The night before and the night after, for a group of 20

Be in Labuan Bajo the evening before you sail. Check in, eat early and count heads once the last flight is down. A group of 20 that arrives piecemeal needs one leader at the hotel and a single list.

Book all rooms at one hotel if you can. Pickup is simpler from one lobby. A leader who spends the evening walking between three hotels, phone in hand, chasing a late sleeper in a distant room, will not sleep. If the group must split, tell us which hotel holds which guests.

Send us the hotel name when you book it. The name goes into the pickup instruction. A day ahead, the driver's contact reaches you in writing.

Pack the night before as well. Leave big suitcases at the hotel if it offers storage, and carry soft bags to the boat, which stow more easily. Ask the hotel about storage before you book, not at the lobby desk at nine in the morning.

Your fare already pays for the car that takes the group from lobby or arrivals to the port and back. That covers the trip itself. It does not cover dinner in town the night before, or a walk to a restaurant that turns out to be far.

For other rides in Labuan Bajo, a minivan or a small bus is quoted per vehicle, not per person. A full vehicle costs the same as a half-empty one, so fill it. We type no amount here, because it depends on the vehicle and the route.

Plan vehicles by headcount and bags. Twenty guests and their luggage will not fit in one car. Say how many bags are hard shells, and we plan the size of vehicle accordingly.

Taxis suit a small group. Twenty guests split into five cars and arrive in five places.

For the standard 3D2N, pickup runs from 10:00 to 11:00 and the boat sails at 11:00. The exact time reaches you in writing, and the driver's number arrives a day ahead. Put it in the group chat.

Meet in the lobby, not on the road. Meeting point: one chair, one flag, one leader with the list. Count heads when the vehicle arrives, and again when the last bag is on board.

Breakfast comes before pickup. The boat serves lunch, but a group of 20 teenagers should not wait for it. Have the hotel serve breakfast early, and tell us if it cannot.

Keep passports, medicines and phones in a soft bag you carry yourself. Always. Everything else goes in the vehicle.

The standard 3D2N docks in Labuan Bajo near 12:00 on day three. Fly later than that, with margin, and not at 12:30. A flight at the end of the afternoon works for most groups.

A late flight needs a bed in town, or at least a place to wash and leave the bags. Book a day room or a second night at the hotel, and tell us the name. The vehicle can drop the group there at the end of the trip, so nobody drags twenty bags through town in the heat, waiting for a taxi that has other plans.

Routes other than the 3D2N end at times set with your flights. The one-day trip returns before sunset, and the 2D1N and 4D3N times are agreed with the captain by weather. Never book a flight until we confirm the end time in writing.

If the sea or the weather moves the arrival, the leader tells the group, and we update the pickup. That is the one reason to keep a buffer.