Princess Lala
Princess Lala Phinisi
The last day and getting home
Updated 11 October 2026
The three-day open trip aboard Princess Lala docks on day three at 10:00 to 11:00, with the transfer to the airport or your hotel included, so book a flight that leaves after 13:00. The two-day trip lands between 19:00 and 20:30 on day two: sleep in Labuan Bajo that night.
The morning you pack
The last morning is a gentle one, and it begins with a small chore. Pack your bag before breakfast. The cabin key goes back, the charger comes out of the socket, and damp swimwear goes into a bag of its own, so that your hands are free for the tea.
Breakfast is on board, at the long table or at the stern, and after it the boat goes to Kanawa for a last swim and a last snorkel off the beach. On a private charter she calls at Sebayur first. Then she turns for Labuan Bajo, and you are back between 10:00 and 11:00. The transfer to the airport or your hotel is part of the open-trip fare, so nobody has to find a taxi at the pier with a wet towel over one arm.
On a private charter the hour is agreed with you, and on the four-day route it is by arrangement on day four. The table below lists the three days stop by stop.
Day 1
| What happens | Sailing from previous stop | Have ready | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:30 | Labuan Bajo — Hotel or airport pickup between 10:30 and 11:55; your guide confirms the time the evening before | — | soft bag rather than a hard suitcase |
| · | On board: cabin keys, safety briefing and the first lunch at the long table | — | |
| · | Short, steep climb to the Kelor viewpoint, then a swim off the beach | 50–70 min | shoes with grip, swimwear |
| · | Snorkelling off the jetty at Manjarite | 30–60 min | your own fins if you swim with them |
| · | Strawberry Rock, when the sea allows the stop | — | |
| · | Sunset off Kalong as the fruit bats leave the mangroves | 50–70 min | camera, a light layer |
| · | Dinner at the long table | — | |
| 🌙 | Night aboard. She spends the night where the weather and the captain decide on the day. | ||
Day 2
| What happens | Sailing from previous stop | Have ready | |
|---|---|---|---|
| · | Ridge walk on Padar; on the open trip Gili Lawa takes its place when the park quota for Padar is full | — | torch, water, shoes with grip |
| · | Breakfast on board | — | |
| · | Dragon walk with a park ranger on Komodo; on the open trip Rinca when the quota says so | — | closed shoes, park ticket |
| · | Swim and snorkel at Pink Beach, or at Namong beach | 30–60 min | reef-safe sunscreen |
| · | Lunch on board | — | |
| · | Drift snorkel at Manta Point Tide | — | |
| · | Sandbar and shallow reef at Taka Makassar Tide | 20–30 min | |
| · | Dinner at the long table | — | |
| 🌙 | Night aboard. She spends the night where the weather and the captain decide on the day. | ||
Day 3
| What happens | Sailing from previous stop | Have ready | |
|---|---|---|---|
| · | Breakfast on board | — | |
| · | Beach and snorkelling at Kanawa; private charters call at Sebayur first | — | |
| 10:00 | Back in Labuan Bajo between 10:00 and 11:00, then the transfer to your hotel or the airport | 60–90 min | bags packed before breakfast |
The times show the shape of each day, not a timetable, because tide, wind and the park quota move them. The one hour we fix in advance is your pickup, agreed with you before you sail.
Choosing the flight home
Here is the sum. You land between 10:00 and 11:00, the transfer takes you to the airport or to your hotel, and then you need time for a bag drop and the queue. Book a flight that leaves after 13:00 and the sum works. Book one at midday and it does not.
Allow a margin beyond that, and a bigger one if the flight is the first leg of a long journey home. The hour we give is the hour we plan for. The itinerary answers to the sea, the weather and the park quota, and we cannot promise a connection tied to the boat landing at ten o'clock exactly. Choose the later flight, and give yourself the afternoon.
Komodo Airport is a short drive from the harbour. Most travellers fly on to Bali, Jakarta or Surabaya, and onward from there. Your airline sets its own check-in deadline, so read it before you book and not on the morning.
