Fifty-eight answers for the person organising the party

Three days get you round the standard route, from Padar and Pink Beach to Komodo Island, the two snorkel stops, Kalong and Kelor. Four to six days keep those stops and add room around them. For a party of ten or more, we suggest five first.

Let the slowest person in the party set the length. With small children or grandparents along, take four or five days so that no climb or swim is rushed. Teenagers and keen walkers manage on three. On Elbark five days start at IDR 200,000,000 (≈ USD 12,270) for the whole boat.

Anything from 2 days and 1 night to 6 days and 5 nights. Three days and two nights is also the length of the open trip. Elbark offers nothing of 7 days or more, and no day trip; the final plan reaches you in writing before payment.

On Elbark the whole boat for 2 days and 1 night is IDR 120,000,000 (≈ USD 7,362) with 1 to 10 guests, and the 11th guest onwards adds IDR 4,000,000 (≈ USD 245) each. Ten guests pay IDR 12,000,000 (≈ USD 736) apiece. Nobody sells a 2-day open-trip place on this boat.

No. The shortest Elbark trip is 2 days and 1 night. Elbark is built around long routes, and its stops will not fit one day. If a day trip is what you are after, this is not your boat, and we will tell you so.

The same stops, with room to breathe. Four days give Rinca and Manjarite a day of their own. Five spread everything over five mornings. Six begin with a light day at Sebayur or Siaba and end with a late last morning at Kelor. All three are sample routes, set with the captain.

Only the 3-day, 2-night route has a fixed stop list. Day one: the 08:30 pickup, Sebayur or Siaba, Taka Makassar, Manta Point, Padar. Day two: Pink Beach, Komodo, Pengah, Kalong. Day three: Kelor and Manjarite. The 2, 4, 5 and 6-day plans are samples, and whatever order you settle with the captain comes to you in writing before payment.

On board, every night. The bay is chosen by the captain that evening, according to the weather, so no anchorage is named in advance.

The dragons are wild, and a ranger leads every walk and picks the path that morning. We promise no sighting, and nobody honest does. A longer charter gives you more time on the trails; it cannot give you a guarantee.

The ranger walks in front of the party on every trail, so the answer begins before you set off. Stay with the group, stay behind the ranger, and do exactly as you are told. Never leave the path for a photograph.

If your party wants a ranger-led walk, the view from Padar and good snorkelling, it is. A long charter gives each of those its own morning, something a 2-day trip cannot do. Park tickets are extra, and what you see is up to the sea and the ranger.

Nothing is certain, and the sea decides how lively a morning is. A cabin low in the boat helps, as do a light breakfast and keeping your eyes on the horizon. Ask your own doctor about tablets before you travel. The captain can reorder stops to find calmer water.

We make no claim that one deck is steadier than another. Toraja, Alor, Banda Neira and Savu, on the lower deck, have only a small round marine window each. Selayar and Rote, on the main deck, have wider windows and sit beside the dining room. If you are prone to seasickness, tell us when you book.

Reaching the main viewpoint means 25 to 45 minutes on a path with loose, steep stretches. Grandparents decide on the morning. Anyone who would rather wait stays below in the shade, and on a long charter nobody has to climb in the worst of the heat.

Yes. Under-threes come free with a parent or guardian; children of 3 and over pay as adults. Five days leave room for naps and quiet beaches. Give us the ages; the cabin plan follows in writing. Which paths a child can walk is the ranger's decision on the day.

Every snorkel stop is optional. The reef at Taka Makassar is shallow, and at Pink Beach it starts a few strokes from the sand. Manta Point has current, and the captain decides on the day who goes in. Non-swimmers can stay aboard or on the beach.

For calm water and clear days: April, May, June, October and November. Manta season runs July to September and December to February, though a season is never a sighting. July and August bring the most wind and the most boats. The weather page sets out all twelve months.

April to November, the dry season, has the calmest seas and the best walking days. January to March and November are the quietest months; July, August and late December the busiest. Choose around whoever is hardest to move, then around school or leave dates nobody can shift.

No closure is announced on this site for any listed date. The park authority decides what is open, and the harbour authority decides when boats may sail. If an official order keeps Elbark in port, a replacement phinisi, equal or higher in class, sails your dates, or every payment is returned within 14 days.

Foreign guests pay IDR 250,000. For an Indonesian guest it is IDR 50,000 on a weekday, rising to IDR 75,000 at the weekend. Tickets are per person, are paid separately from every boat fare, and follow PP 36/2024. Ranger charges are separate again, and so is a drone ticket, which you ask us about first.

Tips are welcome, never required, and we set no figure; nothing is built into the fare. The first-time page gives the going range for crew and rangers, flagged to verify before you travel. Bring rupiah in cash, because cards are no use on the islands.

