Zada Liveaboard Fleet
Zada Liveaboard Fleet
First time in Indonesia with a group: entry, money and what to tell the team
Updated 28 October 2026
Foreign guests need a passport valid for six months, a visa or e-visa that suits their nationality, an onward ticket and the free All Indonesia arrival card. Our manifest needs names exactly as on the passport. Cash is limited at the harbour, so tell the team to withdraw in Labuan Bajo before sailing.
Entry paperwork the organiser should collect
A mixed group is the usual case: Indonesian colleagues, regional staff and a few foreign visitors. Rules differ by passport, so collect the documents by nationality and not by company. Indonesian staff travel on their national ID. Foreign guests need the items in the table below, and the organiser's job is to check that each person holds them before the flight, not at the airport desk.
Read the table with its confidence in mind. Passport validity, the onward ticket and the digital arrival card are firm. The visa price is the item to verify: it changes, so check the official immigration pages before you tell the team what to budget.
For each foreign guest the organiser collects the same short list:
- a passport valid for six months after arrival, with blank pages
- proof of onward or return travel
- the visa or e-visa that matches the nationality, or a note that entry is visa-free
- the free All Indonesia digital arrival card, completed shortly before arrival, with its QR code saved on the phone
Two small points. A guest who flies in through Bali may also owe the Bali tourist levy, listed in the table. And the manifest on the boat is built from the same passport spelling, so ask each guest for a photo of the passport data page now, which saves a correction later. We are not immigration advisers; the official source decides.
| Visa on Arrival (VoA) | Open to nationals of 97 listed countries, including most of Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan, South Korea, China, India and the Gulf states. Other nationalities apply in advance at evisa.imigrasi.go.id. |
|---|---|
| e-VoA | The same 30-day visa, applied for online before you travel at evisa.imigrasi.go.id. Once approved, you must enter within 90 days. |
| VoA / e-VoA price | IDR 500,000 per person; children pay the same. Fees can change, so check the official site before you fly. |
| Length of stay | 30 days from the day you arrive, single entry |
| Extension | Once, by 30 days (60 days in total), for IDR 500,000. Apply at an immigration office about a week before the first 30 days end. |
| Visa-free entry | 30 days, not extendable, for citizens of ASEAN countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. |
| Passport | Valid for at least 6 months after your arrival date, with at least 2 blank pages |
| Onward ticket | Proof of a return or onward ticket is required for a VoA |
| All Indonesia arrival card | Free and compulsory. Fill it in within 72 hours before arrival at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id or in the app; it covers immigration, customs and the health declaration. |
| Arriving in Labuan Bajo | Most visitors clear immigration in Bali, Jakarta or Surabaya and reach Labuan Bajo on a domestic flight |
| Bali tourist levy | IDR 150,000 per foreign visitor if you enter through Bali, paid at lovebali.baliprov.go.id. It is separate from the visa fee. |
Checked 11 October 2026 · Entry rules and fees change: confirm them on the official immigration site before you travel.
Cash, cards and what the harbour accepts
The rupiah is the only practical currency in Labuan Bajo. ATMs stand in town and at the airport, none is on the islands, and the usual limit per withdrawal is small, so a group of 28 cannot all draw cash at one machine on the morning of sailing. Ask the team to withdraw the evening before.
Cards work at hotels, boat operators and larger restaurants, often with a surcharge, and not at warungs, markets or small shops. For the deposit you pay us by bank transfer or card link, Wise, Revolut or PayPal; PayPal adds 7.2 percent. The invoice is issued to your company by PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia, so give us the legal name and the tax details of the company when you confirm. A card payment made by a colleague instead of the company is a common source of invoice errors, and it is easier to settle the name before the deposit than after.
