What Is Included in a Komodo Liveaboard Price?
marcell
August 1, 2026
9 min read
A Komodo liveaboard fare normally includes your cabin, all meals and drinking water, crew and guide, snorkelling gear, life vests, the tender and the standard itinerary. It normally excludes national park entry (Rp 250,000 per foreign visitor under PP No. 36/2024), flights, hotels, alcohol, dive tanks, tips and any route change.
What is included in a Komodo liveaboard price?
Every operator in Labuan Bajo publishes an include and exclude list, and almost every one of them is arranged differently, which is why the same three-day trip can look IDR 800,000 cheaper on one page and turn out identical at the harbour. The list below is the standard shape of an open-trip fare, written the way it appears on Aura Suci’s rate sheet.
| Included in the fare | Excluded from the fare |
|---|---|
| Cabin accommodation for the nights of the itinerary | Komodo National Park entrance fee |
| All meals on board — breakfast, lunch, dinner — plus snacks | Flights to and from Labuan Bajo |
| Drinking water, tea and coffee | Hotels before and after the trip |
| Crew, captain and trip guide | Alcoholic drinks (no published bar list — treat as excluded) |
| Snorkelling mask, snorkel, fins and life vests | Scuba diving, tanks and weights |
| Tender or dinghy transfers to beaches and trailheads | Ranger fee where charged separately at a trekking site |
| Labuan Bajo mainland hotel or airport pick-up near the harbour | Pick-up from other islands or outside the mainland area |
| The published itinerary and its listed stops | Personal expenses, laundry, souvenirs and tips |
Structure taken from the Komodo Luxury rate card for Aura Suci, read 1 August 2026. Confirm the exact list for your departure in writing before paying a deposit.
The park fee is the line that surprises people
It is excluded on essentially every boat, at every price point, and it is set by law rather than by the operator. Under PP No. 36/2024:
| Visitor | Fee | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign visitor | Rp 250,000 per person per visit | Area entry including trekking, wildlife observation and snorkelling |
| Indonesian visitor, weekday | Rp 50,000 per person | Area entry |
| Indonesian visitor, weekend or public holiday | Rp 75,000 per person | Area entry |
Source: PP No. 36/2024, socialised by Balai Taman Nasional Komodo via ksdae.menlhk.go.id.
Two clarifications worth having in writing before you travel. First, the Rp 650,000 for Komodo or Padar and Rp 900,000 for Rinca that circulate widely are not the national park ticket — they are bundled figures that add regional levies and ranger or trail-service charges. Second, the Rp 3,750,000 “membership” proposed in 2022 was cancelled and is not in force. Some operators also collect a diver surcharge and a harbour fee of around Rp 25,000 per person per day each; that is operator practice, not a published national tariff.
What “all meals included” actually means on a phinisi
Three cooked meals a day plus snacks, prepared in the galley and served buffet-style on the main deck, with drinking water, tea and coffee available all day. Dietary requirements — vegetarian, halal, allergies — are handled at booking rather than on the day, because the boat provisions in Labuan Bajo before it sails and there is no shop between Kelor and Kanawa. Aura Suci carries 12,000 litres of fresh water, which is the reason showers are not rationed on a three-day run.
Included on Aura Suci specifically
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cabin | One of eight, each with private bathroom, private balcony, air conditioning and sea view |
| Cabin types | Master 1 and 2 for two guests with private bathtub; Master 3 and 4 for three; Deluxe 1 and 2 for three; Family 1 and 2 for four |
| Maximum guests | 24 |
| Vessel | 30 m wooden phinisi, 6 m beam, Mitsubishi 8DC11, 10–12 knot cruise |
| Fresh water | 12,000 litres |
| Navigation | AIS, Garmin GPS, compass, radio |
| Safety equipment | Liferafts, ring buoys, fire extinguishers, first-aid kits |
Source: operator specification for Aura Suci, read 1 August 2026.
The exclusions that cost the most
- Diving. A standard open trip is a snorkelling and trekking itinerary. Snorkel gear and life vests are in; tanks, weights and a dive guide are a separate arrangement quoted per trip.
- Alcohol. No published bar list means you should plan on buying in Labuan Bajo and confirming the boat’s bring-your-own position in writing.
- Route changes. The published itinerary is included; a rearranged one is a charter conversation, not a request on the day.
- Tips. Not included anywhere in Labuan Bajo and entirely at your discretion, but the crew on a phinisi is genuinely large relative to guest count.
How to compare two quotes properly
Put the two include lists side by side before you look at the two prices. In practice four questions separate almost every pair of quotes: is the park fee inside or outside; is the cabin en-suite or shared; how many guests are on the boat at full load; and is the airport or hotel transfer included. Those four answers explain most of the price gap in the Labuan Bajo market, and none of them appear in a headline figure.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Komodo National Park fee ever included in the boat price?
Occasionally, on packaged tours that bundle it deliberately, but on open-trip liveaboard fares it is almost always excluded. If a quote claims it is included, ask for the amount and which visitor category it was calculated at — Rp 250,000 for foreign visitors under PP No. 36/2024.
Are snorkelling equipment and life vests really included?
Yes, on a standard Aura Suci open trip both are provided. Many guests still bring their own mask because fit matters more than quality for snorkelling comfort. Dive equipment is a separate arrangement and is not part of the open-trip fare.
Is airport pick-up included?
Pick-up from a hotel or the airport on the Labuan Bajo mainland near the harbour is included. Pick-ups from other islands or outside that area are not covered and should be quoted separately before you arrive.
What about drinking water and soft drinks?
Drinking water, tea and coffee are available throughout the trip and are inside the fare. Soft drinks and alcohol are not published as included items, so treat them as excluded and ask the reservations desk what the boat stocks.
Do I pay anything on board during the trip?
On a standard open trip, normally nothing except tips and anything you have specifically arranged such as diving. There is no ATM and no card terminal between Kelor and Kanawa, so bring cash for park fees and tips if they are being collected during the trip.
Can I get the include and exclude list before I pay?
Yes, and you should insist on it. Ask the reservations desk for the written include and exclude sheet for your exact departure date, together with the deposit terms — 50% to hold, non-refundable, balance 30 days before departure.
Check dates and hold a cabin
Aura Suci runs open-trip departures every Friday and whole-boat charters year round. Aura Suci is operated and sold through Komodo Luxury, the Labuan Bajo operator behind this boat since 2015. Bookings, cabin plans and the current rate sheet come from the reservations desk: WhatsApp +62 811 3823 875 or [email protected]. A booking is held with a 50% deposit (non-refundable) and the balance falls due 30 days before departure.
Every figure on this page was checked against the operator rate card and the official fee regulation on 1 August 2026. Rates move with season, fuel and exchange rate — ask for a written quote before you transfer anything.
Read next on this site
- the full Aura Suci specification and cabin plan
- the hour-by-hour 3D2N itinerary with its price table
- whether IDR 5 million is enough for a Komodo boat trip
Inclusions differ boat by boat, so it pays to compare durations across the full fleet before assuming park tickets are bundled into the headline figure.