Landing in Indonesia with a group: the four checks before you book flights

Every traveller answers for their own entry rules, and the leader cannot do it for them. Visa rules change by nationality and by year. Some passports enter on a visa on arrival, some on an e-visa, and some need a visa from home.

Ask each person to check the official Indonesian immigration site before booking flights. Ask them also to check that the passport is valid for the period the rules require, which is commonly six months beyond arrival. A passport that fails this check at the airport ends a trip.

The leader's job is the list. Collect one name list as it appears on passports or ID, with nationality and passport validity beside each name, and send it to us about a week before sailing. A mixed group of 20 can hold five nationalities and two kinds of visa, and the list shows it at a glance.

Verify before travelling. This page was written on 8 November 2026 and entry rules move faster than any guide.

Groups fly to Labuan Bajo; the boat is the trip, not the transport. The airport is the gateway, and most groups connect through Bali or Jakarta. A day trip from Bali is not part of this charter, so route yourselves through Labuan Bajo the night before.

Arrive the day before sailing. The standard 3D2N picks up between 10:00 and 11:00 and sails at 11:00, and a flight that lands at breakfast time is a gamble with twenty bags. A missed departure costs far more than one extra hotel night.

Twenty people rarely fly on the same plane. Ask everyone to send the flight number and arrival time, and fix one meeting point at the hotel. The pickup from hotel or airport is included, both ways, and we confirm the exact time in writing.

For the return, the 3D2N docks near 12:00 on day three. Book a flight after that, with margin. Verify schedules and fares before travelling; they change.

Indonesia runs on cash outside the big hotels. Labuan Bajo has ATMs. Withdraw in town before the boat, not on the pier, and do not count on a machine being full. Cards work in some shops and restaurants and not on the boat.

One shared bank card is a bad idea for a group. A single frozen card, a daily limit or a lost wallet then stops 20 people. Spread the cash across three or four people, in small notes.

What you pay us goes by bank transfer, card link, PayPal or EDC, with the fee percentages shown on the booking page. What you pay on the day is smaller: tips in small notes, a few purchases ashore, and the park package where it is not already settled. The park fee page explains the package.

Cost per head: keep one sheet of what each person owes, and settle it before the trip, not on the sun deck. Verify exchange rates and ATM limits before travelling.

Health advice is for doctors, and we are not doctors. Each traveller should see their own doctor or a travel clinic well before the flight, and ask about vaccines and medicines for Indonesia.

Carry your own medicines. Pharmacies in Labuan Bajo stock the basics, and they will not have the specific brand your colleague takes every morning. Keep prescriptions in the hand luggage, not in the bag that goes into the hold.

A first-aid kit is on board, with life jackets, a life raft, lifebuoys and a fire extinguisher. Tell us about any condition that matters for a climbing, swimming and sailing trip, and we pass it to the boat team. Seasickness is covered in the guide on who sleeps where.

Travel insurance is not part of the fare. Each person arranges their own, and the leader should ask for the policy name before sailing. Verify requirements and cover before travelling.