Before you fly: four things to settle, in the order you act on them

Start with the passport. Visa on arrival is open to nationals of 97 countries, and China is among them. The visa allows a stay of up to 30 days, and the same visa can be applied for online as an e-visa before you leave. The table lists the rules and how sure we are of each.

Your passport needs six months of validity from arrival and two blank pages, and the officer will ask for an onward or return ticket. An arrival card is required before landing, and the official one is free. Use only the government site, because other sites charge a fee.

The fee is shown in the table as it stood when we checked. Read the current figure on the official immigration site before flying, and treat each line marked verify as a prompt to do so. Holders of Hong Kong and Taiwan passports should read the rule for their own document, since we do not state it for them.

Almost every guest reaches Labuan Bajo through Bali, Jakarta or Surabaya. Komodo Airport is the end of the line, and it lies 2 to 3 km from town, about ten minutes from the harbour. The table gives typical flight times from each hub.

Direct international flights to Komodo Airport are limited. Whatever a headline says, plan on a connection, and book the domestic leg on the same ticket where the airline allows it, so that a late first flight is the airline's problem and not yours.

Arrive the day before you board. Choose a flight home departing after 14:00 on the last day. The guide on reaching Labuan Bajo covers the routes in detail; this page covers what to check.

The currency is the Indonesian rupiah. Cards work at hotels, with boat operators and in the bigger restaurants, sometimes for a fee; warungs, small shops and markets are cash only. Labuan Bajo has ATMs near the harbour and at the airport. Inside the national park there are none.

Draw cash before you board. A single withdrawal is limited and the machine charges a fee, so a few smaller transactions cost more than one larger one, up to the limit. Keep some rupiah for the small costs along the way, including levies and tips.

Tipping is appreciated and never compulsory. Look for a service charge on the bill before you add one, and give crew tips at the end of the trip, together.

Take the sun seriously. Wear a hat, use a reef-safe sunscreen and carry water. Tap water is not safe to drink, and the boat provides drinking water. Bottled or filtered water is the rule on land.

Bring your own medicines, in the packs they came in, and anything you rely on for stomach or motion. A pharmacy in Labuan Bajo stocks the basics, but the choice is limited. Mosquito bites can carry disease, so cover up at dusk.

Travel insurance with medical and evacuation cover is strongly recommended, because a serious case can need a flight out of Labuan Bajo. The emergency numbers are in the table, and we can give you the details of the nearest hospital on request. Keep a paper copy of your policy number with your passport.