aren’t many options for spas or massage areas in the area, so this was what we went with. The massage is affordably priced and we didn’t have to wait long. It’s not exactly a spa so manage your expectations. However we were served quickly and the treatment was very nice. We opted for an after-sun treatment top up due to how sunburnt we were and at first we thought it was just creams or aloe vera gel but they threw in a full body massage first which was lovely. The place also makes their own essential oils, body scrubs and reef-safe sunscreen, the latter of which we tend to pick up when we go to open water!

Hop on a liveaboard ship at Labuan Bajo with Travass Life