Reckoned as of 2026 · Labuan Bajo desk
A Komodo liveaboard is two figures, not one: the hours it costs you to reach the boat, and the money it costs to be on it.
We book phinisi cabins and whole boats out of Labuan Bajo and we keep the books in public. Every figure below is entered twice — once against the clock, once against the fare — and stamped with where it came from.
What time must I leave Bali?
Fly Denpasar to Labuan Bajo in roughly 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Most liveaboards board between 07:00 and 09:00, and the airport sits 4–8 km above the piers. Land at least two hours before your boarding window — a delayed first flight leaves no recovery slot.
What will it actually cost?
Published 2026 bands run USD 420–650 per person for a shared AC cabin on a 3D2N open trip up to USD 900–1,600 for a luxury cabin. Komodo National Park fees are charged separately, in rupiah, at the gate. We publish both and we do not merge them into one invented number.
The Embarkation Tally
Set six controls. The tally posts a double entry: hours on the left page, money on the right, and a signature line at the bottom telling you whether a berth or the whole boat is the cheaper unit of purchase. It refuses to invent a single number and it refuses an exchange rate.
SAFE
Worst-case road time is forced whenever your arrival falls inside the 06:00–09:00 waterfront congestion window.
We do not convert. Park fees are charged in rupiah at the gate; boat fares are quoted in dollars. Merging them would invent a rate we cannot stand behind.
Figures as of 2026. The park fee structure is disputed in published sources — older tables show IDR 150,000 weekday and IDR 225,000–250,000 weekend or holiday, while several 2026 guides report a flat IDR 250,000 per person per day. We show the spread rather than pick a side. Nothing here is a quote; every line is confirmed in writing before payment.
The hour chain: Bali 06:00 → boat 07:00–09:00
Komodo Airport sits above the town. Every liveaboard loads off the same waterfront road, and that road congests between 06:00 and 09:00 — exactly when the boats want you aboard. These are the six boarding points we actually use, with distance and honest drive time.
| Boarding point | Distance | Drive | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelabuhan Labuan Bajo — main harbour | 4 km | 10 – 15 min | Open trips, most shared-cabin departures |
| Kampung Ujung Pier | 4 km | 10 – 15 min | Tender pick-ups, night-market side |
| Marina — Waterfront City | 4.5 km | 12 – 18 min | Mid-range and charter phinisi |
| Meruorah Pier | 5 km | 13 – 18 min | Luxury departures, hotel-side embarkation |
| Bukit Cinta jetties | 5 km | 13 – 20 min | Overflow when the main harbour is full |
| Waecicu private pontoons | 8 km | 20 – 28 min | Private charters — budget the longest leg |
Swipe the table sideways →
The thing operators tend to bury: most embarkations are timed late-morning because of this flight window, not despite it. Denpasar domestic re-check queues are slow at peak, the flight itself is short, and a missed slot costs you the first day's stops — not a refund.
Flight, DPS → LBJ
60 – 75 minRoughly 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes in the air. Add 25 minutes for bags and the walk-out before you touch a car.
Recommended margin
120 minLand at least two hours before boarding. There is no recovery slot: the next flight of the day arrives after the window closes.
Komodo National Park fees, reckoned apart
Park entrance and activity fees are set by the park authority and charged separately from your trip fare, in rupiah, at the gate. Published sources disagree about the 2026 structure. Rather than choose the flattering number, we print both readings and let you plan against the spread.
Reading one — tiered table
IDR 150,000Per person, weekdays. Weekends and public holidays are published at IDR 225,000–250,000 per person. Published table
Reading two — flat 2026
IDR 250,000Several 2026 guides report a move to a flat rate per person, per day, with no weekday discount. Market observation
Diver activity surcharge
IDR 25,000Commonly quoted per diver, per day, on top of entrance. Published table
Labuan Bajo harbour fee
IDR 25,000Per person, per day, collected at the pier. Published table
Practical planning envelope
IDR 250,000 – 350,000Per person, per park day, all-in. Park days = nights + 1. Our arithmetic
Crew tip — customary, not a charge
IDR 100,000 – 200,000Per guest, per day — roughly USD 7–13, or an IDR 300,000–500,000 envelope over a 3D2N. Left to you, shown so it is not a surprise. Market observation
Ranger escort is mandatory on the dragon-trekking islands. That is a park rule, not an upsell, and it is priced inside the park's own tariff structure — not by us. Full detail on the Komodo National Park guide for 2026.
