Planning a Komodo incentive trip: an eight-week producer's checklist

The first job is a decision, not a booking. Who approves the trip, how many people may come, and what is the budget per head? Write the head count as a range if it is not fixed. The head-count ladder then does the rest: up to 10 fits Zada Mega, 12 Zada Zen, 14 Zada Nara, and up to 28 Zada Ulla.

Take 3D2N as the default length. A whole boat for 20 guests on Zada Ulla is IDR 110,000,000 · about USD 6,748 for 3D2N, which is IDR 5,500,000 · about USD 337 each. For a leadership team of 12 on Zada Zen it is IDR 85,000,000 · about USD 5,215, or IDR 7,080,000 · about USD 434 each. 2026 rates, IDR, per boat, guide and documentation extra.

Add the lines the fare leaves out: flights, hotel and meals before and after, park fees, tips, and the guide and documentation, which are arranged on request and quoted separately. That sum is the real budget per head, and it is the number to take to the approver.

Choose two or three dates, in order of preference, and send them with the head count. A boat is held only when we confirm it in writing. We publish one 2026 price list for each boat; weekday and weekend rates are confirmed per date on request, so the quote is where the figure becomes fixed.

If the head count is above 28, the ladder moves to two boats: separate private charters booked together, same dates, subject to every boat being free, quoted per boat. Sailing together, a shared anchorage and a joint programme are arranged on request, and the captains set the order and the anchorages.

Approve the quote and pay the deposit of 50 percent. Producer's checklist at this stage: the signed approval, the company's legal name and tax details for the invoice, and the name of the PIC.

This is the step that makes the trip real. The balance falls due 30 days before sailing, a little over four weeks out, so the payment and the lists land in the same week.

• Rooming list. Names by cabin, with each pair named. The bed set-up for each pair is confirmed with the rooming list, in writing, before you pay.
• Dietary and medical line. Halal, vegetarian, allergies and swimming level, one line per guest.
• Manifest. Names exactly as on the passport or ID, with the flight arrival for each guest.
• Sign-off. One person at your end signs the list; changes after the cut-off in the quote are treated as changes to the booking.

The cut-off is set in the written quote, not here. The sailing date decides it.

Airport, hotel and harbour pickup in Labuan Bajo is included; the time and the meeting point are confirmed in writing. Above 12 guests a second vehicle or a coach is quoted as its own line. Send the arrival list so that we match vehicles to flights.

Book flights in this window, and book onward flights only after the return time on the last day is confirmed in writing. Arrive in Labuan Bajo one day before sailing.

Send the team one page: what to pack, the call time, the PIC's number and the line on local Wi-Fi, listed on Zada Ulla and Zada Nara with no speed promised. Add that park tickets and ranger fees are paid on the group's list, not in the fare. The page goes out twice, once now and once two days before sailing, and only the second carries the exact pickup time.

This is a sample; the call time is confirmed in writing and the captain sets everything after it. Guests meet at the pickup point, travel to the harbour and board. The crew briefs on safety, and cabin keys go out at boarding.

The first meal is lunch on board, then the first stop. The PIC counts heads against the manifest at boarding, at each landing and before the boat leaves a stop. A roll call at dinner on day one takes a minute and saves an anxious ten later.

Where the boat anchors for the night is decided by the captain and the weather; the group sleeps aboard. The producer on your file stays reachable during chat hours, every day, 08:00 to 20:00 WITA, for any change on shore.