If you’re looking for a little haven all to yourself away from the hustle and bustle of Labuan Bajo, then Le Pirate is the perfect escape. This BOAT-el only has 10 cabins so the chance of it being too overcrowded would be rare, there were times when we felt like the boat was booked private for us. Although when the cabins are all full, there would be approx. 20 passengers on board. Again, this isn’t a lot of people and I think it would be a great vibe having such a small crew to hang with.
The décor of the boat will appeal to any ocean love with a lust for travelling. The hallways are filled with colourful tiles with fun and uplifting messages on them like “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”, “Have Less, Do More” , “Live smaller, travel lighter” and one of my favourites “ There’s a little pirate in all of us”
Included in the accommodation is a buffet style western style breakfast that we were quite impressed with. We delightfully filled our plates with a mix of scrambled eggs, pancakes, muesli and fresh fruit – Yumm!!
Snorkel gear is also included for boatel guests which means we could literally jump straight out of our bedroom and snorkel in our ‘front-yard’. We also had 2 styles of hammocks to choose from within our little space as well.
Perks
The setup of the Boatel will make you feel like you have a private boat just to yourself. Your private room opens right up to the ocean so you can literally jump out of bed into the water if you wish. Most boat accommodation I’ve stayed on in the past has a cabin on the lower deck which usually consists of a box like room with little to no windows or fresh air. The Le Pirate Boatel on the other hand is the perfect set up – fresh air, ocean views and a sunset/sunrise right from your bed. I wish all boat accommodation was like this!
Free snorkel gear is also included for guests and they even run a snorkel tour with your boat hostess. This is a nice little touch to your boatel experience.
Downfalls
The shuttle schedule into town runs on ‘island time’ , which basically means its give our take 10-20 minutes from its departure time. This was rather frustrating when I had booked a day of diving and needed to be in town by 7:30 am with the intention to catch the 7am shuttle. There was a couple who had a plane to catch and needed to be by the aiport by 8 am. I get it, it was early on a Sunday morning and they crew were cruising along on their Sunday morning. Although, we all wanted to promptly at 7 am and still had to wait 20 minutes. This was also the opening weekend of the Boatel so maybe they were just figuring it all out. I am hoping that in future that this scheduling issue will been resolved.
Also, if you’re planning to head into the town for dinner &/or drinks, the last shuttle back to the boat is at 10pm( although we didn’t actually leave until 10:20pm)
If you want to spend the day on the boat and in the water then the Boatel is for you. If you want to explore the town and not be stuck on the boat, then maybe the boatel wouldn’t be for you.
Overall, my time on the Boatel was fantastic! I would definitely recommend the Le Pirate Boatel to anyone looking to get away from from the mainland and have a little slice of paradise all to yourself