Rate bands by format, indicative as of 2026
Low to high, per person unless the row says otherwise, with what the band actually buys. A band is not a quote — it is the range we have seen published and transacted this year, and every row carries its provenance tier.
| Format | Band | What the band buys | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck / open-air bunk — 3D2N | USD 280 – 380 | Mattress on covered deck, shared facilities, dawn push-off | Published |
| Open trip, shared AC cabin — 3D2N | USD 200 – 330 | Budget tier and last-minute; cabin shared with strangers | Published |
| Open trip, shared cabin — 3D2N | USD 280 – 400 | The standard published band outside last-minute | Published |
| Private cabin, budget phinisi — 3D2N | USD 300 – 450 | Your own cabin on a simpler boat, fan or split AC | Published |
| Private cabin, mid-range phinisi — 3D2N | USD 450 – 750 | En-suite cabin, better crew ratio, proper dive deck | Published |
| Dive-focused 4D3N — 8 to 11 dives | USD 750 – 1,300 | Two-tank days, tanks and weights, guided sites | Published |
| Dive-focused 5D4N – 6D5N | USD 1,200 – 2,600 | North and south in one run, more current-capable sites | Published |
| Luxury phinisi cabin — 3D2N | USD 900 – 1,600 | Deluxe joinery, tender, full crew, plated service | Published |
| Deluxe cabin — per person, per night | USD 450 – 650 | Cabin-grade pricing on longer routes | Published |
| Ocean-view suite — per person, per night | USD 600 – 900 | Suite grade; master suite quoted USD 900–1,500 per cabin | Published |
| Bali–Komodo crossing grade — per person, per night | USD 400 – 700 | 7 to 13-day expedition crossings, Bali to Flores | Published |
| Open-trip market, quoted in rupiah | IDR 3M – 8M | Per person for 3D2N–4D3N in the local market | Observed |
| DPS–LBJ air fare, one way | IDR 600,000 – 1,500,000 | Roughly USD 40–100 — booked by you or by us | Observed |
Swipe the table sideways →
Where a row links, the linked page carries the fine print for that band — inclusions, exclusions, deposit terms. The full reckoning sits on Komodo Liveaboard Prices 2026.
Berth or boat: where the arithmetic turns over
Per-person and per-vessel pricing set side by side, because above a certain head-count the whole boat stops being a luxury and starts being the cheaper unit of purchase.
You buy a berth
USD 200 – 1,600 per person, 3D2N band- You share the boat with whoever else booked that departure
- Single supplement varies by vessel; some boats will match same-gender cabin-mates instead
- Departure days are the operator's, not yours
- Route is fixed to the published itinerary
You buy the boat
USD 3,000 – 6,000 per night, 3–5 cabin phinisi- USD 10,000–15,000+ per night at the top luxury tier
- The price does not move with head-count
- You choose the departure day and the direction — north or south
- No strangers on the sundeck
The crossover, stated plainly: at the low end of the published full-boat band, a 3–5 cabin yacht carrying 6–10 guests lands near the per-berth mid-range band. So above roughly six to eight paying adults, the whole boat is usually the cheaper unit. That is our arithmetic on published bands — not a quote, and not a promise about any particular vessel on any particular week.
How we reckon
We do not publish ratings, awards or client logos on this page, because we have not audited any of them. What we can show you is where each figure comes from and what we will put in writing.
Published table
Figures taken from park authority tariffs, operator rate cards and airline schedules as published for 2026. Where two published sources disagree — as they do on park fees — we print both.
Market observation
What we see transacted from the Labuan Bajo desk: last-minute cabin pricing, rupiah-quoted open trips, air fare spreads. Observed, not guaranteed, and it moves with season.
Our arithmetic
Anything we calculate from the two tiers above — the berth-versus-boat crossover, the practical park-day envelope, the tally totals. Labelled as arithmetic every time it appears.
Who is keeping the books
Operated by Komodo Luxury out of Labuan Bajo, part of Juara Holding Group — since 2015. On boats we do not own or crew, we are brokering, and we say so on the boat page rather than implying a fleet we do not have.
Clearance and escort
Departures clear the Syahbandar (harbourmaster) before sailing, and ranger escort is mandatory on the dragon-trekking islands. Both are conditions of operating, not extras we invented.
Three things in writing before payment
The named vessel and cabin. The full inclusion and exclusion list, with park fees itemised in rupiah. The deposit, balance date and cancellation terms. If any of the three is missing, do not pay.
Every page, filed in three drawers
One line of honest scope per card, and the single figure that page owns.
Drawer one · formats & rates
Open Trip 3D2N Shared Cabin
The default Komodo trip: fixed itinerary, cabin shared with other guests.
USD 200 – 400 ppBudget Komodo Liveaboard
What you give up at the bottom of the market, stated before you book.
USD 120 – 330 ppLuxury Komodo Phinisi
Deluxe and suite grades, crew ratio, tender and dive deck.
