Editorial
The editorial desk behind these guides
Every page here is researched on the ground, checked with the operators themselves, and dated. This page exists so readers know who stands behind the words.
- since 2015
- the group behind this desk has operated from Bali
- 4
- layers of sourcing behind a page
- 2026
- the review year these figures carry
The editor
Felix Sorrell, Destination Travel Editor
Working from Bali and across the Indonesian archipelago: visiting the places, checking the prices, and verifying the practical details readers rely on before they book.
- First-hand reporting from the routes this site covers
- Writes to a published corrections policy
- Affiliate and partner relationships are disclosed
- No recommendation published that we would not give a friend
The standard
Researched, checked, dated
The editorial standard is short enough to print in full. Where information changes — seasonal prices, schedules, regulations — we revisit it rather than leave it stale.
- 01 Every page is researched, fact-checked and dated before it is published
- 02 Prices, schedules and regulations are written as of a stated year
- 03 When something changes, the existing page is updated rather than left standing
- 04 Affiliate and partner relationships are disclosed, not buried
- 05 Ranges are published wherever a range is the honest answer
- 06 Corrections are welcome, and they are answered
Corrections
Write to the desk at the email address in the closing band, with the page and what looks wrong. It is reviewed against current operator information, then updated or explained.
Where it goes further
Recurring problems in post-trip debriefs remove an operator from the recommendations entirely, rather than earning a softer paragraph.
Sourcing
Four layers behind every page
On the ground
The team is based in Indonesia and spends time on the routes covered here — the Lombok–Komodo crossings, the villa coasts, the harbours people actually depart from.
Operational data
Because the group behind this site arranges charters and stays directly, we see live availability patterns and the questions guests ask before booking.
Partner verification
Boat and villa details are checked with the operators and managers themselves: cabin counts, crew, inclusions and current rates.
Reader questions
Inquiries reaching the desk feed back into the guides, so the pages answer what travellers are asking this season.
Worth naming plainly: the group behind this site also sells these trips. That is exactly why the cabin counts, crew arrangements and rates here come from operators rather than from listing sites that lag months behind.
Vetting
Before a villa or a boat is recommended
The same four checks run on every property and vessel, whether it is a one-bedroom pool villa or a phinisi with eight cabins.
Inspect
Someone goes and looks
Condition, privacy and staffing — and whether the reality matches the marketing photographs.
Rule of thumb
Photos age faster than buildings
Crew
Safety and the people aboard
Safety equipment on board, crew experience on the Lombok–Komodo route, and how the operator handles a weather call.
Rule of thumb
Ask who cancels, and when
Price
Quotes, not published rates
Current seasonal quotes compared against the published rate. Everything here is indicative and moves with season, fuel and demand.
Rule of thumb
A dated range beats a stale number
Debrief
What guests say afterwards
Post-trip debriefs feed straight back in, and a recurring problem takes an operator off the list.
Rule of thumb
One bad week is a warning
Fact-check & updates
What "as of 2026" means on a page
Pricing, park regulations and seasonal advice are date-stamped and reviewed before each high season, which is when operators reset their rates and schedules.
- Rates are re-checked against current operator quotes, not last year\'s page
- A changed route, fee or rule rewrites the page rather than adding a footnote
- Ranges and disclaimers stay wherever precision would be dishonest
- An honest range verified this season beats a precise figure that expires next month
Read next
Where most readers start
Corrections & questions
Found something out of date?
Tell us the page and what looks wrong. The desk checks it against current operator information, then either updates the page or explains why it stands.
Desk open 9AM–6PM WITA