What to Pack for a Komodo Boat Trip (and What Ayvara Provides)

A Komodo boat trip calls for a light bag built around sun, salt water and three island treks: sunblock, sunglasses, a beach hat, a swimsuit, light clothes, hiking sandals, a dry bag, a power bank, personal medicine, toiletries, wet wipes, snacks and a Telkomsel SIM card. On Ayvara, snorkelling gear, life vests, meals, mineral water, coffee and tea are included and the boat has Starlink internet on board, so none of those need space in the bag.

The Komodo cruise packing list in one table

A 3D2N Komodo boat trip needs one soft bag per person. The days are hot, the route has three treks and four snorkelling stops, and the boat supplies the bulky items. The 13 things below are the what-to-bring list that Komodo Luxury publishes for Ayvara, each with the reason it is there.

Item	Why it is on the list
Sunblock	Decks, beaches and the Padar trail are exposed; reapply after every swim
Sunglasses	Glare off the water runs from the 06:00 Padar trek to sunset
Beach hat	Shade on treks and on the rooftop deck
Snacks and supplements	Meals are included; personal snacks are not
Clothes	Light, quick-drying pieces, plus one warmer layer for evenings
Swimsuit	Two are better than one: four snorkelling stops and Pink Beach in three days
Hiking sandals	Grip for Kelor, Padar and Komodo Island, and easy to rinse
Power bank	Phones work as cameras from dawn to dusk
Personal medicine	The boat spends two nights away from Labuan Bajo’s pharmacies
Toiletries	Every cabin has its own bathroom; toiletries are not on the published inclusions list
Wet wipes	Quick clean-up after salt water and dusty trails
Dry bag	Keeps a phone, a camera and a dry shirt safe on beach and sandbar stops
Telkomsel SIM card	The operator that coverage guides recommend for Flores and Komodo; signal still fades offshore

What is provided on board Ayvara

The bulky items are already covered. Ayvara’s published inclusions and facilities list:

• Snorkelling gear, so there is no need to pack a set unless a guest prefers a personal mask
• Life vests
• Meals during the trip, plus mineral water, coffee and tea
• A guide
• Documentation by drone, GoPro and mirrorless camera, handed over as raw footage only
• Starlink high-speed internet on board
• Air conditioning and an en-suite bathroom in every cabin
• Pick-up and drop-off within the Labuan Bajo mainland area near the harbour

Not included: crew gratuities, flights, personal expenses, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks beyond the water, coffee and tea above, personal snacks, the optional drone permit, and Komodo National Park fees, which are set by government regulation at the time of the trip. The rates page has the full breakdown.

What to pack for a Komodo liveaboard, item by item

Sunblock, sunglasses and a beach hat

Komodo National Park has one of the driest climates in Indonesia, with a dry season that runs roughly from May to October. Komodo Luxury’s guide to Padar Island notes that there is no shade on the trail. Ayvara’s itinerary schedules the trek for 06:00, before the heat builds.

Sunblock also ends up in the sea. The US agency NOAA reports that some sunscreen chemicals, oxybenzone and octinoxate among them, can harm corals and other marine life. It describes mineral sunscreen as a better option and recommends UV-protective clothing. A long-sleeved swim top means less lotion in the water at Manta Point and less sunburn afterwards.

Clothes and swimsuits

The 3D2N itinerary puts guests in the water at Manjarite on day one, at Manta Point and Taka Makassar on day two and at Sebayur on day three, with a Pink Beach stop in between. A second swimsuit saves pulling on a wet one. Beyond that, three days call for shorts, a few light shirts, something with sleeves for sun cover and one warmer layer for breezy evenings on deck and the air-conditioned cabin. Guests on a longer private charter, which runs up to 7D6N, can scale up the clothes and keep the rest of the list.

Hiking sandals

The route has three walks: Kelor Island on the first day, then the Padar sunrise trek and the Komodo Island dragon trek on the second. Komodo Luxury’s Padar Island guide describes a built stairway of roughly 800 steps, with most visitors reaching the main viewpoint in under an hour, and asks for grip-soled footwear on the dusty steps. It adds that closed-toe shoes give the surest footing on the gravel sections. Flip-flops are fine on deck and a poor choice on that trail. Sandals with a heel strap and a treaded sole handle both the hill and the beach; guests who prefer closed toes can add a pair of light trainers.

Dry bag and power bank

At Pink Beach and the Taka Makassar sandbar, everything carried ashore sits close to the water. A 5 to 10 litre dry bag holds a phone, a camera and a dry shirt. A power bank matters because the second day starts at 06:00 on Padar and ends with sunset on board, and a phone used as the camera all day will not last it.

Indonesia’s standard sockets are Type C and Type F at 230 V, so guests from the UK, the US or Australia need a plug adapter for the trip.

Personal medicine, toiletries and wet wipes

Prescription medicine should travel in its original packaging, with a few days’ spare. Guests prone to motion sickness should bring their usual remedy. The sea is generally calm in the dry season and more variable from November to March; the article on the best time to visit Komodo covers the seasons in more detail.

Ayvara has a fresh-water capacity of 6,000 litres and every cabin has a private bathroom. Wet wipes fill the gaps: hands after a dusty trail, a face after a salt-water swim. Towels are not mentioned on the published inclusions list, so it is worth asking the reservations desk or packing a quick-dry one.

Snacks and supplements

Meals, mineral water, coffee and tea are covered. Personal snacks and other drinks are not, so guests with a favourite cereal bar, electrolyte sachets or daily vitamins should bring them from Labuan Bajo. Soft drinks and alcohol are not part of the fare; the reservations desk can advise on the options.

A Telkomsel SIM card, and where Starlink fits

Coverage guides for Indonesia recommend Telkomsel for Flores and Komodo. They report good 4G in Labuan Bajo town and little or no signal offshore. The SIM is for the airport, the hotel and the harbour. At sea, Ayvara has Starlink internet on board, covered in the article on Starlink on a Komodo liveaboard. Offline maps and a downloaded boarding pass remain a sensible backup.

Three additions to a Labuan Bajo packing list

• Rupiah in small notes. Crew gratuities and personal expenses are paid separately from the fare. Labuan Bajo has ATMs from the major Indonesian banks; there are none inside the national park.
• A small daypack. It keeps both hands free on the Padar steps and carries drinking water up the hill.
• A soft duffel instead of a hard suitcase. Ayvara is a wooden phinisi with seven above-deck cabins, and a soft bag stows more easily in a boat cabin than a rigid case.

What to leave at home

A personal drone is the main one. Flying one in Komodo National Park needs a permit, which is not included in the fare and has to be requested 7 days before the trip, and drone, GoPro and mirrorless footage is already part of the package as raw files. Heavy boots, formal clothes and a full snorkelling set can stay behind as well.

Travellers still comparing formats can read how Komodo Luxury runs its open and share trips or browse its Komodo boat tour options.

Frequently asked questions

What should guests pack for a Komodo boat trip?

The what-to-bring list published for Ayvara has 13 items: sunblock, sunglasses, a beach hat, snacks and supplements, clothes, a swimsuit, hiking sandals, a power bank, personal medicine, toiletries, wet wipes, a dry bag and a Telkomsel SIM card. One soft bag per person is enough for a 3D2N voyage. Rupiah in small notes and a small daypack for the treks are sensible additions.

Is snorkelling gear provided on Ayvara?

Yes. Snorkelling gear and life vests are on Ayvara's published inclusions list, along with meals, mineral water, coffee, tea and a guide. Guests only need to bring their own mask if they prefer a personal fit.

Is there Wi-Fi or phone signal on a Komodo liveaboard?

Ayvara has Starlink high-speed internet on board. Mobile signal is a separate matter: coverage guides recommend Telkomsel for Flores and Komodo and report good 4G in Labuan Bajo town, but little or no signal offshore between the islands of the park. A Telkomsel SIM is still worth having for the airport, the hotel and the harbour.

What shoes are best for the Padar Island trek?

Footwear with grip. Ayvara's what-to-bring list names hiking sandals, and Komodo Luxury's Padar Island guide asks for grip-soled footwear on a stairway of roughly 800 steps with no shade along the way, adding that closed-toe shoes give the surest footing on the gravel sections. Flip-flops are fine on deck but a poor choice on that trail.

Do guests need cash on a Komodo cruise?

Yes, some. Crew gratuities, personal expenses, drinks other than mineral water, coffee and tea, and Komodo National Park fees are not included in Ayvara's fare, and the park fees are set by government regulation at the time of the trip. Labuan Bajo has ATMs from the major Indonesian banks, and there are none inside the national park, so cash should be withdrawn before boarding.

Sources

• en.wikipedia.org
• oceanservice.noaa.gov
• komodoresort.com
• komodoresort.com
• esim-now.com
• wise.com
• Vessel facts and rates: Komodo Luxury, Ayvara page and the 2027 rate sheet dated 11 September 2026