USD 900 – 1,600 ppPrivate Charter — Your Own Phinisi
Whole-boat hire out of Labuan Bajo, priced per vessel per night.
USD 3,000 – 15,000 / nightCabin Booking vs Full-Boat Charter
The arithmetic crossover, worked in public.
Crossover near 6 – 8 adultsPrices 2026
Every band on one page, with what sits outside the fare.
13 published bandsFamily Charter
Cabin configurations, ages, and what a family actually needs aboard.
Per-vessel pricingHoneymoon & Couples
Suite grades and the private-boat alternative, compared honestly.
USD 600 – 900 pp / nightDive Liveaboard — Two-Tank Days
Dive counts per itinerary, tanks, and current-capable sites.
8 – 11 dives on 4D3NGroup Charter — Clubs & Companies
Whole-boat economics for dive clubs and company groups.
Flat per nightLast-Minute Deals
Where the discount is real and where it is just the low band renamed.
USD 200 – 330 ppLuxury Phinisi Charter from Bali
Crossing-grade charter that starts in Bali, not Labuan Bajo.
USD 400 – 700 pp / nightDrawer two · from Bali — flights, transfers, crossings
Bali–Komodo Package + Flights & Transfers
One booking covering the air leg, the transfer and the boat.
Air IDR 600k – 1.5MBali to Komodo: How to Travel
Fly, sail or crossing — the three ways, with their real time cost.
Flight 60 – 75 minJakarta to Komodo
Direct and via-Bali routings, and which one protects your boarding slot.
Routing comparisonFrom Singapore or Kuala Lumpur
Connection planning for a 07:00–09:00 boarding window.
Same-day risk mappedHow to Book: Deposits & Fine Print
Deposit, balance date, cancellation terms — before you transfer money.
3 written commitmentsKomodo Trip Planner
Sequence the whole trip: flights, nights, park days, boarding point.
Park days = nights + 1Drawer three · routes, boats & planning
North Route: Gili Lawa & Castle Rock
The current-driven north, and when it is the wrong choice.
Typical on 3D2NSouth Route: Manta Alley & Horseshoe Bay
Colder, rougher, better for manta and macro.
Needs 4D3N+Itineraries 3D2N / 4D3N / 5D4N+
What each length actually reaches, stop by stop.
3 to 13 daysBoat Specs, Deck Plans & Cabins
Cabin counts, berth types and deck layouts, compared like for like.
3 – 5 cabin phinisiBest Boats & Phinisi from Labuan Bajo
Our shortlist, with the criteria written down first.
Criteria publishedDiving Guide: Sites, Currents, Safety
Which sites need which certification, and where currents bite.
Site-by-siteDeparture Calendar 2027
Published departure days by format, a season ahead.
2027 seasonKomodo National Park Guide 2026
Fees, rules, ranger escort and the disputed 2026 tariff structure.
IDR 150k – 250k / dayAnswered first, explained second
What time do Komodo liveaboards board in Labuan Bajo?
Most board between 07:00 and 09:00, and budget open trips push off close to dawn. Land at least two hours earlier: the airport is 4–8 km above the piers and the waterfront road congests 06:00–09:00.
Are Komodo National Park fees included in the trip price?
No. Park entrance and activity fees are set by the park authority and charged separately, in rupiah. Budget IDR 250,000–350,000 per person per park day, and count park days as nights plus one.
How much is a 3D2N Komodo liveaboard in 2026?
Published bands run USD 420–650 per person for a shared cabin at the budget tier, USD 280–400 as the standard band, USD 450–750 for a mid-range private cabin, and USD 900–1,600 for luxury. Park fees sit outside all of these.
At what group size is chartering the whole boat cheaper?
On published bands, above roughly six to eight paying adults. A 3–5 cabin phinisi at the low end of USD 3,000–6,000 per night carrying 6–10 guests lands near the per-berth mid-range band. That is arithmetic, not a quote.
Can I fly from Bali on the morning of departure?
Only from the 06:00 wave, and even that lands tight against the two-hour margin. The 08:30 and afternoon departures miss the boarding window outright, so sleeping in Labuan Bajo the night before is the only routing we will call safe.
Do you own the boats you sell?
Not all of them. Where we are brokering a third-party vessel we say so on that boat's page. The named vessel, cabin and full inclusion list go into your confirmation in writing before any payment.
Reach the desk
WhatsApp is the fastest route to the Labuan Bajo desk. Send the tally you produced above and we will confirm the vessel, the cabin and the fee lines in writing before anything is paid.
WhatsApp +628113823875Labuan Bajo trade desk [email protected]Written quotes and itineraries Contact pageAll desk routes in one place