On board, the cash a guest needs is small: personal purchases and an optional tip for the crew. The table gives the tipping ranges that operators quote. Tips are voluntary, and no tip is in any fare.
| Currency | Indonesian rupiah (IDR); about IDR 16,000 to 16,500 to the US dollar and IDR 17,500 to 18,000 to the euro in mid-2026 |
|---|---|
| ATMs | BCA, Mandiri, BNI and BRI on Jl. Soekarno-Hatta near the harbour and at airport arrivals; none in the national park or on the islands. Take cash before you board. |
| ATM limits | IDR 1,250,000 to 3,000,000 per withdrawal; a local fee of about IDR 25,000 to 50,000, plus your own bank's charges |
| Cards or cash | Cards work at hotels, dive centres, boat companies and larger restaurants, often with a surcharge of 2 to 4 per cent. Small eateries, markets, taxis and small shops take cash. |
| Tipping | Appreciated, never compulsory. In restaurants 5 to 10 per cent when no service charge is added; for a boat crew, IDR 50,000 to 100,000 per guest per day is a common range. |
Checked 11 October 2026
Landing a 28-strong group at Komodo airport
Komodo International Airport (LBJ) is about 2 to 3 km from town, and most visitors connect through Bali, Jakarta or Surabaya. Schedules change, so the table shows the routes seen, not a timetable. Arrive in Labuan Bajo one day before sailing, so that a delayed or cancelled flight does not cost the group its boat.
Airport, hotel and harbour pickup is included; above 12 guests a second vehicle or a coach is quoted as its own line, so 28 guests need three HiAce vehicles or one coach. Staggered flights are the real planning job: list every arrival by guest in the manifest, and we match the pickup to the lists. The meeting point and time are confirmed in writing.
Luggage deserves one line in the briefing. Soft bags are easier to stow on a boat than hard cases, and a guest who arrives with one large suitcase can leave it at the hotel for the nights aboard.
The return flight is the second rule. The return time on the last day is confirmed in writing, and flights are booked only after that confirmation.
| Airport | Komodo International Airport, code LBJ |
|---|---|
| Usual connections | Bali (DPS), Jakarta (CGK) or Surabaya (SUB); Lombok and Kupang are smaller feeders |
| Flight time to Labuan Bajo | From Bali about 1 h 10 min to 1 h 20 min; from Surabaya about 1 h 30 min; from Jakarta 2 h 30 min to 3 h; from Lombok about 1 h |
| Airlines | Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air, Citilink and Indonesia AirAsia from Bali and Jakarta; Super Air Jet from Surabaya; Wings Air on the shorter island routes. Schedules change, so check before you book. |
| Airport to the harbour | 2 to 3 km, about 10 minutes by car |
Checked 11 October 2026
A one-page briefing to send the team
Send the team one page before the trip. This is the producer's checklist version of it:
- passport or ID copy, with the name as on the document
- shoes with grip for the Padar and Komodo walks
- sun hat, reef-safe sunscreen and a light long-sleeved top
- personal medicine in its original packaging, listed in the dietary and medical line
- a power bank and a phone charged before boat day; the voltage is 230 V with two-round-pin sockets
- cash for the last day and for the crew, collected in town
- travel insurance with medical cover, which is recommended for every guest
Add the call time, the PIC's mobile number and the line that says Zada Ulla and Zada Nara list local Wi-Fi, with no speed promised. Tell guests that the park ticket and ranger fees are paid on the group's list, not in the fare. Send the page twice, two weeks and two days before, and only the second needs the exact pickup time.
FAQ
Do foreign guests need a visa for Indonesia?
Most nationalities use the 30-day visa on arrival or the e-visa applied for online; some need a visa in advance, and citizens of ASEAN countries are reported to enter visa-free. Rules and the fee change, so check the official immigration pages before travelling. Our table shows what we last verified.
Is there an ATM in Labuan Bajo?
Yes, in town near the harbour and at Komodo Airport, but none on the islands or in the park, and withdrawal limits per transaction are small. A group should collect cash the evening before sailing, not on the morning.
What should staff pack for a Komodo boat trip?
A passport or ID copy, shoes with grip, a hat, reef-safe sunscreen, personal medicine, a charged phone and power bank, and a little cash. Add a light long-sleeved top for the Komodo Island walk, where shade is scarce.
Is Komodo safe for a company group?
The park is walked with rangers, boats carry life jackets and a safety list, and the captain adjusts the route to the weather. Travel insurance with medical cover is recommended. We give no medical advice; tell us about health needs in the manifest line.
Check availability — Zada Liveaboard Fleet
PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia is the booking partner for Zada Liveaboard Fleet: it handles the booking, the payment and the pickup, and the boat's own operator runs the sailing.