Day One Out of Labuan Bajo: Kelor, Manjarite and Settling Into Life at Anchor

What happens at the harbour?

Pick-up from your hotel on the Labuan Bajo mainland is included, and the drive to the harbour is short – the town is compact. From the pier you board by tender or directly, depending on where the boat is lying. Luggage goes to your cabin, and this is the point where people discover whether they packed sensibly. Soft bags fit under and around a boat cabin’s furniture; large hard cases do not, and end up stored elsewhere.

Boarding is usually around the middle of the day, which means most guests have flown in that morning or, better, the day before. We argue strongly for the day before, and the reasons – flight delays out of Bali and Jakarta chief among them – are laid out in our guide to getting to Labuan Bajo.

What is the safety brief and cabin allocation like?

Before the boat moves, the crew run through life vests and where they are stowed, muster points, the tender routine, how to use the cabin fittings, and water and power discipline. It takes ten minutes and it is worth listening to properly, particularly the tender part, because you will get in and out of a small boat a dozen times over the next few days.

Cabin allocation on a shared trip follows what you booked. On Neptune Cruise there are seven cabins across three decks – two Premium Mansard cabins with private balconies on the top deck, one Junior Suite on the main deck, and four Deluxe cabins with sea-view windows on the lower deck – all en-suite and air-conditioned. The layout, and which cabin suits which kind of traveller, is set out on the cabins and deck plan page.

What is Kelor Island like?

Kelor is small, close to Labuan Bajo, and does one job very well: it gets everyone off the boat and into the trip within two hours of leaving port. There is a white beach, clear shallow water for a first snorkel, and a steep little hill behind it that takes 15 to 25 minutes to climb.

Do not underestimate that hill. It is short but genuinely steep and loose in places, with no steps and no shade, and it is climbed in the hottest part of the afternoon. People who bounce up Kelor are usually fine on Padar the next morning; people who struggle here should plan to take the lower Padar viewpoint rather than the ridge. In that sense it is a useful early gauge, and the Padar reality check is covered in the Padar sunrise hike guide.

And Manjarite?

Manjarite is the gentlest snorkel of the entire route: a shallow coral garden in a sheltered bay with sandy patches, easy entry from the tender and very little current on a normal day. If anyone in your party is unsure about snorkelling, this is where the crew will spend time with them, because getting a nervous swimmer comfortable here is what makes Manta Point possible two days later.

What you tend to see: hard and soft corals in good condition, clouds of small reef fish, frequently turtles, and occasionally a reef shark moving through deeper water. It is a good reminder that Komodo’s reefs are the reason a large share of guests come back, not just the dragons.

What does the first afternoon at sea feel like?

Slower than you expect. There is a specific adjustment that happens on the first afternoon – phones stop being interesting, people stop checking the time, and the day starts being organised by what the boat is doing rather than by a schedule. Some guests find this takes until the second morning; almost nobody wants it to end by day three.

Neptune Cruise carries satellite Wi-Fi, which most of the Komodo wooden fleet does not, so the transition is optional rather than enforced. Treat it as messaging-grade rather than streaming-grade – the full picture of connectivity, charging and signal at sea is in our guide to staying reachable at sea.

What do first-timers get wrong on day one?

1. Arriving the same morning. A delayed flight out of Denpasar can cost you the whole first day, and the boat cannot wait indefinitely.
2. Bringing a hard suitcase. Soft bags collapse and stow; cases do not.
3. No cash. National park charges are paid in rupiah on the day and are not part of your cruise fare. There are no ATMs at Kelor. See our park fees explainer for what that means.
4. Sunburn on the first afternoon. The wind on deck hides how hard the sun is working, and there are two more days to go.
5. Skipping the safety brief to take photos of the harbour.

Day one sets the tone for everything after it. If you want to see how the rest of the route unfolds, the full sequence is on our Komodo island cruise page, and it is worth comparing departures from Labuan Bajo harbour to see how differently operators use that first afternoon.

Frequently asked questions