Travelling solo on a shared 3D2N

A shared sailing means sharing the boat with other travellers. The seven cabins fill with different guests, and the whole group eats at the long table and walks the same trails. You will not be alone on deck, and you will not be the only swimmer at Manta Point.

Who takes the other place in your cabin is a question we answer before you pay. The written confirmation names your cabin, your price and the arrangement for the second place. We never place a guest in your cabin without telling you first.

If you are travelling with a friend or a partner, the friend takes the second place and pays for a second seat, and both names go on one confirmation. A preference about who shares goes to us before you pay, and the answer is part of the confirmation.

A third guest in a cabin pays for an extra bed on a shared sailing. In Mansard I and II it costs IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399), and in the Junior Suite IDR 6,000,000 (≈ USD 368). The Deluxe studios have no extra bed.

The solo day is a sequence of thresholds. A driver collects you from the Labuan Bajo hotel or the airport and takes you to the harbour for the 10:00 departure. You step aboard, go to your cabin, and leave your bag on the one double bed. The balcony door is your first view of the anchorage.

Day 1 is three snorkels: Sebayur, Manta Point and Taka Makassar, with lunch between them and dinner at anchor off Padar. Day 2 begins with the Padar climb, then Pink Beach, the walk on Komodo or Rinca, and the sunset at Kalong. Day 3 ends on Kelor and the beach, with the return after lunch.

Between stops there is nothing to do but read, swim or talk. A solo guest eats at the long table with the others and walks with a ranger. The boat is 40 m long, so there is always a corner that belongs to nobody.

Before you pay, confirm five things in writing: the date, the cabin and its price, the arrangement for the second place, what the seat includes, and what stands outside it. The park package, drinks, tips, flights and insurance stand outside the seat.

• Your passport details, so the park ticket can be bought in your name.
• Your flight times, so the pickup and the return fit them.
• Any dietary need, in writing, for the kitchen. Nothing is certified.

A deposit of 50 percent holds the seat, and the balance is due 30 days before sailing. We advise a flight home later than the return to Labuan Bajo after lunch on day 3, and we say that as advice, not a rule.

A seat is one half of a cabin, and a cabin has one double bed. A solo guest who wants a bed to themselves asks us before booking, and the answer arrives in writing.