There is no single figure, because a long charter is a loop rather than a transfer. In the five-day sample Komodo Island comes on day three, after Sebayur or Siaba, Taka Makassar, Manta Point, Padar and Pink Beach. The captain gives each day's sailing time.

Yes. A charter can be fixed for any free 2027 date, and open-trip sailings from March 2027 are already on the calendar. Until a 2027 list is issued, today's fares apply, and your price is confirmed in writing before payment.

Fly into Komodo Airport, code LBJ, connecting through Bali, Jakarta or Surabaya. From the terminal to the harbour is a short drive. Land the day before sailing; on the last day, book nothing earlier than 14:00.

Both fares include onboard meals, snacks and drinks, and free-flow coffee, tea and water; each guest also keeps a personal tumbler. We do not fix a menu or a dining time here. Tell us about any dietary need, and you will have our answer in writing before you pay.

Local Wi-Fi, yes. We quote no speed and promise no dependable internet at sea. If anyone needs a steady connection for work, plan around that, and ask us before booking what to expect on your route.

Indoors, the dining room and lounge on the main deck. Outside: the relax area on the bow, the after-deck lounge, outdoor dining under a canopy, and the sky deck and sunbathing areas on the main and upper decks. No seat counts are given.

Yes. Snorkelling gear, a paddleboard and a canoe appear on the include list for both the charter and the open trip. If children are coming, ask about sizes before you travel and we reply in writing.

A raft rated for twenty-five persons, life buoys, a flare gun and a fire extinguisher. For navigation: compass, GPS, map and AIS, plus SSB, VHF and handheld radios. The tender is aluminium, with a Yamaha 40 HP outboard.

Yes; movie and karaoke entertainment is on the include list. No hours or volume are given, and we cannot say when the crew sets it up. If the party wants a whole evening around it, ask us.

An open trip is a seat: 3 days, on Fridays and some Mondays, priced per person by cabin, with the cruise director guide and photographer included and other guests aboard. A private trip is the whole boat for 2 to 6 days, on any day the boat is free, with your own route order and no guide or photographer in the price.

For 3 days on Elbark, an open-trip place costs IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706) in the Misool cabin and IDR 9,350,000 (≈ USD 574) in Weh or Mentawai. Selayar or Rote is IDR 8,350,000 (≈ USD 512), Toraja or Alor IDR 7,000,000 (≈ USD 429), and Banda Neira or Savu IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399). The price is per person, 2 sharing, and park tickets are extra.

On Fridays, and on some Mondays, for 3 days and 2 nights each time. Every date is in the calendar with its status, the first of them Friday, 6 November 2026. A flag marks a date with few cabins left or none at all, and we confirm your cabin before you pay anything.

The cheapest are Banda Neira and Savu at IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399) per person: 8.75 sqm each on the lower deck, lit by a small round marine window. The dearest is Misool at IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706), the 34 sqm master cabin with its own balcony and jacuzzi. Everything else sits between the two.

Cabin fares are per person, two sharing. If you are travelling alone, ask us how your cabin would be arranged on the date you want. Nothing extra and no reduction for a lone guest is published; what applies to you is put in writing before payment.

Send us the date, the cabin you would like and the number of guests. We check the current calendar, confirm the cabin in writing, and a 50% deposit then holds it for you. A flagged date has only a few cabins left, or none, so have a second choice ready.

Yes. The standard terms stay the same: a 50% deposit confirms the date and the balance is due 30 days before departure, but you may also pay the balance in Labuan Bajo on the departure day, in cash or by card on the EDC machine. Card payment link 3%, PayPal 7.2%, EDC 3%; your issuing bank may add its own charges.

50% of the total. It confirms the booking and holds the boat or cabin for your dates. The 11% VAT is already inside every price we quote.

30 days before departure. Book inside those 30 days and the whole amount is paid on confirmation. Either way, boat, dates and cabin plan are confirmed in writing before any deposit.

From 60 days out, a cancellation returns 50%. Between 30 and 59 days ahead, 25%. Inside 30 days, nothing. Refunds reach you within 14 days.

Yes, free of charge up to 30 days before departure, if the new date is free. From just under 30 days down to 14 days the change costs IDR 500,000. Inside 14 days it counts as a cancellation.

Engine failure, a harbour order and a park order all count. Your dates move to another phinisi of at least the same class at no extra cost, or the full amount is refunded within 14 days. Weather on the day is the captain's call, and the terms page explains it.

Every method open to you is on the booking page. Cards go through a payment link, never a chat message, and the invoice shows any method fee up front. Ask us which method works best from your country, and we reply in writing.

