Komodo diving liveaboard or snorkel boat: what King Cirox 2 carries and what it does not

Two items make up the snorkel kit on King Cirox 2: a mask and a snorkel. Nothing else. The boat's booklet says it in so many words, snorkelling gear without fins, and the equipment table below marks fins as not fitted.

Nothing for diving is listed either. No compressor, no tanks, no weights, no dive guide. The booklet's water list is a canoe, a paddle board on the open trip, a tender and the snorkel sets. We will not add a dive line to a fare we do not control.

Divers notice the missing fins more than anyone, so bring your own or rent a pair in Labuan Bajo before the 10:00–11:00 pickup. Bring your own mask too if you have a prescription lens or a fit you trust. Check the full equipment list below before you decide whether this is your boat.

The 3D2N route has five snorkel stops, and two of them interest divers. Manta Point, also known as Karang Makassar, is a drift along the reef in a strong current, 3 to 15 metres deep, for 30 to 60 minutes. Mantas are common there, never guaranteed, and peak from December to February and again from July to September. No certificate is needed to see them from the surface.

Pink Beach is the other: reef close to the shore at 1 to 8 metres, with a mild current, and long enough in the water for a slow look at the coral. Taka Makassar, Manjarite's pier and Seture's beach make up the rest, all shallow.

Free-divers have most to gain. The snorkel sets, a mask and fins of your own, and a guided drift at Manta Point add up to a good day of breath-hold diving without a single tank. The order of Manta Point and Taka Makassar swaps with the tide, so the crew sets it on the day. See where each stop falls in the route below.

A diver who wants both books two things: the boat for the reef from the surface, and a dive centre in Labuan Bajo for the days before or after. The open trip leaves every Monday & Friday and is back in Labuan Bajo between 10:00 and 11:00 on day three, so a Monday sailing hands you back on Wednesday before lunch and a Friday sailing on Sunday before lunch.

The arithmetic of a mixed couple is simple. The non-diver takes the whole open trip; the diver joins the same sailing on the 2D1N fare, IDR 3,900,000 (≈ USD 239) in a private cabin instead of IDR 4,300,000 (≈ USD 264), and dives on the free days. Or both sail the full three days and dive afterwards.

We advise arriving in Labuan Bajo a day before sailing, so a delayed flight does not cost you the boat, and booking flights out after 14:00 on the last day. Fit your dive days into that frame. Send us your dive dates and we tell you which departures leave room around them.

It comes down to three questions. Do you want more than one tank a day? Do you need a dive guide on board? Do you need nitrox, rental BCDs or a dive deck? A yes to any of them means a dedicated dive liveaboard, and that is a different boat from this one.

A no to all three makes King Cirox 2 a fair choice for a diver travelling with non-divers, or for anyone who wants Komodo's reefs from the surface at IDR 3,350,000 (≈ USD 206) a bunk instead of a dive-boat fare. The things it does well are the snorkel stops, the nets, the roof deck and the cabins, five of them with private bathrooms and black rain showers.

For the budget, one more fact. Park entry, IDR 250,000 per day for a foreign passport holder, sits outside our fare, with ranger and local levies on top that can change. Read the fit list below with your dive history in mind, then choose.