Before you fly: the facts a long charter depends on

Most visitors need a visa, and most of them can have it on arrival or online beforehand. The online route is the e-visa, applied for on the immigration department's own portal, and it saves time at the counter. Use that portal only. Third-party sites charge extra for the same document.

Below, the table shows the fee, the length of stay and the passport rules as last checked. Your passport needs to be valid for six months after arrival and carry blank pages, and the officer asks to see a ticket out of the country. A digital arrival card is also required before you land, and the official one is free.

The fee is the fact that moves. A rise has been reported, and its start date is not confirmed, so the table marks the fee as verify before travelling. Check the portal for your nationality a week before you fly, and keep a printed copy of every approval.

Labuan Bajo has its own airport, Komodo Airport, with the code LBJ. Connections run mostly through Bali, Jakarta or Surabaya, with a few smaller airports feeding in. Harbour and airport lie a short drive apart, which means an afternoon landing still gets you to a hotel before dinner.

Airlines and routes are in the table, as last checked. Timetables change with the season, so confirm yours when you book the seats. Direct flights from outside Indonesia are limited, and the table marks them verify before travelling.

For a long charter, land the day before the pickup. Plan a flight home after 14:00 on the final day; the boat docks in the late morning. If you arrive through Bali, check the separate tourist levy there, which is not part of any visa fee.

Indonesia pays in rupiah. Cash machines stand in Labuan Bajo near the harbour and at the airport, and there are none on the islands or inside the park. Draw cash in town before you sail. Cards work at hotels, larger restaurants and the booking team's payment link, and a small surcharge can apply.

On board you need little money. The meals, the snacks, the coffee, the tea and the water are in the fare, as are the snorkelling gear, the paddleboard and the canoe. Park tickets, alcohol and personal expenses are not, and you pay them separately.

Tipping is appreciated and never compulsory. The table shows the going range for the crew and for the rangers, marked verify before travelling. We set no tip.

Buy travel insurance that includes medical cover and evacuation. It is not in the fare, and for a party of mixed ages it is the one purchase to make before everything else. Hold a policy in each guest's name, and read it for snorkelling and walking.

The sun is the daily risk. Pack a hat, sunscreen that suits a reef and a bottle each. Mosquitoes carry illness in this region; bring repellent and wear long sleeves around dusk. Do not drink from the tap on land or in the hotel; stick to sealed or filtered water.

Labuan Bajo has private and public hospitals, and serious cases are flown out. For vaccinations, speak to your own travel clinic, which knows your history. The table lists the facts we hold, and marks which ones to verify.