Some people loves to plan their holiday with their closest persons, some just love to explore the world alone. In Komodo, solo traveler occupies half of the rooms in Labuan Bajo, Flores’s portion and the gateway to Komodo National Park. The Labuan Bajo itself has a thick backpacking vibes hanging on the town. This fisherman hub is now brimming with backpacker dorms, hostels, and budget hotels. Here, solo travelers can spend a night and plan their trip before continuing their journey with Komodo liveaboard. Of course, as the world kindly remind us everyday, the world could be dangerous for woman to travel alone, and Flores is no exception. Even if Labuan Bajo is pretty much safe for solo travelers, it’s better to take a safe precaution. If you are a woman and plan to go to Komodo anytime soon, read the guide below.
Learn Komodo and Flores Throughly
When you are travelling alone, you don’t want to look confused. You want to look confident so no one would see you as a target. Even when you join an organised Komodo liveaboard tour, it’s always good to know your itinerary in detail. Learn the map of Komodo National Park and your destination details. It feels good to know where you are going to and be the first to notice if something went wrong.
Prep A Fake Wallet
Ah, a classic tips that never gets old. One of the major trick that always work on travelling is distributing your money into several hidden places, but I’m a firm believer of fake wallet trick. The key is having a fake wallet where you’d put your old student ID, library ID, and any shop loyalty cards (like that one from your supermarket stores) to make it seems real and put some $15-20 dollar cash inside. Should someone threat you, you can escape quickly by giving off your invaluable wallet.
Book A Shared Cabin
When you book a Komodo liveaboard, try to have a shared cabins. Shared cabins are everything for solo travelers in Komodo. It saves the budget, it gives you a nice bed instead of a semi-open deck for sleeping, and it opens an opportunity to make a new friend. Aside of driving away boredom and loneliness, having a friend is very important during solo traveling—and you would soon realise why. If gender difference concern your safety, you could always make a request to the ship captain/ tour leader to have same-gender passenger to share your cabin.
Tell Family/ Closest Friends Your Travel Detail
Here’s the thing. While couples and group travelers has someone to keep in check with the, solo travelers are at disadvantage when it comes to disaster. They have no one to look for them. It will be long before the group know that they has been missing. Before you off to sail with the Komodo liveaboard, make sure you have confide your trip details to someone you trust. There have been few ships accidents in Komodo, and should anything happened to you, your family/ friends would know before it’s late.
Make Friends in Komodo Liveaboard
This is why making friends during solo travelling is very important, especially when you are going into a place as remote as Komodo. Also, it gets somehow easier to be open and socialise when you are alone. You could share the fun of exploring the newly found Komodo, diving stories, camping stories, and many other things. The passion of wildlife and diving usually creates a strong link here in Komodo. Making new friends adds so much fun to your trip! As a bonus, you might find yourself a great friend to take your photographs backdropped by Komodo’s awesome landscape!
