Lubuan Bajo - No pickup/drop for divers?

[Pearlman]

Hello Folks
I heading to Komodo for a dive trip end of next month. Alas I noticed too late (after I booked my tickets) that most LOBs move to RA in October. Now I've decided to do 1 day Tulamben, 2 days Nusa Penida and 3 days Komodo day trips.

I was communicating with a dive shop and they said there is no pickup drop facility for their shop in LBJ.
Is this the norm at that place? I think the hotels are all too far off in LBJ from the dive shops to manage a 07:30AM reporting time without an expensive taxi? How much can I expect to pay per trip for a distance of 5 to 7 kms?

Thanks

 

[Bison Ravi]

I believe wicked diving keep a liveaboard in Komodo this season. You can go for 3 days. Most hotels in labuanbajo are walking distance from the dive shops. Drop your dive gear are the dive shop with the taxi from the airport then you can walk everywhere you will need.


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[Pearlman]

I'm not looking at LOB option anymore thanks - next year I will do my Komodo LOB. I didnt find any hotels on agoda or booking com sites that were walking distance on google maps.

Thanks

 

[Bison Ravi]

For next year you don't really need to book in advance just walk the main street theres lots of nice small hotels


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[Pearlman]

Anyone here who understands English?

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[adventureswithwill]

Anyone here who understands English?

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Being rude is generally a poor way of getting responses around here.

Most shops don't offer pick up/drop off in Lubuan Bajo, because most of the hotels are located within walking distance of their operations. If your hotel isn't within walking distance, ask them how much a taxi will be as they'll have the best idea. Motorcycle taxis are generally cheap and affordable, getting a car can be a bit more difficult depending on the time/your budget.

Please be a bit more respectful in future of people trying to help you.

 

[Bison Ravi]

Anyone here who understands English?

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Hey, was just trying to help, no need to be a d&%k. English is my third language, sorry if it's not perfect.

Normally I wouldn't answer, but in case someone else has the same questions:

taxis need to be called to your hotel, or taken from the airport. It can be difficult to find one on the street. Most hotels are on the main road or the next one uphill. You can walk almost everywhere.

Day dives are ok, but all the great sites are quite far from labuanbajo, so if you arlready made the expense to get there, you might as well do a LOB even for 3 days.

labuanbajo is a tiny town in a developing nation, you can't expect to find everything on booking.com If you can understand that , and are not insecure, you can just take a cab from the airport (it's cheap) ask them to bring you downtown and find something there. Pretty easy actually.

 

[Pearlman]

Hey, was just trying to help, no need to be a d&%k. English is my third language, sorry if it's not perfect.

Normally I wouldn't answer, but in case someone else has the same questions:

taxis need to be called to your hotel, or taken from the airport. It can be difficult to find one on the street. Most hotels are on the main road or the next one uphill. You can walk almost everywhere.

Day dives are ok, but all the great sites are quite far from labuanbajo, so if you arlready made the expense to get there, you might as well do a LOB even for 3 days.

labuanbajo is a tiny town in a developing nation, you can't expect to find everything on booking.com If you can understand that , and are not insecure, you can just take a cab from the airport (it's cheap) ask them to bring you downtown and find something there. Pretty easy actually.

Sorry if I came across badly - I should have added a smiley to hint at the jestful comment. I apologise.

Thank you for the useful comments. My challenge was to find a hotel I liked without too many negatives in online reviews and with a hassle free commute early morning. All in a short time for a quick decision. I ended up booking the Bintang which is a good 30 min walk and decided to tackle the commute problem after I checked-in.

BTW I read too many horror stories on TripAdvisor about the budget flexi LOBs so I decided to book a 6N/7D LOB next year instead and just dive whatever is possible on day trips this year. Some of the LOBs I preferred were already booked or moved to Raja Ampat this time of the year.

Warm Regards
Pearlman

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[Bison Ravi]

no worries

the budget flexi LOB are not the same as a luxury liveaboard that's for sure. Still, in my opinion, it is better to stay in the park, dive more and better sites, even if accomodations are not 5 stars, than to stay in a nice hotel but ride on a boat for 4-5 hours a day to get to the nice sites.