From 3, yes, at the full fare. Babies and toddlers up to 2 come free, travelling with a parent or guardian. Send us every age, and the cabin plan and head count come back in writing before payment.

On Elbark, a place on the 3-day open trip starts at IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399) a head, two to a cabin. IDR 120,000,000 (≈ USD 7,362) is the starting price for the whole boat on 2 days and 1 night, for 1 to 10 guests. Park tickets, flights and hotel nights are paid on top.

On Elbark, three days and two nights with the whole boat cost IDR 140,000,000 (≈ USD 8,589) for 1 to 10 guests. From the 11th guest to the 18th, each adds IDR 4,500,000 (≈ USD 276). A full boat of eighteen pays IDR 176,000,000 (≈ USD 10,798), or IDR 9,780,000 (≈ USD 600) each.

Elbark has no 7-day price. Its longest plan is 6 days and 5 nights: IDR 230,000,000 (≈ USD 14,110) for 1 to 10 guests, plus IDR 6,000,000 (≈ USD 368) for each guest from the 11th. Eighteen together pay IDR 278,000,000 (≈ USD 17,055), IDR 15,440,000 (≈ USD 947) a head.

A private charter buys the whole boat. With up to 10 guests it runs from IDR 120,000,000 (≈ USD 7,362) for 2 days to IDR 230,000,000 (≈ USD 14,110) for 6. Park tickets, flights and hotels are extra, and a guide or photographer is quoted on its own.

Each guest from the 11th to the 18th adds a set amount, which depends on the length. Two days: IDR 4,000,000 (≈ USD 245). Three: IDR 4,500,000 (≈ USD 276). Four: IDR 5,500,000 (≈ USD 337). Five: IDR 6,000,000 (≈ USD 368). Six: IDR 6,000,000 (≈ USD 368). Fourteen guests on 5 days therefore pay IDR 224,000,000 (≈ USD 13,742) for the boat.

Both, depending on the product. A charter is per boat: one fare covers 1 to 10 guests, and each guest beyond adds a set sum. An open-trip place is per person, two sharing a cabin. Every price list on the site labels which is which.

On Elbark: the boat and its nine air-conditioned cabins, every activity on the route, meals, snacks and drinks, free-flow coffee, tea and water, snorkelling gear, the paddleboard and canoe, movie and karaoke entertainment, local Wi-Fi, and city-area pickup and drop-off. Alcohol is excluded, as are park tickets, flights, insurance and personal expenses.

Not on a charter; ask, and we quote each separately and confirm it in writing before payment. An open-trip cabin fare does include the cruise director guide and the photographer. The park ticket sits outside both.

On Elbark Cruises, 18: nine cabins, 2 guests each. Other yachts set their own limits; here a party larger than 18 cannot sail. Ten guests use five cabins, and the whole-boat fare is identical for any party of 1 to 10. From the eleventh guest a fixed amount per head is added.

Eighteen, two in each of the nine cabins. Every cabin has one double bed, so plan with that figure and no other; no extra beds are sold. A party of 14 fills seven of the nine cabins, a party of 16 fills eight, and a party of 18 takes every cabin on the boat.

Nine, over three decks. Up top sit Misool, Weh and Mentawai. The main deck has Selayar and Rote, right next to the dining room and lounge. Down on the lower deck are Toraja, Alor, Banda Neira and Savu. Sizes for each are on the vessel page.

Misool, and no other. The 34 sqm master on the top deck pairs that balcony, sofa and jacuzzi with a bathtub, a rainfall shower and a work desk. Elsewhere on board there is neither balcony nor jacuzzi.

Yes, every one, with a rainfall shower and hot water in each bathroom. Only Misool, Weh and Mentawai add a bathtub. The four lower-deck cabins have a small round marine window.

No, they are cabin names. Each comes from an Indonesian island or region; Misool, for one, is named after the karst islands of Raja Ampat. Elbark sails only inside Komodo National Park from Labuan Bajo, so every cabin looks out on Komodo water.

A phinisi is Indonesia's traditional two-masted wooden sailing boat. Elbark Cruises is a boutique example, custom-built from locally sourced wood: 37 m long, three decks, home port Labuan Bajo. She is sold as a VVIP phinisi, a class label chosen by the owner rather than by any rating body.

KEXI quotes the park as one package per guest: 3D2N: IDR 650,000 per foreign guest, IDR 350,000 per Indonesian guest; 4D3N: IDR 750,000 per foreign guest, IDR 350,000 per Indonesian guest. It bundles the government entrance ticket (IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor per day, PP 36/2024) with the ranger fee and local levies, and is paid on top of the boat price unless your quote says it is included.