Deluxe
$1,550–4,700 per night
Twenty to thirty-four metres, six to twenty-four guests. More cabins in less length, and the floor of the market.
What a Komodo Charter Actually Costs
Not a bracket we invented. These are the starting rates 145 Komodo vessels publish, plus the 40 that will not.
A Komodo charter is priced per vessel per night, not per person. Across 185 boats, published starting rates run USD 1,550 to 20,000, with a median near 4,500.
- The tier — Deluxe, VIP or VVIP — predicts the rate far better than length does.
- Forty of 185 vessels publish nothing and quote on request.
- Shared-cabin open trips start near USD 300 per person for three days.
Published rates, per night, whole boat
Labuan Bajo prices by tier. Phinisi, catamarans and motor yachts all appear in each one, so the hull is not the variable that matters here.
VIP
$1,800–9,850 per night
Twenty to fifty-eight metres. By far the broadest tier, and where most private charters land.
VVIP
$3,800–20,000 per night
Twenty-three to sixty-five metres, two to twenty-eight guests. Space per guest rather than guests per metre.
Speedboat
$680–4,800 per day
Day charters, not liveaboards. Nine to sixteen metres, no cabins, back in Labuan Bajo by evening.
Figures are starting rates for the whole vessel, taken from the operator pages of 185 Komodo boats in September 2026. Speedboats are quoted per day rather than per night, which is why they sit apart. Park fees, alcohol, diving and gratuities are extra everywhere.
- 185
- Komodo vessels surveyed
- $4,500
- Median published rate, per night
- 13×
- Gap between cheapest and dearest
- 29%
- That publish no rate at all
Why the range is so wide
The cheapest boat that publishes a rate asks USD 1,550 a night. The dearest asks 20,000 — thirteen times more for the same islands and roughly the same week. What separates them is crew ratio, how new the hull is, how much deck each guest gets, and whether the boat was built as a charter yacht or converted into one.
Length is a poor guide. A 21 m Deluxe boat sleeps sixteen; a 38 m VVIP one sleeps eight.
If a whole boat is too much
Chartering the vessel is the expensive option, and it is not the only one.
Open trip, shared cabin
From about USD 300 per person for three days and two nights. Fixed itinerary, cabin shared or booked as a pair.
Cabin class on an open trip
USD 300 to 850 per person per voyage depending on deck and cabin, and from USD 220 on weekday departures. Same boat, better room, still not a private charter.
Speedboat day charter
USD 680 to 4,800 for the boat for a day. Padar, Pink Beach and Manta Point with no overnight.
Shoulder months
April, May and October sit outside the June to September peak. Same park, fewer boats, and rates that move.
Fill the cabins
The rate is per vessel. Sixteen guests on a Deluxe boat works out near USD 97 to 294 each per night.
Fewer nights
Three nights covers the headline stops. Nights four to seven buy water time, not more islands.
The boats that will not tell you
Forty of the 185 vessels publish no rate at all, and the pattern is not random: twenty-two of thirty-nine VVIP boats show a figure, against thirty-one of thirty-five Deluxe ones. The further up the market you go, the more likely the answer is an enquiry. That is normal in charter, not evasion — but it does mean the top of the range here is a floor, not a ceiling.
Cost, answered
How much per day?
For the whole vessel, USD 1,550 to 20,000 a night, median about 4,500. Speedboat day charters are separate at USD 680 to 4,800 per day. Per person on a shared open trip, from about USD 300 for three days.
Why do quotes differ so much?
Tier, cabin count and crew ratio, mostly. A thirteen-fold spread across the same islands is normal in this market, and length tells you very little about where a boat sits in it.
Is the price per person or per boat?
Per boat, per night, on a private charter. Only open trips and cabin bookings are quoted per person — that is the single most common misreading of a Komodo quote.
What is not in the rate?
The Komodo National Park entry cost at $40–50 per person, alcohol and soft drinks, flights, personal expenses, and crew gratuities.
Do longer charters cost less per night?
Often, yes. Operators discount the marginal night because the boat is already committed. The saving is real but smaller than the jump between tiers.
Get a real number
Published rates are a starting point and move with season. Send dates and party size for what the operator will actually hold.