If your hard suitcase is waiting at your hotel, say so when you book, so that the drop-off can call there before the airport. Tell us your flight time at the same moment.
On the two-day fare the evening is yours
Guests on the two-day fare leave the boat on the evening of day two. The open trip lands between 19:00 and 20:30, and the transfer takes you to your hotel. Sleep in Labuan Bajo that night and fly the next day.
The hotel night is not in the fare, so book it before you sail. Tell the hotel that you check in after a landing between 19:00 and 20:30, with a soft bag. Our hotels page lists places by area if you want a short walk to dinner. The fare covers breakfast and lunch on day two, so plan dinner in town.
A flight the same evening does not fit the two-day fare: the boat cannot land you earlier than the hours above, and an evening flight leaves no room for the sea to be slow.
Three-day guests stay for a last dinner, a last night and Kanawa in the morning; that is the difference between the fares, and it is the whole of it.
What stays on the boat, and what goes with you
Three things belong to the boat and stay with her:
- The bed linen and the bath towel. They are part of the cabin, so leave them where they are.
- The mask and the snorkel. One set per guest is supplied, and it stays on board. If you want a mask of your own to keep, bring one, and the same goes for fins, which the boat does not supply.
- The cabin key, which goes back to the crew.
Everything else goes with you. Look in the power sockets for chargers, on the balcony of Cabin 1 or Cabin 6 for a book, and under the bean bags on the bow sundeck for sunglasses. Take the torch you used on Padar. Take your own medicines out of the cabin; the first-aid kit stays with the boat.
A soft bag packs and unpacks faster than a hard suitcase in a cabin with a double bed and a single, which is why we ask for one on the first day and are glad of it on the last.
Tips, photographs and goodbyes
Tips are not in the fare. Nobody is owed one, and whether to give one is your decision, taken at the end of three days. If you decide to, rupiah in small notes is the practical form, since there is no cash machine on the boat or on the islands. If you would like a figure, the money section of our first-time guide gives the tip ranges that guests and operators mention.
The photographs are the other thing to settle before you leave. On the open trip a photographer has been at work for as long as you have been aboard. Before you step onto the pier, ask how and when your files will reach you, and give an address or a number that you really read.
Then it is the transfer, and one last look back at the blue sails. If you have a word to say about the trip, say it to the cruise director on the way off, or write to us. We read both.
FAQ
What time does the three-day trip get back to Labuan Bajo?
Mid-morning on day three, after breakfast on board and the last swim at Kanawa. The transfer to the airport or your hotel is part of the open-trip fare. Pack your bag before breakfast. On a private charter the return hour is agreed with you.
Which flight can I book for the day we land?
One that leaves after 13:00, and later if you can. The boat lands between 10:00 and 11:00, the transfer follows, and you need time for the bag drop. The sea and the park quota can change a day, so we cannot promise a connection. Leave a margin, and send us your flight time with your booking.
Where do we sleep after the two-day trip?
In Labuan Bajo. The two-day open trip lands between 19:00 and 20:30 on day two, and the transfer takes you to your hotel. The hotel night is not in the fare, which starts at IDR 2,750,000 (≈ USD 169) per person, so book it before you sail. Fly home the next day.
Is the transfer to the airport included in the open-trip fare?
Yes. The open-trip fare includes the pickup from the airport or your hotel on day one, between 10:30 and 11:55, and the return transfer in Labuan Bajo on the last day, to your hotel or to the airport. Let us know with your booking where you want to be dropped off.
Is a tip expected at the end of the trip?
No. Tips for the guide and the crew are not in the fare, and whether to give one is your decision. If you do, cash in rupiah in small notes is the practical form, because the nearest cash machine is in town. The guide and the photographer join the open trip as part of the fare of IDR 3,250,000 (≈ USD 199) and up.
Can I take the mask and the snorkel home?
No. One mask and snorkel per guest are supplied by the boat and stay with her, as do the bed linen and the bath towel. If you want a mask of your own, bring one. Fins are not supplied on this boat at all, so bring those too if you swim with them.
Check availability — Princess Lala
Princess Lala is sailed by her own crew; bookings and payments are handled by PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia.