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Frequently Asked Questions
Practical Insights for Your Lotus Malaillo Dive Trip
Because we travel to remote areas, it’s worth packing carefully. Here’s a practical checklist:
The easiest route is to fly into a larger Indonesian airport such as Jakarta or Bali (Denpasar), then take a domestic flight to the airport nearest your departure port.
We recommend booking your international return flight for at least one day after disembarkation, as domestic flight delays are not uncommon in Indonesia.
Many Indonesian airline websites accept foreign credit cards, so you can usually book from home without trouble. If you run into difficulties or would like advice, our reservations team is glad to help.
This depends on your cruise’s port of embarkation and disembarkation. The latest check-out time at any port is 10:00 AM. As a guide:
Please share your flight details with our booking team through the guest booking form we’ll send you. We’ll meet you at the airport or your hotel on embarkation day and help you get to the boat, and assist you back to the airport or hotel on disembarkation day.
As these timings can change, please confirm with us when finalising your flights.
Please check the current visa policy for your nationality before you travel. Many nationalities can enter visa-free for 30 days, while others may need a Visa on Arrival, available at major entry points.
Your passport must be valid for at least six months from your date of entry into Indonesia. Please also make sure you have an onward or return ticket and at least one completely blank page in your passport for your visa.
As visa rules can change, we recommend confirming the latest requirements close to your travel date through the official Indonesian immigration website.
Please let us know straight away by emailing our reservations team. For a short delay, the boat may be able to wait, depending on the itinerary and your arrival time.
If a longer delay or cancellation means you can’t reach us on time, we’ll check whether you can join or meet the boat further along the route. Additional transfer charges would apply in that case.
This varies by destination. Indonesia generally has a tropical, humid climate, and brief rain showers are always possible, though we plan our schedule around typical weather patterns to avoid prolonged bad weather.
It can be windy at sea, so bring a light wind jacket if you’re sensitive to it. Water temperatures, as a general guide:
Start with our cruise schedule, where you’ll find trip dates, destinations, available spaces, and starting prices. Select “Select Cabin” to see the rates for each cabin and book online, and use the arrow beside a trip name for the full itinerary.
The availability column shows remaining spaces if a cruise shows as full, you can still join the waiting list and we’ll be in touch if a place opens up.
Lotus Malaillo Liveaboard cruises can also be booked through various travel agencies and liveaboard booking websites.
We currently accept wire transfer using a SWIFT code, as well as credit card payments through a secure payment link. Our booking team will send full payment instructions when you book.
Several travel agencies and liveaboard booking websites also feature our cruises and may offer additional payment options. As accepted methods can change, please confirm with our team at the time of booking.
Onboard purchases such as souvenirs, beverages, gratuities, additional fees, and rental equipment can be paid by Visa, Mastercard, or cash at check-out.
Credit card transactions are processed in Indonesian Rupiah. For cash payments, we accept Indonesian Rupiah, US Dollars, and Euros. American Express is not accepted.
When bringing foreign currency, please make sure the banknotes are in pristine condition. Folded, tattered, marked, or older notes issued before 2013 cannot be accepted on board or by local banks in Indonesia.
Gratuities for the crew aren’t included in your trip price. If you’ve enjoyed the service, a gratuity of around 10–15% of the published package price per person is the usual amount aboard a dive liveaboard.
Tips are shared equally among the crew (around 18 people), and we don’t encourage personal tipping. Gratuities can be given in cash or by credit card. As this is guidance rather than a fixed rule, it’s entirely at your discretion.
Many of our itineraries include dives in moderate to strong currents and depths beyond 20 metres, so we recommend that divers are comfortable in these conditions.
Some trips also involve negative entries and several night dives. To get the most out of the experience, we suggest having at least 50 logged dives, including previous experience diving in currents.
Dive groups are organised by experience level and preferences, such as a focus on underwater photography.
We dive in small groups, with one guide for every four guests. Our dive team is made up of four PADI-certified local guides, led by an experienced cruise director who is also a PADI instructor.
The evening before each dive day, the cruise director outlines the plan where you’ll go, what time you’ll leave, and what’s planned (occasionally adjusted if the weather changes).
In the morning, a knock on your door signals a light breakfast, followed by the first dive briefing in the restaurant before you head to the dive deck to prepare your gear the rest of your equipment will already be on the tender.
A short tender ride takes you to the site, where the guides check the current and fine-tune the plan before you hop in. Afterwards, you’ll dry off and enjoy your next meal then it’s “eat, dive, relax, and repeat.”
Depending on the itinerary, we typically offer 3 to 4 dives a day, with the fourth often a sunset or night dive. Some days may include a short land excursion to a viewpoint or point of interest.
At sites where currents are likely, our guides check the direction and strength before entering and will adjust the plan or move to another site if it’s too strong.
Every dive begins with a detailed briefing, including how to handle the current. Some sites are drift dives, others follow a zig-zag pattern, and a few call for careful use of a reef hook while some have no current at all. Where possible, we ease you in by starting the cruise with milder sites.
If you haven’t dived in two years or more, we recommend a refresher, and we strongly suggest the Advanced Open Water Diver course to access more sites and maintain the buoyancy that helps protect the coral and marine life.
Yes, Nitrox is available free of charge on board. Please remember to bring your Nitrox certification card.
Our standard tanks are 12-litre aluminium, and we can accommodate both DIN and INT regulators. A limited number of 15-litre tanks are available on request for a small surcharge, please let us know in advance if you’d like one.
Yes, rental gear is available for a surcharge. Please let us know in advance when you book, we’ll send a guest form where you can note your rental needs and sizes.
Yes. Because of how remote our destinations are, all guests must have DAN or equivalent dive insurance that covers emergency evacuation and hyperbaric chamber treatment. We also strongly recommend travel and health insurance.
Yes, please bring your dive certification with you, or email us a copy in advance. If you’re registered with PADI, we can also look you up in their student database. To dive with Nitrox, a valid Nitrox certification is required.
At the time of writing, we don’t offer dive courses on board. If this is important to you, please contact us to check whether anything has changed.
Photographers are well looked after, with a dedicated air-conditioned camera room on the main deck offering individual stations for charging, extra towels, and good lighting.
No, all dives are planned and run as no-decompression dives, and a dive computer is mandatory for everyone. In a remote setting, the cost of hyperbaric chamber treatment and transport in an emergency is extremely high, so we dive conservatively for everyone’s safety.
Our liveaboard follows a dive-focused itinerary, and most of the sites we visit are chosen for their diving conditions, often deeper water and stronger currents that aren’t well suited to snorkelling. For that reason, we generally don’t recommend joining as a snorkeller, as the experience would be limited.
We do occasionally accommodate full-charter itineraries for all-snorkeller groups, depending on availability, so please get in touch if that’s something you’d like to explore.
Safety is our top priority. We carry modern, mandatory safety equipment, including an AED and ENOS Personal Diver Beacons. Our crew is trained for emergencies, and all equipment is checked and maintained regularly. You’ll find more detail on our website.
You’ll enjoy an early breakfast, a fuller breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, and dinner, freshly prepared local and international dishes, with vegan and vegetarian options and snacks such as cookies and fruit.
Dinner is served buffet-style, and there’s a special barbecue night once per cruise. Please share any dietary requirements in advance via your guest form. As we’re in a remote location, we suggest bringing any specific snacks or foods you really need.
Water, coffee, tea, and a selection of juices are complimentary. Soft drinks, beer, wine, and spirits are available to purchase. You’re welcome to bring 1 litre of duty-free alcohol, and there’s no corkage fee.
Yes, each guest receives a 1GB Wi-Fi quota, with additional quota available for a charge. As we operate in remote waters, connection speed and coverage can vary depending on location, so please treat onboard Wi-Fi as a way to stay reachable rather than a constant high-speed connection.
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