What to Pack for a Komodo Boat Trip
A practical packing list for a Labuan Bajo boat trip — day boat and liveaboard, what operators actually provide, the cash you need ashore, and what the park prohibits.
Most Komodo boats provide more than people expect and less than people assume. Nearly every listing includes snorkelling gear, life jackets, lunch and drinking water; almost none includes a towel on a day trip, sunscreen, or the cash you will need ashore.
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The five things people actually forget
Rupiah in cash. Ranger fees are collected in person on the trekking islands and there are no card facilities anywhere in the park. Bring small denominations — change for a large note is not always available.
Closed shoes with grip. The Padar climb is a stepped trail, steep and exposed, with loose ground on the upper section. Flip-flops are genuinely a bad idea, and they are what a lot of people arrive in.
Motion-sickness tablets, taken early. They work as a preventative and barely at all as a cure. Take one before you leave the hotel rather than when the crossing between Padar and Komodo starts to build.
A dry bag. Almost every stop is a wet landing from the boat, and spray reaches the whole deck on a speedboat. A cheap dry bag saves a phone.
A light layer. Counter-intuitive in the tropics, but a fast boat generates its own wind, the dawn run out is cold, and on a liveaboard the deck after dark drops further than people expect.
What is usually provided
Read your own listing, but across this catalogue the norm is:
- Snorkelling mask, snorkel and life jacket
- Lunch box, drinking water and usually soft drinks, coffee, fruit and snacks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Labuan Bajo
- An English-speaking guide, and a licensed ranger ashore on the trekking islands
- On liveaboards: all meals, free-flow coffee and tea, and bedding
Towels are provided on some boats and not others — a few liveaboards even supply a yukata. Breakfast is almost always excluded on day trips, which matters when pickup is at 05:00; pick something up the night before.
Day trip list
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Closed shoes with grip | The Padar steps |
| Swimwear, worn under your clothes | No changing space on a day boat |
| Quick-dry shirt and shorts | You will be wet most of the day |
| Towel | Rarely included on day trips |
| Sun hat that stays on at speed | Open decks, no shade |
| Sunglasses with a strap | See above |
| Reef-safe sunscreen | Required behaviour in a marine park |
| Light layer or windbreaker | The dawn run out |
| Dry bag | Wet landings, spray |
| Rupiah in cash | Ranger fees ashore |
| Motion-sickness tablets | Taken before departure |
| Head torch or phone light | Only if you are on a sunrise itinerary |
Add these for an overnight
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| A change of dry clothes per day | Nothing dries properly on a boat |
| Head torch | Padar at 04:30 is climbed in the dark |
| Insect repellent | Anchorages near mangroves at dusk |
| Power bank | Sockets are limited and generator-dependent |
| Basic toiletries and any medication | No shops after you sail |
| Flip-flops for on board | Deck shoes off, everywhere |
| A book, or downloads | Wi-Fi is satellite and slow, or absent |
| Warm layer for the night deck | It gets properly cool at anchor |
Pack soft, not hard. Cabins are small and there is nowhere to stow a wheeled suitcase — most boats ask you to leave large luggage at your hotel in Labuan Bajo, which every operator will arrange.
What the park prohibits
Enforced inside Komodo National Park, and listed in most operators’ own conditions: no smoking or vaping on the boats, no fishing, no alcohol or drugs, no littering, and no touching marine life or plants. Drone use requires a separate permit at IDR 2,000,000 per unit per day.
There is also standard operator guidance that women who are menstruating should not join the Komodo Island trek — dragons track scent over long distances. It appears across the fleet rather than at one operator, and rangers will ask.
The seasickness question
This is the single most common thing that ruins a Komodo trip, and it is largely preventable.
The crossing between Padar and Komodo Island is the exposed leg and it builds in the January-to-February wet season and again around August when the trade winds peak. A speedboat slams through a swell; a wooden boat rolls over it. If you are a poor sailor, the hull matters more than the price — take the slower boat and sit midships, low, watching the horizon rather than a phone.
On an overnight trip the reposition happens while you are lying down, which is harder. Take the tablet before you turn in, not when you wake. The best time guide sets out which months are calmest.
Before you leave home
Sort the park permit. Since 1 April 2026 every entry is booked through the government’s SiOra system two to three days ahead under a 1,000-visitor daily quota, and permits are non-refundable and non-transferable — so it is no longer something to handle on the morning. Ask your operator whether they book it for you; the fees guide has the schedule, and the guide to choosing compares every boat on this site.
One Long Day, Eight Stops, No Roads
The full-day Komodo boat trip is what most Labuan Bajo visitors actually book — Padar at sunrise, Pink Beach, the ranger walk on Komodo Island and Manta Point, back before dark. Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
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