Reaching a Komodo boat from Lombok and the Gilis

Kanha Citta, Kanha Loka and Kanha Natha sail from Labuan Bajo, on Flores. None of them departs from Lombok, the Gili islands or Bali, and we sell no crossing from the west. This page exists because so many guests start their trip over there.

Some operators run multi-day sailings from Lombok across to Flores. We do not book them, and nothing here sets them against our trip. Our part is the planning that belongs to us: how you get to Labuan Bajo, how many days to set aside, and where to spend the night before.

Everything below assumes either the shared trip, 3 days and 2 nights leaving every Friday, or a private charter with a start day agreed in writing. Both begin at the harbour in Labuan Bajo.

From Lombok International Airport (LOP) there is a direct flight to Labuan Bajo (LBJ). On rome2rio.com, the route finder, Wings Air flies it twice a day with an average time of 1 hour 15 minutes. Small-aircraft routes change, so look up the airline's current timetable before you book.

Two flights a day is a thin schedule. Lose one to a cancellation and the next can be hours away, and a Thursday with no slack quickly becomes a Friday problem. Fly on Thursday morning or around midday, not on the evening departure.

Check the baggage allowance on your ticket before packing for the boat. Smaller aircraft have tighter limits, and it is better to find out about that second suitcase at home than at the check-in desk.

The fallback is to connect through Bali: Lombok to Bali, then Bali to Labuan Bajo. It means an extra leg and a layover, and it comes into play when the direct flights are full. Our Bali guide covers that second leg.

Book your flight and your sailing on the same day. A party of four or five can take up a fair share of a small aircraft, and the seat you wanted can be gone by the time the boat is confirmed. Then send us the flight details, and we match the hotel and pickup to them.

Overland, Lombok to Labuan Bajo is a journey of several days: buses and ferries across Lombok, Sumbawa and then the strait to Flores, each leg keeping its own timetable. On rome2rio.com the cheapest combinations all run to several days, and the Sape ferry alone can take a long day.

Car ferries do sail to Labuan Bajo, and reports say they stop running in high waves. That is fine for someone with weeks in hand, and a bad match for a boat that leaves at around 09:00 on a fixed Friday.

We do not plan trips this way. If you choose the slow route for its own sake, build in two spare days before Friday and tell us your plan, because we cannot hold a boat for a ferry that is still at sea.

From Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno or Gili Air, you first take a boat to the Lombok mainland and then a road transfer to the airport. We give no crossing time or fare, since both vary with the operator and the sea. Your hotel or the boat company will have the current schedule.

Work backwards from the flight, not forwards from breakfast. If the Labuan Bajo flight leaves at midday, you need the first boat off the island, not the second.

A calmer option is to spend Wednesday night on the Lombok mainland near the airport. That one extra hotel night takes the riskiest connection out of the trip. Weather on the strait can hold up a fast boat, and missing it means missing the flight, and then the Friday.

Coming back works the same way. Fly into Lombok on Sunday evening, sleep near the airport and catch the Gili boat on Monday morning, rather than chasing a late crossing with a bag of damp towels.

• Thursday morning or midday: leave the Gilis or your Lombok hotel for Lombok International Airport, with time to spare.
• Thursday afternoon: land in Labuan Bajo, about 10 minutes by car from the harbour area, and check in.
• Friday around 09:00: pickup from your hotel or the airport.
• Friday to Sunday: day 1 at Manjarite, Kelor and Kalong; day 2 at Padar, Pink Beach, Komodo and Manta Point; day 3 at Sebayur and Taka Makassar.
• Sunday around 12:00: drop-off at your hotel or the airport, then a flight after 14:00.

The captain can adjust the route for the weather. Where the boat spends the night depends on the weather and the captain's decision that day.

Settle the Friday first. The sailing date is the one fixed point; a Gili stay or a week on a Lombok beach can bend around it. Find a Friday with a free cabin, book flights next, and fit Lombok around the two.

Komodo first, Lombok afterwards, suits a party that wants to wind down at the end. A Sunday flight after 14:00 has you back on Lombok by evening, and the beach week follows the boat rather than leading up to it. Doing Lombok first suits those who want the days at sea as the finale.

A group coming from a Lombok villa or a Gili wedding fits a private charter naturally. On Kanha Citta and Kanha Loka the bands are 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 to 10 guests, plus a per-guest add-on up to 20. Kanha Natha's bands are 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 to 12. A private charter does not include the guide or documentation; both are quoted separately on request.

The Kanha edit. Two friends from a Gili villa who want a quiet boat: Kanha Natha, which sleeps up to 12. A party of 14 from a Lombok resort: Kanha Loka or Kanha Citta on a private charter, as we book Natha for up to 12.