Travelling solo on a Komodo boat trip: cabins, dates and what to expect

The open-trip fare is per person for two people sharing a cabin. A cabin is sold for a minimum of two, and the rate card prints no solo supplement. The sum follows: a guest who travels alone and wants a cabin pays two shares.

In a sea-view cabin that is twice IDR 5,150,000 (≈ USD 316) on the 3D2N sailing. In the Flores balcony suite it is twice IDR 5,600,000 (≈ USD 344), and in Jawa or Sumbawa it is twice IDR 5,950,000 (≈ USD 365). Two-day guests pay the 2D1N fares instead. The cabins page prints every cabin class in both columns, with the 2027 fare table beside them.

We do not pair guests, and the rate card prints no pairing rule, so do not book counting on a cabin-mate. Two travellers who already know each other book one cabin together and pay one share each.

If the second share is the sticking point, compare the cabin classes on the cabins page. Every class has a private bathroom and a sea window.

The restaurant makes this easy. It has no dining tables, only a buffet island and wooden counters with about 20 chairs, so you sit shoulder to shoulder with whoever arrived next to you. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all buffet.

A second meeting place is the turf deck on the roof: green turf, around a dozen bean bags, two floodlights on the mast. At sunset the flying foxes leave Kalong, and the show is watched from the boat, the roof included.

A third is the water. The footage shows one two-seat kayak and one stand-up paddle board, which is a reason to talk to the person queuing beside you. Mask and snorkel come with the fare. Fins are not supplied.

The open trip also includes a local guide and documentation by GoPro, mirrorless camera and drone. For a solo traveller that is a set of photographs of the trip that someone else took.

What is on board comes first. Eight crew sail Princess Nabila. A first-aid kit, life jackets, life rings and a life raft are on the printed list, and the footage shows at least six life rings on the rails and a fire extinguisher in the restaurant. AIS is fitted.

Your name sits on the passenger list, and the electronic boarding pass must match it. Message us before you fly if anything about the trip worries you.

The limits: first aid on board is basic, the boat has no lift, and the sun deck has a low rail. If you have a medical condition, tell us before you pay.

Give someone at home the dates, the pickup hotel and the hull name. The board at the front of the upper deck reads PRINCESS NABILA 01.

The list is short because the boat carries the rest. Pack these.

• Shoes with grip, for Padar and for the steep path on Kelor.
• A head torch. The Padar landing comes about 65 minutes ahead of sunrise.
• Reef-safe sunscreen. The turf deck has no shade.
• Fins, if you want them. The boat does not supply any.
• Cash for tips and small purchases. No ATM stands in the park or on the islands.
• Personal medicines, enough for the trip.
• A power bank and a plug adaptor. Cabin sockets are the round two-pin type, one to three per cabin.

Park tickets, tips and travel insurance are not in the fare, so budget them before you fly.

Some solo plans are better served elsewhere, and we say so before you pay.

• You want a cabin alone and one share only. That price does not exist. A cabin alone is two shares.
• You want the whole boat for yourself. A private charter in the 1-to-5 band costs IDR 61,000,000 (≈ USD 3,742) for the boat on 3D2N. It is a charter, not a solo fare.
• You want to dive. This is a snorkel boat with no tanks and no compressor. A dive boat is the right choice.
• You cannot manage stairs. Three levels, no lift. Main-deck cabins reach the restaurant without stairs, but the sun deck does not.

None of those? Send your date, your cabin class and your name as printed in your passport.